{"product_id":"1881-fargo-dakota-steamboat-electric-light-at-sea-cripples-rockaway-beach-aug-27","title":"1881 Fargo Dakota Steamboat, Electric Light at Sea, Cripples Rockaway Beach — Aug 27","description":"1881 Fargo Dakota Steamboat, Electric Light at Sea, Cripples Rockaway Beach — Aug 27\n\n📜 ABOUT THIS PIECE OF HISTORY 📜\nThis August 27, 1881 issue of Harper's Weekly is a wonderfully varied late summer number — the cutting-edge technology of electric light at sea, the touching humanity of crippled children at Rockaway Beach, the raw frontier energy of Fargo at the head of Dakota steamboat navigation, and the windswept remoteness of the northernmost house in Great Britain. For collectors of Dakota Territory history, maritime technology history, Victorian social history, and Gilded Age Americana, this issue is a richly illustrated and historically engaging primary source.\n\n💡 FULL FRONT PAGE — \"THE ELECTRIC LIGHT AT SEA\"\nThe full front page delivers a striking and forward-looking illustration of electric light being deployed at sea — one of the most exciting technological developments of the early 1880s, as Thomas Edison's practical electric light system began to transform first the land and then the water with the revolutionary power of artificial illumination. Ships equipped with electric searchlights were a marvel of the age, and this front page captures the dramatic visual impact of brilliant electric light cutting through darkness on the open ocean — a primary source document of the early history of maritime electrification and the dawn of the electrical age. A fully displayable and technologically significant front page of great interest to collectors of Edison history, maritime technology history, and Victorian science and innovation.\n\n🦽 \"LITTLE CRIPPLES BY THE SEA — SCENES AT THE SURF HOUSE, ROCKAWAY BEACH\"\nA full-page illustration of disabled and crippled children enjoying a summer respite at the sea at Rockaway Beach — one of the most moving and humanly significant genre scenes in the 1881 Harper's Weekly run. The Surf House at Rockaway was among the charitable institutions that brought urban children with disabilities to the healing air and water of the shore, and this engraving documents their joy, their resilience, and the compassionate effort to give them the summer experience denied to them by poverty and disability. A deeply touching primary source document of Victorian disability history, child welfare history, and Gilded Age charitable culture — of great interest to collectors of social history, disability history, and Victorian American philanthropic life.\n\n🚢 \"FARGO, DAKOTA — HEAD OF STEAMBOAT NAVIGATION ON THE RED RIVER\"\nA terrific and fully frameable full-page illustration of Fargo, Dakota Territory — documented here at its most historically significant moment as the head of steamboat navigation on the Red River of the North, the great waterway that connected the Dakota frontier to the wider commercial world before the railroads fully penetrated the region. In 1881 Fargo was a raw, booming frontier town at the leading edge of the great Dakota land rush, and the steamboats that pushed up the Red River to its docks were the lifeline of settlement and commerce across the northern plains. This engraving is a rare and exceptional primary source document of Fargo's earliest history and the steamboat era of Dakota Territory — of great interest to collectors of Dakota history, North Dakota history, frontier history, and American steamboat history. Described as terrific and frameable — a fully displayable piece of the highest collectible appeal.\n\n🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 \"JOHN O'GROAT'S — NORTHERNMOST HOUSE IN GREAT BRITAIN\"\nAn illustration of John O'Groat's — the legendary northernmost point of the British mainland, whose remote and windswept character made it one of the most celebrated geographical curiosities in the Victorian world. A charming piece of Victorian travel illustration and British geographical history.\n\n🔍 CONDITION \u0026amp; TRANSPARENCY 🔍\nCompleteness: Complete 16-page issue.\nAuthenticity: Guaranteed original woodblock printing from August 27, 1881 — not a reproduction.\nCondition Report: Presents well for its 144-year age. Natural toning to the newsprint consistent with age. The electric light at sea front page, the Fargo Dakota steamboat full page, the Rockaway Beach cripples illustration, and the John O'Groat's print are all clear and displayable.\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 144-year-old newsprint\nFlat-shipped with heavy-duty reinforcement\nFully tracked for your peace of mind\n\n\n🏷️ TAGS\n1881 Harpers Weekly, Fargo Dakota Steamboat Red River, Electric Light at Sea 1881, Little Cripples Rockaway Beach, John O'Groats Northernmost Britain, Dakota Territory History 1881, Fargo North Dakota History, Victorian Maritime Technology, Edison Electric Light History, Child Welfare Victorian, Steamboat Navigation Red River, Antique Newspaper 1881, 19th Century Americana, Dakota Land Rush History, Victorian Disability History","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52264013103324,"sku":null,"price":38.88,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0849\/4759\/9580\/files\/7210b721-il_fullxfull.7923880099_eahs.jpg?v=1786496627","url":"https:\/\/thekeenantiquarian.com\/products\/1881-fargo-dakota-steamboat-electric-light-at-sea-cripples-rockaway-beach-aug-27","provider":"My Store","version":"1.0","type":"link"}