The newspapers in American Underworld: The Flash Press covered the seamier aspects of urban life: crime, scandal, brothels and blackmail, combined with reviews of the bawdiest theatrical performances on offer and reports on sporting events such as cock-fighting, boxing and horse racing. The more than sixty papers, dating 1826-1876, were collected by the American Antiquarian Society and are among the rarest of all American newspapers, of particular interest to scholars in the fields of women’s studies, ethnic studies, urban life, criminal activity, and the underground economy and literature of the 19th century.