1881 Garfield Death Foldout, Early Tennis Staten Island, Opium Smoking NYC — Sep 24
$69.69
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1881 Garfield Death Foldout, Early Tennis Staten Island, Opium Smoking NYC — Sep 24
📜 ABOUT THIS PIECE OF HISTORY 📜
This September 24, 1881 issue of Harper's Weekly is one of the most significant and rarely encountered issues in the entire Garfield assassination sequence — featuring a foldout print of "President James A. Garfield After Death" not previously seen with this issue, making it an extraordinary find for presidential history collectors. Combined with one of the finest and earliest lawn tennis illustrations in the American illustrated press, a dramatic opium den scene, and the full emotional weight of the nation's grief, this issue rewards on every level. For collectors of presidential assassination history, early tennis history, Victorian social history, Thomas Nast, and Gilded Age Americana, this is an irreplaceable primary source.
⚠️ RARE FOLDOUT — "PRESIDENT JAMES A. GARFIELD AFTER DEATH"
The most significant and rarely encountered element of this issue is the foldout print tipped onto the front leaf — "President James A. Garfield After Death" — a formal memorial portrait of the assassinated president, slightly smaller in dimension than the standard issue pages, folded and tipped in as a special addition not regularly found with this issue. President Garfield died on September 19, 1881 — just five days before this issue's publication date — and this foldout memorial portrait is a primary source document of the immediate national mourning that followed. The rarity of finding this foldout intact with the issue substantially elevates its historical significance and collectible value. Serious collectors of presidential assassination history and Garfield ephemera will recognize this as an exceptional and uncommon find.
🏥 FRONT PAGE — "AT THE WINDOW — A BRIEF RESPITE IN A WEARY STRUGGLE"
The front page presents a poignant illustration — "At the Window — A Brief Respite in a Weary Struggle" — showing President Garfield in a moment of partial recovery, resting near a window in what would prove to be his final days. Published the week of his death, this front page captures the cruel hope of those last weeks — the moments of apparent improvement that gave the nation false encouragement before the fatal end. A deeply moving primary source document of the Garfield assassination ordeal.
🎾 "A GAME OF LAWN TENNIS, STATEN ISLAND CLUB GROUNDS"
One of the finest and earliest lawn tennis illustrations in the American illustrated press — a full-page print showing two men playing tennis on the grounds of the Staten Island Cricket and Baseball Club, accompanied by a related article headed "Lawn Tennis" elsewhere in the issue. The Staten Island Club had hosted the first United States National Lawn Tennis Championships just weeks earlier in August 1881 — the direct predecessor of the US Open — making this illustration a primary source document of a pivotal moment in American tennis history. This is among the earliest full-page depictions of lawn tennis in Harper's Weekly and a landmark piece for collectors of tennis history, sporting history, and Gilded Age athletic culture.
🚬 "OPIUM SMOKING IN NEW YORK"
A full-page illustration of opium smoking in New York City — one of the most dramatic and socially significant documentary illustrations in the 1881 Harper's Weekly run. New York's opium dens, concentrated in Chinatown and other urban neighborhoods, were a source of intense public fascination, moral panic, and reform agitation in the early 1880s. This full-page engraving documents the interiors, the clientele, the pipes, and the atmosphere of the opium smoking establishments with the vivid detail of eyewitness journalism — a primary source document of New York City social history, Chinese American history, and the history of drug culture and reform of exceptional historical interest.
🏋️ "THE NEW HARVARD GYMNASIUM"
An illustration of Harvard University's new gymnasium — a document of the growing importance of physical culture and athletic facilities in American higher education in the Gilded Age, as universities competed to build the finest athletic infrastructure for their students.
🌾 "IN THE HOP FIELDS OF CENTRAL NEW YORK"
An illustration of hop field harvesting in central New York — capturing the agricultural labor and rural landscape of one of America's most important hop-growing regions, whose product supplied the nation's booming brewing industry. A charming piece of New York agricultural history and Victorian rural life illustration.
🔍 CONDITION & TRANSPARENCY 🔍
Completeness: Complete 16-page issue plus the rare foldout print of "President James A. Garfield After Death" tipped onto the front leaf.
Authenticity: Guaranteed original woodblock printing from September 24, 1881 — not a reproduction.
Condition Report: Good condition for its 144-year age. Natural toning to the newsprint consistent with age. The Garfield foldout memorial portrait, the front page window illustration, the lawn tennis full page, and the opium smoking engraving are all clear and displayable.
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.
📦 SHIPPING & PRESERVATION 📦
Housed in an acid-free archival folder with Mylar overlay to protect the 144-year-old newsprint
Flat-shipped with heavy-duty reinforcement to ensure safe arrival of the foldout print
Fully tracked for your peace of mind
🏷️ TAGS
1881 Harpers Weekly, Garfield After Death Foldout, President Garfield Death 1881, Early Lawn Tennis Staten Island, First US Tennis Championship History, Opium Smoking New York City, Harvard Gymnasium 1881, Hop Fields Central New York, Garfield Assassination Memorial, Staten Island Tennis Club, Presidential Death Primary Source, Antique Newspaper 1881, 19th Century Americana, Early Tennis History America, Victorian Opium Den New York
1881 Garfield Death Foldout, Early Tennis Staten Island, Opium Smoking NYC — Sep 24
$69.69