1859 W Homer "May Day in the Country," Balloon Railway, May Day City Apr 30

🗞️ HARPER'S WEEKLY · April 30, 1859
Complete Issue · New York

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A charming and collectible issue — a full-page Winslow Homer "May Day in the Country," his fourth appearance in Harper's Weekly in seven weeks; a companion full-page "May Day in the City"; and the proposed balloon railway up Mount Rigi in Switzerland. A warm seasonal pair of May Day illustrations with the added distinction of Homer's name on one.

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🎨 WINSLOW HOMER — "MAY DAY IN THE COUNTRY"
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🌸 FULL PAGE — "MAY DAY IN THE COUNTRY" — BY WINSLOW HOMER
A full-page wood engraving by Winslow Homer — his fourth published work in Harper's Weekly in the space of seven weeks, following "Skating at Boston" (March 12), "March Winds" and "April Showers" (April 2). Homer was 23 years old and still working from Boston when this print appeared, just months before his move to New York City in the fall of 1859 that would launch his career as one of the greatest American painters of the 19th century. "May Day in the Country" continues Homer's early focus on seasonal outdoor scenes and American leisure life — the subjects that would define his work for the next five decades, from the skating ponds of Boston Common to the fishing villages of the Maine coast. An original print — not a reproduction — of an early Winslow Homer work from the year of his professional breakthrough.

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🎀 MAY DAY — CITY AND COUNTRY
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🏙️ FULL PAGE — "MAY DAY IN THE CITY"
A full-page illustration of May Day in New York City — the great annual moving day when virtually all leases in New York expired on May 1, sending the city into a chaotic frenzy of furniture carts, moving families, and street congestion. May Day in New York was one of the most distinctive and comic annual events in American urban life, and this illustration captures the chaos with warm humor. A vivid piece of Antebellum New York City social and urban history — and a perfect companion to Homer's country May Day in the same issue.

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🎈 THE BALLOON RAILWAY UP MOUNT RIGI
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🎈 HALF PAGE — "PROPOSED BALLOON RAILWAY UP MT. RHIGI, SWITZERLAND"
A half-page illustration of the proposed balloon railway up Mount Rigi — the famous viewpoint above Lake Lucerne in Switzerland, one of the most celebrated tourist destinations in Europe. The balloon railway was one of the imaginative Victorian transportation schemes that proliferated in the engineering-obsessed 1850s, a charming piece of speculative technology and Alpine tourism history. The Rigi rack railway would actually be built in 1871 — but without balloons. A delightful piece of Victorian engineering imagination.

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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 ··············· April 30, 1859
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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