1867 Washington Statue Union Square, Nast Prometheus Bound, Regent's Park Mar 2
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🗞️ HARPER'S WEEKLY · March 2, 1867
Complete Issue · New York
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A rich and varied issue combining Washington iconography with powerful Reconstruction-era content — Thomas Nast's "Prometheus Bound" casting Grant as Prometheus chained by the Southern Furies, the equestrian Washington statue at Union Square, the Regent's Park skating disaster, an Alabama moonshine still, a Minnesota normal school, and winter. Strong content for collectors of Nast, Washington memorabilia, and Reconstruction history.
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✏️ THOMAS NAST — "PROMETHEUS BOUND"
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⛓️ TWO-THIRDS PAGE — THOMAS NAST: "PROMETHEUS BOUND"
A significant Thomas Nast political allegory — documented by the House Divided Project at Dickinson College — depicting General Ulysses S. Grant as Prometheus, bound to a precipice in a Southern ravine while the Southern Furies torment him, and Columbia and Congress sit helplessly at his feet as dawn slowly breaks. The classical allegory was perfectly chosen: as Prometheus was chained by Zeus for bringing fire to mankind, Grant — who had championed Black rights and Union enforcement in the South — was being frustrated by President Andrew Johnson's lenient Reconstruction policies and the violent resistance of former Confederates. Published on March 2, 1867 — the exact day Congress passed the first Reconstruction Act over Johnson's veto — this Nast cartoon is a primary document of one of the most pivotal moments in Reconstruction history. A significant piece of Thomas Nast's allegorical work and American political art.
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🗽 GEORGE WASHINGTON
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🏇 FULL FRONT PAGE — "EQUESTRIAN STATUE OF WASHINGTON, UNION SQUARE, NEW YORK"
A full front-page illustration of Henry Kirke Brown's celebrated equestrian statue of George Washington in Union Square — unveiled in 1856 and one of the finest equestrian monuments in America, cast in bronze from captured Mexican War cannon. The statue depicts Washington at the moment he returned to New York after the British evacuation in November 1783. A significant piece of New York City public art and Washington iconography.
👸 ONE-THIRD PAGE — "MARTHA WASHINGTON"
A portrait of Martha Washington — the First Lady who helped define the dignity and social role of the presidency's spouse. A significant piece of American founding era history.
🏠 HALF PAGE — "WASHINGTON'S HEAD QUARTERS AT NEWBURGH"
A half-page illustration of Washington's Headquarters at Newburgh, New York — where Washington spent the final years of the Revolutionary War and where he famously quelled the Newburgh Conspiracy of 1783, refusing his officers' suggestion that he become king. A significant piece of Revolutionary War and Hudson Valley history.
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🖼️ INSIDE THE ISSUE
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🧊 VERTICAL HALF PAGE — "THE DISASTER AT REGENT'S PARK, LONDON — RESCUING THE SKATERS FROM THE BROKEN ICE"
A vertical half-page illustration of the Regent's Park skating disaster — one of the most dramatic ice accidents of Victorian London, when the frozen lake in Regent's Park gave way beneath skaters on January 15, 1867, plunging hundreds into the freezing water and killing 40 people. A vivid piece of Victorian London disaster history.
🌨️ FULL PAGE — "WINTER"
A full-page atmospheric illustration of winter — a beautiful and very frameable piece of Victorian American seasonal illustration.
🏫 HALF PAGE — "MINNESOTA STATE NORMAL SCHOOL AT WINONA"
A half-page illustration of the Minnesota State Normal School at Winona — one of the earliest teacher training institutions in the upper Midwest, a significant piece of Minnesota educational history.
🔥 HALF PAGE — "GREAT FIRE IN NEW YORK — RUINS OF THE APPLETON BUILDING, BROADWAY"
A half-page illustration of the ruins of the Appleton Building on Broadway after a great fire — a significant piece of New York City architectural and disaster history. D. Appleton & Company, one of America's most important publishers, occupied the building.
🚶 ONE-THIRD PAGE — "CROSSING BROADWAY"
A vivid one-third page illustration of the chaotic experience of crossing Broadway in New York — one of the most dangerous and exciting urban experiences of the Gilded Age, as horse-drawn traffic and pedestrians competed for the city's main thoroughfare.
🏞️ TWO SMALL ILLUSTRATIONS — "VIEW ON THE TOMBIGBEE RIVER, ALABAMA" AND "AN ILLEGAL STILL IN ALABAMA"
Two small illustrations of Alabama — a view of the Tombigbee River and an illegal whiskey still, together capturing both the natural landscape and the persistent moonshining culture of Reconstruction-era Alabama.
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📋 CONDITION
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I photograph every page of every issue so you can inspect the condition closely before purchasing. Please review all images carefully and don't hesitate to ask any questions — I'm happy to provide additional detail or close-up shots of any page, illustration, or area of concern before you buy.
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📌 DETAILS
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Publication ········ Harper's Weekly
Date ··············· March 2, 1867
City ··············· New York
Format ············· Illustrated newspaper, complete in 16 pages
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📦 SHIPPING & PRESERVATION
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• Stored in an acid-free protective bag and flat-shipped in a padded envelope with heavy cardboard reinforcement
• Fully tracked for your peace of mind
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🔍 SEO TAGS
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1867 Washington Statue Union Square, Nast Prometheus Bound, Regent's Park Mar 2
$38.88