On 18 January 1892 the Rio de Janeiro newspaper Gazeta de Notícias included a Literary Supplement, which was launched with an introductory article by Eça de Queirós. The text bears the eye-catching title “Europe in a nutshell. Our supplement” and is primarily directed at readers who the author knew were inclined to accept the information coming from Europe with few reservations. What is not immediately clear is the purpose with which the Portuguese writer, who presumably wrote the text in Paris, decided to launch a literary supplement with a description of the social situation in Europe in his day.