1909: The Age of Melancholy and Morphia

Here we read about a generation so ghostly-gone that their departed souls were being summoned in seances of the 1940's. In N.Y.City, suicides among prominent people seem epidemic. There is a wide spread belief that Mars has canals and an advanced civilization: a dizzying, new, accepted 'fact of life' that immured people from any more "future shock". There are cars, suddenly, but few traffic laws. There is 'wireless' and "musical sparks' may fly through the air someday...

Monday, July 13, 2009

Perfume Concert For Deaf-Mutes A Rank Failure

Thanks to reader Steve Barton for this peculiar New York Times report from 1902. There's a glimpse of vaudeville here (rarely mentioned in any stories I've read from the TimesMachine) and I suppose this also touches upon the relatively recent social acceptance of tobacco smoking.

I've seen this writing style before, where a high-minded but rather silly public demonstration is reported due to its failure, accompanied by popular ridicule. Various wags are quoted, being very clever in their mocking and making fun of poor sports You suspect it is the reporter who is the primary wit.

This reminds me of the story about Suffragettes being bedeviled by small boys asking questions about baseball.

Perfume Concert