I’ve updated the text of William Harding’s American Prize Ring history of bare-knuckle boxing to include a lengthy index. Available on Amazon at:
While compiling the index I was struck by the fact that every current, popular American male nickname was in wide use in the mid-19th century: Bill, Bob, Jim, Jack, Johnny, Charlie, Sam, Joe, Tom, Ed, Dan, Dick, Ben, Barney, Mike, Al, Frank, Abe, Lou, Matt, Tim, Sandy, Harry, Phil, etc. You would not get that impression from 19th century literature or journalism (with a few exceptions). It makes me wonder whether the speech patterns of the 19th century working class (including subcultures of sports and criminals) would sound more familiar to the modern ear than the published prose of that era.