Silent Photoplay: A Place for Stories of All Types

Tag: Chatterbox

  • Gertie

    Gertie

    In the early years of children’s literature, often their short stories were sad and dark. The following short story is such a one. This is from the 1883 Chatterbox that is first mentioned here. Gertie Boys of ten or twelve, seen on the street, appear heartless and without sympathy, and yet you wrong them. Among…

  • The Queen of the May

    The Queen of the May

    A little late, but it’s still the lovely month of May, so we can go ahead and talk about it, anyway! This lovely poem was found in my 1883 Chatterbox (first mentioned here). The Queen of the May is a very famous poem written by Alfred Tennyson, and first published in 1846. The Queen of…

  • A Tragical Tale of the Tropics

    A Tragical Tale of the Tropics

    A Tragical Tale of the Tropics is an anonymous poem, the first entry in Chatterbox, 1883. (I first mention this here). It seems to be a kind of strange one to be in a children’s publication, but we find that there are lots of this type of story and poem that deal with unsavory subjects…

  • 18,250 Reasons Why Boys Should Not Smoke

    18,250 Reasons Why Boys Should Not Smoke

    On forum.silentphotoplay.com, we were talking about cigarette ads in old magazines and how they would advertise them as if doctors recommended smoking. This article is an addition to that conversation, and proof that they always knew smoking was bad for you, and to say that they didn’t know ‘to what extent’ that smoking was detrimental…

  • Gillian’s Christmas – Tree

    Here is a story from Chatterbox, 1912. I really, really loved this story! GILLIAN’S CHRISTMAS – TREE. ‘Mother, can’t we have a Christmas-tree?’ asked Gillian Derwent, one December day, standing by the table, where her widowed mother sat painting Christmas cards, in a shabby sitting-room at Seacombe, a small South-coast watering-place, where they were spending…