MIXED MEDIA IN ProArt sketchbook
Joshua Abraham Norton (b.1815) made a $$$ fortune during the California gold rush in 1849. If that happened to you would you be happy with a fortune? Yeah, well Norton wasn't, so "in 1853 he gamboled a quarter of a million dollars on an effort to corner the rice market in San Francisco, buying and stockpiling all the available supply, and thereby artificially inflating the price. However, just as he was about to cash in, several ships laden with rice sailed into the Bay, glutting the market. Prices plummeted, and Norton went bust."
He lost everything then realized that he had an empire to rule!
Completely realized, he began telling everyone that he was Norton the First, Emperor of California. For the next 21 years he patrolled the streets of San Francisco on bicycle and foot making sure that things ran well and the vibe was happy.
Norton wore a military uniform with officer's golden epaulettes, a "tall plumed beaver hat, a sword, and a rosette."
He issued edicts, printed his own money in five and fifty cent denominations which were "accepted freely in most shops and restaurants in San Francisco." He dissolved both the Democratic and Republican parties because their existence caused "dissensions". Emperor Norton was well loved by everyone. He died in 1880 and thirty thousand loyal subjects attended his graveside service.
Some people claim he was crazy. But he freely chose to live the way he wanted to. He certainly wasn't neurotic because "simply put, neurotics are miserable because they think they are not as good as everyone else, while eccentrics know they are different and glory in it." (Source Eccentrics Dr David Weeks and Jamie James)
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