NOTES

  1 “OH! YES, IT IS HOT ENOUGH!” NYET, June 25, 1897.

  2 riverside refreshment stalls … the new 700-foot-long promenade pier “Large Public Pier Opened,” NYET, June 26, 1897.

  3 a confection of whitewashed wrought iron “New Public Pier,” NYW, June 27, 1897.

  4 tenements on Avenue C Edwarde, Guldensuppe Mystery, 9.

  5 flat caps and straw boaters “River Gives Up a Murder Mystery,” NYH, June 27, 1897.

  6 a mysterious ironclad in the shape of a giant sturgeon “Flyer for the Sea Afloat,” NYH, June 26, 1897.

  7 Jack McGuire spotted it first Edwarde, Guldensuppe Mystery, 10.

  8 The police knew just whom to blame “River Gives Up A Murder Mystery,” NYH, June 27, 1897.

  9 five schools that were allowed to use cadavers “Boy’s Ghastly Find,” NYW, June 27, 1897.

10 The city had yet to buy its first horseless carriages Lardner and Reppetto, NYPD, 152.

11 morgue keeper had been arrested See New York Times coverage of March 23, 1896, January 10, 1897, and April 2, 1897.

12 tobacco would get a reporter the run Dreiser, Newspaper Days, 492.

13 resident tomcat “Bellevue Cat a Prisoner,” NYT, January 15, 1900.

14 “That horrible place” Dreiser, Newspaper Days, 492.

15 obligatory seventy-two hours.… Each day a dead-boat pulled up King, King’s Handbook, 461.

16 the coffin room, where another attendant hammered Wyeth, With Sabre and Scalpel, 362.

17 Brady forcibly checked his mother “Wealthy Woman Committed,” NYT, June 27, 1897; and “Rich Woman Insane,” NYEJ, June 26, 1897.

18 “There is a mystery here” NYW, June 27, 1897.

  1 his Harlem tenement on 127th Street “Fragments of a Body Make a Mystery,” NYW, June 28, 1897.

  2 “let’s go cherrying!” Ibid.

  3 Just one house was visible … twelve-foot drop “Strange Murder Mystery Deepens” NYH, June 28, 1897.

  4 Sedgwick and 170th NYH, June 28, 1897.

  5 he called out NYW, June 28, 1897.

  6 “I was walking a post” Carey, Memoirs, 49.

  7 everyone in the department called it: Goatsville Lardner and Reppetto, NYPD, 63.

  8 Carey had been in Goatsville ever since “Detectives in New Jobs,” NYT, July 20, 1895.

  9 easily a hundred pounds.… They’d needed a stretcher and towing ropes “River Mystery Grows in Horror,” NYP, June 28, 1897.

10 captain was another Byrnes appointee.… renting out on-duty police “The Killilea Fiasco,” NYT, May 17, 1896.

11 the annual police parade was canceled Lardner and Reppetto, NYPD, 112.

12 in that morning’s New York Herald NYH, June 28, 1897.

13 It was a sort druggists used NYW, June 28, 1897. NB: This World report was the only one to specifically note the use of druggist’s seine twine, a telling minor detail that others—including their own reporters—then overlooked or forgot.

14 adhered another piece of brown paper Carey, Memoirs, 49. NB: The piece of paper bearing the stamp of Kugler & Wollens is noted in Carey’s account, and it is only in his account. The stamped paper is not cited in any newspaper, or indeed in the trial. Given the insatiable hunger newspapers had for reproducing illustrations of any clue in the case, the reasonable supposition is that they never saw this one. The exiled Carey was clearly hungry for a real case, and he was by far the earliest to make a good guess—startlingly so—at where the crime had been committed and how the body had been disposed of. I can’t help but wonder whether, rather like the newspaper reporters, Carey wasn’t above pocketing a hot lead for himself.

15 ramshackle and roiling retail polyglot Marcuse, This Was New York, 54.

16 pouncing on on-duty officers Lardner and Reppetto, NYPD, 112.

17 you could tell the old and new officers apart “Conlin Leads a Long Line,” NYTR, June 2, 1897.

18 one of the world’s largest “The Bowery Savings Bank,” World’s Work 4 (1902): 2229.

19 retired with a fortune of $350,000 Lardner and Reppetto, NYPD, 83.

20 John Jacob Astor IV owned “The Building Department,” NYT, December 30, 1899.

21 For decades … the Marsh family Longworth, Longworth’s American Almanac (1834), 471; and Trow’s New York City Directory (1860), 571.

22 it became a German beer saloon Important Events, 132. NB: John Volz’s short-lived saloon is featured in an ad on this page.

23 Ernst Kugler Trow’s New York City Directory (1890), 163.

24 outlasting a previous partner Ibid. (1879), 115.

25 used to wrap a saw Carey, Memoirs, 49.

26 it smelled of the store NYP, June 28, 1897.

27 four feet wide and fourteen and a half feet long “East River Mystery,” NYT, June 28, 1897.

28 nearest distributor: Henry Feuerstein NYH, June 28, 1897.

29 other distributor that Buchanan & Sons used “A Queer Murder Mystery,” NYTR, June 28, 1897.

30 Claflin, had been arrested “Will Arrest Mr. Claflin,” NYT, May 27, 1897.

31 something like fifty more shops to visit NYW, June 28, 1897.

  1 Ned Brown just about had the place to himself Liebling, Liebling at The New Yorker, 169.

  2 walls placarded with exhortations Dreiser, Newspaper Days, 625.

  3 clear out to the East River Ibid., 632.

  4 ridden cavalry in Sheridan’s Shenandoah Valley campaign Morris, Pulitzer, 24.

  5 Pulitzer, then a penniless veteran, was thrown out of it Bleyer, Main Currents, 334.

  6 two miles of wrought-iron columns to support the world’s largest pressroom Morris, Pulitzer, 286.

  7 425-ton golden dome Ibid., 287.

  8 its gilded surface could be seen for miles out to sea Ibid., 272.

  9 “Is God in?” Brian, Pulitzer, 153.

10 a circulation of twenty thousand Churchill, Park Row, 27.

11 attention-grabbing promotions Ibid., 39. NB: The idea of the Mars billboard was slightly less loony than it may sound; astronomers like Thomas Dick proposed decades earlier that a giant geometric ditch could be dug out in Siberia, and perhaps be set aflame, the better to send a signal of intelligent life to our fellow astronomers on Mars. The World scheme of sending an actual message to Mars was shelved, alas, when someone at a promotion meeting asked: “What language shall we print it in?”

12 Circulation had risen fifteenfold Liebling, Liebling at The New Yorker, 165.

13 yellow journalism, they called it Campbell, Yellow Journalism, 25.

14 the day’s front-page grabber NYW, June 27, 1897.

15 today it was just the substitute editor.… Ned was to run over Liebling, Liebling at The New Yorker, 169. NB: The description of Ned Brown, as well as his conversations with editors and other reporters, is drawn entirely from Liebling’s September 24, 1955, New Yorker article “The Scattered Dutchman,” reprinted in Liebling at The New Yorker. Although the article contains a few errors and chronological inconsistencies, it was by far the most ambitious account ever attempted regarding the Guldensuppe case. That it’s a Liebling piece makes it a joy to read—he writes tartly of the victim’s “brisket” arriving “in installments”—and he conveys what it was like to be a denizen of Newspaper Row in the old days. The article focuses largely on the opening stages of the case, and in particular on revealing Ned Brown as the World’s near-miss reporter.

16 “At first,” O’Hanlon admitted NYW, June 28, 1897.

17 lungs was still spongy and the heart was filled NYT, June 28, 1897.

18 between the victim’s fifth and sixth ribs NYW, June 28, 1897.

19 blood had entered into the surrounding tissue Ibid.

20 alive and naked when stabbed NYT, June 28, 1897.

21 “Both wounds were made” NYH, June 28, 1897.

22 The victim had cut his hand NYP, June 28, 1897.

23 “That he was knocked down” NYW, June 28, 1897.

24 the two segments were pushed together Edwarde, Guldunsuppe Mystery, 17.

25 Magnusson’s friends and neighbors had been urging her to visit NYTR, June 28, 1897.

26 “If they had only been able to account” NYW, June 28, 1897.

27 A few among the reporters took notice NYT, June 28, 1897.

28 I knew it was a murder all along “River Gives Up a Murder Mystery,” NYH, June 27, 1897.

29 the patrolman’s report claimed … a patent falsehood NYW, June 27, 1897.

30 Herald reporter who had fetched the coroner NYH, June 27, 1897.

31 World reporter who started knocking NYW, June 27, 1897.

32 hadn’t secured the crime scene Ibid.

33 Hogan ventured.… out of their jurisdiction NYH, June 27, 1897.

34 sweeps of women … walking along Broadway “Moss Gets on Chapman’s Trail,” NYET, June 28, 1897.

35 his own pet theory NYT, June 28, 1897.

36 an unnerving sense of recognition Liebling, Liebling at The New Yorker, 186.

38 “may have been a Hebrew” “River Mystery Grows in Horror,” NYP, June 28, 1897.

39 no alcohol in his stomach.… Nor was there food “Louis A. Lutz the Victim?” NYEJ, June 28, 1897.

40 “It appears to me” “Dr. Weston Says Body Was Boiled,” NYET, June 28, 1897.

41 CANNIBALISM SUGGESTED NYH, June 30, 1897.

42 “A butcher may have done it” “Strange Murder Mystery Deepens,” NYH, June 28, 1897.

43 a recent Chicago murder Loerzel, Alchemy of Bones.

44 “as white as marble.… body had been washed” NYH, June 28, 1897.

45 a Press reporter suggested NYP, June 28, 1897.

46 The World knew just the man to ask NYW, June 28, 1897.

47 scores of reporters were fanning out “World Men Find a Clue,” NYW, June 29, 1897.

48 “God damn it, get excited!” Churchill, Park Row, 86.

49 You could tell when New York was having a peaceful day Ford, Forty-Odd Years, 260.

50 sent reporters off to tail detectives and swipe evidence Liebling, Liebling at The New Yorker, 166.

