1891 Broadway & Sixth Avenue Centerfold, Marshall Field, Pratt Institute — Mar 21
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🗞️ HARPER'S WEEKLY · March 21, 1891
Complete Issue · New York
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A vivid Gilded Age issue capturing New York City at its most dynamic — a double-page centerfold of the busy junction of Broadway and Sixth Avenue, Marshall Field of Chicago on the front page, Edward Harrigan and his theatrical company, the Pratt Institute pupils at work, and Philadelphia's Germania Orchestra. Strong content for New York City history collectors, Chicago retail history enthusiasts, and Gilded Age cultural life buffs.
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🌆 BROADWAY & SIXTH AVENUE — NEW YORK CITY
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🌆 DOUBLE-PAGE CENTERFOLD — "THE JUNCTION OF BROADWAY AND SIXTH AVENUE"
A spectacular double-page centerfold of the intersection of Broadway and Sixth Avenue — one of the busiest and most commercially vibrant crossroads in Gilded Age New York, where the diagonal slash of Broadway across the Manhattan grid created the dramatic triangular blocks that made this neighborhood a center of retail, entertainment, and street life. In 1891 this intersection was in the heart of what was then called "The Ladies' Mile" — the great shopping district stretching from 14th to 23rd Streets along Broadway and Sixth Avenue where the department stores, dry goods palaces, and fashionable shops of the era clustered. A vivid, detailed, and very frameable primary document of New York City street life at the height of the Gilded Age. A significant piece of New York City history and urban social history.
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🏬 MARSHALL FIELD — CHICAGO'S MERCHANT PRINCE
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🏬 FULL FRONT PAGE — "MARSHALL FIELD, THE CHICAGO MERCHANT"
A full front-page portrait of Marshall Field — the founder and proprietor of Marshall Field & Company, the greatest department store in America and the anchor of Gilded Age Chicago retail culture. Field had pioneered the concepts of "the customer is always right," money-back guarantees, and the modern department store experience. His State Street store — "that great store" — was one of the commercial wonders of the age. Field died in 1906 leaving an estate of $120 million and a bequest that helped found the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. A significant piece of American retail, Chicago, and Gilded Age business history.
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🎭 EDWARD HARRIGAN & HIS COMPANY
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🎭 FULL PAGE — "EDWARD HARRIGAN AND MEMBERS OF HIS COMPANY" — SEVERAL PORTRAITS
A full page of portraits of Edward Harrigan and his theatrical company — Harrigan was one of the most beloved comic playwrights and performers of the Gilded Age, famous for his "Mulligan Guard" series of plays depicting the comic misadventures of New York's Irish immigrant community. His theater on Broadway was one of the most popular in the city, and his warm, humanizing portrayals of immigrant working-class life made him a pioneer of American realistic comedy. A significant piece of American theatrical and Irish-American cultural history.
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🏫 PRATT INSTITUTE — BROOKLYN
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🏫 FULL PAGE — "THE PRATT INSTITUTE, BROOKLYN, NEW YORK — THE PUPILS AT WORK"
A full-page illustration of students at work at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn — the pioneering art and design school founded by Charles Pratt in 1887, just four years before this issue. Pratt Institute was one of the first schools in America to offer practical training in art, design, and the applied arts to working-class students, democratizing professional creative education. A significant piece of Brooklyn educational and American design history.
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🖼️ INSIDE THE ISSUE
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🎵 FULL PAGE — "A THURSDAY AFTERNOON WITH THE GERMANIA ORCHESTRA AT THE ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS, PHILADELPHIA"
A full-page illustration of the Germania Orchestra performing at the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts — a significant piece of Philadelphia musical and cultural history, capturing one of the era's finest orchestral ensembles in one of America's greatest cultural institutions.
🏇 FULL PAGE — "JEU DE BERRE AT THE RIDING CLUB, NEW YORK CITY"
A full-page illustration of the game of Jeu de Berre (a form of equestrian polo) at the New York Riding Club — a vivid piece of Gilded Age elite sporting and equestrian history.
👤 TWO QUARTER PAGES — "SENATOR JOHN M. PALMER" AND "THE RIGHT REV. B. H. PADDOCK, S.T.D."
Two quarter-page portraits of notable Gilded Age figures — Senator John M. Palmer of Illinois, a former Civil War general and governor who would be the Gold Democrats' presidential candidate in 1896, and Bishop Paddock, a prominent Episcopal churchman.
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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 ··············· March 21, 1891
City ··············· New York
Format ············· Illustrated newspaper, complete in 16 pages
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📦 SHIPPING & PRESERVATION
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• Stored in an acid-free protective bag and flat-shipped in a padded envelope with heavy cardboard reinforcement
• Fully tracked for your peace of mind
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🔍 SEO TAGS
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1891 Broadway & Sixth Avenue Centerfold, Marshall Field, Pratt Institute — Mar 21
$37.77