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Show IflDflD Years Agn Tapdlay Novelties of invention pique Record's interest v18S4y hv Kt-ttina Moench Dooley Considering the number of brains at work at any one moment in time, it's no wonder the array of inventions that find space in the marketplace. And nearly every time a new product or article comes under public scrutiny, there is a universal tendency to turn it this way and that, admire the simplicity of design, the economy of material, and then to declare the concept so obvious that, well, why didn't think of that? Then again, there are those inventions that, while clever, surely would be dreamed of by only a few very vivid imaginations. Such was the unique design hailed by the Park Mining Record in its Nov. 29, 1884 issue. "The genius of the American people does not seem to wane in the least," said the newspaper in a tone that seemed to suggest, What Will They Think of Next? The latest novelty was the Serial Shirt Front, patented by a Lack-awana, Lack-awana, Pennsylvania man. "The shirt is made of strong tough paper, and the bosom is composed of several layers of paper, one bosom for each day's wear in the week," described the Record. "The bosoms can be removed one at a time as they become soiled without any inconvenience to the wearer, and are made either white, or assorted colors with collars and cuffs to match each front. "Now comes the novelette part," wrote an amazed reporter. "On the back of each one of the seven fronts is one chapter of a serial story printed in fine type. The seven bosoms or fronts contain a completed .erial so that when the first front is removed, the wearer, if he chooses, rumor does not seem to be able to break a trail through the sage broad enough to move a moderate sized depot over." Not content to let the depot matter rest, the Record continued to rail against the stupidity of the placement place-ment of the building. Unlike paper shirts and Japanese toys, the depot was not an expendable convenience designed to catch the fancy of the bored or idle. It was built to serve a function, and in the eyes of the Record, it failed miserably. "The merchants of Park City are as patient, Jong-suffering, kind-hearted kind-hearted folks as are to be found anywhere on earth," asserted the paper. "Among other things, merchants pay the Union Pacific Railroad a good round sum for transporting goods to Park City, and the aforesaid road performs its service by bringing them part way and leaving them somewhere in the sage brush, one and a half miles from town, and the consignees have the fun of the balance of the transportation to themselves." In Park City, at least, one way to vent frustration was by taking comfort in a shot of whiskey or a cold ale in one of dozens of saloons in town. That week, steaming Record writers cooled off in the new California Brewery, which Mr. Dudler had outfitted with five billiard and pool tables, a bar and beer hall, and a stage for musicians. The California Brewery was "in full blast," reported the Record, and the band played such lively music that "a great many of those present could not refrain from shaking the light fantastic." can amuse himself by reading installment one on his number one shirt front, and so on through the whole list until he completes the wearing out of his shirt and finishes the story." This incredible combination of throwaway shirt and paperback book sold for the bargain price of 50 cents for the assorted color bosom shirt, or 35 cents for the white ensemble. With Christmas close at hand, the Record that week advertised yet another unique diversion: the Japanese Lyrical Phone. "New! Novel! Entertaining!" boasted the ad. This amazing, fits-in-a-vest-pocket musical instrument was guaranteed to imitate any bird or animal sound, plus play any tune ("for dancing music it is unexcelled"). So simple was this instrument to play, the ad promised a child could become expert on it in just half an hour. How could anyone pass up the Small Size for 50 cents, or the Medium Size for just one dollar, or he Large Size f r two? Orders were oeing gratefully accepted by S.A. Ramsay: Tipton, Indiana. The Record seemed delighted to pass along news of these intriguing trifles. But its tone changed swiftly when it focused attention on serious business. "And now it transpires that W.B. Doggridge has resigned as a superintendent of the Union Pacific. Mr. Doddridge ought to have resigned when he planted a building in the sage brush a mile and a half from town, and undertook to palm it off on the people of this city as the Park City depot," groused the newspaper. "Rumor has been having it all summer that the so-called depot was to be taken out of the sage brush and relocated somewhere in the neighborhood neigh-borhood of town; but somehow |