So popular were Reade's "invention" stories that the character was given his own weekly title in 1892 (also written by Senarens under the Noname pseudonym) titled the Frank Reade Library. Over the course of 191 issues readers learned about a remarkable array of robots, air craft, submersibles, armored vehicles, and powered land and sea vessels. David Buckley has an informative webpage with pictures of early robots and mechanical men, as well as background on stories of steam-driven robots.