Boss Bob, the King of Bootblacks; or, The Pawnbroker's Plot

This 1880 Beadle and Adams weekly presents "Boss Bob, the King of Bootblacks; or, The Pawnbroker's Plot" by Edward L. Wheeler, author of the Deadwood Dick series. The serial follows Boss Bob, an Irish street-bootblack in Philadelphia, and his silent companion the Nondescript as they work the Market Street Bridge during the Centennial Exposition. Wheeler depicts their service to customers including Oliver Mortimer, a stranger from Toledo, whom Boss Bob befriends with voluble chatter about local figures and Philadelphia's attractions. Mortimer drops papers the youths retrieve. In Chapter II, the narrative shifts to reveal Morton Prescott, once a millionaire merchant, now ruined by stock gambling—having lost his fortune piece by piece on Third Street speculation. The story interweaves the bootblacks' street-level world with the financial downfall of a prominent citizen, suggesting connections between these disparate social spheres.