Professor Henry, Clairvoyant: In The News On November 24, 1886

I found this one entirely by accident, while scanning advertisements in the Dallas Daily Herald. At first I thought it very novel that people in 1886 took phrenology and clairvoyance seriously enough to keep dear Professor Henry in business, but after a few minutes I remembered that there are still people today who consult psychics. So, I suppose the take-home message here is actually how little things have changed since 1886, if clairvoyance was then and is still a viable career path.

Dallas Daily Herald, November 24, 1886

 

As it turns out,  clairvoyance and phrenology were quite  competitive industries. All of the following advertisements come from the same page of The Evening Statesman, a paper based in Walla Walla, Washington. They were printed in November of 1903.

  

 I particularly enjoyed Mme. Kent's "Others are making from $10 to $15 a day, why not you." If the amounts were adjusted somewhat, that could easily be the title of an internet ad today.

Saved A Friend By Stabbing A Shark: In The News On September 8th, 1884



Here’s a unique story from the 1880s…

From the first page of the New-York Tribune
Monday, September 8, 1884.



As a side note, the term “bathing” as it is used in this article likely means “swimming” so the fifty young men were probably out getting exercise, not bobbing around with sponges and soap!

I did some research on the setting of this little drama, and found Jasper Francis Cropsey’s depiction of the view of the Narrows from Staten Island. This painting was completed in 1868, about sixteen years before John Taylor’s adventure.

 This idyllic scene doesn't match the story very well, but try to picture the tiny figures of a man and a shark locked in mortal combat somewhere in the water. 

 Until next time!