| Bob
Sullivan is a professional educator with over 20 years experience
speaking in front of large groups and small. He is a former Gettysburg
Licensed Battlefield Guide. He can speak to your group as well.
The owner of Sullivan Press, Bob is available for
talks about books and documents. He is very happy to bring the
appropriate part of the "Sullivan Collection" of documents with him so
that you and your group can learn about the history of forms and their
use in logistics.
Bob has lectured on a variety of topics, from Computer Training to the Battle
of Gettysburg. He has been speaking in public for years, and has prepared
several presentations about the forms and documents that he researches and
collects. Far from being dry, Bob manages to inject life into paper, and has a
vast repertoire of stories and anecdotes about the forms that he displays.
All topics can be expanded or collapsed to fit a time frame from 30 minutes
to 1 hour. Presentations are done with overhead transparencies and appropriate
original items from his collection supplemented with photocopies.
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Previous Speaking Engagements |
Right Angle
Club, Philadelphia
Brandywine Valley Civil War Round Table
Brandywine Battlefield State Park
War of 1812 Society, Princeton, NJ
Uwchlan Historical Society
Valley Forge Historical Society (Friends of Valley Forge)
Historical Society of the Phoenixville Area |
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Upcoming
Speaking Engagements |
| We
are available for a speaking engagement at this time. Please email
or contact Bob Sullivan. |
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Topic |
Synopsis |
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Red Tape and the Revolution |
We hear many quotes and so-called truisms about the
American Revolution. Things like "There were six men in one tent." Well,
where do these truisms and expressions come from? Listen to a talk about
Continental Army paperwork, and see if these "facts " are true or not. |
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What the British Surrendered at Yorktown
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Based on a copy of the original Continental Army
Quartermaster log book for October, 1781, this presentation follows the
Yorktown campaign through the issuance and receipt of arms and
equipment. Finally, there is an entry that debits, to the Continental
Army, every piece of equipment captured by the Continental Army at
Yorktown. A unique perspective on the campaign, and a definitive record
of exactly what the British army carried with them on their final
campaign. |
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Red Tape and the Rebellion |
We hear many so-called facts about the Civil War. Eighty
percent of the men were literate. The average age of a soldier was 23. It
took a man's weight in bullets to kill him. Where do these "facts" come
from? Contrast the grand spectacle with
the mundane: When the Union Army was getting ready to assault the
Petersburg trenches in a deadly attack in 1865, a lieutenant in the 7th
Massachusetts was ordering stationery. Explore the world of army
paperwork, and find out if these "facts" are indeed true. |
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The Publishing House of
Beadle and Adams
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Said a soldier in a Massachusetts artillery battery,
"There
was no novel so dull, trashy, or sensational as not to find someone so
bored...that he would wade through it." The rise of the dime novel
and the inexpensive "how to" book coincided with the Civil
War. See a slice of 1860 material culture through books on sports,
etiquette, public speaking, songs, and of course novels. Take a
fascinating tour through the publishing house of Irwin and Erastus
Beadle, creators of the "Dime Novel", and some of their
principal rivals during the Civil War years. |
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