51 “Events seem to indicate” signed W. R. Hearst editorial, NYEJ, June 29, 1897.

52 race riots in Key West “Inviting a Race War,” Boston Daily Globe, June 28, 1897.

53 stealing electricity off high-voltage streetcar lines “Up-to-Date Burglars in Ohio Tap Trolley Wires for Electricity” NYH, June 29, 1897.

54 a $15 dog “Millionaires War Over a $15 Dog,” NYEJ, June 27, 1897. 27

55 Hire four launches “Picture of the Murder,” NYJ, June 29, 1897.

56 crowded with bereaved families “Undurchdringlithes Dunkel,” NYSZ, June 29, 1897.

57 could barely make their way inside NYW, June 29, 1897.

58 John Johnson and Adolph Carlson “The Body Not Identified,” NYCA, June 29, 1897.

59 “Japanese.” … Another mysterious visitor “Dark Crime of River and Wood,” NYH, June 29, 1897.

60 presumptive widow of Mr. Robert Wood NYH, June 29, 1897.

61 Brooklyn gas engineer Charles Russell “No Clew Yet Found,” NYTR, June 29, 1897.

62 bartender John Otten “No Light on Murder Mystery,” NYP, June 29, 1897.

63 printer John Livingston, or … Edward Leunhelt NYH, June 29, 1897.

64 Manhattan bricklayer: NYCA, June 28, 1897.

65 he refused to talk NYW, June 29, 1897.

66 “bicycle attorney” “Drivers in Trouble,” NYJ, June 29, 1897.

67 “I feel sure it is my uncle’s body” NYEJ, June 28, 1897.

68 “Oh, Dick!” NYW, June 29, 1897.

69 dancing a little jig … as page proofs were laid out Winkler, W. R. Hearst, 71.

70 “The public … likes entertainment better” Stevens, Sensationalism, 87.

71 $20 gold piece he used Churchill, Park Row, 46.

72 piss pots emblazoned with their portraits Winkler, W. R. Hearst, 58.

73 “I am possessed of the weakness” Procter, William Randolph Hearst, 41.

74 “chambermaid’s delight” Ibid., 78.

75 “in the Silurian era” Campbell, Yellow Journalism, 3.

76 “Smash as many as you have to” Winkler, W. R. Hearst, 110.

77 “polychromous effervescence” Whyte, Uncrowned King, 187.

78 MAN WITH THE MUSICAL STOMACH Stevens, Sensationalism, 84.

79 word arrived of the upcoming four o’clock World Liebling, Liebling at The New Yorker, 178.

80 $500 REWARD NYW, June 28, 1897.

81 Run an Extra Final Edition Liebling, Liebling at The New Yorker, 179.

82 $1,000 Reward: NYEJ, June 28, 1897.

  1 reader guesses included “Theories of the Multitude,” NYEJ, June 29, 1897.

  2 Hearst loved promotion Turner, When Giants Ruled, 124.

  3 “a wooden-legged burglar” Lee, History of American Journalism, 373.

  4 “Take all or any part of that” Turner, When Giants Ruled, 123.

  5 Park Row sidewalk … was wearing thin Swanberg, Citizen Hearst, 83.

  6 “We must beat every paper” Churchill, Park Row, 87.

  7 Wreckers dedicated to homicide coverage Procter, William Randolph Hearst, 99.

  8 “One might as well have tried” Edwarde, Guldensuppe Mystery, 30.

  9 “Did love or jealousy have aught” NYW, June 29, 1897.

10 five men gathered around the dissecting table “Light on the Murder Mystery,” NYW, June 30, 1897.

11 Ferguson sensed a chilling familiarity “May Be Cyklam’s Headless Body,” NYP, June 30, 1897. NB: The quotes from Ferguson that follow are from this account.

12 detectives coursed uptown Ibid.

13 a lone cub reporter could be seen Liebling, Liebling at The New Yorker, 186.

14 bites by mad dogs “Hints for Dog Bites,” NYCA, June 29, 1897.

15 A Romanesque space with white marble floors Advertisement in Cahn, Theatrical Guide.

16 “The House of a Thousand Hangovers” “Miscellany,” Time, December 7, 1925. NB: The baths’ demolition occasioned the magazine’s recollection of its old days. These same baths, incidentally, also figured in the infamous Becker-Rosenthal murder case of 1912.

17 Ned idly let a question drop Liebling, Liebling at The New Yorker, 187. NB: Liebling’s article is the sole source for the account in this section of Brown’s exploits.

18 It was the new issue of the Evening Journal “The Real Clew to the Murder Mystery,” NYEJ, June 29, 1897.

19 For the first time ever, color was being used Stevens, Sensationalism, 92.

20 “I learned from some neighbors” “Saw Two Men with Package in a Saloon,” NYET, June 29, 1897.

21 a slender Times reporter attempted to try on one of Max’s suits NYT, June 29, 1897.

22 the Times theorized … that two escapees NYT, June 29, 1897.

23 THE DEAD MAN’S VALISE “Police Work on a New Clue,” NYEJ, June 29, 1897.

24 “The German seems to regard” “Theories of Prominent Persons as to How the Murder Was Committed,” NYJ, June 29, 1897.

25 “The solution of the whole matter hangs upon the oilcloth” “The Rest of the Roll,” Ibid.

26 Carey … hadn’t made it to Queens or Long Island NYT, June 29, 1897.

27 throwing thirty men into tracking the oilcloth Bleyer, Main Currents, 368.

28 a Journal team at the dry-goods store of one Max Riger “Murder Mystery Is Solved by the Journal,” NYEJ, June 30, 1897.

  1 another heat wave “Scorching Heat for the Freshmen,” NYET, June 30, 1897.

  2 unshaven and tough-looking fellow “Mr. and Mrs. Nack Under Arrest; Guldensuppe’s Legs Found in Brooklyn” NYET, June 30, 1897.

  3 gangster Mallet Murphy Marcuse, This Was New York, 63.

  4 two men clambered aboard NYEJ, June 30, 1897.

  5 “Mr. Nack?” “Murder Charged to a Midwife,” NYP, July 1, 1897.

  6 Garfield Drug Company on Thirty-Fourth American Druggist and Pharmaceutical Record 30 (1897): 22.

  7 carriage-jackers Oscar Piper and Walter McDevitt NYEJ, June 30, 1897.

  8 tried escaping twice.… “I have absolutely no idea …” Ibid.

  9 nine coworkers from the Murray Hill Baths “May Be Guldensuppe,” NYT, July 1, 1897.

10 VICTIM THOUGHT TO BE THEODORE CYKLAM NYW, June 30, 1897.

11 elbowed aside by Pulitzer’s ace reporter Ike White Liebling, Liebling at The New Yorker, 191.

12 Ike’s pet theory NYW, June 30, 1897.

13 not unknown for reporters to tail detectives Liebling, Leibling at The New Yorker, 166.

14 The Herald, it seemed, had boozily stumbled “Police Say Murder Mystery Is Solved,” NYH, July 1, 1897.

15 overheard by reporter Joe Gavan Collins, Homicide Squad, 55.

16 Hearst alone made a personal visit Ford, Forty-Odd Years, 260.

17 “that antique and shabby” McAdoo, Guarding a Great City, 3.

18 under constant watch by the competition Jeffers, Commisioner Roosevelt, 87.

19 more than 100,000 arrests a year “New York at Its Best and Worst,” NYW, July 1, 1898.

20 chief had more than 250 detectives “Police Chief’s Suggestion,” NYT, December 1, 1897.

21 new rank hadn’t even gone through.… on the force for more than twenty years Lardner and Reppetto, NYPD, 114.

22 walls and floors of the office had been carefully muffled Ibid., 88.

23 “I went to work at two o’clock” NYEJ, June 30, 1897.

24 “I get up at about 1 or 2 and go over the ferry” NYP, July 1, 1897.

25 I was so drunk that I had to stay in bed” NYEJ, June 30, 1897.

26 “What the deuce” NYP, July 1, 1897.

27 Bakery’s owner vouch … Nack had actually led Strack’s saloon NYP, July 1, 1897.

28 $20 monthly lease; she’d given notice NYP, July 1, 1897.

29 detective now sitting on her sofa.… another detective stood Edwarde, Guldensuppe Mystery, 62.

30 “pleasing, yet repellant, appearance” NYT, July 1, 1897.

31 “I gave her a bit of my mind” NYET, June 30, 1897.

32 Krauch had been watching her apartment NYH, July 1, 1897.

33 fashionable tulle-trimmed hat that she’d quickly donned NYET, June 30, 1897.

34 “My name is Augusta Nack” Edwarde, Guldensuppe Mystery, 69.

35 Speak louder Ibid.

36 Pauline Riger … had been listening all along “Mrs. Nack Will Be Formally Charged with Murdering Guldensuppe” NYEJ, July 1, 1897.

37 bumping up against the USS Vermont NYT, July 1, 1897.

38 in the middle of his hallway, were two severed human legs Edwarde, Guldensupe Mystery, 77.

  1 Werner’s indispensable assistant was vacationing NYH, July 1, 1897.

  2 The young millionaire made the landlord an offer Churchill, Park Row, 90.

  3 Pulitzer had increasingly taken Ibid., 57.

  4 “We must smash the interloper” Procter, William Randolph Hearst, 85.

  5 The Times had briefly gone bust Tifft and Jones, The Trust, 36.

  6 Dana … stopped coming to his office Wilson, Charles A. Dana, 513.

  7 “When I came to New York” Juergens, Joseph Pulitzer, 350.

  8 The World’s unmatched circulation Stevens, Sensationalism, 86.

  9 “undesirable class of readers” “Views of New Journalism,” NYT, March 4, 1897.

10 World had dubbed the Missing Head Mystery NYW, July 2, 1897.

11 “The sensational journals of the city” “The Sensational Journals of the City,” NYCA, June 29, 1897

12 “The freak journals” “Vociferous Journals,” NYT, June 30, 1897.

13 Hearst’s men had cut the cords Churchill, Park Row, 90.

14 Price, Krauch, and O’Donohue … spent the next few hours unpacking NYEJ, July 1, 1897.

15 small trapdoor in the ground floor … motley assortment Ibid.

