Patent Office Feats and Follies of Inventions
A survey of odd and serious patents highlights cane spittoons milked toy cows and a cat clockwork terror then shifts to gasping tomb torpedoes and embalming fluids. Lamps move pulpit heights and a joke pocket pistol urges caution. the piece contrasts genius with farce in patent history.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Uncle Sam
Crandall
Plimpton
Josephine Doriat
New York
Patent Office
Frank G. Carpenter
Rum Aged Two Centuries Tasted By City Mayor
In 19th century lore a Gloucester schooner found a cask marked 1676 on a bank haul near Salem. The mayor of Salem supposedly tasted the ancient rum, but instead suffered a sudden attack, as the liquid had spoiled into something worse than bilge water.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Philadelphia Inquirer
John Reece
Buchanan
Airdrie
Gloucester
Tim Jordan
Tim
Salem
Graves
Rarest shell named Cone of the Holy Mary
A conchologist explains the rare Cone of the Holy Mary with only two specimens known. One is in London’s British Museum valued at thousands of pounds. He also mentions the giant oyster as the largest shell and the rice shell as the smallest, scattered with anecdotes of large imported shells.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York
London
British Museum
India
Trumpeter shell amazes shoppers with trumpet blast
A New York Sun reporter encounters a two foot conch shaped shell marked like a tortoise shell. A hole drilled at the large end lets the merchant blow a rich trumpet blast that draws crowds in the street. Singapore origin Triton family, valued at up to fifteen dollars.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York Sun
Singapore
Boston Temperance Crank Comments on New Liquor Law
A Boston temperance activist, claiming to be a family friend, criticizes the new liquor law and urges harsher penalties. He boasts a strong stance against saloons, saying he would halt every bottle and even call out militia if needed.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
the Dispatch
Boston
Temperance Crank
Tim Noonan
Senate
Tim
Graves
Billy
Mr. Graves
Tremont Street
Mmilisr
Temperance zeal and a night among Boston saloons
A first person account describes a reformer named Graves promoting temperance in Boston. The scene at Tim Noonan’s saloon shows new restrictions, the crowd dynamics, and the writer’s conflicted stance as the reformer’s efforts lead to comic chaos and a rough ending.
Pushing inferior wines at popular restaurants trick exposed
Two wealthy diners in a New York restaurant expose a cork swap scheme. A waiter substitutes a cheaper champagne for a top brand, labeling the inferior bottle later as the genuine article while pocketing a small fee per cork. The episode warns that such tricks are spreading in well patronized venues.
Fisk and the Anarchists in Disguise Meetings
The interview recalls General Fisk describing his undercover attendance at Anarchist meetings in New York. He explains the shocking rhetoric and plots he heard, including arming to seize a sub treasurer and target elite figures, yet notes safety outside the meetings calms his vigilance. His observations link radical talk to a sense of imminent danger.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Elijah
New York
Massachusetts
Grant
Mt McGregor
General Fisk
Haymarket
Chicago
New York City
United States Sub- Treasury
Wall Street
Gould
Vanderbilts
Russell Sage
W. Field
Paris Fire Brigade Delays and Red Tape Entrance
A first person account from Paris details a small apartment fire seen through a foreign lens. The writer critiques the pompiers pace and methods, contrasts French and American firefighting, notes lack of alarms, and describes the officials and procedures to obtain passes at the Paris recruiting bureau and presidential palace.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Paris
France
United States
Paria
Exee
America
Longchamps
Bureau de Recruitement
Place Vendome
Humorous clash as Tooke begs pardon in dirty House
Crushed by the House of Commons Tooke knelt to beg pardon for his remark. He rose dusting his knees and declared the House dirty, provoking laughter as the Tories failed to restrain their discomfiture.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Horne Tooke
House of Commons
Tooke
Northern Wisconsin tale of Bess and Mark in old settlement
In a Northern Wisconsin settlement, Bess Stebbins and the eccentric Mark Prentiss share a tender trust. Mark, near death from asthma, asks Abe Pritchard to ensure he lies on his face in the coffin, a request Abe contemplates honoring with Bess handling the final gesture.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Mark
Abe
Bess
Mark Perkins
Abe Pritchard
Besa
Old
Pet
Fingers
Asthos
Reacher
Lige Heetor
Areva
Tomas
Bess Stebbins
Wisconsin
Mark Prentiss
Corey
Nick Collier
Fletcher
Handlin
Also Mentioned on This Page
THE
Dispatch
Waserycross
Edison
Myron L. Baxter
Illinois
Rudolph Steiner
Germany
Steiner
Star
Ein
Ciin
Joe Anne
Congress
Mvres
Boston Temperance
Howard Fielding
New Law
Boston Common
Mister Graves
Tom Banks
Tom
New
Frank Smith
Frank
Gen
Walters
New York Times
Fisk and
Anarchists
Garcon de Bureau
Garcon de Buresa
Eas
de Vore ScarxLax
Charles G. Seymour
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!