Washington Irving was his own Vamp

Generally, it is impossible to be your own vamp and gain success.

What is a vamp you ask?  Glad you did.  Vamp is a creation of Roy Williams, uber ad genius and deep thinker of worldwide ideals.  A DJ on stage introducing a band with tremendous fervor is a vamp for the band.  A talk show host bringing out a guest becomes the guest’s vamp.  A ringmaster, despite the keylight soaking him and only him, is merely a vamp for the circus acts. Without a vamp, any talent could go wasted.

Self-vamping generally does not work.  It may for a short period, but it fades away.  Paris Hilton.  Andrew Dice Clay.  Mancow Muller.  Perhaps “the cow” doesn’t belong, he does have some who will vouch for him, but a vamp need to be exuberant.

Probably due to the lack of immediate accessible media, Washington Irving – writer of short story classics “Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and “Rip Van Winkle” – pulled it off.  More than often, Irving wrote under a pseudonym.  One such pseudonym was Diedrich Knickerbocker.  Diedrich allegedly wrote “A History of New-York.”  Washing Irving posted ads in the New York Times saying this famous historian was missing and had left without paying his hotel bill.  If he could not be found or did not return, a manuscript he “left” would be published in order to pay the bill.

This went so far some New York political officials considered putting up a reward for Knickerbocker’s return.  The public followed the story with interest.  Once the manuscript was published, enough vamping had been done by Irving the book sold very well.  To continue this truer-than-life tale, from that point on any New Yorker following this same pattern was referred to as a “Knickerbocker.”  Now you just found out where the New York Knicks got their name.

Washington Irving did a lot for early American writers.  He fought for writer’s publishing rights, including being one of the first, if not the first, to get a percentage of royalties for a published work, negotiating a 12% commission for all of his revised editions sold at retail price.

A fearless self-promoter, he was not noted as being the most talented writer of his time.  His contemporaries such as Dickens and Poe outshone him in talent, but not in influence.  Poe sought out Irving for advice regarding garnishing publicity (later to call Irving “overrated”).  Dickens credited Irving with aspects of the celebration of Christmas and parts of his “A Christmas Carol” (Irving has been acknowledged by some as having created the love for St. Nicholas).  He was the first to be noted calling New York City “Gotham” (Anglo-Saxon for goats town).

Trying to find a way to finish this note.  Perhaps the best way is to say Washington Irving came along at the right time for him.  If he had been born in current times, he may have been exposed as somewhat fraudulent.

Most of this came from knowledge gleaned from my own past.  However, I must give Wikipedia credit for adding in the missing pieces to my Irving puzzle.