{"product_id":"1881-garfield-assassination-special-edition-guiteau-shoots-president-jul-8","title":"1881 Garfield Assassination Special Edition, Guiteau Shoots President — Jul 8","description":"1881 Garfield Assassination Special Edition, Guiteau Shoots President — Jul 8\n\n📜 ABOUT THIS PIECE OF HISTORY 📜\nThis July 8, 1881 Special Edition of Harper's Weekly is one of the rarest and most historically significant issues in the entire publication's run — an extraordinary primary source document of one of the most shocking political assassinations in American history. Published as an emergency special edition in the immediate aftermath of the shooting of President James A. Garfield on July 2, 1881, this eight-page issue is devoted entirely to the assassination and its immediate aftermath. For collectors of presidential assassination history, Garfield history, and 19th-century Americana, this is simply irreplaceable.\n\n⚠️ A RARE SPECIAL EDITION — ONLY EIGHT PAGES\nAs noted prominently at the very top of the front page, this is a rare \"SPECIAL EDITION\" of Harper's Weekly — published outside the normal weekly schedule in emergency response to the assassination attempt on President Garfield. Special editions of Harper's Weekly are among the scarcest of all issues in any collection, produced only in response to events of the most extraordinary national significance. This eight-page emergency number — half the length of a regular issue — devotes every column and every illustration to the shooting, the assassin, and the immediate aftermath. Finding this Special Edition alongside a regular 1881 Harper's Weekly collection is an uncommon opportunity that serious collectors of presidential history should not miss.\n\n🎯 FRONT PAGE — \"THE TRAGEDY AT WASHINGTON: THE ASSASSIN CHARLES JULES GUITEAU\"\nThe full front page delivers a portrait of Charles Jules Guiteau — the deranged office-seeker who shot President Garfield in the back at the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station in Washington on the morning of July 2, 1881. Guiteau, furious at being denied a diplomatic appointment by the Garfield administration, fired two shots at the President as he walked through the station with Secretary of State James Blaine. Garfield survived the initial shooting but died on September 19, 1881 — largely as a result of the infections introduced by the probing fingers and instruments of his physicians. This front-page portrait of Guiteau, published just six days after the shooting, is a primary source document of the moment the nation learned the face of the man who had struck down their president.\n\n🔫 \"THE ASSASSIN FIRING THE SECOND SHOT AT PRESIDENT GARFIELD\"\nA full-page print depicting the dramatic moment of the shooting — Guiteau firing the second shot at President Garfield in the crowded Washington train station — rendered with the immediacy and journalistic power of Harper's Weekly's finest eyewitness illustration. One of the most historically significant single prints in the entire Harper's Weekly archive, documenting the moment that ended the Garfield presidency and shaped the course of American political history.\n\n🏥 \"SCENE IN THE UPPER ROOM AT THE DEPOT IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE SHOOTING\"\nA half-page print capturing the chaotic and desperate scene in the upper room of the Baltimore and Potomac depot in the immediate minutes after the shooting — Garfield on the floor, physicians attending him, officials and bystanders in shocked disarray. A vivid and deeply human primary source document of the assassination's immediate aftermath.\n\n🚑 \"REMOVING THE PRESIDENT FROM THE DEPOT TO THE AMBULANCE\"\nA half-page print documenting the removal of the wounded President from the train station to the ambulance — a solemn and emotionally charged scene of the stricken leader being carried through the crowds that had gathered in shock and grief outside the depot.\n\n🌙 BACK PAGE — \"THE NIGHT WATCH BEFORE THE EXECUTIVE MANSION\"\nThe entire back page is devoted to a single powerful print: \"The Tragedy at Washington — The Night Watch Before the Executive Mansion\" — showing the crowds gathered in silent vigil outside the White House through the night, waiting for word of the President's condition. One of the most poignant and historically resonant images in the entire Harper's Weekly run — the nation holding its breath outside the darkened mansion where its wounded president lay fighting for his life.\n\n📰 COMPLETE ASSASSINATION TEXT\nThe balance of this special eight-page issue is devoted entirely to detailed text coverage of the assassination — the events of July 2nd, the assassin's background and motives, the medical situation, the national reaction, and the political implications — making this issue a comprehensive documentary record of the first hours and days of the Garfield assassination crisis.\n\n🔍 CONDITION \u0026amp; TRANSPARENCY 🔍\nCompleteness: Complete special eight-page edition as issued. This is an intentionally shorter issue — half the length of a regular Harper's Weekly — published as an emergency special edition.\nAuthenticity: Guaranteed original woodblock printing from July 8, 1881 — not a reproduction.\nCondition Report: Presents well for its 144-year age. Natural toning to the newsprint consistent with age. The Guiteau front page portrait, the shooting illustration, the depot aftermath scenes, and the White House night watch back page 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 Special Edition, Garfield Assassination 1881, Charles Guiteau Assassin Portrait, President Garfield Shot, Assassination Garfield Train Station, Night Watch Executive Mansion, Garfield Assassination Primary Source, Harper's Weekly Special Edition, Presidential Assassination History, Charles Jules Guiteau, Baltimore Potomac Railroad Station, Garfield Death 1881, Victorian Presidential History, Antique Newspaper 1881, American Presidential AssassinationSonnet 4.6","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52264014053596,"sku":null,"price":69.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0849\/4759\/9580\/files\/12bf4ddf-il_fullxfull.7870461340_g7u9.jpg?v=1786496634","url":"https:\/\/thekeenantiquarian.com\/products\/1881-garfield-assassination-special-edition-guiteau-shoots-president-jul-8","provider":"My Store","version":"1.0","type":"link"}