Vesuvius and the hawkers of strange tales across continents
A fragmented 1869 Indiana Progress item touches on a dynamite cruiser named Vesuvius and its explosive power, Chinese emigration to South America, Washington letters, birds versus caterpillars in New York, Hawaiian political tensions, Danish and Norwegian fundraising for defense, a Java floor drying method, and a Florida ex-governor’s fox in Detroit. The notes mix curiosities, international affairs, and local oddities with a loose, period voice.
English syndicates plow into American properties boom
Reports claim British investors have spent 50 million dollars on profitable U.S. assets as Pierre South Dakota surges into prominence and land rushes spark dramatic gains. Other notes cover coasting trade plans from Charleston, and tall tales of long sweet potatoes and cabbage prices in Boston.
The Husking of the Corn Poem Echoes Lost Summers
A Detroit Free Press verse laments autumn’s arrival and husking of corn, recalling childhood summers and past companions. The speaker longs for earlier, simpler times as friends are absent during harvest.
Miscellany of wry lines and quips from old pages
A varied collection of humorous quips and lines about work, habit, advice, and social scenes. Jests poke at teachers bakers and stock pens while playful exchanges reveal mood and irony across a draft of terse, dated wit. Some phrases reference headlines with playful misreadings and crowd-pleasing puns.
Odd Little Business Makes Iron Harps in New York
A New York firm, likely the only U S maker of two iron harps, operates from modest Fifth Avenue offices. A bearded representative markets harp frames of maple with window fittings, using silk, catgut and steel strings. Sales rise mainly in the West and South as the agent remains hopeful about future demand despite city indifference.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York
United States
Fifth Avenue
Heaven
D.ferng
Uranium Lode Found in Cornwall England
In a Cornwall mine England a rare uranium lode has been discovered. Uranium, once unknown a century ago and now valued around 12009 4 per ton, has potential uses in porcelain, glass, alloys, photography, and electrical installations. The discovery may spur wider use of the metal despite its rarity and high price.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Cornwall
England
Quaint and Curious Tales of Oddities and Daring Feats
A collage of curios from the early 20th century includes a potato digger discovering a 1722 colonial copper in Erwinna Pennsylvania, a New Haven dandelion thriving in a truck patch, and a New York newsboy traveling 1200 miles for free. Also noted are oil history, a seven foot tall Georgia resident, and a $250 a line Tennyson purchase.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New Haven
Conn
Frederick Township
Penn
Lancaster
Older Silkmakers Than Worms
The article notes there are many silk bearing caterpillars beyond the mulberry silkworm. In India fifty kinds exist, led by the tussar moth whose caterpillar weaves cocoons much larger than mulberry silk. Tussar rearing is tightly regulated by religious rites, with the moth revered in a caste system. Other regions such as China and Japan also cultivate different silk worms, some formerly restricted or punished, while France experiments with cultivation of new species.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Europe
India
China
Japan
France
Strength of snails shows surprising lifting power
Experiments reveal a snail weighing a quarter ounce can lift two and a quarter ounces vertically, nine times its weight, and another snail weighing one third ounce drags seventeen ounces horizontally, fifty times its weight. On the ceiling, the same snail moves with four ounces suspended from it.
Mystery of a legless boy in local papers
A dime museum manager seeks a local born boy with no legs or arms while Cinzen notes the boy’s parents would not exhibit him. The exchange reflects a grim view of misfortune and public sensationalism in small towns.
Pearls of Thought Aphorisms on Fame and Self Discipline
A compact collection of maxims on fame, truth, habit, restlessness, silence, and self. It reflects on how enduring virtue comes from struggle, discernment in advice, and the effort required to achieve decisive success despite life’s difficulties.
