{"product_id":"1871-great-chicago-fire-ruins-nast-tammany-tiger-loose-chateau-lafite-harvest-nov-11","title":"1871 Great Chicago Fire Ruins, Nast \"Tammany Tiger Loose,\" Château Lafite Harvest — Nov 11","description":"1871 Great Chicago Fire Ruins, Nast \"Tammany Tiger Loose,\" Château Lafite Harvest — Nov 11\n\n📜 ABOUT THIS PIECE OF HISTORY 📜\nThis November 11, 1871 issue of Harper's Weekly — complete with its rare supplement — is one of the most visually powerful and historically significant issues of the entire Gilded Age run. Published just five weeks after the Great Chicago Fire, it delivers the most comprehensive illustrated record of Chicago's devastation yet published, alongside Thomas Nast's single most famous political cartoon — \"The Tammany Tiger Loose\" — and a supplement containing a spectacular engraving of Château Lafite's grape harvest and a brilliantly comic backstage theatre scene. For collectors of Chicago history, Thomas Nast, Tammany Hall, Victorian theatre history, and French wine history, this issue is simply extraordinary.\n\n🔥 FULL FRONT PAGE — \"THE RUINED CHURCHES OF CHICAGO\"\nThe full front page delivers nine scenes of \"The Ruined Churches of Chicago\" — a sweeping, multi-vignette document of the spiritual and architectural devastation wrought by the Great Chicago Fire of October 8, 1871. Church after church, rendered in vivid woodblock detail, stands gutted and skeletal against the Chicago sky. A powerful and moving primary source document of one of the most catastrophic events in American urban history.\n\n🏙️ CHICAGO FIRE — ADDITIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS\nThe documentation of Chicago's destruction continues inside with a full-page view of the ruins and a half-page accompanying print — making this one of the most extensively illustrated single-issue records of the Great Chicago Fire in the entire Harper's Weekly run. For collectors of Chicago history and American disaster ephemera, the concentration of fire imagery in this issue is exceptional.\n\n🐯 DOUBLE-PAGE CENTERFOLD — THOMAS NAST'S \"THE TAMMANY TIGER LOOSE\"\nThe centerfold is Thomas Nast's single most iconic political image — \"The Tammany Tiger Loose\" — a tipped-in double-page cartoon of immense historical and collectible significance. The image shows the ferocious Tammany Tiger having broken free into a Roman-style arena, mauling the figure of the Republic while Boss Tweed and his Ring look on from the imperial box above. The Latin caption — \"What are you going to do about it?\" — became one of the most famous political taunts in American history. This image is widely credited as the illustration that finally broke Tammany Hall and sent Boss Tweed to prison. Tipped-in as issued — the desired form — and fully displayable. Among the most sought-after images in all of 19th-century American illustrated press.\n\n🗳️ ADDITIONAL THOMAS NAST CARTOONS\nThe back pages of the main issue deliver two additional Nast political cartoons in the supplement:\n\n\"The Committee of Seventy\" confronting a box labeled \"Committee of Frauds — $650,000\" — a sharp indictment of Tammany's financial corruption\nA cluster of rotund Tammany Ring figures huddled in classic Nast conspiratorial composition — among his most recognizable visual shorthand for the corruption of the Tweed era\n\nMaking this one of the richest Nast issues of the entire 1871 run, with the iconic Tammany Tiger centerfold plus multiple supporting cartoons.\n\n⛵ \"THE YACHT RACE FOR THE QUEEN'S CUP\"\nA full page presenting nine prints documenting the prestigious transatlantic yacht race for the Queen's Cup — a major international sporting event of the Gilded Age, capturing the drama and elegance of competitive sailing at its 19th-century peak.\n\n📰 THE SUPPLEMENT — CHÂTEAU LAFITE, VICTORIAN THEATRE \u0026amp; MORE\nThis issue includes its complete supplement — a rare survival delivering two spectacular full-page engravings of exceptional quality and displayability:\n\"The Vintage in Medoc, France — The Vineyards of Château Lafitte\" — a sweeping, beautifully rendered full-page harvest scene at the legendary Château Lafite in Bordeaux, one of the world's greatest wine estates. Dozens of workers gather grapes in the foreground while horse-drawn carts carry the harvest across the sunlit estate, with the grand château itself visible in the background. A stunning piece of French agricultural and wine history — displayable, rare, and of great appeal to collectors of wine history, French culture, and 19th-century landscape illustration.