Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 701

This December 1890 Beadle and Adams dime novel features "Or, The Fight to the Finish: A Tale of the Streets and Webs of New York," by T. C. Harbaugh. The story begins when Jerry Jump, a country boy from Jersey, arrives in New York destitute after being lured to the city by a man claiming to be detective Simon Sharp. Fred Paster, a street photographer who secretly captures criminal faces with a hidden camera for police use, befriends Jerry and recognizes Sharp's photograph from his "Rogue's Gallery." The boys resolve to track Sharp down on the Bowery, suspecting he knows the location of diamonds stolen from Jerry's father ten years prior. The narrative introduces Melly Noonan, a young street newspaper vendor, adding a third character to their investigative circle. Plot elements include industrial espionage, theft, missing persons, and urban criminal networks.