The Impecunious One and the Conductor
A Chicago Tribune account recounts an improvised con where a destitute passenger fakes illness and nerves to travel through to Chicago. He hides tickets in his hat lining, dupes a conductor into passing him, and boasts of a planned appointment worth thousands. The tale ends with reflections on his supposed genius and a punchline slam on his lack of nerves.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Zavarg
Rome
Bie
Gu Itis Road
Chicago
Expereen
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Hitcle
Emerson
Boston
Vereschagin’s damaged right hand inspires stark portraits
The Literary Digest recounts how Vereschagin, battered by war and accident, paints with a withered right hand. His thumb, finger tips, and central hand bones show severe injuries from a leopard bite and battlefield shocks, yet he produces remarkable works. The piece notes his blunt, ordinary nature and contrasts his rough life with literary praise.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Tennyson
Vereschagin
Thambiés
Battlefeld
Brice's Greatest Play and the Nickel Plate Scheme
A fragmented 19th century sports tale recounts Brice plotting to buy the Nickel Plate railroad. Brice’s elaborate ruse centers on a “greatest play” that would lure investors and reveal his plan. The narrative weaves through cards of deception, watching rivals and the press as Brice aims to secure wealth by acquiring the Nickel Plate, with various figures and places prompting speculation and bold claims. The text trails into reflections on Vanderbilt influence and a dramatic chase-like sequence across Chicago and San Francisco, hinting at a broader buyout intrigue.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Sant Vachertsin
Brucis
Steier
Tay
Field
Louju
Gould
Vanderbilt
Beck
Syty Steirten
Gowli
Chicago
Brice
Friacico
Miss Matilda Jenkins In Pink Crepey Diamonds
A society item notes Miss Matilda Jenkins dressed in pink crepey fabric with a rhinestone collar at an Emerald ball. Reporters garble the description into pink crepey and diamonds, then the clipping reappears with corrected phrasing as the tale travels among attendees.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Matilda Jenkins
New York Times
The Butterfly Emerges from an Ugly Shell
A reader recounts observing a milkweed caterpillar transform into a beautiful chrysalis and then into a delicate winged insect. The vivid narration details the stages from caterpillar to chrysalis to butterfly, the wings unfolding, and the wonder of life changing before eyes, with reflections on mortality and freedom.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Piazza
Irresistible Bargain and Misprint Anecdote
A Philadelphia Record misprint tale shares a shopper’s bargain tale for a “mundicine” cale and a joke about 36 cents versus 40 cents. The piece notes a Lennon newspaper misprint claiming Peel’s party shifting passants in Ireland. An Australian sword note frames a curiosity about indigenous weaponry.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Lennon
Robert Peel
Ireland
Pheasanta
Piano Tuner’s Reel of Hidden Treasures in Damaged Piano
A Chicago Chronicle report describes a piano tuner finding a bizarre cache inside a damaged piano. The salvage includes coins, buttons, pins, jewelry, needles, matches, and even money hidden within a glass globe and the instrument’s components. It notes the owner’s surprise as items were restored to a young woman who had used the instrument.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Bity
Issiers
Merutiv
Evanston
Chicago
Palmer Lincoln Meeting Recalled By Senator Palmer
Senator Palmer recalls first meeting with Abraham Lincoln in 1830 in Springfield as he pursued admission to the bar. He describes Lincoln as a Whig leader in a linsey woolsey suit and a barber scene in Washington, with Lincoln urging cautious action during a national crisis. The New York Sun report notes the recollection came from a lengthy interview.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
John 4
Palmer Tesla
Lincoln
Palmer
Elliveis
Springfield
Linsey Woolsey
Tme
Washington
Liogoverbor
Ilingis
Mr. Lincoln
New York Sun
Detached Clerkenwell land sale high on parish list
The Royal Cara reports 65 acres of land at Muswell Hill in Clerkenwell parish is set for sale for bailiff use. The tract, once tied to Clerkenwell nunnery, has 76 houses and five bays of land assessed. The site features a long history from a chapel to Our Lady of Muswell and legends of a king’s cure, attracting pilgrims in earlier times.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Clerkenwell
Clerkenswell
Muswail Hill
Branyals
London
Sours
England
Muswell
Akderauy Ross
London Chronicle
