"The wrong kind of applause," from Through the Wilds by Charles A. J. Farrar, 1893.

"The prompter does a little acting," from Through the Wilds by Charles A. J. Farrar, 1893.

From Inleyding Tot de Hooge Schoole der Schilderkonst by Samuel van Hoogstraten, 1678.

We complain that today's culture is vapid, but here's "a beggarly account of empty boxes" from Dicks' English Library of Standard Works, 1884.

An illustration from an 1844 issue of Punch magazine.  The items named include: "Moon, clouds, smoke, skeleton hunt in the air, blue fire, rocks, red fire, lightning, infernal regions, snakes, his hat, his feather, his rifle, birds of prey, monsters, goblins, imps, reptiles, Zamiel, alligator, the ghost, the owl, skeleton, stump of tree, witch, wolf, toad, skulls, grate, 7th bullet, lizard, boa, bear, and frog."

An illustration from The Bill Toppers by Andre Castaigne (1909).  The caption reads: "Powerful rays shot out to every side."