16 Neighbors watched from the adjacent buildings Ibid.

17 avenue that was turning increasingly chaotic … police were holding back NYH, July 1, 1897.

18 Vockroth, had rented a horse and surrey to Nack “More Murder Clues,” NYME, July 1, 1897.

19 another boarder had lived in the apartment NYEJ, July 1, 1897.

20 in February when Guldensuppe had beaten his rival NYT, July 1, 1897.

21 knife, a broken saw, and then a revolver … a dried spray of blood NYEJ, July 1, 1897.

22 that evening’s Journal headline NYEJ, June 30, 1897.

23 sent out beefy guards Stevens, Sensationalism, 93.

24 “When patting oneself on the back” Editorial, NYEJ, July 1, 1897.

25 signed Guldensuppe … not Gieldsensuppe “Fear and Strain Weaken Mrs. Nack,” NYP, July 2, 1897.

26 couldn’t find missing money she claimed “Now Formally Accused,” NYTR, July 3, 1897.

27 a jail matron found it hidden in her corset “The Murder Mystery,” NYTR, July 2, 1897.

28 The matron also noticed bruises “Murder Will Out,” NYEP, July 1, 1897.

29 having her fingernails pared and scraped “Police Couldn’t Weaken Her,” NYET, July 2, 1897.

30 “If that body belonged to William Guldensuppe” “The Identification Upset,” NYW, July 2, 1897.

31 One was a Bowery waiter … other was a babbling metal-polish peddler NYT, July 1, 1897.

32 home address that proved to be a lumberyard NYP, June 30, 1897.

33 “He is a freak” NYW, June 30, 1897. 61 “She has a temper” NYP, July 1, 1897.

34 Herald writer heard Herman Nack claim NYH, July 1, 1897. 61 “She is strong enough?” NYP, July 1, 1897.

35 Friend, had marched into the Mulberry Street “To Protest Her Innocence,” BE, July 2, 1897.

36 World editors were doubling down “Murder Mystery Is a Mystery Still,” NYW, July 1, 1897.

37 willing to testify that the body was not his “The Identification Upset,” NYW, July 2, 1897.

38 Mrs. Clark, it turned out, had been caught up in a divorce “Police Seeking Thorn,” NYT, July 2, 1897.

39 “always mixed up in several affairs” “Mrs. Nack Spends Hours on Detective Chief O’Brien’s Rack,” NYEJ, July 2, 1897.

40 Journal reporters sat down with Frank Ibid. NB: The remainder of this chapter’s dialogue is drawn from this account.

41 the illicit service that some midwives quietly provided Brodie, Contraception and Abortion, 54.

  1 finally been promoted to acting inspector “More Murder Clues,” NYME, July 1, 1897.

  2 a composer of novelty tunes “Ex-Inspector O’Brien Dead,” NYT, July 3, 1913.

  3 on the table and chairs … O’Brien had arranged the tools NYET, July 2, 1897.

  4 “the most cold blooded woman” “Trying to Trace Thorn,” BE, July 3, 1897.

  5 alienists wandered in and out “An Expert Alienist Studies Mrs. Nack,” NYH, July 4, 1897.

  6 readers were treated to close-ups NYEJ, July 1, 1897.

  7 “I made an especial study” NYH, July 4, 1897.

  8 “masturbatic insanity” Spitzka, Cases of Masturbation, 238.

  9 presiding over the electric chair’s rather messy debut Moran, Executioner’s Current, 19.

10 “Did you know … she has never reported a live birth” NYH, July 4, 1897.

11 “I cannot understand how detectives could expect such a clumsy trick” “World-Wide Hunt for Martin Thorn,” NYEJ, July 3, 1897.

12 “She is a decided liar.… Streuning buried a child of hers” “Looks Black for the Midwife,” NYH, July 2, 1897.

13 lost their own five-year-old daughter to diphtheria NYP, July 1, 1897.

14 a servant girl who let burglars “A Servant’s Intelligence Suspected,” NYEP, July 1, 1897.

15 a would-be parachute inventor “Hung by One Foot in Midair,” NYH, July 1, 1897.

16 a severed black-stockinged leg “Found a Woman’s Leg,” NYEJ, July 1, 1897.

17 the druggist who hanged himself “Rope His Last Resort,” Ibid.

18 “My name … is Sophie Miller” “Mrs. Nack at the Bar of Justice,” NYH, July 2, 1897.

19 Hearst’s print room hastily jammed the two crucial words “Mrs. Nack Will Be Charged with Murdering Guldensuppe,” NYEJ, July 1, 1897.

20 spent the afternoon working barbershops … over a shave Collins, Homicide Squad, 61.

21 he’d quit on the spot last week NYH, July 2, 1897.

22 “As soon as I saw … I thought right away of Thorn” NYW, July 2, 1897.

23 a particular fondness, Keehn said, for widows NYH, July 2, 1897.

24 “He used to laugh at Guldensuppe” NYW, July 2, 1897. NB: The dialogue in the remainder of this section is all drawn from this World account.

25 his face prickling painfully Collins, Homicide Squad, 61.

  1 THE IDENTIFICATION UPSET NYW, July 2, 1897.

  2 World reporters in turn humiliated Mrs. Riger NYW, July 2, 1897.

  3 THE WORLD DESPERATE NYEJ, July 2, 1897.

  4 One of Nack’s neighbors signed … that Pulitzer had a $10,000 slush fund Ibid.

  5 STILL TWENTY FOUR HOURS BEHIND THE NEWS Ibid.

  6 reporters hired Mrs. Nack’s surrey and horse “Murder Will Out,” NYW, July 3, 1897.

  7 His name was Henry Wahle, and he lived in Woodside “Mrs. Nack’s Confession,” NYW, July 4, 1897.

  8 Mrs. DeBeuchelare’s dairy Gregory, Woodside, 77.

  9 Mr. Jacobs kept that greenhouse Ibid., 75.

10 Four Manhattan detectives marched NYW, July 4, 1897. 73 A general store by the trolley stop Gregory, Woodside, 84.

11 Greenpoint Avenue Hall … rube entertainments Gregory, Woodside, 89.

12 fire chief and a coroner were convenient neighbors “Murder Traced in Duck Tracks,” NYH, July 4, 1897.

13 “Mrs. Hafftner,” she introduced herself NYW, July 4, 1897.

14 near one end of the block was the stop for the NY & Queens County trolley Copquin, Neighborhoods of Queens, 207.

15 a dreary little house, coated in cheap brown paint NYH, July 4, 1897. NB: Second Street has since been renamed Fifty-Fifth Street; its northern intersection of “Anderson Avenue” is now Thirty-Seventh Avenue. The location of the cottage, based on a graphic from the September 20, 1897, NYEJ (which pinpoints the cottage), as well as a 1909 Bromley map of Queens (plate 13), would place the crime scene on the west side of Fifty-Fifth Street, roughly a quarter of a block south of the intersection with Thirty-Seventh Avenue. This side of Fifty-Fifth is now completely covered by warehouses; a single old house wedged in across the street is the sole indication that it was once a residential block.

16 the remains of a man’s shoe “Murder Still a Mystery,” NYT, July 5, 1897.

17 The bathroom … shaved samples off the floor NYW, July 4, 1897.

18 scooped up a bucket of the mud NYT, July 4, 1897.

19 Reporters were pouring over on the East River ferries Edwarde, Guldensuppe Mystery, 87.

20 Something like—“Help! Help! Murder!” “Is Thorn in New York?” BE, July 4, 1897.

21 “I clean my windows every Friday afternoon” Edwarde, Guldensuppe Mystery, 89.

22 She’d only seen one come out “Dying Screams Heard by Three,” NYH, July 5, 1897.

23 WORLD WIDE HUNT NYEJ, July 3, 1897.

24 WANTED—For the murder “Heard Murder Cried,” NYT, July 4, 1897.

25 NYU maintained its newly built Loomis Laboratory Researches of the Loomis Laboratory, 7.

26 first guide to preserving crime-scene evidence Bell, Crime and Circumstance, 192.

27 the first book on cadaver fauna Ibid., 216. NB: Specifically, the two books are Hans Gross’s Handbuch für Untersuchungsrichter als System der Kriminalistik (1893) and Jean Pierre Mégnin’s La faune des cadavres (1894).

28 match the microscopic shells on a dead man’s muddy boot Witthaus and Becker, Medical Jurisprudence, 353.

29 A careful practitioner might even extract Ibid., 354.

30 featured asphalt floors for easy hosing down Researchers of the Loomis Laboratory, 70.

31 “Witthaus looks like a sea-lion” “Dr. Witthaus Found Deadly Poison,” NYW, January 11, 1900.

32 Carey had collared a physician.… Witthaus who’d gotten the goods Carey, Memoirs, 42.

33 original handwritten manuscript “Witthaus Bought Copies as Real Art,” NYT, July 16, 1916.

34 Witthaus was battling an allegation of attempted murder NYT, January 24, 1898.

35 There wasn’t a speck of blood “Mrs. Nack’s Oilcloth,” NYME, July 2, 1897.

36 saw and knife weren’t even the right fit NYME, July 2, 1897.

37 strategy had secured a conviction NYET, July 2, 1897.

38 Byrnes had publicly dared Jack the Ripper Lardner and Reppetto, NYPD, 88.

39 telltale viscera of dismemberment Flint, Collected Essays, vol. 2, 516.

40 Buala was bustling around his wine shop NYW, July 4, 1897.

41 “I do not remember these people” NYW, July 4, 1897. NB: The remainder of the dialogue in this section is drawn from this World account.

42 same as in the “Fred” letters Ibid.

43 It had been postmarked only yesterday “Den of Murderers Located,” NYP, July 4, 1897.

  1 Detective J. J. O’Connell.… and his partner, Detective Boyle, were arriving in Queens “Dying Screams Heard by Three,” NYH, July 5, 1897.

