1874 Boss Tweed in Prison, Battle of Trafalgar, Nast Centerfold — Nov 14
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🗞️ HARPER'S WEEKLY · November 14, 1874
Complete Issue + Supplement Pages · New York
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A richly varied and visually powerful issue — six illustrations of Boss Tweed's prison life on Blackwell's Island, a Thomas Nast double-page centerfold on international law, a magnificent Battle of Trafalgar spread, and 18 portraits of the Geneva Congress delegates. Strong content for collectors of New York political history, naval history, and Victorian art.
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🏛️ BOSS TWEED IN PRISON
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🔒 SIX ILLUSTRATIONS — "A STATESMAN'S RETREAT — WILLIAM M. TWEED'S PENITENTIARY LIFE ON BLACKWELL'S ISLAND"
Six separate illustrations documenting the prison life of Boss Tweed — the most corrupt political boss in American history — serving his sentence on Blackwell's Island (now Roosevelt Island) in New York's East River. Thomas Nast's relentless cartoons had been instrumental in bringing Tweed down, and Harper's Weekly was now documenting his humiliation in detail. A remarkable and highly collectible piece of New York political history — Boss Tweed behind bars, captured in six scenes for a gleeful reading public.
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✏️ THOMAS NAST CENTERFOLD
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🌍 DOUBLE-PAGE CENTERFOLD — THOMAS NAST: "INTERNATIONAL LAW — THE BETTER WAY"
A large Thomas Nast double-page centerfold — the era's most powerful political cartoonist deploying his full compositional range across the open breadth of the newspaper. A sweeping commentary on international law and diplomacy in the Gilded Age.
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⚓ THE BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR
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⚓ HORIZONTAL 1½-PAGE — "THE BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR" (after C. Stanfield)
A magnificent large-format horizontal illustration of the Battle of Trafalgar — Nelson's great 1805 victory — rendered after the celebrated painting by Clarkson Stanfield, one of the finest Victorian marine painters. Towering masts, billowing sails, and cannon smoke across a turbulent sea, capturing the chaos and grandeur of the most famous naval battle in British history. A spectacular and very frameable piece of British naval history and Victorian maritime art.
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🖼️ ADDITIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS
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⚖️ FULL FRONT PAGE — 18 PORTRAITS: "INTERNATIONAL LAW — MEMBERS OF THE GENEVA CONGRESS"
The full front page is a grid of 18 small portraits of the members of the Geneva Congress — the international body then codifying the laws of war and what would become the foundations of the Geneva Convention. A significant piece of international legal history.
🌊 TWO-THIRDS PAGE — "ON THE RIVER — A MIDSUMMER REVERIE"
A lovely two-thirds page genre scene of leisure on the river — a warm, atmospheric Victorian summer illustration.
👥 TWO-THIRDS PAGE — "THE SPECTATORS"
A two-thirds page crowd scene — elegant Victorian figures observing some event or spectacle, rendered in the fine genre tradition of Harper's illustration.
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📰 THE SUPPLEMENT
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The supplement includes a large illustration and literary content — including "Imprisoned: Prose and Poetry" and a continuation of Miss Braddon's "A Strange World." Please review all supplement photographs carefully for full details.
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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 ··············· November 14, 1874
City ··············· New York
Item Number ········ 173878
Pages ·············· Complete · 16 pages + Supplement
Format ············· Illustrated folio newspaper
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📦 SHIPPING & PRESERVATION
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• Housed in an acid-free archival folder with Mylar overlay to protect the 151-year-old newsprint
• Flat-shipped with heavy-duty reinforcement to ensure safe arrival of the centerfold and supplement
• Fully tracked for your peace of mind
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🔍 SEO TAGS
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1874 Boss Tweed in Prison, Battle of Trafalgar, Nast Centerfold — Nov 14
$39.99