BeigeJournal

The Engine’s Moan, by Edward A. Fagen. Astragal Press, 2002.

This is a book about steam whistles. If you are a whistle collector or a whistle aficionado you need this book. I’m not a collector or an enthusiast, and am too young to remember a time when steam whistles were common (though they were common in the cartoons I grew up watching), but I nonetheless found the book quite interesting. The book includes material on the history of steam whistles and their manufacturers, their place in our culture and advertising, advice and building and maintaining a collection, whistle repair and restoration, blowing whistles and organizing a whistle blow event, and a chapter on the physics of whistles. The book is extensively illustrated with black and white drawings and photographs, plus a set of color plates of art and advertising centering on whistles.