  2 MURDER TRACED IN DUCK TRACKS NYH, July 4, 1897.

  3 THE HOUSE OF DEATH NYW, July 4, 1897.

  4 HAIR PULLING MATCH NYP, July 4, 1897.

  5 Den of Murder Ibid.

  6 rumor had spread of a $1,000 bounty “Blood in the House of Mystery,” NYW, July 5, 1897.

  7 constable struggled to keep the masses at bay Ibid.

  8 Nobody knew where to find the caretaker NYH, July 5, 1897.

  9 O’Connell and Boyle wrenched open a window Ibid.

10 “Yes, that’s the same rig” NYW, July 5, 1897.

11 “That’s the same carriage” Ibid.

12 wine bottle “Mrs. Nack May Be Indicted,” NYT, July 6, 1897.

13 small cardboard bullet box “Queens County Wants Mrs. Nack,” NYEJ, July 6, 1897.

14 he’d worked as a plumber.… exposed and disassembled the plumbing “Murder Still a Mystery,” NYT, July 5, 1897.

15 a sea of children. More than a thousand of them NYH, July 5, 1897. NB: This remarkable figure is also given in the same day’s Evening Telegram.

16 cyclists were getting drunk and crashing wildly.… “Between drinks” NYW, July 5, 1897.

17 water out from a spring in Trains Meadow Gregory, Woodside, 78.

18 meter showed a whopping 40,000-gallon spike … “The amount of water” Edwarde, Guldensuppe Mystery, 92.

19 “The legs … are not in the morgue” “Guldensuppe’s Legs Gone,” NYTR, July 6, 1897.

20 “Guldensuppe has gained more fame” NYH, July 6, 1897.

21 “One of the theories” NYT, July 6, 1897.

22 “I desire” NYP, July 4, 1897.

23 announced the recipients of his $1,000 reward “These Men Got the $1000,” NYEJ, July 5, 1897.

24 gouged a stain out of the floor NYW, July 5, 1897.

25 BLOOD IN THE HOUSE OF MYSTERY Ibid.

26 Teichmann test Wood, Chemical and Microscopical Diagnosis, 17.

27 Mrs. Nack was beginning to waver NYW, July 4, 1897.

28 Thorn, he assured the Journal “Heard Victim’s Appeal,” NYEJ, July 5, 1897.

29 and the Tribune NYTR, July 6, 1897.

30 he added to the Press “Thorn May Be Caught in Canada,” NYP, July 5, 1897.

31 and the Brooklyn Eagle “Is Thorn in New York?” BE, July 4, 1897.

32 To the Mail and Express, he was “positive” “No News of Thorn,” NYME, July 5, 1897.

33 turned up later that evening in the morgue’s pickling vat “Guldensuppe’s Legs Vanish,” NYH, July 6, 1897.

34 logging one sunstroke case after another “Heat in the City,” NYW, July 7, 1897.

35 Louisville embezzler and a Brooklyn con man “Nack Hearing Postponed,” NYT, July 7, 1897.

36 A suicide found in a Jersey City NYT, July 5, 1897.

37 body that veteran stage actor George Beane found Ibid.

38 IS THIS MARTIN THORN? NYT, July 5, 1897.

39 Pauline told a Journal reporter “Queens County Wants Mrs. Nack,” NYEJ, July 6, 1897.

40 World reporters located Thorn’s older brother “Saw Thorn on Wednesday,” NYW, July 6, 1897.

41 last confirmed sighting of Thorn was by a moving company NYW, July 6, 1897.

42 woman in the Detective Bureau’s office “Thorn Has Confessed to the Murder,” NYEJ, July 7, 1897.

43 detectives waited impatiently at the 125th Street El station NYEJ, July 7, 1897.

44 “I can’t go back on a friend” NYEJ, July 7, 1897.

45 uttered a single word: “Haircut” “Martin Thorn Is a Prisoner,” NYH, July 7, 1897.

46 shed his usual brown derby for a white fedora and shaved Edwarde, Guldensuppe Mystery, 96.

47 quarter past nine that night NYH, July 7, 1897.

48 Spear’s Drug Store ruled the busy Harlem corner NYW, July 7, 1897.

49 Spear himself was manning the till, and his clerk Maurice “Martin Thorn Is Captured,” NYW, July 7, 1897.

50 the real profits, which lay in the slot telephone American Druggist and Pharmaceutical Record 31 (1897): 113.

51 city after city on the East Coast was reporting relentless heat “The Whole Country Overheated,” NYW, July 7, 1897.

52 Laborers in soiled overalls NYH, July 7, 1897.

53 “Let’s go take a drink” NYEJ, July 7, 1897.

54 It’s a holdup, Maurice frantically signaled NYW, July 7, 1897.

55 “I am Martin Thorn.” …“And I am Inspector O’Brien” Edwarde, Guldensuppe Mystery, 109.

  1 “I’ve thought so for five minutes” “Thorn Indicted with Mrs. Nack,” NYP, July 9, 1897.

  2 Along with the .32 revolver, a closer search “Indicted for the Murder,” NYT, July 9, 1897.

  3 O’Brien, McCauley, and Price, along with NYH, July 7, 1897.

  4 They reached Houston and Bowery just after ten p.m. NYH, July 7, 1897.

  5 AN ELECTRICAL EXECUTION NYEP, July 6, 1897.

  6 A plainclothes scrum double-marched Thorn NYH, July 7, 1897.

  7 they’d been scraped by forensics “Thorn Murdered Guldensuppe,” BE, July 7, 1897.

  8 Witthaus himself had come “Thorn’s Friend Betrays Him,” NYW, July 8, 1897.

  9 Thorn’s body had been scrupulously measured “Thorn Says He Alone Is Guilty,” NYH, July 9, 1897.

10 Bertillon’s wondrous anthropometric system Houck, Forensic Science, 26.

11 India had adopted a new system Cole, Suspect Identities, 87.

12 inspector worked quietly at his desk, saying nothing for hours NYH, July 7, 1897.

13 Thorn’s gaze fell upon the piles of letters NYW, July 8, 1897.

14 “I at present live in a furnished room” NYH, July 9, 1897. NB: The remainder of this scene’s conversation is from this Herald account.

15 four in the morning, when O’Brien finally let his prisoner collapse NYW, July 8, 1897.

16 That’s him Ibid.

17 “Looks pretty bad.” … “I don’t fear death” Ibid.

18 “Hit him!” “Gartha [sic] Tells of the Murder,” NYH, July 8, 1897. The remainder of the description of Gotha’s ruse is drawn from the Herald account.

19 “I first met Thorn nine years ago” “Thorn Warns Mrs. Nack in Court,” NYEJ, July 9, 1897.

20 “old—prematurely old” Rheta Childe Dorr, “The Prodigal Daughter,” Hampton’s Magazine 24 (1910): 526.

21 “He had the look of a man going to the electric chair” NYH, July 9, 1897.

22 “I met him at a saloon” Edwarde, Guldensuppe Mystery, 100.

23 “He nearly severed the head” Ibid., 103.

24 “It’s done” NYH, July 8, 1897.

25 “He told her” Edwarde, Guldensuppe Mystery, 103.

26 With hot water running at full blast NYW, July 8, 1897.

27 “As the boat neared the slip” Edwarde, Guldensuppe Mystery, 105.

28 He fretted that he hadn’t shaved “Lured to His Death,” NYME, July 7, 1897.

29 “I saw by newspaper reports” “Gartha Tells of the Murder,” NYH, July 8, 1897.

30 “Mr. Gotha, I do not want to detain you” “Thorn Says He Alone Is Guilty,” NYH, July 9, 1897.

31 “ ‘I wish to God I had not told you’ ” Edwarde, Guldensuppe Mystery, 106. 102 he’d instantly understood what it meant NYEJ, July 9, 1897.

  1 “Going fishing?” “Mrs. Nack Sees Martin Thorn,” NYET, July 9, 1897.

  2 These were naphtha boats NYEJ, July 8, 1897.

  3 grapplers, salvagers who worked the docks “How the Grappler Earns His Bread,” NYT, May 5, 1901.

  4 A couple of dozen grapplers … on six launches NYEJ, July 8, 1897.

  5 “Three cheers for Guldensuppe!” “Still Seeking the Head,” NYT, July 12, 1897.

  6 Captain Schultz … was in a droll mood NYET, July 9, 1897.

  7 “Heads you win, tails you lose!” Ibid.

  8 “These men know how to find” NYEJ, July 8, 1897.

  9 Street urchins were stripping off … diving among the rakes Ibid.

10 The riverbed was a good twenty-five feet “Diver Hunts Head,” NYW, July 9, 1897.

11 “Something’s caught!” Ibid.

12 William E. Chapman … came chugging up Ibid.

13 already run an operation with hooks “Valise and Clothes of the Murdered Man Found,” NYJ, June 29, 1897.

14 veteran deep-sea diver Charles Olsen NYW, July 9, 1897.

15 all they were pulling up were stones and tin cans “Mrs. Nack Faces Martin Thorn,” NYP, July 10, 1897.

16 130 feet of rubber hose to Olsen’s diving suit NYW, July 9, 1897.

17 The door of the narrow three-story brick boardinghouse NYEJ, July 7, 1897. NB: The remainder of this scene is drawn from this Evening Journal account, except for the quote that follows.

18 “Do you recognize me?” NYH, July 8, 1897.

19 copy after copy of murder coverage “Lured to His Death,” NYME, July 7, 1897.

20 from the World NYW, July 7, 1897.

21 the Journal NYEJ, July 7, 1897.

22 the Herald NYH, July 8, 1897.

23 “My God!” was gleefully illustrated NYEJ, July 7, 1897.

24 witnessed them discovering a bullet hole NYEJ, July 8, 1897.

25 “Blood Spots on Martin Thorn’s Undershirt” NYEJ, July 8, 1897.

26 “the Evening Journal’s pen and pencil” Editorial, Ibid.

27 “a nail made the bullet hole” NYW, July 9, 1897.

28 Thorn did indeed resemble a man who’d walked up to Dr. O’Hanlon Ibid.

29 Herald had been the city’s colossus, with a circulation of more than 190,000 Reel, The National Police Gazette and the Making of the Modern American Man, 48.

