This is Mazon Monday post #51. What's your favorite Mazon Creek fossil? Tell us at email:[email protected].
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Before George Langford wrote his books, which were first published by Esconi Associates in 1958, Raymond E. Janssen wrote two books about Mazon Creek that saw widespread use as reference materiel for identification of fossils. The first book "Leaves and Stems from Fossil Forests" was published in 1939 by the Illinois State Museum, where it can still be purchased for $4. Its multiple printings speaks to its popularity. The book was volume 1 of a Popular Science Series published by the museum. ESCONI has a copy in our library, donated by Donald C. Brazda.
The author, Raymond E. Janssen, wrote quite a few geology books from the 1930's to the 1950's. Most of those books are popular science, with a few aimed at kids. There is a two part article entitled "Geological Aspects of Our National Parks" that was published in Scientific Monthly and later as a paperback. He has multiple books on coal - "Buried Sunlight - Story of Coal" and "The Beginnings of Coal". This is probably due to his study of the coal fields of Illinois. Before writing Leaves, Janssen prepared paleobotany exhibits for the Field Museum, the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry, among others.
The Preface of "Leaves and Stems" is by Thorne Deuel, who is described as the Chief of the the Illinois Museum. He speaks to why it was published and it shouldn't be surprising that George Langford Sr, and George Jr. are mentioned as providing "the finest collection ever assembled from the Mazon Creek region of Illinois". He also provides some background information on the author.
The immediate stimulus that produced this book was derived from the Langford collection of fossils, probably the finest ever assembled from the Mazon Creek region of Illinois. The vast amount of labor entailed in gathering, selecting, opening and “developing” the specimens can be sensed in a measure from an excerpt of a letter from Mr. George Langford, Sr.
“George, Jr., and I spent 140 days (morning and afternoon) in the field . . . and much more time in washing, mending, sorting, marking and developing the material. Altogether I devoted . . . 3400 hours to all this, and George, Jr., 2000 . . .” Nearly 250,000 nodules were split open, only ten percent of which were taken away from the strip mine heaps. Of these 25,000, four hundred fifty-nine (of which sixteen are animals) were selected for the museum.
The excellent quality of the collection, both individually and as a unit, bespeaks scientific acumen, courage, and integrity, a special aptitude, and a tirelessness of purpose, that can be fully appreciated only by those who have engaged in similar labors. The Illinois State Museum is deeply indebted to the Langfords for the opportunity to exhibit, study and publish on this unique collection.
The author, Raymond E. Janssen, is especially fitted to describe and interpret these fragmentary leaves of the ancient records of Illinois plant life. For a number of years he has
paleobotany, particularly of the geology been a student of and coal fields of Illinois. He has prepared paleobotanical exhibits and models for the Texas Centennial, for the Field Museum of Natural History and the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. He has the faculty of embodying scientific information in simple, direct language and in an entertaining manner for the non-specialist.From time to time, science teachers, students and laymen have enquired for handbooks describing and explaining the collections of the Illinois State Museum. Leaves and stems from fossil forests is the first of a series of modest guidebooks formulated to answer this need. A subsequent volume now in preparation deals with the Indian inhabitants of Illinois since Columbus' voyage of discovery. Other handbooks will be issued at more or less regular intervals covering other collections and exhibits in the Museum.
May 1st, 1939.
THORNE DEUEL,
Chief, Illinois State Museum.
The Langford collection is still at the Illinois State Museum with many specimens on display. It's hard to be sure if it's the "finest collection ever assembled", but the specimens are breathtaking!
In the Introduction, Janssen also speaks to the quality of the specimens and the contributions of the Langfords.
The extensive coal fields of Illinois, in addition to providing the coal itself, have furnished science with a great store of information regarding the plants which The recent increase in strip flourished here in past ages. mining coal in various parts of the state has made methods of for the more extensive collecting of plant fossils occurring in such areas. The need of a non-technical handbook, describing the more widely distributed forms within the state, has been evident for some time. The present publication, illustrating and describing more than a hundred and fifty genera and species of the most common fossil plants from Illinois, has been prepared to fill this need.
The specimens illustrated herein, for the most part, are on display at the Illinois State Museum, although a few are at the University of Chicago. The collections at the Illinois State Museum include many original “type” specimens obtained during the first geological survey of the state nearly seventy-five years ago, as well as the Langford assemblage of fossil plants from Will County. The latter, which was recently collected by the George Langfords, father and son, of Joliet, Illinois, is one of the finest and most representative collections in existence from that portion of the state, widely known as The Langford Collection the famous “Mazon Creek” region. period of several years by frequent visits was obtained over a to the field. The specimens have been cleaned and prepared by a process developed by the Langfords which permits the individual plant remains to stand out in marked contrast from the matrix. The author wishes to commend the Langfords for their tireless efforts in collecting, preparing, and turning over to the Museum such an excellent collection for scientific
study.The specimens described in this publication are not intended to represent any particular horizon or locality in Illinois. However, because of their excellence for the purpose, most of the illustrations are made from items in the Langford Collection from the strip mines near Wilmington. For the same reason, a few specimens from foreign localities are pictured, but in each case the species occurs in Illinois also. Unless otherwise stated, specimens illustrated came from the Mazon Creek region and were assembled by Mr. George Langford, Sr. and Mr. George Langford, Jr. The photographs, except for those specifically noted to the contrary, were made by Charles W. Hodge of Springfield.
Additional photographs were furnished by M. M. Leighton, Chief of the State Geological Survey, Urbana; by George Langford, Sr., by the late Professor A. C. Noé, and by the author. All drawings are by the author. Photographs of restored plants and trees of the coal age are reproduced by courtesy of the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago. The author also wishes to express his appreciation for the kind assistance and suggestions rendered in the preparation of this volume by Professor A. C. Noé of the University of Chicago shortly before his untimely death.
RAYMOND E. JANSSEN.
Evanston, Illinois.
May 1st, 1939.
The book is very readable; it's written in a popular science style. And, although so much more is now known on the subject, the book still contains quite a bit of relevant information. It also sheds light on the history of collecting and the coal mines of the Wilmington, Braidwood, and Morris area of Illinois. Other fossil localities around the world are also discussed, with the last chapter on the history of Paleobotany.
It's interesting to see how the Geologic Time Scale has changed since 1939. The Pennsylvanian Period is shown at 250 million years ago and the extinction of the dinosaurs comes in at 55 million. Funny that each period has to be the "Age" of something.
There are a few pictures of a coal forest at the Field Museum that doesn't look too dissimilar from the current exhibit.
Here are a few random pages from the book. It's too bad they weren't printed in color.
We'll look at Janssen's second Mazon Creek book "Some Fossil Plant Types of Illinois" at a later date. It contrasts with "Leaves and Stems" as it's written in the style of a scientific journal, with species descriptions and discussion.
