Notes and Queries, Number 01, November 3, 1849

Notes and Queries was the mid-19th century equivalent of an antiquarian newsgroup. It fulfilled the needs of the legions of amateur early Victorian enthusiasts in many fields: the etymology of words, the origin on local customs, the meaning of heraldic emblems; it was also (as the title suggests) a medium of intercommunication between the growing number of professional writers in these fields.