30 1874 hoax claiming escaped circus tigers Ibid.

31 Thorn pondering aloud how one might lure NYH, July 9, 1897.

32 reduced to profiling the Woodside duck “Thorn Said to Have Confessed,” NYP, July 8, 1897.

33 detectives marched into the World offices NYW, July 9, 1897.

34 Mr. Valentine’s turnip giveaway “Turnips Free for All,” Ibid.

35 Old-timers … recalled “the Kelsey Outrage” NYEJ, July 9, 1897.

36 no jury had been able to convict NYT, “The Kelsey Murder Mystery,” November 6, 1876.

37 “as dead as Kelsey’s nuts” Carol Richards, “The Kelsey Outrage Gets More Outrageous,” Newsday, February 3, 2001.

38 assistant DA had been busy insisting … didn’t particularly need Guldensuppe’s head “Mrs. Nack Warns Thorn in Court,” NYH, July 10, 1897.

39 he couldn’t recognize Nack and Thorn … detectives grumbled, he feared a conviction “Mrs. Nack May Be Indicted,” NYT, July 6, 1897.

40 attempted to keep the coroner from touching his precious baseboards NYW, July 8, 1897.

  1 Intended for a city of 300,000 … now served 1.8 million “Tombs an Unfit Prison,” NYT, June 29, 1895.

  2 throwing the stairways akimbo, and letting sewage ooze Gilfoyle, “America’s Greatest Criminal Barrister,” 528.

  3 tin plates perched on the rim of a malodorous toilet “A Disgrace to the City of New York,” Annual Report of the Prison Association, 79.

  4 murmur passed among the inmates … “It’s Mrs. Nack!” “Thorn Warns Mrs. Nack in Court,” NYEJ, July 9, 1897.

  5 Dressed in a black coat and a straw boater “Mrs. Nack Sees Martin Thorn,” NYET, July 9, 1897.

  6 “Come on up the bridge, Thorn” NYEJ, July 9, 1897.

  7 stubble, the result of a suicide watch NYET, July 9, 1897.

  8 “Have you any counsel?” NYEJ, July 9, 1897.

  9 “We appear for Mrs. Thorn” “Mrs. Nack Meets Thorn in Court,” NYW, July 10, 1897.

10 “Schweige still” NYEJ, July 9, 1897.

11 “Halt den Mund und Spricht nicht!” “Im Anklagezustand,” NYSZ, July 10, 1897.

12 “Mrs. Nack and Martin Thorn Refuse to Talk” Signed editorial, NYEJ, July 13, 1897.

13 The Guldensuppe Mystery.… hit the streets just days later Edwarde, Guldensuppe Mystery. NB: The Library of Congress’s copy of The Guldensuppe Mystery bears a Received stamp of July 24, 1897. The last dated event noted in the text is July 8, so the book was completed, printed, and shipped to Washington, D.C., within this astonishingly short interval.

14 Lower East Side summer-school teacher … turned into a mock trial “Murder Trial in School,” NYT, July 24, 1897.

15 masseurs were now slyly referred to as “Gieldensuppers” “A Gieldensupper Arrested,” NYS, September 14, 1897.

16 “That’s not Thorn the police got!” “The Question of Jurisdiction,” NYTR, July 18, 1897.

17 THE MURDER OF WILLIAM GULDENSUPPE Advertisement, NYT, July 18, 1897.

18 one of the city’s most popular tourist destinations … a top-floor workshop that could whip up a body within twenty-four hours Dennett, Weird and Wonderful, 115.

19 the Chess Automaton … a Klondike gold-rush mining camp “Notes of the Stage,” NYTR, July 25, 1897.

20 Woodside Horror NYTR, July 25, 1897.

21 “Your face possesses a charm” NYW, July 7, 1897.

22 “I’m no freak,” Nrs, Nack snapped “Howe’s Move for Thorn and Mrs. Nack’s Novel Charity,” NYW, July 16, 1897.

23 Thorn passed the days in cells #29 and #30 “Dredging for the Head Hopeless,” NYEJ, July 10, 1897.

24 tutoring cell mates in pinochle “Martin Thorn’s School for Card Players,” NYEJ, July 14, 1897.

25 Boylan … so weighted down with stolen silverware “John Boylan Laden Down with Silver,” NYEJ, July 8, 1897.

26 THE HORRIBLE MURDER IN NEW YORK Aberdeen Weekly (Scotland), July 9, 1897.

27 Japan and Spain were considering an alliance “Japan and Spain May Be Allies,” NYP, July 16, 1897.

28 reports of massive strikes by coal miners “Strike Battle on Ohio River,” NYH, July 9, 1897.

29 his own starring role … he’d miss the city elections “Thorn’s Vanity Betrayed Him,” NYW, December 5, 1897.

30 businessman named Horton.… “Where’s the head?” “Thorn and Mrs. Nack in Court,” NYTR, July 22, 1897.

31 “The new industry of finding William Guldensuppe’s head” “Guldensuppe’s Head,” NYH, July 14, 1897.

32 mystically body-homing loaves of black bread “Says Tombs Fare Makes Her Ill,” NYP, July 13, 1897.

33 an intrepid Herald reporter to discover why NYH, July 14, 1897.

34 Three more boys spotted a head floating “Italian Boys Find a Head,” NYT, July 27, 1897.

35 “decomposed mass” frightened passing ferry passengers “A Head, Not Guldensuppe’s,” NYT, September 2, 1897.

36 A grisly find made in an Upper West Side boardinghouse “Not Guldensuppe’s Skull,” NYTR, July 20, 1897.

37 girl from Woodside found an actual chunk “Guldensuppe Death Mask,” NYT, September 20, 1897.

38 Woodside child promptly discovered a brown derby BE, September 22, 1897.

39 “Woodside is undergoing a boom in the agricultural line” “Yellow Sleuth’s Work,” NYS, September 23, 1897.

40 Allegations emerged that someone  … had paid a couple of local utility workers BE, September 22, 1897.

41 more than half a million in circulation “It Breaks All Records,” NYEJ, August 23, 1897.

42 Perrin H. Sumner … “the Great American Identifier” “Habeas Corpus for Martin Thorn,” NYH, July 16, 1897.

43 nearly bankrupted an Indiana college Branigan, History of Johnson County, 293.

44 run Florida real estate swindles “Perrin H. Sumner Sued,” NYT, November 13, 1907.

45 fleeced would-be fiancées “Perrin H. Sumner Dies in the Subway,” NYT, March 20, 1914.

46 passed off worthless mining stock “Telegraphic Brevities,” Harvard Crimson, May 18, 1883.

47 descended on the Bellevue morgue to identify an unclaimed suicide NYW, February 1, 1892.

48 professor spent July embarrassingly tied up in divorce proceedings “Professor Witthaus Must Pay It,” NYTR, August 3, 1897.

49 human blood, he declared “Human Blood Stains,” BE, August 23, 1897.

50 a whopping dredging bill “Police Board Meeting,” NYT, August 19, 1897.

51 O’Brien lost his own: He was relieved of his post “Sleuth O’Brien Bounced,” NYS, August 31, 1897.

52 “I have been described in a paper as a ‘murderess’ ” “Mrs. Nack Talks Freely to the World,” NYW, August 6, 1897. NB: The remainder of this scene is drawn from this World account of the interview.

  1 Mitchell hastily sent for a stenographer “Nack’s Awful Charge Against His Wife,” NYW, September 3, 1897.

  2 “She said lots of bad things” Ibid.

  3 They were joined by Detective Samuel Price Ibid.

  4 “My wife left me in 1896” “Murders by Scores Laid to Mrs. Nack,” NYEJ, September 2, 1897. NB: All but the last line of remaining dialogue in this section is from this Evening Journal account.

  5 Dr. Weiss of Tenth Avenue … F. W. Werner, quietly assisted “Says the Accused Out-Heroded Herod,” NYEJ, September 3, 1897.

  6 “There is something at the back of that” NYW, September 3, 1897.

  7 “It’s a lie!” … “Fool!” NYEJ, September 3, 1897.

  8 SAYS THE ACCUSED MURDERESS OUT-HERODED HEROD NYW, September 3, 1897.

  9 so was the death of John Gotha’s ninety-five-year-old father-in-law “Mrs. Nack Gains Time,” NYW, July 13, 1897.

10 Dr. Weiss claimed to have no idea … nor did Mrs. Nack’s landlord NYW, September 3, 1897.

11 Alois Palm tried rather unsportingly NYEJ, September 3, 1897.

12 Even Mrs. Nack’s friends faulted her “Mrs. Nack’s Neighbors,” NYW, July 4, 1897.

13 “she was a high roller” NYEJ, September 3, 1897.

14 Guldensuppe had kept Gussie from leaving NYW, September 3, 1897.

15 Mrs. Nack had gone to one Ernest Moring … hire him to kill her ex-husband “Journal Completes Case Against Martin Thorn,” NYEJ, September 4, 1897.

16 World reporter ascended the rickety stairs “Diploma Mills for Midwives,” NYW, September 18, 1897.

17 A SCHOOL FOR BARBARITY NYW, September 22, 1897.

18 DIPLOMA MILL FOR MIDWIVES NYW, September 18, 1897.

19 “Out of 55,000 live births” NYW, September 3, 1897.

20 suspicions ran strong that “Madame Restell”…. had dumped her body Reel, The National Police Gazette and the Making of the Modern Man, 38.

21 designated villainess both for moralizing Herald journalists and for the American Medical Association Srebnick, Mysterious Death of Mary Rogers, 86.

22 state criminalized abortion soon afterward Ibid., 85.

23 laws made it illegal to even discuss Brodie, Contraception and Abortion, 257.

24 The better practitioners were often immigrants Ibid., 228.

25 “Their methods are so hidden” NYW, September 3, 1897.

26 WOMEN FARM, MEN COOK NYW, August 2, 1897.

27 SHE’S PRETTY, EVEN IF SHE IS A LAWYER NYJ, October 17, 1897.

28 “Really … the newspapers are becoming” NYH, August 9, 1841, quoted in Stashower, Beautiful Cigar Girl, epigraph.

