1881 Garfield Inauguration Centerfold, Nast Grant Central Park — Mar 19
$42.22
Skip to product information
1881 Garfield Inauguration Centerfold, Nast Grant Central Park — Mar 19
📜 ABOUT THIS PIECE OF HISTORY 📜
This March 19, 1881 issue of Harper's Weekly is one of the most visually powerful and historically significant presidential documents in the entire Harper's Weekly run — delivering two Thomas Nast illustrations and the definitive double-page centerfold of President Garfield's inauguration, just weeks before his assassination would make every record of his brief presidency a primary source of profound historical weight. For collectors of presidential history, Thomas Nast, Garfield assassination history, and Gilded Age Americana, this issue is simply essential.
🎨 FULL FRONT PAGE — THOMAS NAST: "THE FAIR IN THE CENTRAL PARK" — FEATURING GRANT
The full front page delivers a Thomas Nast illustration — "The Fair in the Central Park" — featuring former President Ulysses S. Grant, who loomed over Gilded Age Republican politics even in retirement as a towering national hero and potential presidential candidate for a third term. Nast's depiction of Grant in the context of Central Park's fashionable social world captures the complex public mythology surrounding the former general-president with characteristic wit and visual intelligence. A fully displayable Nast original of great appeal to collectors of Grant history, Central Park history, and American political cartooning.
🗳️ FULL PAGE THOMAS NAST POLITICAL CARTOON
A second full-page Thomas Nast political cartoon inside the issue makes this one of the prized double-Nast numbers of the 1881 run — two complete Nast illustrations in a single issue substantially elevating its collectible value for Nast enthusiasts and students of Gilded Age political history.
🎖️ DOUBLE-PAGE CENTERFOLD — "THE INAUGURATION OF PRESIDENT GARFIELD"
The crown jewel of this issue — and one of the most historically significant centerfolds in all of Harper's Weekly's long publishing run — is the sweeping double-page engraving of the inauguration of President James A. Garfield. Fully displayable and rendered with the grandeur and detail that Harper's Weekly's finest engravers brought to their greatest subjects, this centerfold captures the ceremony, the crowds, the Capitol, and the solemn transfer of democratic power at a moment that would prove heartbreakingly brief. Garfield was shot by an assassin on July 2, 1881 — just 110 days after his inauguration — and died on September 19, 1881. Every image of his presidency carries the weight of that tragedy, and this inauguration centerfold is the finest single visual document of the moment his presidency began. An extraordinary piece for collectors of presidential history, assassination history, and 19th-century American illustrated press.
🏛️ FULL PAGE — "THE INAUGURATION OF PRESIDENT GARFIELD — SCENES IN WASHINGTON"
Five scenes documenting the inauguration festivities across Washington — the processions, the crowds, the ceremony, and the celebratory atmosphere of inauguration day — extending the visual record of this historic event with eyewitness detail across multiple vignettes. Together with the centerfold, this issue constitutes the most comprehensive single-issue illustrated record of the Garfield inauguration published in the American press.
🔍 CONDITION & TRANSPARENCY 🔍
Completeness: Complete issue with all illustrated pages present.
Authenticity: Guaranteed original woodblock printing from March 19, 1881 — not a reproduction.
Condition Report: Presents well for its 144-year age. Natural toning to the newsprint consistent with age. The Garfield inauguration centerfold, the Nast Grant front page, the five-scene inauguration full page, and the second Nast cartoon 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 centerfold
Fully tracked for your peace of mind
🏷️ TAGS
1881 Harpers Weekly, Garfield Inauguration Centerfold, President Garfield Inauguration 1881, Thomas Nast Grant Central Park, Garfield Assassination Primary Source, Inauguration Scenes Washington 1881, Thomas Nast Political Cartoon 1881, Gilded Age Presidential History, Ulysses Grant Harper's Weekly, Presidential Inauguration Engraving, Antique Newspaper 1881, 19th Century Americana, James Garfield President, Harper's Weekly Inauguration, Victorian Presidential History
1881 Garfield Inauguration Centerfold, Nast Grant Central Park — Mar 19
$42.22