There's an interesting article in the Times today about Jerry Thomas, the original bartender:

As he wandered, he picked up on the latest developments in the art, inventing new cocktails and building a serious following for his particular blend of craftsmanship and showmanship, epitomized in his signature drink, the Blue Blazer, a pyrotechnic showpiece in which an arc of flame passed back and forth between two mixing glasses. At the Occidental, Thomas was earning $100 a week, more than the vice president of the United States. When he died, in 1885, newspapers all over the country observed his passing in substantial obituaries.

I'm looking forward to reading David Wondrich's biography of Thomas -- Wondrich is a great writer on all things cocktailian.  (By the by, I'd link to Esquire's bio page, but their website blows.  Here's Wondrich's column archive instead.)