Tuesday Treasures - Harper's Weekly: More City-Wide! October 8, 2024

 Harper's Weekly a Journal of Civilization was a political magazine (newspaper) published in New York from 1857 through 1916.  Yes, it's the same Harper's as today's Harper's Bazaar, which used to be spelled Bazar and began in 1867. Each edition of Harper's Weekly had foreign and domestic news, serialized fiction, essays, humor, and plenty of wood engraving prints* (the illustrations).  It gave extensive coverage to the Civil War (other than one issue dated the year after the war ended, mine are later dates), and after the war was openly supporting the Republican Party (which was not the Republican Party of today, remember Lincoln was a Republican).  

This pile includes 60 issues and a few supplements.  Years cover 1863, 1968, mostly the 1870s, and one 1886, but obviously not every week is included. 

Some illustration highlights:

Buffalo bulls protecting a herd from wolves.  One of them seems to have tossed a wolf airborne! 

A Japanese ballet at the theatre of Kyoto.



Of course, my favorite, Jack in the Box!  I may just frame this one.  I don't feel too bad about taking an issue apart, some are in poor condition already.  Some illustrations have a page number in parentheses, which is where you'll find information on the illustration, or an article on the subject.  In this case it gives the artist's name, Mr. H. H. Couldery, "a young English artist of great promise," and goes on to describe the Skye terrier puppies in detail, as well as what they are doing (got out a bandbox and are tearing up a bonnet and veil.)



The issues with illustrations by Winslow Homer are the most in demand by collectors. Here's one,  Spring Farm Work - Grafting.  Also those by Thomas Nash, of which there are quite a few.



The President and Mrs. Cleveland, their wedding, and the departure from the White House (I assume after the wedding, as it's in the same article)


Two more nice illustrations. 



Chapter XXI of Little Kate Kirby.

The Temptation, The Doubtful Bank-Note, and a political cartoon on a cover.  There are lots of political cartoon, satire, etc. which I don't "get," as I don't know the history of politics in the late 1800s.  Nor the foreign wars.   There is a lot on the Franco-Prussian war of the time. 

I love old advertisements!

These were all only $2.00.  Very motivated sellers! 

* Wood engraving begins with artists creating sketches.  Then the sketches are transferred onto blocks of wood.  The illustrations are divided into smaller sections, engraved by different artists.  Then those sections are assembled to form the complete image.  The last step is using the block as a master to stamp the illustration onto the newspaper pages.  It was quite a lot of work for timely illustrations of world and national news.