Sally and the Panther Attack and Aftermath
A dramatic tale from the Minnesota Journal recounts Sally facing a panther on a rural path. She battles the beast with a club, kills it, spares the cubs, and returns home with the kittens. Sally later marries Young Jim Scofield, and Darius is born.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Sally
Ourcrum
Aca
Jer
Enea
Yoong Jim Scofield
Yoong Finn
Quaint nautical saloon scene with old shipboard decor
The Pittsburgh Dispatch New York Letter reports a Portland visitor's tale of a nautical themed tavern where sailors speak in a shipboard dialect and scene shifts to a tale of Alaska. It describes a bar crew, hanging ropes and old ship portraits, with brassy lamps and a clock that tolls bells. It notes the "gold lake" near Sitka and Elon Hofstad's mining claims and a Russian era backstory.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Cown
Sadlar
Caele Sam
Jack of Tem
Aris Nantical Salon
Jack
Concheivre
Bali
New York
Pittsburg Dispatch
Bakunin the Anarchist Scholar and Rebel
A historical sketch of Michael Bakunin born 1514 into aristocracy, his early military career, Moscow circle with Rathoff and Herzen, rise as a Panstasis figure after meeting Proudhon and George Sand, conflict with Marx over society’s reconstitution, founding the International Alliance of Democratic Civlism later the Federation of the Jar, and his death in 1976 leaving works like Dieu et Etat.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Michael Bakunin
Bakunin
Moscow
Hegel
Schopenbauer
Rathoff
Moscow Gazette
Herzen
Paris
Behrr
Proudhon
George Sand Fe
Suibormes
Cape
Tathai
Tbe
Ipternathea
Carl Marx
Marx
Eberte
Uberty
Liemnse
International Alliance of Democratic Civlism
Federation of the Jar
Mars
Congress of the International
Gentleman’s Magazi
Perseverance of a Great Biographer in Adversity
A historical review recounts Herbert Spencer's struggles with output and finances while publishing his major work Philosophy and the later revival of interest. It notes his dedication through years of poverty, the perseverance to complete the project, and eventual financial payoff, as discussed in a Review of Reviews excerpt.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Eeebert
Herbert Spenece
Mars
Poe
Caec
Rindtuber
Bubs
Sight
F. Corkis
Wuctal Statice
Prinei
Unueroke
Spencer
Wwe
Jie
Deprees
S Gaines
Liberty's Grosts Strange Noises At Liberty Island
A New York Journal report describes alleged ghostly noises heard near the Statue of Liberty at night. The article explains copper plate construction and temperature effects cause faint rappings and groans, while sailors and guards recount eerie tales of spirit tapping and haunting sounds on calm, cold nights.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York Harbor
Riveramex
Liberty Island
Seversl
Guard of Honor
New York Journal
Mrs Northside Called Temporizer By Mrs Snaggs
In a Pettiborg Chronicle exchange Mrs Northside is accused of being a temporizer as Mrs Snaggs asserts she has seen her friend’s temper rise, reflecting sharp social banter about character.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Mr. Snaggs
Mrs. Northside
Mrs. Snaggs
Pitteborg
Giants of Old Report Reveals Fossil Giants and Dinosaurs
The Philadelphia Press describes a curious history of giant fossils and extinct creatures. It details reports from 16th century Lucerne finding bones deemed human, later corrected to elephant remains, and mentions massive turtles, Stegosaurus like lizards, and a 25 foot long American Triceratops style monster with horns and a hippo like body.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Pullax
Evander
Henry II
Switzerland
Council of
Felix Plater
Basel
Commonwealth
College of Jesuits
Lucerne
Gianes
Borthere
Animal Kingdom
Senatik
India
Ald
British Museum
South America
Central America
England
Maidstone
Rocky Mountains
America
Man in Mississippi Keeps Fire Alive Forty Years
A Mississippi man near Maben boasts of keeping his fire alight for nearly four decades. He says he carried no matches from the start and has saved several dollars by not buying any. His story is shared as an amusing example of frugality.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Maben
Miss
Mississippi
Also Mentioned on This Page
Brake
Wartingtes
Penns
Atri
Ing Mbjret Ledeen
Ecropenus
Story Ageurt
Mary Ann
Indianapolis Journal
Ocarius Scomelo
Thea
Kassient
Daries Sefield
Overland Cvants
Spain
Rarkel
Minnespolis Journal
Alaska
Keke
Eiawin Hofstad
Portland
Hame
Sitka
Jake
Can’s
Tab Jake
Sitks
Jongburms
Jake Mpi
Seward
Ain Hofstad
Ujuwa
Lax
Houfstad
Hafstad
California
Porteland Oregonian
Bay
Pewards OF Philosophy
Liberty’s Grosts
THE
Wilberfores
London Spectator
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!