Willard Van Orman Quine Avocation page by Douglas Boynton Quine

Willard Van Orman Quine - Avocations

WVQ Avocations (this page)

Drawings
Languages
Music
OK Stamp News
Paintings
Philately
Photography
Stamp collecting
Walking and Canoeing
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Willard Van Orman Quine was best known as a mathematician and philosopher with a flair for writing. He also had a number of self taught avocations including drawing, languages, painting, photography, stamp collecting, canoeing, walking, mandolin and piano playing that are less well known. Material for this avocations web page has been compiled directly from Quine's files, autobiography, and family records; it is an ongoing work in progress. This page is maintained by Douglas Boynton Quine; please E-Mail recommended additions, or corrections to the webmaster: . Thanks to Andrew Rodland for corrections to the Cyrillic text.

Languages

Quine loved languages. He wrote books in English, French, and Portuguese. He was also fluent in Spanish, Italian, and German. The many translations of his books were a source of pride including those in Japanese (name shown on right from Japanese translation of Pursuit of Truth). He was especially fascinated by etymologies and linguistic relationships and was never far from a dictionary. The Dictionary of American Regional English (DARE) is a multi-year project of the late Professor Frederic Cassidy - a close friend of Quine since high school days. The first four (of 5) volumes have been published. They are a wonderful source of information about the regional differences in English across the United States. This continuing monumental effort of research and documentation has been a passion of Quine's. Memorial gifts to help complete the work may be made to DARE / University of Wisconsin Foundation, 1848 University Avenue, P.O. Box 8860, Madison, WI 53708

Philately - Stamp Collecting

Quine's attention to detail in the written word is, of course well known. The OK Stamp News, which he authored and distributed at the age of 16, was printed on a home printing press by Jack Chamberlain - who later became an executive at Bendix Corporation. The first issue was printed with the erroneous title: Our Debutante; Dad recalled the issue and insisted that Jack reprint it. The next version came out: Our Debute; again Dad recalled it. Finally the third version was successful: Our Debut.

OK Stamp News page 1 OK Stamp News page 2

OK Stamp News page 3 OK Stamp News page 4

Enlarged images: page 1 pages 2-3 page 4

Willard Van Orman QUine stamp PhotoStamp

I have created a PhotoStamp™ personalized stamp from the 1993 Quine photograph taken at the Rolf Schock prize ceremony in Sweden. While valid as United State postage, this is not a stamp issued in his honor by the United States Postal Service (USPS). (The USPS does not issue stamps honoring people less than 10 years after their death - unless they are a former President of the United States in which case the stamp is traditionally issued on the birthday following their death). This does, however, seem a fitting way to commemorate the achievements of an internationally recognized academic and former stamp collector.

A special postmark was created honoring "Willard V. O. Quine's contribution to philosophy" for use on May 21, 1990 during a philosophy conference featuring his work. This envelope was mailed from San Marino and received the special cancellation (click on the image for an enlarged detail view).

Quine Philatelic Literature Review

While Quine's renowned elegant and economical exposition is captured in scholarly and popular writings spanning more than 300 papers and two dozen books (which have been translated into many languages) his philatelic pursuits have been poorly documented. Centennial of a Philatelic Philosopher in Philatelic Literature Review 2008 (4th quarter): pp. 326-337 by Douglas B. Quine captures these experiences from O. K. Stamp News and Quine's 1985 autobiography Time of My Life. These extracts provide a wonderful insight into grass roots philately more than eighty years ago - while also sounding many themes that we hear to this day.

Music

Quine's daughter Margaret Quine McGovern described his musical background in her memorial talk at Harvard University. My father found great pleasure in making music at home. Certainly untrained, and self-taught, he developed his own system. He picked out melodies by ear on the piano, always in the key of G-flat which I proudly pointed out when I had had enough theory to recognize it. It was easier to find his way around the piano on the black keys. He loved opera, partly for the music and largely for the foreign language, and he and my mother would sing to their hearts' content together. Gilbert & Sullivan were a big hit in our family, we went to all the student productions at the Agassiz, which were dependably outstanding, often after dining at the Faculty Club. Dad had a mandolin which he picked up somewhere along the way, and he crooned Mexican folk songs accompanying himself quite nicely on the instrument. He delighted in Dixieland jazz, never tired of it. When my brother and I traveled with him to Prague 2 years ago, he rediscovered the Czech Dixieland musicians who are very taken with and accomplished at this kind of American music. There were bands in night spots, on street corners and most memorably on the be-statued Charles Bridge. We have a CD of this music, the same familiar songs, but intriguingly in the Czech tongue. Claims by some British reporters that he played clarinet in a jazz band, however, are unfounded.

Paintings by W. V. Quine

Quine's several paintings of landscapes and cities are not well known. These are four of at least 5 that are known (click on painting for full size image). Early works were signed "Willard".

Willard Quine "Santa Monica, California" - 1949 (watercolor)

Willard Quine "Logic Lane, Oxford, England" - 1953-1954 (watercolor)

Willard Quine "winter" - 1955 (watercolor)

Willard Quine (watercolor)

Photography by W. V. Quine

Quine's extensive travels were documented by thousands of photographs with an Argus 35 mm manually adjusted camera up until about 1965 when he lost his camera and stopped taking photographs. His extraordinary photographs from Bolivia to Fiji and Peru to Australia document an era when tourists were less common and such remote locations were rarely visited by western travelers. His lucky (wise?) selection of Kodachrome slide film means that many of these pictures retain their original colors 50 years later. The slides are being reviewed and scanned for posting as time permits.

