1877 Black Family 4th of July, Paul Jones Victory, Nast, Gambetta — Jul 14
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🗞️ HARPER'S WEEKLY · July 14, 1877
Complete Issue + Supplement Pages · New York
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A historically and visually exceptional issue — a Black family celebrating the Fourth of July, a dramatic John Paul Jones naval battle, New York dock stevedores, torpedo warfare illustrations, a Thomas Nast front page, and a supplement containing a large Gambetta portrait, a Russian-Bulgarian banner consecration, and Ottoman war scenes. Strong content across Black Americana, American naval history, French political history, and Russo-Turkish War documentation.
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✊ BLACK AMERICANA
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🎆 ILLUSTRATION — "THE FOURTH IN BLACKVILLE"
An illustration showing a Black family celebrating the Fourth of July — published in the first summer after Reconstruction's effective end, this image of African Americans celebrating American independence carries particular historical resonance. The "Blackville" series documented Black domestic and community life, and a Fourth of July celebration scene published in July 1877 — as Black civil rights were being dismantled across the South — is a significant piece of Black Americana and post-Reconstruction social history.
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🖼️ THE FRONT PAGE
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🗿 FULL FRONT PAGE — THOMAS NAST: "BRITISH INTERESTS" (SHOWING THE SPHINX)
A Thomas Nast front page featuring the Sphinx — a commentary on British strategic interests in Egypt and the Near East, published as Britain was maneuvering carefully around the Russo-Turkish War to protect its interests in the Ottoman Empire and the route to India. A pointed piece of Victorian geopolitical satire.
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⚓ NAVAL HISTORY
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⚔️ FULL PAGE — "PAUL JONES'S GREAT VICTORY — THE BONHOMME RICHARD AND THE SERAPIS"
A dramatic full-page illustration of the most celebrated naval battle in American history — John Paul Jones aboard the Bonhomme Richard engaging the British warship Serapis on September 23, 1779. When asked to surrender, Jones reportedly replied "I have not yet begun to fight" — and went on to win. A significant and highly collectible piece of American naval and Revolutionary War history.
🚀 NEARLY FULL PAGE — "ILLUSTRATIONS OF TORPEDO WARFARE" — FIVE SCENES
Five scenes illustrating the emerging technology of torpedo warfare — one of the great Victorian military engineering developments, transforming naval combat and rendered here in careful detail for Harper's Weekly's scientifically curious readership.
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🚢 ADDITIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS
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⚓ FULL PAGE — "SCENE ON A NEW YORK DOCK — STEVEDORES UNLOADING A SHIP"
A full-page illustration of stevedores at work on a New York City dock — a vivid piece of American labor history and New York maritime commerce, documenting the working lives of the men who moved the goods of a great port city.
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🇫🇷 THE SUPPLEMENT
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👤 FULL PAGE — "M. LÉON GAMBETTA"
A beautifully rendered large full-page portrait of Léon Gambetta — the great French Republican statesman, orator, and founder of the Third Republic. Gambetta had organized France's resistance during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71 and was the dominant political figure of French Republicanism in the 1870s. A significant piece of French political history.
⛪ FULL PAGE — "THE RUSSO-BULGARIAN LEGION — CONSECRATION OF BANNERS IN THE PRESENCE OF THE GRAND DUKE NICHOLAS AND HIS SUITE"
A large, richly detailed illustration of a Russian Orthodox banner consecration ceremony — a priest blessing military standards before a vast assembled force, Grand Duke Nicholas and his entourage present, a military encampment stretching to the mountains behind. A primary document of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877 and the Russian alliance with Bulgarian fighters against Ottoman rule.
🚢 TWO SUPPLEMENT ILLUSTRATIONS — OTTOMAN WAR SCENES
· **"The Holy War — Embarkation of Turkish Troops"** — Ottoman soldiers boarding vessels for deployment
· **"A Harem — The Favorite and Her Mistress"** — two women in Ottoman dress in a richly appointed interior
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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 ··············· July 14, 1877
City ··············· New York
Item Number ········ 174156
Pages ·············· Complete Issue + 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 148-year-old newsprint
• Flat-shipped with heavy-duty reinforcement to ensure safe arrival of the supplement pages
• Fully tracked for your peace of mind
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🔍 SEO TAGS
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1877 Black Family 4th of July, Paul Jones Victory, Nast, Gambetta — Jul 14
$36.93