\n\"Preparing the Dressing Room\" — a wonderfully chaotic and humorous full-page backstage theatre scene, packed with theatrical costume heads on stands, mannequins, props, elaborate costumes, and figures in various states of preparation. A vivid, entertaining, and highly collectible document of Victorian theatrical life behind the curtain — one of the most charming supplement prints in the Harper's Weekly run.\nLiterary content includes:\n\n\"Lord Kilgobbin\" by Charles Lever — major serialized Victorian novel\n\"Home Training\" — domestic life editorial\n\"The History of Mexico\" — international affairs feature\n\"A Night at Java\" — travel narrative\n\"A Cuban Canal\" — editorial on the proposed Panama\/Cuba canal debate\n\"General Peter Rowe\" — biographical feature\n\n\n🗞️ GILDED AGE ADVERTISING — A VICTORIAN MARKETPLACE\nBoth the main issue and supplement advertising pages constitute a remarkable document of Gilded Age consumer culture:\n\nTiffany \u0026amp; Co. — Union Square, New York\nBall, Black \u0026amp; Co. — Waltham Watches, 14k and 18k\nWaltham Watches — the finest in the United States\nChickering \u0026amp; Sons — piano-fortes, 11 East 14th Street, easy monthly payments\nKnabe \u0026amp; Co.'s Pianos\nStarr \u0026amp; Marcus — sterling silver-ware, No. 22 John Street\nGorham \u0026amp; Co. — sterling silver-mail\nNicol \u0026amp; Davidson, 686 Broadway — gray bronzes, French china\nHalford Leicestershire Table Sauce — the best sauce and relish in the world\nWickes' Eclectic Oil\nCundurango! — patent medicine\nAmerican Agriculturist — 2 months for free\nPratt's Astral Oil — oil house of Chas. Pratt\nGetting Up Clubs — Great American Tea Co.\nDetroit Weekly Tribune — Will M. Carleton\nDesolated Chicago — The Bright Safety Lamps\nAsbestos Roofing\nDooley's Powder\nDr. Kennedy's Hair Tea\nCarbolic Salve\nGuanaco Umbrellas\nWeber Piano-Fortes\nCharles W. Hassler — Railroad Bonds\nUnion Adams \u0026amp; Co. — Paris kid gloves\nP.L. Aubert's — feather brushes\nThea-Nectar\nBook Agents Wanted\n\n\n🔍 CONDITION \u0026amp; TRANSPARENCY 🔍\nCompleteness: Sixteen-page main issue with complete supplement included, including both full-page supplement engravings. Pages show binding holes from original bound volume, typical for Harper's Weekly held in library or personal bound collections.\nAuthenticity: Guaranteed original woodblock printing from November 11, 1871 — not a reproduction.\nCondition Report: Presents well for its 154-year age. Natural toning to the newsprint throughout. The \"Tammany Tiger Loose\" centerfold, the Chicago fire front page, the Château Lafite supplement engraving, and the theatre dressing room print are all clear and displayable. Binding holes present along inner margins as visible in photographs.\nI 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.\n\n📦 SHIPPING \u0026amp; PRESERVATION 📦\n\nHoused in an acid-free archival folder with Mylar overlay to protect the 154-year-old newsprint\nFlat-shipped with heavy-duty reinforcement to ensure safe arrival of the centerfold and supplement\nFully tracked for your peace of mind\n\n\n🏷️ TAGS\n1871 Harpers Weekly, Great Chicago Fire Ruins, Tammany Tiger Loose Thomas Nast, Boss Tweed Political Cartoon, Chicago Fire Churches 1871, Chateau Lafite Vineyard Harvest, Victorian Theatre Dressing Room, Queen's Cup Yacht Race 1871, Tammany Hall 1871, Lord Kilgobbin Charles Lever, Gilded Age Political History, Antique Newspaper 1871, 19th Century Americana, Chicago Fire Primary Source, French Wine History Engraving","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52264016969948,"sku":null,"price":198.88,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0849\/4759\/9580\/files\/af9db3d1-il_fullxfull.7836059376_mr97.jpg?v=1786496667","url":"https:\/\/thekeenantiquarian.com\/products\/1871-great-chicago-fire-ruins-nast-tammany-tiger-loose-chateau-lafite-harvest-nov-11","provider":"My Store","version":"1.0","type":"link"}