Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 817

# Plush Velvet, Prince of Spotters

This 1894 Beadle & Adams dime novel, serialized by Capt. Howard Holmes, follows "Plush Velvet," a mysterious man operating in New York's criminal underworld. The story opens with Miles Tavish, a suspicious figure at Battery Park, depositing a sealed black pocketbook with unscrupulous Bowery attorneys Custer Katch and Sloper Pinch at their office. Tavish claims the document—bound with cord and wax—is invaluable and life-threatening if discovered, hinting he will soon become wealthy and has "outwitted" an enemy. The lawyers, portrayed as scheming cormorants, eagerly accept the deposit. Parallel narrative introduces Collie Cormorant, a doll-dressmaker living on Grand Street, who is neighbors and acquaintances with the mysterious Tavish. The story blends detective fiction, crime, and mystery as it develops Tavish's cryptic history and intentions.