Stage Thunder and Thunder Makers on 19th Century Stages
A survey of how theaters across Europe and America created thunder effects. From cannonball troughs to piano bass drums, sheet tin, wine corks, wax, and magnesium flashes, performers and stagehands crafted booming sounds for King Lear to Walpurgis Nacht scenes. Storms, rain, lightning, and noisy prompters shaped memorable onstage weather.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Edwin Forrest
Forrest
Offenbach
Europe
Thor
Valhalla
Germany
E. L. Davenport
Booth
Keene
Janauschek
W. H. Gillette
Charles Fechter
Lewis Morrison
Chicago Columbia
Charlotte Cushman
Meg Merrill
Lyceum Theater
Salsbury
James A. Herne
Wilson Barrett
Claudian
Waldron
Clio
John Howard Payne
Coquelin’s Rise Stars In Parisian Comedy Heritage
The article lauds M. Coquelin as the leading comedian of the Theater Francais, noting his steady ascent, lack of showy sensationalism, and solid ground beneath his fame. It contrasts him with Rachel and the Bernhardt persona, and references Brander Matthews on Theater Français dynamics.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
M Coquelin
Atlantic
America
Rachel, Fechter
Mme
Sarah Bernhardt
United States
M. Coquelin
Theater Francais
Rachel
Rechter
Mr. Lowell
Poe
Comedie Francaise
Stechter
Odeon
Brander Matthews
Stage Kissing and Stage Morality in Burlesque
A New York theater writer challenges the notion that stage kissing is meaningless. He cites audience familiarity and a vulgarity in some performances, noting Goodwin's restraint with Miss Grubb yet contrasting harsher examples in burlesque. An actor recalls fans writing ardent, erudite love letters, including a famous misquoted poem ending with Good night sweet dreams.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York
Goodwin
Mr. Goodwin
Chicago Times
Brooklyn Eagle
Audience Laughs Challenge to The Planter's Wife
In Pittsburgh a spectator crowd tittered at a dramatization of The Planter's Wife as Harry Lacy chastised the audience for snickering. He defended the troupe noting past engagements nationwide and ticket prices from 50 cents to $1.50. He urged those lacking appreciation to leave and seek refunds.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Pittsburgh
Harry Lacy
The Dratas of Washington Stage Antic at Hotel
The Dratas of Washington recount a restless season opening. The cast entertains Mrs. Cleveland at the theater and a bell boy chat walks about the lobby to keep guests from noticing.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Washington
Audiences blamed for immorality on stage say critics
The Macon Telegraph and New Orleans Picayune agree audiences determine art or obscenity in theater. The papers frame theater morality by audience expectations, arguing moral decay follows degraded performances. Sara Bernhardt described as a generous lover with meals and routine details.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Macon Telegraph
New Orleans Picayune
Reminiscences of Public Reign and Old Boston Letters
The piece recalls General Grant's 1880 Boston visit for Republican meetings at Faneuil Hall and Tremont Temple with speeches by Emory Storrs and others, and notes Grant's admiration for Massachusetts soldiers. It also discusses Amos A. Lawrence misattribution about John Brown and a Jefferson Davis exchange, plus anecdotes from Webster about money loans and Sheridan’s banker tale.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Gen
Grant
Garfield
Boston
Faneuil Hall
Tremont Temple
Rice
Long
Emory Storrs
Stoughton
New York
Storrs
Temple
Gen. Grant
Loyal Legion
Farragut Post
G. A. R. Gen. Grant
Massachusetts
Jathers
Boutwell
Amos A. Lawrence
Harper's Ferry
Brown
Amos Lawrence
Fillmore
Massachusets
Banks
Lowell
Lawrence
Kansas
William Appleton
Washington
Terry
Essay Voice Versus Novelists Esteemed by Critics
A critical discussion contrasts essayists and romance writers, noting that Dickens and Thackeray sometimes lack elegant diction, while George Eliot admirers favor ruggedness. The piece cites Macaulay, Hume, and a summary about Mary Queen of Scots, and claims Hawthorne wrote with notable purity.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Dickens
Thackeray
Vanity Fair
George Eliot
Macaulay
Wameu
Hume
Mary Queen of Scots
Whittier
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Addison
Goldsmith
Arkansaw Traveler
Stage Lovers and Natural History in a Reading Page
A piece mocks stage lovers for staring at a woman's shoulder while delivering ardent lines. It shifts to Easy Lessons for Beginners on Natural History, noting dogs, cats, pigs, and curious trivia about their origins and roles, including Adam, Ark, and the economics of pets and pork.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Mr. Webster
Department of State
Corcoran
Lord Ashburton
Sheridan
Webster
Detroit Free Press
Adam
America
Jerusalem
Nature
Nash
Electric photographs beyond daylight illumination
The article discusses Mons Ch Zenger’s experiments capturing photographs in complete darkness using phosphorescent objects illuminated by day light. Mons D Tomassi is reported to describe effluviography, where a photographer’s plate records an image of an object under a silent electricity discharge in darkness with a low current. The theorist posits that a body under electric influence emits electric rays akin to dark spectrum rays.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Mons. Ch. Zenger
Mons. D. Tomassi
Notable Exchange Sparks Humorous Provoking Phrase
A witty line about a Hart on the head is quoted from an exchange and noted for its sharpness, though it fails to garner much attention. The saying contrasts with a young lady's age, noting you cannot judge age by tree rings, reflecting playful social humor.
