Hat Quest on the Atlantic: Merritt's Odd Odyssey
On a September Atlantic voyage, Joshua Merritt a Liverpool hat merchant travels with Gin Ghi, a lazy Chinese servant. Merritt seeks a Napoleon III silk hat linked to historic intrigue while Mrs Waldron eyes a wealthy match. The duo heads westward toward New York and a mystery hat's fate.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Joshua Merritt
Breyport House
Josh Merritt
Liverpool
New York
Brevoort
Orient
Tethan Chaol
Chaol
Gin-Ghi
Merritt
Hat Hunter of Lancaster Sets Sails for the West
English eccentric Joshua Merritt, a Lancaster collector famed for his vast hat museum, seeks a legendary silk hat sought by North American Indians. He has exhausted European and Asian stocks and now targets a distant West Coast treasure tied to a mysterious headgear, intent on adding legendary fame to his collection.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Josh Merritt
Willy-Nilly
Hemisphere
Merritt
Gin-Ghi
Josh
Gin- Ghi
Joshua
China
Mr. Smith
Joshua Merritt
Liverpool
United Kingdom
Loire
Elbe
Danube
Schelde
Thames
Clyde
Tweed
Lancaster
Globe
Europe
Asia
Africa
Americas
Oceanica
United States
Mr. Merritt
Living Net on Tetuila Island Fishing Spectacle
M Aylie Marin witnessed Tetuila villagers perform a living net fishery. About two hundred people formed a semicircle in the sea with palm branches, driving fish ashore where women collected them. The chief’s cabin received portions, cooked for Marin with bananas and coconut milk.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Tetuila
Oceanica
M. Aylie Marin
M. Marin
Light beams make sound through rotating slit disk
A beam of light split by a revolving slitted disk creates alternating flashes that produce sounds when directed at a glass vessel containing lamp-black and silk. The phenomenon is noted by the American Machinist as a striking scientific discovery.
Pigeons On Board Ship Return To Cage On Homeward Run
Birds carried aboard the Portsmouth during a voyage to the Mediterranean broke free at sea but returned to their coop. They quickly grew tame and fond of the sailors, roosting in the rigging and flying ashore in port only to return at night. Upon arrival in Brooklyn they remained at home around the city.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Portsmouth
Brooklyn Navy Yard
Mediterranean
Blue Ocean
Brooklyn
Great Bridge
New York City
First to sail to Chicago and early Chicago era
The piece chronicles the Tracy as the first vessel to reach Chicago in 1803 under Master Dorr and notes Fort Dearborn built by Captain Whistler. It recalls Whistler family ties to Detroit, the 1831 arrival of steamers Sheldon Thompson and William Penn for the Black Hawk War, and Chicago’s fledgling five-house era.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Tracy
Dorr
Detroit News
John Whistler
Chicago River
Fort Dearborn
Michigan Avenue
River Street
Whistler
Heald
Detroit
Hull
James Abbott
Major Hamilton
Phelan
William R. Wood
William Whistler
Michigan
Sheldon Thompson
William Penn
Chicago
Winfield Scott
Chicago Herald
Caution Urged Over Camphor Use in Infants and Women
An author notes that 30 grains can cause death in an infant and 164 grains in a woman, highlighting greater danger for children. The piece recommends camphor be limited to external use and inhalation unless prescribed by a physician.
Coal dust bricks promise cleaner town air and new fuel
The London Times describes making anthracite coal bricks from 95 percent coal dust and 4 percent binding material. The mixture is steamed and pressed into dense bricks at high pressure for efficient steam raising. Also includes notes on shifts in English pronunciation and a quote about Latin word usage.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
London Times
London Coal Brick Syndicate
the Times
Worthy of Admiration for Paris Rat to Glove Trade
A fragment essay notes Paris converts city rats into usable byproducts, with four yearly battles in the pound transforming carcasses into strong supple glove leather. It then warns of mold on stored apples and possible diphtheria links, and briefly profiles novelist Frank R Stockton near Morristown.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Parisian
Gant de Paris
Troy Times
Also Mentioned on This Page
Tale OF
Jules Verne
Hetty Waldron
Harry Waldron
West Pointer
Harry
Mrs. Waldron
Albion
Hong Kong
United States Army
Waldron
Hastings Waldron
Custer
Little Big Horn
Capt
Thad
Atlantic
Paris
New World
Napoleon III
Merritt Museum
Prince Louis
Empire of Strasburg
America
East Houston
Queen Hortense
Witona TiMes
Ray
Taycher
Micky Dolan
Micky
Washington Star
Rome
Cowper
Edmonton
Lackaday
Scotland
Erskine
Frank R. StockTon
Morristown
New Jersey
Parmer
Farmer B
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!