Beadle's Pocket Library No. 111

1886 · 32 pages

Boss Bob, the King of Bootblacks This Philadelphia-set adventure serial by Edward L. Wheeler features Boss Bob (also known as Maloney), a street bootblack operating around the Market Street Bridge and Pennsylvania Railway depot during the 1876 Centennial Exposition. In early chapters, Boss Bob—characterized by his Irish brogue and street-smart demeanor—shines boots for travelers, displays encyclopedic knowledge of city characters and transactions, and works alongside his taciturn partner the Nondescript. The narrative introduces Oliver Mortimer, a visitor from Toledo seeking Colonel Rutherford, an English barrister; Mortimer encounters Boss Bob, who provides local intelligence while polishing his boots. Parallel storyline: Morton Prescott, once a millionaire importer on Second Street, has been ruined through stock-gambling speculation. Though he retains his importing house and Oxford Street residence, both are mortgaged to full value. Returning home on New Year's 1876, he seeks his family members Pearl and Sylvia in the library. Wheeler's novel weaves street-level adventure with merchant-class financial catastrophe.

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