1877 Nast Uncle Sam, Kyoto Japan, Elephant Moonlight, St. Louis Fire — May 5
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🗞️ HARPER'S WEEKLY · May 5, 1877
Complete Issue + Supplement Pages · New York
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A richly varied issue — Thomas Nast's Uncle Sam front page, a Harper's artist's firsthand view of Kyoto Japan, rice cultivation in southern India, a dramatic St. Louis hotel fire, and a supplement containing a beautifully rendered boatbuilding lesson and a spectacular moonlit African elephant scene. Strong content across Japanese art history, Victorian India, American disaster history, and African adventure illustration.
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🖼️ THE FRONT PAGE
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🎩 FULL FRONT PAGE — THOMAS NAST: UNCLE SAM CARTOON
A Thomas Nast front page featuring Uncle Sam — Nast's iconic patriotic figure deployed in pointed Gilded Age political commentary during the unsettled post-Hayes-Tilden year.
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🗾 INSIDE THE ISSUE
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🏯 FULL PAGE — "OUR ARTIST AT KYOTO, JAPAN"
A full-page illustration drawn by Harper's Weekly's own artist on location in Kyoto — a firsthand visual dispatch from the ancient imperial capital of Japan during the early Meiji era, when Western artists and journalists were only just beginning to gain access to Japan's interior. Kyoto had been the imperial seat for over a thousand years before the Meiji Restoration of 1868, and in 1877 it was still adjusting to its new role as the country opened to the world. A significant and historically specific piece of Victorian Japanese history.
🌾 FULL PAGE — "RICE CULTIVATION IN TRAVANCORE, INDIA"
A full-page illustration of rice cultivation in Travancore — the princely state on the southwestern tip of India, in present-day Kerala — showing the labor-intensive processes of rice farming in one of South Asia's most productive agricultural regions. A vivid piece of Victorian Indian social and agricultural history.
🔥 BURNING OF THE SOUTHERN HOTEL, ST. LOUIS
Coverage of the catastrophic fire at the Southern Hotel in St. Louis — one of the worst hotel fires in American history, which killed at least eight people and destroyed one of the city's grandest buildings. A significant piece of St. Louis and American disaster history.
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🐘 THE SUPPLEMENT
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🚤 FULL PAGE — "A LESSON IN BOAT-BUILDING"
A beautifully detailed full-page illustration of a man seated at a workbench instructing a boy in the craft of boatbuilding — tools and timber throughout the workshop interior, a glimpse of the coast visible through the open door. A warm and richly rendered piece of Victorian maritime craft and the tradition of passing skills from father to son.
🌙 FULL PAGE — "ELEPHANT-SHOOTING BY MOONLIGHT — THE RIVER AMBUSCADE"
A spectacular and atmospheric full-page illustration of an elephant at a moonlit African riverbank — tropical palms reflected in still water, lily pads in the foreground, a full moon casting silver light across the scene. A dramatic and beautifully composed piece of Victorian African adventure illustration — evocative, atmospheric, and very well suited for framing.
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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 ··············· May 5, 1877
City ··············· New York
Item Number ········ 174136
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 Nast Uncle Sam, Kyoto Japan, Elephant Moonlight, St. Louis Fire — May 5
$36.63