Post by Ulysses Whiskey x Art

Happy Bloomsday 2026! Around the world, every year on June 16th, readers gather to celebrate Bloomsday. Passages are read aloud in Dublin, Zürich, Trieste, Paris, New York and countless places in between. I had the very good fortune of celebrating again with friends in my native Dublin today. We visited Sweny's Pharmacy, Kennedy's Pub, The Bailey Bar & Cafe, Davy Byrnes, Ulysses Rare Books and a fascinating impromptu meeting of the minds at The Oriel Gallery. This Bloomsday we were due to release Episode 3 — Proteus — the third chapter in our eighteen-year journey through James Joyce's Ulysses. Instead, I found myself wandering rather further than expected into the remarkable world of Philip Syng, the Irish-American silversmith whose work became intertwined with Episode 2. You see, we needed an inkwell for the teachers desk on our label for Nestor... What began as research became fascination, which soon became obsession. And before I knew it, the tide had carried me off course. The image of the inkwell is only cca 3x4mm on our label, but absolutely worth it! Like so many of the figures who populate Joyce's world, Syng proved impossible to understand in a single sitting. One discovery led to another, and before long I found myself happily lost in the company of a man whose work helped shape history. Born in Ireland, Philip Syng emigrating to Philadelphia aged eleven, in the early eighteenth century. He became one of colonial America's most accomplished silversmiths, a close associate of Benjamin Franklin, and a respected civic leader. His masterpiece, the Syng Inkstand of 1752, would later be used in the signing of both the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution. The story took an unexpected turn when I found a silver spoon Syng had made, which was a wedding gift to a couple in 1767. Their surname began with "W", his first name with "S"and hers with "A"... so far, so normal. It got very weird when I discovered in a close-up that the spoon was later gifted to a certain "Paul" in 1872. A christening gift perhaps? Obviously I could not let this slide, so kept digging. Long story short (I will write the complete version some day!), Philip Syng had a famous grandson, Philip Syng Physick the "Father of American Surgery", otherwise it appears the family died out, and there is no Philip Syng company to speak of either... so... we decided to register the trademark and have every intention of re-establishing the Philip Syng Irish-American Silversmith Company. Perhaps with a collection of silver barware? Much to do! Perhaps every worthwhile undertaking encounters its own tides? As we prepare Episode 3 - Proteus, I am reminded that patience is not the enemy of progress. Sometimes the journey wanders. Sometimes it circles unexpectedly. Sometimes the most interesting discoveries are found in the detours. Welcome to the journey. https://lnkd.in/emtk9kgx