Women as jewels and the first week of the world
A San Francisco Chronicle piece muses on Eve and Adam with playful lore about broken glass, bead shells, and a beetle brooch. It likens women to jewels while noting impossible perfection, flaws, and the public's mistaken certainty about diamonds and beauty.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Eve
Garden of Eden
Adam
Cain
San Francisco Chronicle
A Famous Hunter Selous World Famous in Africa
A profile of I C Selous the renowned hunter and explorer famed for wild expeditions south of the Zambesi. The piece notes his ivory and hunting trophies trading, his two ox wagon caravan, and his rare ventures near Klerksdorp in the Transvaal, with praise from Monarchy and geographers alike.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
I. C. Selous
South Africa
Selous
Africa
Selons
Klerksdorp
Transvaal
Daniel Boone
Zambesi
Lo Bengula
Montagu Kerr
Limposo
Europe
America
New York
Patti's Bath Time Ritual Sparks Curious Debate
A sensational note claims Mme Patti bathes daily around five o clock before performances but never lets water touch her neck or face, while the rest of her body is immersed. The peculiarity has drawn speculation about her beauty regimen.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Mme
Patti
Mme. Patti
An Irish Horse Trade Tale From Kilnagross and Ross
A clerical friend hears Dinny Cooley relate a Ross fair horse swap tale. A swap of horses ends with a boast that Kilnagross men can put fingers in both eyes of a Ross man, and that the exchanged horse is blind in both eyes.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Dinny Cooley
Dinny
Ross
Sorraa
Aist
Kilnagross
Frogs as Food Rise in American Markets
Frogs are increasingly common in leading city markets with hind legs commonly eaten in the United States while France and Southern Europe consume the whole animal. Frogs legs are praised as delicate with a flavor like brook trout and suitable for broiling frying baking or stewing. The piece notes intelligence as a luxury, sometimes useless or dangerous, depending on use.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
United States
France
Europe
Epicures
There Goes Another Victim to Circumstantial Evidence
A farm boy listens to a tale of wrongful punishment for a guilty man as his family scene plays out. The story ends with the boy declaring another victim to circumstantial evidence, underscoring doubt in the certainty of evidence.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Jack Robinson
Captain Cook
Burdette
Origin of British cattle stocks according to Dawkins
Professor Boyd Dawkins argues that British breeds descend from two main stocks the Urus wild cattle and the Bos Ioni frons Celtic shorthorn both domesticated in Asia. He traces their appearance to Neolithic times with remains found across Europe and notes polled origins from selection and cross breeding. He cites Chillingham Galloway Gisburne and Norfolk Suffolk lines with extinct Gisburne polled stock.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Boyd Dawkins
Europe
Charles the Great
British Isles
Asia
Swiss
Great Britain
Chillingham
Britain
Ireland
Dawkins
Florence Museum
Lombardy
Nal d’Arno
Lord Selkirk
Prof
Youatt
Gisburne
Owens College
Finest Sapphire in the World Owned by Russian Family
A legendary sapphire described as over two inches long and one and a half wide, deep azure color, flawless in form and water, once valued at one and a half million francs by a Rothschild offer, now mounted as a brooch with large diamonds and a pendant sapphire.
Stone That Looks Like Beeswax Found in Georgia
A peculiar yellow substance discovered in Georgia resembles beeswax. When shaved with a knife it rolls up like the mentioned article. It is a type of rock that does not burn and becomes as hard as flint when heated.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Georgia
Also Mentioned on This Page
Mitchell Capital
Mitchell
Dakota
News OF the Stage
Tarquin
N. Y. Morning Journal
M. Coqueline
the Dratas of
Sara Bernhardt
Perley Poore
Natural History
Fernan Caballero
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!