29 another indictment had just been handed down “Indicted in Queens,” NYW, September 16, 1897.

30 handed over to Undersheriff Baker … and slipped out the Leonard Street exit “Taken to L.I. City Jail,” BE, September 16, 1897.

31 One thousand New Yorkers were waiting “Mrs. Nack and Thorn in New Cells,” NYS, September 17, 1897.

32 He’d become used to the sound of pile drivers and hammers “Nack … Cottage” (title partly destroyed), NYEJ, September 17, 1897.

33 “I rented the Woodside cottage” Mrs. Nack’s Window of Spectres, NYEJ, September 4, 1897.

34 blurted out to Journal reporter Lowe Shearon “Justice’s Bar,” NYEJ, September 15, 1897.

35 “That is all rot” NYEJ, September 4, 1897.

36 Mrs. Nack had pulled an upper-floor unit NYEJ, September 14, 1897.

37 World sent … Harriet Hubbard Ayer “Mrs. Nack’s Own Story of the Killing of Guldensuppe,” NYW, October 3, 1897.

38 Ayer was a household name … whose cosmetics empire had fallen apart “Mrs. Harriet Ayer Dead,” Chicago Daily Tribune, November 26, 1903.

39 “Must I be locked in?” NYW, October 3, 1897. NB: The remainder of this section is drawn from this World account.

  1 Rockaway Ed was a trusty.… second only to a “bum boss” “Dist. Att’y Youngs Says Journal Gives the Last Link of Evidence,” NYJA, October 7, 1897. NB: Rockaway Ed’s dealings with Nack and the Journal, although repeated to some degree in other newspapers, is drawn from this Journal account.

  2 writers and artists at the ready to make a copy “Mrs. Nack’s Strange Letter to Thorn Captured by the Jailers,” NYJA, October 6, 1897.

  3 the text that would appear in the next morning’s paper … “Dear Martin” NYJA, October 6, 1897.

  4 “Where is it?” Sheriff Doht demanded NYJA October 6, 1897.

  5 The fragments bearing Thorn’s writing were reassembled.… “My dear” NYJA, October 7, 1897.

  6 The watch on Thorn’s cell was instantly doubled “Mrs. Nack Has Lost Hope,” NYT, October 7, 1897.

  7 “I am sorry.” DA Youngs sighed NYJA, October 7, 1897.

  8 He had tried to induce vomiting … hung a picture of a man’s disembodied head “The Soup Was Too Rich,” NYTR, October 8, 1897.

  9 Mrs. Nack also tried denying the note “Nack and Thorn Plan Suicide,” NYH, October 7, 1897.

10 the block of brick tenements past the corner of Forty-Second and Tenth Annual Report of the Committee on the Fire Patrol, 108. NB: All the details of this block except for the mattress shop are drawn from this source.

11 Mssr. Mauborgne’s Mattress Renovating NYT, classifieds, June 13, 1897.

12 Where’s Guldensuppe’s head? “Thorn’s Brother-in-Law Sunk the Missing Head,” NYJ, October 12, 1897.

13 tantalizing story: that one Frank Clark had heard a boozy confession NYW, October 6, 1897.

14 “He often boasted,” Clark recalled NYJ, October 12, 1897.

15 visit to the ailing forger by the district attorney NYW, October 6, 1897.

16 Journal came piling into Menker’s hallway YJ, October 12, 1897.

17 letter had arrived in Coroner Hoeber’s office “Did Thorn Admit Murder?” BE, August 6, 1897.

18 My dear sir: I cannot “Hoeber Jumped on Friend,” NYTR, July 8, 1897.

19 One claimed that it was Guldensuppe who’d been hiding “Another Guldensuppe Letter,” NYT, August 17, 1897.

20 At least two more claimed that Guldensuppe was alive “Letters to Hoeber,” BE, August 9, 1897; and “Guldensuppe or Edwards?” NYT, August 10, 1897.

21 “I have always believed that he had gone to Europe” “Martin Thorn Has Hope,” NYW, August 5, 1897.

22 Kindly do not believe any of the cards NYT, August 10, 1897.

23 Yet another missive, sent by Mrs. Lenora Merrifield “Guldensuppe Case Stirs Up Cranks,” NYEJ, August 13, 1897.

24 Guldensuppe is alive, and taking revenge on Thorn BE, August 9, 1897.

25 “The police do not expect to see Guldensuppe” W. R. Hearst, editorial, NYEJ, July 3, 1897.

26 Evangelina Cisneros, the pretty eighteen-year-old daughter.… Hearst preferred the latter explanation Ibid., 317.

27 another Journal operative—the hotshot reporter Karl Decker—to Cuba Whyte, Uncrowned King, 325.

28 Disguised with a sailor’s outfit and a cigar Ibid., 328.

29 EVANGELINA CISNEROS RESCUED BY THE JOURNAL NYJ, October 10, 1897.

30 A NEW IDEA IN JOURNALISM NYEJ, October 3, 1897.

31 offensives against a gas trust and crooked paving contractors Procter, William Randolph Hearst, 101.

32 “Every one will sympathize with the Journal’s enterprise” Whyte, Uncrowned King, 330.

33 “The newspapers of your country” Creelman, On the Great Highway, 187.

34 “It is epochal” W. R. Hearst, editorial, NYJA, October 13, 1897.

35 a fine profusion of ads … the Lady Push Ball Players advertisement, NYEJ, September 4, 1897.

36 “Organize a great open-air reception” Creelman, On the Great Highway, 171.

37 Rooms were hired at the Waldorf, reservations made at Delmonico’s Whyte, Uncrowned King, 332.

38 “scooped every day of its existence” Ibid.

39 THE PAPER SUFFERS AN EXCESSIVE STATESMANSHIP telegram, October 27, 1897. Pulitzer Papers, container 2.

40 firing of a reporter for using the word “pregnant” Morris, Pulitzer, 379.

41 MAKE SALARIED ARTISTS telegram, November 16, 1897. Pulitzer Papers, container 2.

42 I REALLY DON’T EXPECT TO BE IN NEW YORK telegram, October 29, 1897, ibid.

43 Brisbane, who jumped ship for the Journal Morris, Pulitzer, 334.

44 Brooklyn Eagle  … a curious development in Germany BE, October 13, 1897.

45 “reputable merchants of Hamburg,” were departing for New York BE, October 15, 1897.

46 GULDENSUPPE ALIVE? BE, October 14, 1897.

  1 A thick fog blanketed the Hudson NYT, November 6, 1897.

  2 “The Fürst Bismarck has been sighted” “Looks in Vain for Mrs. Nack,” NYEJ, November 5, 1897.

  3 Hamilton Fish was on board “A Young Wheelman Hurt,” NYT, November 6, 1897.

  4 one Josephine Vanderhoff had turned up “No Bail for Martin Thorn,” BE, July 19, 1897.

  5 Edwards’s minister visited to view the pickled “Didn’t Know Guldensuppe,” NYT, August 28, 1897.

  6 they immediately identified the abandoned valise “Edward’s Satchel Murray Says,” NYTR, August 29, 1897.

  7 explain the enigmatically marked-up slates “Murrays Identify Valise,” NYT, August 29, 1897.

  8 daughter examined the corpse’s hands Ibid.

  9 Chicago trial had concluded for the infamous sausage-maker Adolph Luetgert NYT, October 22, 1897.

10 nothing but five bone fragments “On These Five Bones Hang Luetgert’s Fate,” NYEJ, October 10, 1897.

11 Thorn eagerly read the wire reports NYEJ, November 5, 1897.

12 No Carl and Julius Peterson were listed “Ready for the Thorn Trial,” NYTR, November 7, 1897.

13 Open twenty-four hours a day Rovere, Howe & Hummel, 126.

14 When seventy-eight brothel madams were arrested Ibid., 6.

15 loud green and violet waistcoats Ibid., 16.

16 defended 650 murder and manslaughter cases Ibid., 5.

17 “You cannot prove a corpus delicti” NYW, October 12, 1897.

18 DA’s office laughed Howe off NYT, July 13, 1897.

19 The notion had originated with Lord Chief Justice Sir Matthew Hale “Proof of the Corpus Delicti Aliunde the Defendant’s Confession,” 639.

20 revived in America in 1819 after the Boorn brothers case Ibid., 646.

21 combination safe filled with coal Rovere, Howe & Hummel, 25.

22 staff amused themselves by serving one another Ibid., 27.

23 they’d found nothing in the desks Ibid.

24 “I cannot see how the District Attorney can get around the identification” “Mrs. Nack Offers to Confess All,” NYW, October 12, 1897.

25 Danish preacher Soren Qvist Warren, Famous Cases, 14. NB: Warren’s account of Soren Qvist, along with a number of nearly identical ones published in English in the late nineteenth century, is curiously lacking in specific dates—and may indeed be drawing its information from an earlier Danish fictionalization of the case, the 1829 novel The Rector of Veilbye. That tale, though, is drawn from an apparently factual account of a 1626 case.

26 “Then there was the Ruloff case” “Dredging for the Head Hopeless,” NYEJ, October 7, 1897.

27 two hapless detectives on the next steamer to Hamburg Carey, Memoirs, 51.

28 secretly paying a witness to move to Japan Rovere, Howe & Hummel, 51.

29 blaming a stabbing on the man’s four-year-old daughter Ibid., 69.

30 “Well … when you see Guldensuppe walk” “Thorn’s Victim Rebuilt,” NYEJ, July 23, 1897.

31 carpenters added extra benches “Heavy Demand for Seats,” BE, November 7, 1897.

32 They’d spent nearly two hours shifting tables BE, November 7, 1897.

33 he had a table custom-built for the case NYEJ, November 5, 1897.

34 galleries were saved for sketch artists “Ready for the Thorn Trial,” NYTR, November 7, 1897.

35 Sheriff Doht was flooded with ticket requests NYEJ, November 5, 1897.

36 being converted into a newsroom BE, November 7, 1897.

37 housewives … hung Room for Rent signs NYEJ, November 5, 1897.

