Softcover
1847 · Hudson, NY
Hudson, NY: William B. Stoddard, 1847. Softcover. G- (Original soft covers have average age and soiling; outermost pages have some foxing; most pages are generally clean, with some bleed-through aging of print blocks; all 26 issues are present, with 2 copies of #15; good for its age.). Tan paper wraps with black tape spine, 204 pp., BW illus. The subtitle of this periodical says it all: "Devoted to Polite Literature, such as moral and sentimental tales, biography, traveling sketches, notices of new publications, poetry, amusing miscellany, humorous and historical anecdotes, &c. &c." Published in the Hudson River valley of upstate New York for its nearby residents and for readers beyond. This batch of 26 bi-weekly issues offers quite an interesting array of pieces. (Two copies of issue #15 appear, which is humorous, given that its headline is about April Fools' Day.) Each issue begins with a nice-sized engraving. These include portraits of Frederika Bremer, Queen Henrietta, Charles Dickens, and Nicholas Poussin, all accompanying biographical articles. Smaller in-text portraits appear in text for Benjamin West, Christopher Columbus, Cathbert Collingwood, Sir Matthew Hale, and David Garrick. Other front-page engravings are geographical glimpses: Taunton, Manchester, Northfield, Wellfleet Harbor, Williams College, Woburn, Northampton, and Monson, all in Massachusetts [likely J. W. Barber prints of the day, from the book of MA towns]; the Grand Ball at Buckingham Palace; and The Falls of St. Anthony in what is now Minneapolis. The variety of literary offerings include the story "Children" by Harriet Beecher Stowe. Each issue also includes lists of marriages and deaths from this part of the valley, as well as "Letters Containing Remittances, Received at this Office." These tidbits make for great fun for historians and genealogists alike.
(Inventory #: 152637)