Open Collections

[Bookplate by F.A.C.]

[between 1874 and 1940]

1 bookplate : etching ; 7.4 x 12.1 cm

United States

Still Image

Located at the northern end of Lake George in New York State, the Rogers Rock Hotel was built in 1874 by two brothers, John Quincy Adams Treadway and William Denton Treadway. This first-class hotel was designed by architect Oscar Burnham Hinckly, and the 'L' shaped, three story building contained approximately 50 rooms. The hotel's name was derived from a cliff located on the south border of the hotel's property. This local landmark had been much mythologized for its role in the Battle of the Snowshoes during the Seven Years War. On March 13, 1758, Major Robert Rogers and his rangers engaged with combined French, Canadian, and First Nations forces. Outnumbered and taken by surprise, Roger's rangers suffered a crushing defeat. According to legend, Rogers barely escaped with his life by sliding down the near vertical rock face and crossing frozen Lake George. Some versions of the tale maintain that Rogers even walked backwards across the lake in his snowshoes in order to confuse his pursuers. Rogers Rock Hotel was eventually sold to David Williams and was in turn owned by a group of regular summer residents who got together to form the 'Rogers Rock Club.' During this latter period of operation, most club members built cottages on the hotel grounds while the hotel still took in regular guests. In 1940, the hotel closed, and it was finally torn down in 1948 to make way for private homes. One notable resident of the Rogers Rock Hotel was American novelist Sloan Wilson, who grew up spending summers there and later wrote a short story entitled 'Lollapalooza and the Rogers Rock Hotel.'
References:
1) Burke, Bernard. Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry. H. Pirie-Gordon, ed. 15th Ed. London: Shaw Publishing Co. Ltd. and Burke Publishing Co. Ltd., 1937.
2) Fincham, H.W. The Artists and Engravers of British and American Bookplates. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co. Ltd, 1897.
3) Henkel-Karras, Erica. Lake George: 1900-1925. Mount Pleasant, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2005. Google Book Search. Web. 31 Mar 2011.
4) Heraldric Dictionary. University of Notre Dame, Dept. of Special Collections. Accessed 18 Nov. 2008 from http://www.rarebooks.nd.edu/digital/heraldry/ Le Jeune, Louis. 'Robert Rogers.' L'Encyclopédie de l'histoire du Québec. Montreal: Marianopolis College, 2006. Web. 31 Mar. 2011.
5) Meany, Joseph F., Jr. 'Frigid Fury: The Battle on Snowshoes', March 1758. Saratoga Springs, NY: New York State Military Museum and Veterans Research Centre, 2008. Web. 31 Mar. 2011.
6) Wilson, Geoffrey. Rogers Rock: The Hotel, the Club, the Cottage Colony. Bloomington, IN: Authorhouse, 2005. Print

RBSC Bookplates

2011

Images provided for research and reference use only. Permission to publish, copy, or otherwise use these images must be obtained from Rare Books and Special Collections: http://rbsc.library.ubc.ca

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