38 COURT TO PRINTING PRESS NYEJ, November 6, 1897.

39 prosecution of a recent Columbia graduate “College Man Confesses Crime,” NYW, November 9, 1897.

40 murder trial of a man who gunned down a police officer “Traced by a Timepiece,” Ibid.

41 husband driven mad by his wife’s incessant whistling “Whistling Drove Him Mad,” Ibid.

42 “Martin Thorn is the same as any other man” Editorial, NYEJ, November 9, 1897.

43 “Every day there will be some fifty different pictures of scenes” “Murder Pictures,” NYT, November 7, 1897.

44 hundreds of potential jurors … waited “Five Jurors to Try Thorn for His Life,” NYEJ, November 8, 1897.

45 Harriet Ayers was easy to spot … as was novelist Julian Hawthorne “Thorn on Trial,” NYP, November 9, 1897.

46 gray-haired janitor shuffled up NYEJ, November 8, 1897.

47 police captain read that morning’s newspaper “Thorn’s Counsel Happy,” BE, November 9, 1897.

48 district attorney was balding and bespectacled, wearing an off-the-rack suit “The Trial of Martin Thorn,” NYCA, November 8, 1897.

49 “He’s dead” NYEJ, November 8, 1897. NB: With the following exception, the remainder of this scene is drawn from this account.

50 lottery wheel with slips of paper bearing jury-pool names “Thorn’s Trial Opens,” NYME, November 8, 1897.

51 “That is not Mr. Blomquist” “Thorn’s Jury Selected,” NYT, November 9, 1897.

52 “How long have you lived in this country?” NYEJ, November 8, 1897.

53 they had interviewed Blomquist “Thorn’s Life Is in the Balance,” NYH, November 9, 1897.

54 “Have you an opinion” NYEJ, November 8, 1897.

55 “I think he’s guilty” NYT, November 9, 1897.

56 Another two men confessed that they were over seventy NYH, November 9, 1897.

57 the judge had to empty the room out twice NYT, November 9, 1897.

58 a bell rang out lunchtime NYEJ, November 8, 1897.

59 all the local establishments were out of food within minutes NYH, November 9, 1897.

60 peremptory challenges, he admitted to reporters, were following a pattern “The Thorn Jury Completed,” NYTR, November 9, 1897.

61 “I’m going at every talesman with extreme care” NYH, November 8, 1897.

62 first approved juror was a retired oysterman named Jacob Bumstead NYT, November 9, 1897.

63 appeared to be counting the gaslights NYEJ, November 8, 1897.

64 “Thorn is a very average specimen” “Martin Thorn’s Trial Begun, with Singular Celerity,” NYW, November 9, 1897.

65 They had run through sixty-four candidates NYH, November 9, 1897.

66 Press journalist had wickedly spread the rumor “Thorn on Trial,” NYP, November 9, 1897.

67 “This … is magnificent” “Testimony Begun in Trial of Thorn,” BE, November 9, 1897.

  1 Long Island Rail Road’s special jury car NYH, November 9, 1897.

  2 held ordinary jobs “Link by Link Thorn’s Chain Is Forged,” NYEJ, November 9, 1897.

  3 a warning sign from the sheriff “Thorn on Trial,” NYP, November 9, 1897. 160 The farmers had stayed up … playing cards NYH, November 9, 1897.

  4 puzzling over the newfangled electrical switches “Thorn in the State’s Toils,” NYH, November 10, 1897.

  5 janitor was still sweeping out clouds of dust NYEJ, November 9, 1897.

  6 precious white slips that read “PASS ONE” “Life Against Life, Lie Against Lie,” NYW, November 11, 1897.

  7 only just gotten over a neck rash NYEJ, November 9, 1897.

  8 flower in Howe’s lapel BE, November 9, 1897.

  9 “About a half-pint of diamonds” “Thorn Jury Discharged,” NYT, November 13, 1897.

10 Herald man was keeping track of the betting pools NYH, November 10, 1897.

11 anonymous note that warned Ibid.

12 sitting with a handkerchief atop his bald head NYH, November 9, 1897.

13 “Hear ye! Hear ye!” “Rapidly Nearing the Supreme Test,” NYET, November 9, 1897.

14 “This is one of the most remarkable crimes” NYH, November 10, 1897. NB: The remainder of this section is primarily drawn from the Herald’s transcription.

15 air in the room had already grown foul again BE, November 9, 1897.

16 picked out some friends of his in the gallery NYT, November 9, 1897.

17 signing autographs at just fifty cents a pop … The Headless Body Murder Mystery NYET, November 9, 1897. NB: This is title #771 (1897) from the very popular Old Cap. Collier dime-novel series. Dime novels were only haphazardly preserved, so that there is currently only one known surviving copy, at the University of Texas at Austin.

18 “Where were you shortly after 1 o’clock” NYEJ, November 9, 1897.

19 “like a ghastly pack of cards” “Mrs. Nack Has Confessed,” NYT, November 10, 1897.

20 “Is this the part of the body found by you?” NYEJ, November 9, 1897.

21 One Telegram writer dryly observed NYET, November 9, 1897.

22 “He is a good little boy” “Mrs. Nack Has Confessed the Murder,” NYW, November 10, 1897.

23 “Was there any one else there” NYEJ, November 9, 1897. NB: The remainder of this section is drawn from this Evening Journal account, except as noted.

24 corner seat in the jury box was right next to the exhibit table “Mrs. Nack Has Confessed the Murder,” NYH, November 11, 1897.

25 looked like he was about to turn green “The Thorn Jury Completed,” NYTR, November 9, 1897.

26 Isaac Newton … failed to see anything funny NYT, November 10, 1897.

27 “Did you see these three portions together” NYW, November 10, 1897. NB: The remainder of this section is drawn from this account, except for the Aimee Smith exchange noted below.

28 “Do you remember the case of … Aimee Smith?” NYH, November 10, 1897.

29 first four pages of tonight’s issue would be devoted to the case NYEJ, November 9, 1897.

30 Spanish overture to President McKinley “Cabinet Like Spain’s Reply,” NYT, November 10, 1897.

31 vote by the Georgia legislature “Voted 91 to 3 Against Football,” NYP, November 9, 1897.

32 “Dynamite Dick” had been gunned down “Dynamite Dick Shot Dead,” NYT, November 10, 1897.

33 “Interest in the case is not wholly” BE, November 9, 1897.

34 “We will disprove” NYEJ, November 9, 1897.

35 betting on Thorn now ran at roughly even odds NYH, November 10, 1897.

36 Barberi had been the first woman ever sentenced NYT, July 16, 1895.

37 already been turned into a Broadway play Morgan and Van Doren, Italian Americans, 320.

38 Barberi was a free woman, sitting in the gallery right beside the lawyer “Mrs. Nack Saw Thorn with a Dirk Knife,” NYEJ, November 10, 1897.

39 “What are you doing here, anyway?” NYW, November 10, 1897.

  1 Mrs. Nack’s lawyer was followed NYH, November 10, 1897.

  2 a melodrama set in Chinatown “The First Born a Hit,” NYT, October 6, 1897.

  3 Friend walking purposefully away, leaving before NYH, November 10, 1897.

  4 wake up everyone from Captain O’Brien NYT, November 10, 1897.

  5 to Sheriff Doht NYW, November 10, 1897.

  6 Howe’s house on Boston Avenue … darkened and quiet “Mrs. Nack Confesses,” NYTR, November 10, 1897.

  7 a reporter secretly on his payroll Rovere, Howe & Hummel, 35.

  8 during big cases he worked out of the Park Avenue NYH, November 10, 1897.

  9 immense cast-iron castle painted a blinding white Korom, American Skyscraper, 77. 172 “Yes, I’ve heard the news” NYH, November 10, 1897.

10 Another knock came at the door … a World reporter NYW, November 10, 1897.

11 “I had the most perfect case” NYH, November 10, 1897.

12 counsel … for Nelson Weeks BE, April 20, 1897.

13 body in the Aimee Smith case had not been quickly identified BE, March 9, 1897.

14 Newton was in direct charge of the Thorn case’s body parts NYT, November 10, 1897.

15 “I cannot understand one thing” NYH, November 10, 1897.

16 Californians and even Londoners woke that morning to the news “A Murderess Tells Her Dark Secret,” Oakland Tribune, November 10, 1897; and “The New York Turkish-Bath Murder,” Pall Mall Gazette (London), November 10, 1897.

17 men in the crowd sprinted … women, slowed by their long skirts “Life Against Life, Lie Against Lie,” NYW, November 11, 1897.

18 World reporter dubbed it the Flower Garden Ibid.

19 MRS. NACK HAS CONFESSED THE MURDER NYW, November 10, 1897.

20 Thorn went pale and stiffly passed the newspaper “Mrs. Nack’s Story Told,” NYT, November 11, 1897.

21 “Augusta Nack,” announced the court clerk NYEJ, November 10, 1897.

22 smoothing her skirt as she sat “Mrs. Nack’s Awful Story Told,” NYP, November 11, 1897.

23 Her appearance, the Times sniffed NYT, November 11, 1897.

24 “My name is Augusta Nack” NYEJ, November 10, 1897. NB: I have drawn from different news reports as indicated for the testimony that follows. Many of the physical gestures and tone of voice, however, are drawn from the particularly detailed rendition given in the November 11, 1897, report in the New York Press.

25 transfixed spectator … nearly toppled over NYW, November 11, 1897.

26 “Wanted his head?” “Story of Murder Told by Mrs. Nack,” BE, November 10, 1897.

27 “He came one evening in my house” NYEJ, November 10, 1897.

28 “I told Guldensuppe that he should come with me” NYW, November 11, 1897. 176 “I had the key, and I went inside” NYEJ, November 10, 1897.

29 not another sound in the room save for the furious scritch scritch NYP, November 11, 1897.

30 “He had a bottle of ammonia” “Thorn’s Trial Is Postponed,” NYET, November 11, 1897.

31 “Here is a photograph” NYEJ, November 10, 1897.

32 favorite diamond pendant “Passed Away Very Suddenly,” BE, September 2, 1902.

