The Birth of Robots

Steven Woolfolk -

Having collected science fiction for the past 50+ years, one of the things that has interested me most is the significant contribution of the concept of robots in science fiction. Collectors typically know R.U.R. by Karl Čapek[1], from which the term ‘robot’ comes. Many of us know the Fritz Land 1927 film Metropolis,[2] dealing with the rise of the robots, which was based on a book by Thea von Harbou. Everyone knows Asimov’s three laws of robotics (circa 1950), beginning with I, Robot[3]. The portrayals of robots continued to evolve in science fiction and the movies with characters such as Robby and Grot [4]. 

However, part of the birth of Robots does not seem to be commonly recognized. As a collector of dime novels, I was aware of lesser-known sources of the development of ‘mechanical men’ and ‘mechanical animals’ in dime novels of the 1800s. However, dime novels tend to be in the hands of a small group of collectors, primarily subscribers of the Dime Novel Roundup fanzine. In 2015, a book was issued by Joseph A. Lovece, Dime Novel Robots 1868–1899, which illustrates the development of the mechanical man in dime novels and is still in print. These dime novels continued to be reprinted until well into the 1920s.

Edward Ellis created what may be the first mechanical man in fiction, specifically “The Steam Man of the Prairies” in Beadle’s America Novels No. 45 published in August of 1868[5], just after the Civil War. These stories continued to be published from 1868 until the 1920s with numerous reprints throughout this period.  

The Steam Man of the Prairies

Noname (Luis Senarens), who is reputed to have been a correspondent of Jules Verne, wrote stories for The Frank Reade and other dime novels, including various mechanical man stories. Harold Cohen also published these novels late in the 1800s and 1900s under the Noname pseudonym. These dime novel mechanical men originally used steam power, with electrically powered men appearing later as our own technology developed. Dime novels featuring mechanical men include:

  • Edward Ellis, “The Steam Man of the Prairies”, America Novels No. 45, 8/1868
  • Harry Enton (Harold Cohen), “The Steam Man of the Plains”, The Boys of New York Vol. 1 #28-36, 1876 
  • Harry Enton (Harold Cohen), “Frank Reade and The Steam Man of the Plains”, Frank Reade Library, Vol 1 #12, 1892
  • Harry Enton (Harold Cohen), “Frank Reade and His Steam Horse”, The Boys of New York Vol. 1 #48-58, 1876
  • “The Electric Man”, The Boys of New York, Vol XVII #888-890, 1886,
  • Noname (Luis Senarens), “Frank Reade, Jr. and His New Steam Man”, Frank Reade Library, Vol 1 #1, 1892
  • Noname (Luis Senarens), “Frank Reade, Jr. and His New Steam Man in No-Man’s Land”, Frank Reade Library Vol 1 #3, 1892
  • Noname (Luis Senarens), “Frank Reade, Jr. and His New Steam Man in Central America”, Frank Reade Library Vol 1 # 3, 1892
  • Noname (Luis Senarens), “Frank Reade, Jr. and His New Steam Man in Texas”, Frank Reade Library Vol 1 #4, 1892 
  • Noname (Luis Senarens), “Frank Reade, Jr. and His New Steam Man in Mexico”, Frank Reade Library Vol I #5, 1892
  • Noname (Luis Senarens), “The Electric Man”, Frank Reade Library Vol. 1 # 11, 1893
  • Noname (Luis Senarens), “Frank Reade, Jr. and His New Steam Man Chasing a Gang of Rustlers”, Frank Reade Library Vol. 1 # 6, 1892
  • “Frank Reade, J. and his New Steam Man,” Aldine Pub. Co. (British) #1, 1894
  • “Frank Reade, J. and his New Steam Man in Central America,” Aldine Pub. Co. (British) #3, 1894
  • “Frank Reade, J. with his New Steam Man in Texas Chasing Train Robber,” Aldine Pub. Co. (British) #4, 1894
  • “Frank Reade’s New Steam Man in Mexico,” Aldine Pub. Co. (British) #5, 1894
  • Cornelius Shea, “The Wonderful Electrical Man”, Golden Hours #584-593, 1899
  • Cornelius Shea, “The Electrical Man in the Enchanted Valley”, Brave and Bold #120, 1905
  • Cornelius Shea, “The Secret Sixteen”. Golden Hours #594-603, 1899
  • Cornelius Shea, “Captain Cyclone Bandit or Pursued by an Electric Man,” #121 1905 
  • Cornelius Shea, “Captain Cyclone Bandit,” Brave and Bold #121, 1905

In addition to mechanical men, these magazines had stories about mechanical creatures, including horses, deer, sea spiders, eagles, turtles, and hawks.

Many of these novels seem right out of the steampunk period but they are from the late 1800s and early 1900s. They form an interesting part of the history of the robot in science fiction. 

Reference:

  1. Joseph Lovece, Dime Novel Robots 1868 – 1899, 2015
  2. Jeremy Agnew, The Age of Dimes and Pulps, McFarland& Co. Inc, 2008
  3. J. Randolph Cox, The Dime Novel Companion, Greenwood Press, 2000
  4. Albert Johannsen, The House of Beadle and Adams, Volumes 1 to 3, University of Oklahoma Press, various beginning 1950.
  5. Reynolds, The Fiction Factory, Random House, 1955.
  6. Dime Novel Roundup, Published from 1952 to present.

Steven Woolfolk is the owner of Xenophile Bibliopole & Armorer, Chronopolis Xenophilebooks.com