Iron brigade memories and city notes in Washington
Surviving members of the Iron brigade meet in Washington in a private dining room to reminisce about Civil War days and their origin tale. The piece also covers city playground deals in Georgetown, street work budgets, and a look at young senators replacing long-serving elders.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Iron Brigade
Washington
Queen Cafe
Michigan
George B. McClellan
John B. Callis
Wisconsin Regiment
Lancaster
Wis
Continental
Philadelphia
McClellan
South Mountain
Turner's Gap
Hooker
Explorer Peary and a grocer's apples lesson
The story recalls Peary at the White House and an admirer praising him as a skilled explorer. A grocer named Uncle Josh shares a parable about barrels marked A and Z, teaching that customers differ in preference whether to open from the top or bottom, illustrating adaptability in trade.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Peary
White House
Cresson
Josh
Veteran Colonel Fears Fast-Tracked Officers
A battle-hardened Civil War veteran in the Philippines resents promotions of younger officers who leapfrogged him. He encounters an officer teaching a monkey the manual of arms, joking that the war department might promote the animal to brigadier general.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Philippines
War “Department
Paris interview and humorous travel anecdotes from Alfred Vanderbilt
A foreign correspondent recalls interviewing Alfred Vanderbilt in Paris and describes a planned summer coach run from London to Brighton. The tale includes a May day 60 mile ride, seat mix ups, and a humorous incident with Lord Rosebery in a fur wrapped first class carriage.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Alfred Vanderbilt
Paris
London
Brighton
Lord Rosebery
Madazi
Hilmeelf
Rooster Muzzle Saves City Chickens From Crowing
A city farmer demonstrates a rooster muzzle to keep roosters from crowing at daybreak. The device, invented by Harrison Weir, fits over the birds’ heads so they cannot open their beaks, allowing chickens to be kept in crowded urban quarters.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Harrison
Weir
New Orleans Times-Democrat
Artificial Dyes Replace Natural Colors in Industry
Harper's Weekly notes rapid shift in chemical dye industries as imports of logwoods decline. Bluewood, yellow wood and redwood from various regions fade from market while madder cultivation wanes and cochineal vanishes. Indigo remains, facing stiff artificial competition.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Chemical Industries
Germany
Mexico
Haiti
British West Indies
Dominican Republic
United States
Austria-Hungary
South America
British India
Africa
India
Europe
Harper’s Weekly
Panama hats deemed summer must for style
A Broadway hatter argues the panama remains the correct summer hat. He notes only fine panamas will sell for at least $12 and warns the hat is handsome but not durable, folding flat yet lasting only a few years with careful handling.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Panama
The Largest Morgue Planned for New York
The New York project envisions a seven story morgue with capacity for 275 bodies. Twenty large refrigerated bays costing 50 000 dollars each will display unidentifiable dead behind plate glass for public viewing.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York
Washington Square
Pittsburg Dispatch
Absurd Bets and Echoes of 1864 Campaign Wagers
A Fair Sized Wager notes an 1864 presidential bet of 65 000 on McClellan and Lincoln. Arthur B Wright recalls a sportsman’s loss and the era’s doubt mixed with some belief in McClellan’s odds. The piece also recalls a Baltimore American anecdote about Congress and a visiting member of an Indian tribe.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
George B. McClellan
Arthur B. Wright
Chicago
Bac
McClellan
Lincoln
Baltimore American
Congress
Boston Post
Inventions of 1829: Accordion and Concertina Debuts
The article notes the accordion and concertina emerged in 1829. Damian of Vienna and Charles Wheatstone, later a noted scientist, patented the instruments at age twenty seven and began with instrument manufacturing before pursuing scientific experiments. The piece highlights Wheatstone's shift from music to electrical discoveries and cryptographic deciphering.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Damian
Charles Wheatstone
Wheatstone
London Globe
These Premises Being Painted by Blank Blank Now and Then
A Stanford University campus painter won a contract to repaint a fraternity house before a football game. He posted a sign stating the work would be finished and dry on a set day. Delays followed, prompting students to joke that the painting was ongoing “now and then.”
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Stanford University
San Francisco
Frantic Evening Exchange at Home
A wife pleads with her husband William about his 80 minute delay from the club. He replies in coded phrases, insisting he must return and not wait until tomorrow, while the talk hints at shared inside jokes or abbreviations.
Flag rearrangement for forty sixth star planned
The flag rows will be reconfigured to place the forty sixth star for the Fourth of July. Six rows will hold eight stars in four rows and seven in two, leaving two vacancies for future use. The change will cost thousands of dollars and requires 3500 new wings for the army and about 450 for federal buildings nationwide.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Allison
Hale
Frye
Aldrich
Senator Cullom
Teller
Daniel
Cullom
Illinois
Owever
Senate
Iowa
Army
Treasury Department
United States
A Mercenary Boy.
A man recalls a boy named Willie who offers apples for twenty kisses to a girl then disguises as another boy selling kisses for apples. The girl discovers Willie is elsewhere and suspects a sequence of increasingly dreadful suitors as the bargain unfolds.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Willie
St. Louis Republic
Mapping the World From Ancient Egypt to Modern Science
Early maps traced land and sea on wooden tablets in Egypt. Marinus of Tyre first tried a scientifically based map around A.D. 150. Greek and Roman maps were fairly accurate for their time, medieval maps were unreliable, and only since the mid 19th century have comprehensive world maps become possible though still subject to small revisions.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Egypt
Marinus
Tyre
New York American
Fer 2 Cents Standoff Between Boys Over Coins
A Chicago Tribune fragment shows a boy with a dirty face offering a threat over two cents. Another boy with ragged trousers tosses the coins and taunts him, then proposes avoiding a fight by taking the money instead. The exchange ends with the second boy calmly backing away.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Chicago Tribune
Anxiety Bridges No Chasm, Says Ruffini Quote
A Ruffini quotation notes that anxiety has never successfully bridged any chasm, reflecting on human limits and the persistence of fear in the face of challenges. The remark emphasizes caution and resolve rather than bold leaps.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Ruffini
Also Mentioned on This Page
Mountain House
E. S. Bragg
Fond du Lac
Reunion
Georgetown
City of
Eoeek
Engineer
Alligon
Maine
Rhode Island
Sllinds
Colorado
Virginia
Allisop
Lena Aldrich
Squires
John 8. Fisher
Pennsylvania
Squire
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
Wilson
Supreme Court
Philadelphia Public Ledger
MR. Wilson
George G. Fox Co
Boston
William
Tomor
Corkish
Scientific
Merican
al Gyssomann
Jordan Arch
Massachusetts
America
Walter F. Jordan & CO
Boylston Street
Railroad Street
Reveree
Columbia Square
Winthrop
Suburban. Gas and Electric CO
Revere
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!