Walking and Canoeing

Quine loved to walk and explore the back streets of old cities around the world. Indeed, he continued to walk extensively in the old neighborhoods of Boston until after his 90th birthday.

He also enjoyed paddling his canoe on Bare Hill Pond at his summer house in Harvard, Massachusetts (32 miles west of Harvard University). Often he would paddle upwind to the end of the lake and then lie down in the canoe and read a dissertation, manuscript, or essay until the canoe hit the rocks at the end of the lake whereupon he would paddle back upwind to the other end and repeat the process.

Sketches / Portraits / Drawings by W. V. Quine

Quine made pencil (and sometimes ink) portraits of many friends and interesting people on the backs of index cards used for lecture notes and other scraps of paper. These are all the known images on loose pieces of paper. There are also drawings in some of Quine's notebooks. Click on the images to view enlargements (larger than original size). Please email any available information about the individuals shown in these portraits to the webmaster:

Named Individuals Drawn by W. V. Quine

Jimmie Archie (Jimmie Archey?), trombonist
Tommy Berl
(Episcopal Bishop)
Boas
Professor George Bosworth Burch, Fletcher Professor of (Early Medieval) Philosophy, Tufts University
Carl
Professor Frederic Gomes Cassidy, Dictionary of American Regional English, University of Wisconsin
Professor Bernard Cohen, Victor Thomas Professor of History of Science, Harvard University
(Dahl cartoon)
Bradford Dunham, IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center
Professor Roderick Firth, Philosophy, Carleton College
Marcia Folk (niece)
Kenniston
Sir Llewellyn
Maure
Mr. Moe (with Sir Llewellyn)
Morton
Mozo
Vladimir Nabokov (Вд. НабоковЪ)
Negley
Professor Omori
Professor Charner Marquis Perry, Philosophy, University of Chicago
Pops
Professor Henry Habberley Price (1899-1984), Philosophy, Oxford University
President Nathan Marsh Pusey, Harvard University
Queen mother
A. Zamborsky (А. Замборсий)
Professor Israel Scheffler, Victor S. Thomas Professor of Education and Philosophy, Emeritus, Harvard University
Professor Wilfrid Sellars (1912-1989), Philosophy, University of Pittsburgh
Joe Sullivan
Benny Waters, musician
Sir Wilder (with Sir Llewellyn)
Willett

Willard Quine sketch of trombonist Jimmie Archie (= Jimmy Archey?)

Willard Quine sketch of Tommy Berl

Willard Quine sketch (Episcopal Bishop)

Willard Quine sketch of Boas in Toronto (and wet glass imprint)

Willard Quine sketch of Professor George Burch

Willard Quine sketch of Carl (? Carl Joachim Friedrich, professor and political theorist at Harvard University)

Willard Quine sketch of Professor Frederic Gomes Cassidy

Professor Bernard Cohen

Dahl cartoon by Al Capp copied by Willard Quine

Dahl cartoon by Al Capp (2) copied by Willard Quine

Willard Quine sketch of Dahl

Brad Dunham sketch by Willard Quine

Willard Quine sketch of Professor Rod Firth

Willard Quine sketch of niece Marcia Folk

Willard Quine sketch of Vladimir Nabokov (Вд. НабоковЪ)

Willard Quine sketch of Kenniston

Willard Quine sketch of Sir Llewellyn, Mr. Moe, and Sir Wilder

Willard Quine sketch of Maure in Strasbourg

Morton sketch by Willard Quine

Willard Quine sketch of Mozo? (at Bonampak Mayan site)

Willard Quine sketch of Negley

Professor Omori sketch by Willard Quine

Professor Charner Marquis Perry sketch by Willard Quine

Pops sketch by Willard Quine

Professor Henry Habberley Price sketch by Willard Quine

Willard Quine sketch of President Nathan Marsh Pusey, Harvard University

Willard Quine sketch of Queen Mother, United Kingdom

Willard Quine sketch of A. Zamborsky (А. Замборсий)

Willard Quine sketch of Professor Israel Scheffler

Israel Scheffler photograph (Harvard University)

Professor Wilfrid Sellars sketch by Willard Quine

Willard Quine sketch of Joe Sullivan

Willard Quine sketch of Benny Waters in New York

Benny Waters photograph (obituary web site)

Willard Quine sketch of Willett

W. V. Quine sketches in identified locations of unidentified individuals

Bonampak Mayan site
Crawford House Theatre Restaurant, Scollay Sq, Boston, Mass.
Kaiserslautern
Savoy
Storyville
Strasbourg

Willard Quine sketch (at Bonampak Mayan site)

Willard Quine sketch (at Bonampak Mayan Site2)

Willard Quine sketch at Bonampak

Willard Quine sketch on Crawford House ticket

Crawford House Theatre Restaurant ticket, Scollay Sq, Boston, Mass.

Willard Quine sketch (Kaiserslautern)

Willard Quine sketch (Savoy-a)

Willard Quine sketch (Savoy-b)

Willard Quine sketch (Savoy-c)

Willard Quine sketch (Storyville)

Willard Quine sketch (Strasbourg)

Willard Quine sketch (Strasbourg2)

Willard Quine sketch (Strasbourg)

W. V. Quine sketches in unidentified locations of unidentified individuals

Willard Quine sketch

Willard Quine sketch of Population Unit (generic person?)

Willard Quine sketch

Willard Quine sketch of bird

Willard Quine sketch of human proportions

Willard Quine sketch

Willard Quine sketch of 2 faces

Willard Quine sketch

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