The Economic Times

In Maine, a woman bought an 1880s Victorian silk dress, only to discover hidden pockets filled with mysterious papers, strange words, numbers and '10pm'

Woman bought 1880s Victorian silk dress: An exquisite antique silk dress bought in Maine concealed a hidden pocket containing a collection of mysterious papers. Researchers later discovered that the documents contained coded weather observations from 1888. Using historical telegraphic codebooks, they deciphered the compact records, which documented atmospheric conditions such as temperature, pressure, wind and precipitation. While researchers have explored the possibility that the dress belonged to a woman associated with the U.S. Army Signal Service, the owner has not been conclusively identified.