Cartomania by Gelett Burgess (1894)
Cartomania is a collection of humorous poems and stories written by Gelett Burgess in the early 20th century. The book features various characters who are obsessed with playing cards, including a man named Mr. Pokerface and a woman named Mrs. Bridge. The stories often involve absurd situations and exaggerated personalities, making for an entertaining read.
By Gelett Burgess · First published 1894 · Genre: Travel, Adventure, Fantasy · 1,306 words
First lines
With something of the excitement Alice felt when she crawled through the looking-glass, I used to pore over my atlas. Geography was for me a pastime rather than a study. There was one page in the book where the huge bulging expanse of the United States lay, and there, on the extreme left hand of the vari-coloured patchwork of States and territories, was the abode of romance and adventure -- a long and narrow patch tinted pink, curving with the Pacific Ocean, and ribbed with the fuzzy haschures of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. This was the Ultima Thule of my dreams, beyond which my sober-minded hopes dared not stray.
What this Textopian page supports
Cartomania is listed on Textopian as a short story by Gelett Burgess, dated 1894 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Short story
- Author: Gelett Burgess
- Date: 1894 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Travel, Adventure, Fantasy, Memoir, Historical
- Length: 1,306 words
- Structure: 1 section, 10 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for Cartomania by Gelett Burgess
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
- Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph
Discussion starters
- What should a reader notice first when entering Cartomania?
- How does this short story by Gelett Burgess fit its genre, period, or classroom use?
- Where does Travel first become important in the reading?
Similar titles
- Borrowed Plumes by Gelett Burgess
- Caution by Gelett Burgess
- Impossible by Gelett Burgess
- Sir Marmaduke by Frank R. Stockton
- My Wonderful Adventures In Skitzland by Charles Dickens
- Exaggeration by Gelett Burgess
Genres
- Travel — The narrative revolves around the exploration of maps and the excitement of discovering new places, both real and imagined.
- Adventure — The text conveys a sense of adventure through the protagonist's imaginative journeys and the creation of fictional lands.
- Fantasy — The work includes elements of fantasy, such as the creation of mythical lands and references to fictional places like Wonderland and Utopia.
- Memoir — The narrative is presented from a personal perspective, reflecting on childhood experiences and personal interests in maps.
Tags
humor · satire · illustration · cartoons · whimsy · creativity · art · parody · visual · nonsense · playfulness · imagination