I do not employ researchers, nor did I conduct any primary research using the Internet. I need physical contact with my sources, and there's only one way to get it. To me every trip to a library or archive is like a small detective story. There are always little moments on such trips when the past flares to life, like a match in the darkness. On one such visit to the Chicago Historical Society, I found the actual notes that Prendergast sent to Alfred Trude. I saw how deeply the pencil dug into the paper.
In the book "The Devil in the White City," author Erik Larson emphasizes the importance of firsthand research over digital sources. He expresses a strong preference for physical interaction with historical documents, suggesting that each trip to a library or archive is an immersive experience akin to solving a detective mystery. The tangible connection to the past invigorates his writing, allowing him to uncover details that enrich his narrative.
Larson describes a significant moment during a visit to the Chicago Historical Society, where he discovered Prendergast's original notes to Alfred Trude. This finding deeply resonated with him, as it illustrated the physicality of history through the impressions left by the pencil on the paper, vividly bringing the past to life in a way that online research could never replicate.