33 “Mrs. Nack.… You have told us” NYEJ, November 10, 1897.

34 “How long did this frightful love continue?” NYH, November 11, 1897.

35 “You prepared to go Europe, didn’t you?” NYEJ, November 10, 1897.

36 “Mrs. Nack, don’t you remember” NYH, November 11, 1897.

37 “a scene of disorder in the court room” “Mrs. Nack Tells Her Story,” NYCA, November 10, 1897.

38 collapsed in a far corner of the jury box NYH, November 11, 1897.

  1 gathered around the Garden City Hotel billiard table “New Jury to Try Thorn,” NYT, November 12, 1897.

  2 crowds scoured the floors … and locals pointed out the chairs “Thorn Confesses His Part in the Murder,” NYEJ, November 11, 1897.

  3 “Yes, yes, yes—no, no, no” “Thorn Trial Ends; Jury Discharged,” NYEJ, November 12, 1897.

  4 his rose-and-scarlet scarf … diamond-encircled moonstone “Thorn Jury Discharged,” NYT, November 13, 1897.

  5 the size of an egg NYEJ, November 12, 1897.

  6 “The gallery was nearly full of Long Island folks” NYT, November 13, 1897.

  7 Howe jokingly shook a fist “Thorn’s Trial Is Postponed,” NYET, November 12, 1897.

  8 “Larsen had a very narrow escape” “Thorn Juror Under the Knife,” NYH, November 12, 1897.

  9 In the Cancini case of 1857, he noted NYEJ, November 11, 1897.

10 “You! You insignificant little imp!” “Jury Discharged in the Thorn Trial,” BE, November 12, 1897.

11 “This … is the case of my life” NYT, November 13, 1897.

12 cheers and congratulations from his staff “Thorn’s Trial at a Standstill,” BE, November 11, 1897.

13 “a damnable spider” “Thorn Eager to Testify,” NYT, November 14, 1897.

14 “From my first interview I found him saturated with chivalry” “New Trial for Martin Thorn,” NYH, November 12, 1897.

15 million-dollar operation in breach-of-promise cases Rovere, Howe & Hummel, 77.

16 John Barrymore, because he didn’t give a damn Ibid., 95.

17 “She is the biggest liar unhung” NYEJ, November 11, 1897.

18 “Mrs. Nack admitted that she herself had cremated Guldensuppe’s clothes” “Mrs. Nack Identifies the Saw,” NYEJ, November 17, 1897.

19 stern, bespectacled Bronx landlady named Ida Ziegler “Lawyer Howe’s New Witness,” NYT, November 21, 1897.

20 “On one Sunday.… I believe it was prior” “Thorn’s New Witness,” NYW, November 21, 1897.

21 the accused barber had been left unshaven.… barber showed up at Thorn’s cell with manacles “Thorn Handcuffed Getting a Prison Shave,” NYW, November 20, 1897.

22 Howe associate led a short impresario and a willowy actress “Anna Held Meets Thorn—A New Trial and Jury,” NYW, November 12, 1897.

23 THORN CONFESSES HIS PART IN THE MURDER NYEJ, November 11, 1897.

24 women’s fashion plates with actual photographed faces “An Advance View of Striking Autumn Fashions,” NYW, August 29, 1897.

25 Pulitzer anxiously telegraphed from Maine Telegram, December 15, 1897. Pulitzer Papers, container 2.

26 Evening Telegram ceased publication altogether “Evening Telegram Suspends and Resumes,” NYEJ, November 22, 1897.

27 “All the News That’s Fit to Print” Campbell, The Year That Defined American Journalism, 70.

28 COCAINE PHANTOMS HAUNT HIM NYEJ, November 22, 1897.

29 one could also find all these headlines NYH, November 22, 1897.

30 far more column inches on crime and accidents than other cities Baldasky, Commercialization of News, 155.

31 “The two stories of Nack and Thorn have reached an equilibrium” W. R. Hearst, editorial, NYEJ, November 12, 1897.

32 They tallied some 1,147 letters “Three New Jurors and a New Judge for Thorn,” NYEJ, November 22, 1897.

33 latest ad for the Eden Musée waxworks advertisement, NYT, November 20, 1897.

34 THE INVASION OF NEW YORK NYJ, November 14, 1897.

35 THE STORY OF MY LIFE Ibid.

36 Augusta Nack was quietly led out of her cell “Mrs. Nack Has an Outing,” NYS, November 15, 1897.

37 “Can you point out the place?” “Digging Ends,” NYEJ, November 15, 1897.

38 “Did you find the saw?” NYS, November 15, 1897.

39 lost his job at the Astoria Model Bakery “Nack Lives in Dread,” NYW, November 13, 1897.

40 “What do you think of the strange course” “Mrs. Nack Tells New Secrets,” NYEJ, November 13, 1897.

41 newspapers gloated after word of her failed carriage trip “Thorn Denies That He Is a Jailbird,” NYH, November 16, 1897.

42 laborers worked with scythes to clear “Find Saw as Mrs. Nack Said,” NYEJ, November 16, 1897.

43 rusting eighteen-inch surgeon’s saw—a Richardson & Sons model “Thorn’s Saw Is Found,” BE, November 16, 1897.

  1 Malwine Brandel clutched a bouquet … begging Sheriff Doht to let her inside “Women Who Watch the Trial with Morbid Interest Tell the Journal Why,” NYJ, November 25, 1897.

  2 the de rigueur accessory of the trial—opera glasses “Mrs. Nack Again on View,” NYS, November 25, 1897.

  3 Tessie … from Greenpoint NYJ, November 25, 1897.

  4 Maddox on the bench—the last judge having excused himself “Five Jurors Chosen to Try Thorn,” BE, November 22, 1897.

  5 “I go to the Tombs to sing” NYJ, November 25, 1897.

  6 LOOK MORE INTELLIGENT THAN THE FORMER LOT NYP, November 23, 1897.

  7 two farmers, a florist, a property agent, an oyster dealer, and fully seven builders “Twelve Men Chosen to Try Martin Thorn,” BE, November 23, 1897.

  8 Clara Nunnheimer.… A fresh-faced and beaming “Thorn’s Trial Continues,” NYT, November 25, 1897.

  9 “Do you recall the 25th of June?” New York v. Thorn, 142.

10 Nor could he rattle a thirteen-year-old girl Ibid., 174.

11 “kind of diagonally across from Mr. Buala’s property” Ibid., 156–57.

12 “Did you ever see William Guldensuppe naked?” Ibid., 75. NB: The revelations regarding the identification of Guldensuppe by his “peculiar” penis occur solely in the trial transcript; no other source of the time even dared to hint at them, instead referring to his being identified by his “finger.”

13 “He had very peculiar privates” Ibid., 82.

14 “The most peculiar thing was his penis” Ibid., 87.

15 “A very peculiar penis” Ibid., 101.

16 fruit jar, sealed with red wax “Saw Martin Thorn at Woodside House,” BE, November 24, 1897.

17 “something looking much like small sections of tripe” NYT, November 25, 1897.

18 “Has that changed its appearance?” New York v. Thorn, 103.

19 “Church—or golf?” “Thorn Jurors at Golf Contest,” NYET, November 25, 1897.

20 the Garden City had been designed by Stanford White Waldman and Martin, Nassau, Long Island, 62.

21 One juror … stuffed buckwheat pancakes into his pockets “Hot Cakes in His Pocket,” NYEJ, November 23, 1897.

22 Church, a stout minority of five argued NYET, November 25, 1897.

23 Hundreds milled about, hoping to gain an audience “Four Thanksgivings Behind Bars,” NYW, November 26, 1897.

24 “I can say … that I really knew what Thanksgiving is today” “What Thorn Told Captain O’Brien,” NYEJ, November 25, 1897.

25 “Show your passes!” “Gotha Betrays Thorn to the Jury,” NYEJ, November 26, 1897.

26 “It’s a disgrace to have women in attendance” “Human Flies at Thorn’s Trial,” NYW, November 27, 1897.

27 “To show crime in its vulgarest” W. R. Hearst, editorial, NYEJ, November 11, 1897.

28 BRAZEN WOMEN AND BAD AIR NYW, November 27, 1897.

29 “more offensive than ever” “Mrs. Nack Held as Trump Card,” NYP, November 27, 1897.

30 and so, the press pool surmised, was Herman’s new wardrobe BE, November 27, 1897.

31 “Just a crazy barber” NYP, November 27, 1897.

32 Sullivan identified the bullets New York v. Thorn, 340.

33 NYPD pistol instructor noted that their caliber matched Ibid., 346.

34 Detective O’Connell, the former plumber Ibid., 351.

35 Thorn smiled at the sight of his old friend NYEJ, November 26, 1897.

36 Thorn’s informant looked puffy and tired “Gotha Repeats Thorn’s Story,” NYET, November 26, 1897.

37 “I asked him if he done the murder” New York v. Thorn, 299. NB: The remainder of this section is drawn from the trial transcript.

38 Howe was thunderstruck NYW, November 27, 1897.

39 CROWD MAY BREAK RECORDS BE, November 28, 1897.

40 attorneys were making a pilgrimage “All Eager to Hear Thorn,” NYT, November 29, 1897.

41 “No women” “Martin Thorn a Good Witness,” NYET, November 29, 1897.

42 Scores of women promptly laid siege “Thorn’s Bid for Life,” NYW, November 30, 1897.

43 “I have been watching them” “Thorn’s Story Told, His Life at Stake,” NYH, November 30, 1897.

44 women who had gotten in under the pretense “Thorn Testifies in His Own Behalf,” BE, November 29, 1897.

45 “The killing of Guldensuppe germinated” “Thorn Talks for His Own Life,” NYTR, November 30, 1897.

46 “In a long career in the court” “Jurors Paled at Thorn’s Grewsome Evidence,” NYJA, November 30, 1897.

47 “Will Your Honor pardon me if I sit down” New York v. Thorn, 369.

48 Howe rose and walked to the jury box BE, November 29, 1897.

49 Then the defendant leveled his gaze squarely at the twelve men “Thorn’s Account of the Murder,” NYEP, November 29, 1897.