The first Egyptian mummy to be exhibited commercially in America was a stonecutter from Thebes named Padihershef. This ancient gentleman arrived in Boston in early May 1823 and was exhibited up and down the East Coast, visiting twelve different cities in 1823 and 1824. By the end of 1824 several...
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Articles by this author
Articles by this author
A Few More of These Egyptian Carcasses: The Beginnings of Mummymania in Nineteenth-Century America
The first entire mummy arrived in America in 1818 in the possession of Ward Nicholas Boylston as a souvenir of his travels. In an era of four-page weekly newspapers, this was such an important event that within six weeks of the mummy's original appearance in the Columbian Centinel of 16...
Jackasses, Dogs and Dead Chickens: Vignettes of the Civil War Revealed in Ephemera
During the Civil War, enterprising publishers produced small envelopes with patriotic images, views of camp life, battles, portraits and comic illustrations. Both soldiers and their friends and families used these Civil War envelopes to mail letters during the conflict. Although most of these envelopes were printed in Union states, a...
"What Shall We Do Today, My Dear?": Popular Entertainment in Victorian America
Perhaps the best known Victorian amusements are concerts, musical shows and various types of theatrical entertainments. However, these ubiquitous diversions were but a few of the venues through which people sought and procured pleasure in the United States during the 19th century. During this period residents could rely on a...
