EMPEROR OF THE IMAGINATION

Dressed, as always, in his blue uniform and a hat crowned with peacock feathers, ceremonial sword dangling from his belt, Norton I, Emperor of the United States, strode through a cold rain, heading to a lecture at San Francisco’s Academy of Natural Sciences. It was January 8, 1880. A few steps from his destination, Norton staggered, then fell to the sidewalk. By the time police arrived, he was dead.

Reporters who’d been covering the Emperor for decades hustled to the morgue and jotted notes about the contents of his pockets—a few silver coins, a French franc, a gold piece worth $2.50 and a pile of the “Imperial