author
Frank H. Stauffer
1832–1895
Best known for a delightfully eccentric cabinet of curiosities, this 19th-century American writer gathered odd facts, strange tales, and literary surprises into work that still feels playful today. He also moved through journalism, poetry, and local business life in Pennsylvania.
1 Audiobook
The Queer, the Quaint and the Quizzical: A Cabinet for the Curious
by Frank H. Stauffer
About the author
Born in Philadelphia on October 3, 1832, Frank H. Stauffer was an American journalist, writer, and businessman who later became closely associated with Berwyn, Pennsylvania. A Chester County biographical sketch describes him as a "well-known journalist and literatus" and notes that he was the eldest son of Col. Jacob and Sarah Birch Stauffer.
Stauffer is best remembered for The Queer, the Quaint, the Quizzical: A Cabinet for the Curious (1882), a wide-ranging collection of unusual anecdotes, lore, and curious historical material. Records of his work also show that he published poetry, including Toward Sunset, and Other Poems, suggesting a career that ranged from light literary entertainment to more reflective writing.
He died in 1895. Although detailed modern biographies are scarce, the surviving record paints a picture of a versatile 19th-century man of letters whose fascination with the odd and unexpected gave his work its lasting charm.