Nimble Ike; The Ventriloquist Detective Dime Novel Collection Volumes One and Two.

This is a two-part collection of New York mysteries published in 1894 through 1897 in "Old Sleuths Own" series of dime novels. These Victorian-era stories have been brought back to life for the first time in over a century.

These were published at the end of the Wild West Era in the western territories, which was from 1865 to 1895.

Wonderful Vocal Magic

Ike's life began in India in 1879-1880.  Raised as "Issac Andro" with past memories of opulence, he was a child of adventure and mystery.  Full of fun tricks and deviltry.

At thirteen or fourteen he studied the closely kept secrets of ventriloquism from a master of the craft, a mysterious juggling Indian necromancer.

When Ike came of age, his journey from the home he knew brought him through Spain, France, Italy, England, and finally New York City.  The youth quickly learned to speak three languages.

He excelled in card tricks, was a practical joker, master of disguise, and a skillful electrical mechanic with an electric machine that parallelizes men.

By seventeen years old, he reached and settled in New York and became known to the New York detective profession as "Nimble Ike" because of being the most nimble lad in the world. When not snaring criminals, he indulged in taking particular joy in assaulting and tricking the police.

Ike's odd and wonderful gift of misdirection was through changing his voice. As a ventriloquist, he could roar like a giant or speak with the softness of a maiden.  The young detective possessed this unique gift of distraction using psychological manipulation; mimicking animal growls, making barks and snake hisses seem to come from any direction. An ingenious trickster and voice magician who perplexed professionals and amazed amateurs!

With aid from his Siberian Bloodhound and a friend, Jack The Juggler, how will Nimble Ike survive a ghostly visitant or the assassin of innocence and beauty?

The History Of The Nimble Ike Dime Novels

The seven books in this collection were written by Old Sleuth, the pseudonym of Harlan Page Halsey, and published in 1894 through 1897 by Parlor Car Publishing Company of New York.  In 1900, J. S. Ogilvie Publishing Company took over as the owner, keeping "Old Sleuth's Own" in print until the early 1920s. These books exist today due to those reprints.

Although the print circulation for "Old Sleuth's Own" was in the millions, all versions of the original editions are scarcely found today.

Old Sleuth dime novels were written over 130 years ago and are a product of their time. They contain some social norms, prejudices, stereotypes, and racial attitudes of the era that do not represent today's society or values.

Where to Buy Old Sleuth Dime Novels in the 1890s?

Detective books like Old Sleuth were sold in general stores, dry goods stores, bookstores, railroad station newsstands, and through mail order. Book rental libraries also carried them.

Parlor Car Publishing Company, the original publisher of "Old Sleuth's Own", was named for railroad high-ticket passenger coaches that offered extra comforts and amenities. Including reading material.

The cover price was ten cents, which is a little over $3.61 today. These kinds of books are called dime novels because they generally cost a half dime or a dime.  It is a category of literature that includes engaging, sensational stories at a low cost available to the masses.

When the Nimble Ike dime novels debuted in 1894 Grover Cleveland was president of the United States, William Kennedy Dickson received his motion picture patent, and Coca-Cola was sold in bottles for the first time.  Many readers in North America also did not have electricity in their homes. The cost of new inventions like the telephone was out of reach for most, and the main means of communication was by telegraph and the U.S. Mail.