A complete issue · 32 pages · 1896
Gentleman Joe's Double Eagle; or, A Dance at Frog Back Curve
A complete, restored issue of Penny Dreadfuls from 1896 — all 32 pages of cheap serialized Victorian sensation fiction — crime, horror, and lurid melodrama, free to page through at ComicBooks.com.
A complete issue · 32 pages · 1896
This issue of the Log Cabin Library (July 2, 1896) contains the serial "Gentleman Joe's Double Eagle: A Dance at Frog Back Curve," by the author of "Gentleman Joe." Joseph Gentry, a mining expert and private detective employed by a Denver company, is sent to locate a rich gold mine in the Rocky Mountains. While traversing the hills at dusk, he hears violin music emanating from a remote cabin and investigates. Inside, he discovers the cabin appears abandoned despite the recent music. When a gang of men arrives, Gentry hides in the loft, where he overhears their scheme: they plan to sell a worthless mine to Major Hank Hays. A runaway musician (described as "coal-black") alerts the gang to Gentry's presence. The loft collapses, exposing Gentry. The narrative then shifts to a telegraph office where Gentry intercepts a message summoning Hays to close the fraudulent deal, which he attempts to prevent.
Each page has its own page — the cartoon, who’s in it, and what the satire means.