"The Source of the Nile":  an illustration from an 1863 issue of Punch magazine.

An illustration from an 1868 issue of Punch magazine.

"Roses dream by perceiving scents which seem to waft from far distances, unknowable lands."
—Wendy Walker, The Secret Service (a stunningly original novel)

An illustration from an 1888 issue of Punch magazine.

An illustration from an 1881 issue of Punch magazine.

Father Time learns about the quantum cups and balls 116 years before physicists Billangeon and Nakamura publish their quantum cups and balls in the journal Nature.  An illustration from an 1896 issue of Punch magazine.

Science holds a match to the sun: an illustration from an 1883 issue of Punch magazine.

An illustration from an 1867 issue of Beadle's magazine.

The North Pole enjoys a nightcap with the midnight sun: an illustration from an 1896 issue of Punch magazine.

Robinson Crusoe started off as an armchair traveler.  (See evidence, from Little Wide Awake, 1882.)

"The Serpent Cigarette": an illustration from an 1882 issue of Punch magazine.

"The 'Odd Fellow' Out": an illustration from an 1891 issue of Punch magazine.

An illustration from an 1883 issue of Punch magazine.

An illustration from a 1908 issue of Punch magazine.

Father Time stands at the finish line for the seasons' quadricycle race: an illustration from an 1897 issue of Punch magazine.

"Snake-Talk": an illustration from an 1867 issue of Beadle's magazine.