What the Mahometans Believe
A historical survey by Frank B. Carpenter outlines Mahometan beliefs. It covers prophets, Jesus and Mahomet as judges, Adam and Eve’s fall, Mecca, Mecca’s Mount, Abraham, Moses, and the Quran. It notes beliefs about heaven, future state, and the prohibition on interest.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Frank B. Carpenter
God
Christ
Mahomet
Dmascug
Garist
Dimascus
Adam
Heaven
Eve
Garden
Elen
Earth
Ceylon
Mecca
Arabia
Adam's
Abraham
Mose
Jesus
History of Tea Leaves and Its European Rise
The piece traces tea from its uncertain origins in Asia to its introduction in England about four centuries ago by Spanish and Portuguese traders. It notes tea’s medicinal beginnings, its high early price, and a later shift from a monopoly to a 5 percent duty that yields about 25 million dollars annually to the English treasury.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Tes
China
Corea
England
Europe
John Garway
Pitt
Subterranean River Report From Lot Department France
Paris intelligence dispatch notes discovery of a hidden river in Miers Lot. Two explorers descended the Pit of Paderac in a nailcloth boat, traveled miles through grottoes with stalactites, seven lakes encountered, and thirty seven cascades to be navigated again. They aim to locate the river’s outlet, conjectured to join the Dordognehead near the abyss six miles away.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Paris
Miers
Department of
Lot
Paderac
Dordogne
Reaperate Man Secures House After No-Child Refusal
Bagley visited fifteen landlords who refused to lease due to his children. Desperate, he pressed a landlord who finally offered a home. The landlord asked if he had children, and Bagley confirmed, securing the lease.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Bagley
Sxteen
Air
Varied 19th Century Discoveries From Science And Literature
A review of notes reveals copper wire deterioration under electric currents after eight or nine months, rice straw paper production, London fog mass and carbon value, tiny circular saws in gold pin production, sun hours in Greenwich Observatory, Dalmatian sponge cultivation costs, and French war electric shooting concepts. It also covers acoustics advances, contemplation on aging and youth, immigration colonization plans west of Winnipeg, French heel fashion quirks, Mark Twain’s quiet Hartford life, and Mrs Clements’ intolerance of jokes.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Cattiaea
M. F. Larroque
Greenwich Observatory
England
Mark
Prince Adalbert Impresses Court With Phonograph Stunt
A Bright Royal Youngster, Prince Adalbert, the third son of the German emperor, displayed sharpness beyond his years at a phonograph exhibit in court circles. When asked to speak, he shouted into the machine a playful line about papers and pens, causing amused speculation on whether the request would be granted.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Jefferson
Walker
Georgia
Wisconsin
Leetonia
Ohio
California
Old Fort
Winnipeg
Adalbert
Adilbert
Also Mentioned on This Page
Indiana Progress
Vesuvius
Jonn
Ecuador
British Columbia
Mexerin Conway
Virginia
Washington
Long Island Historical Society
Brooklyn
Boulanger
Honolulu
Hawaii
Germany
Colchester
Denmark
Bonn
Renmark
Norway
Java
Sexaron Foxes
Florida
Hull
Detroit
Miss Palms
Jones
Pierre
South Dakota
S Company
Charleston
D. C
Maine
Cape May
Boston
London
James Bryce
A. Oakey Hall
Pince
Bank of France
Paris-Lyons
Inieed
Northern Railway
Sux
Earcne
Caspian
Dubing
Standard Oil Company
Montana
Idaho
New York Herald
Montan
Rocky Mountains
Pacific
Detroit Free Press
Eumgrous
Ams
Mamie
Chicago
Annie
Charlie
H. Calfa
Erwinna
John Hinton
Herat
Russia
Joseph Sepp
Edward Atkinson
Abraham Levi
Bank of Manning
Eltonville
Alderman Driver
New York City
Tyler County
W. Va
Robert Bonner
Tennyson
Chandler Roberts
Dalmatia
Oscar Schmidt
Styria
Schmidt
Rudulph Koenig
Naturforscher
Heidelberg
Helmholtzs
Henry Clay
Lfe
Daniel Webster
Gorge Bancroft
Doctors Holmes
Max O’rell
BANKS
Jamison & GO
Bawkers
Third and
Chestnut Streets
Philadelphia
Indiana County Deposit Bank
Econ Aentence
Panning Hais County
Xenige
Tean Peeing
We. Stewart
M. Waty
Cashier
NEW Grocery
Walker & Sor
D. W. Anthony
Pure Grape
LF. Barres
Spiessae Oe
Erie
Amuel Cunningman
Soirice
Falladelphn Strack
Juni Wn
Ofice
Howe
Srvcegrauphia
W. Tegia
Am Hreet
Rs G. W. Bemfous
Ike
This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!