In 1800, four-fifths of all Americans worked on farms. During the second half of the century, many abandoned farm life to work in the city, in shops and in manufactories. Some of these people found a better way of life. Others became disillusioned. Out of work pioneers poured over the advertisements in local papers searching for a job. Many unskilled people sought work as electrochemical-platers. Objects like tableware and food containers were coated with a thin layer of metal to prevent corrosion and obtain a hard surface or attractive finish. Sounds exciting!

The invention of roller skates is attributed to an unknonw Dutchman of the early 18th century, who conceived the idea of adopting ice skating for dry ground by affixing wooden spools to a supporting plate. The first skates with metal wheels were fashioned in 1763 by the Belgian mechanic and musical instrument maker Joseph Merlin. The first modern, so called rocking skates, enabling a person to move easily through alternative shifting of his weight, were patented in 1863 by the American inventor James Leonard Plimpton. Roller skates sales soared in 1865 after people witnessed the invention at work in traveling circuses. By the 1880s, nearly every city and large town had a roller skating rink. The sport was enjoyed by both men and women. I’ve been having fun with the selection of Old West ads, but want to call journal reader’s attention to the next chapter in the book The Plea. Chapter one is now available on this site. Soon the story will be transformed into a documentary.

I’ve been out of the office for a few days. Glad to return to work. I have a few more Old West ads I’d like to share before I begin a series on great cowboy duos. Chapter one of the book The Plea is now available at www.chrisenss.com. I’ll be adding more to the chapter as the month goes on. And now a word from our sponsor. This ad features a monster stove I can’t imagine would even fit in a pioneer home. Pioneer women endured a lot to take care of her family. She hauled water in to the home from a nearby stream, chopped wood for heat, cleaned clothes on a washboard, and cooked meals over an open fire using heavy kettles and awkward fireplace appliances. An invention introduced in 1820 made things easier for wives and mothers and made the cast-iron cook-stove a much sought after household item. The cast-iron cook-stove simplified cooking because their stovetops were at waist level, which saved housewives from constantly stooping. It also burned one-third less wood. In the 1830s cook-stoves were reduced in price, giving every family more of a chance to own one. By the 1850s only rural families and poor Southerners continued with the old ways.

This is an ad from the Golden Gate Publishing Company of Oakland, California announcing the mail-order sale of a new set of children’s books penned by the once the popular, but now very forgotten illustrator and author Palmer Cox. In the late 1800s, Cox was best known for his Brownie Books which mainly appealed to kids of primary school age. Children loved the well-drawn and easily recognizable pictures in the Brownie adventures, which featured characters they easily responded to and identified with. Queer People introduced in 1895, was a new series of books with “paws, claws, wings, stings, and many other things” designed to delight youthful readers. It is unknown if Queer People was as successful as The Brownies. One thing is certain, Palmer Cox is now considered so obscure that today he is seldom even mentioned in most literary source books.