The Steam Man Of The Prairies

     In 1868, one of the first true robots was invented in a fictional work by Edward Sylvester Ellis (1840 – 1916) titled, The Steam Man of the Prairies. It was also one of the earliest dime-novels, foreshadowing the age of pulp fiction which would surface in the decades to come. As the title suggests, the “steam man” was a large, human-like figure that ran on steam like a locomotive, built by the fictional character of Johnny Brainerd, a boy genius who happened to be also be a dwarf. The work was wildly popular and went through multiple reprints between 1868 and 1904. It’s success spawned imitations, particularly the first of the Frank Reade stories, written by Harold Cohen (1854 – 1927) under the pseudonym of Harry Enton. It was titled, Frank Reade and His Steam Man of the Plains (1876) and was serialized in the juvenile magazine, Boys of New York.
  Frank Reade stories popped up again with the character of his son, Frank Reade, Jr., written about by Louis Philip Senarens (1863 – 1939). In these stories, which began serializing around 1886 or so, Frank Reade, Jr. goes on amazing adventures using the latest inventions, including dirigible balloons, underwater submersibles, and electrically-powered gadgets. In the 1890’s, he wrote of the character, “Jack Wright, Boy Inventor.” These writings earned him the nickname, “The American Jules Verne,” although his writings were aimed at a juvenile audience. He was published primarily by Frank Tousey, and the line of Tousey boy’s magazines flourished under his contributions.

  But it all began with the tale of a steam-powered man carrying adventurers across the Old West.