1859 Dickens "Tale of Two Cities" Serialized, Uncle Sam Cartoon, Mississippi Flood — May 14

🗞️ HARPER'S WEEKLY · May 14, 1859
Complete Issue · New York

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A historically significant and varied Antebellum issue — a serialized installment of Charles Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities published simultaneously with its London release, an Uncle Sam political cartoon, the Mississippi flood, Vera Cruz fortifications, and panther hunting in Africa. A primary document of the greatest novel of 1859 as it was first read by American audiences, in the same pages as Uncle Sam's earliest cartoon appearances.

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📚 CHARLES DICKENS — "A TALE OF TWO CITIES" SERIALIZED
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✍️ SERIALIZED INSTALLMENT — "A TALE OF TWO CITIES" BY CHARLES DICKENS
A serialized installment of A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens — one of the most celebrated novels in the English language, published simultaneously in London in All the Year Round and in American periodicals including Harper's Weekly beginning in April 1859. "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" — the opening of A Tale of Two Cities is among the most famous sentences in world literature, and this Harper's Weekly serialization is a primary document of how American readers first encountered the novel, installment by installment, week by week, in the spring and summer of 1859. Dickens wrote the novel partly in response to Thomas Carlyle's The French Revolution, and its themes of sacrifice, resurrection, and social justice resonated powerfully with American readers just two years before their own catastrophic civil war. A significant piece of Victorian literary history and American cultural history.

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🇺🇸 UNCLE SAM — POLITICAL CARTOON
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🎩 BACK PAGE CARTOON — "THE AMERICAN STUDENT AT OXFORD" — FEATURING UNCLE SAM AS "FRESHMAN (FROM AMERICA)"
A back-page political cartoon featuring Uncle Sam as an American freshman at Oxford University — one of the early appearances of Uncle Sam as a visual shorthand for American national identity in the illustrated press. The Uncle Sam figure — tall, thin, goateed, in striped trousers and a top hat — was still being standardized in the late 1850s, making this early cartoon appearance a significant piece of American iconographic history. Thomas Nast would not fully codify the modern Uncle Sam image until the 1870s; this 1859 cartoon is a primary document of the figure's early visual development. A significant piece of American political cartoon history.

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🌊 THE MISSISSIPPI FLOOD
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🌊 FULL PAGE — "THE FLOOD IN THE MISSISSIPPI"
A full-page illustration of the great Mississippi River flood — a vivid piece of American natural disaster and river history, capturing the periodic inundations that plagued the communities along America's greatest river. A significant and atmospheric piece of American geographic and environmental history.

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🖼️ INSIDE THE ISSUE
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🏰 ILLUSTRATION — "PLAN OF THE FORTIFICATION OF VERA CRUZ"
A plan of the fortifications of Vera Cruz — the great Gulf of Mexico port whose defenses controlled the main approach to Mexico City, a significant piece of Mexican military and geographic history at a moment of intense foreign pressure on Mexico.

🦌 ILLUSTRATION — "STRUGGLE WITH A BUCK"
A dramatic illustration of a hunter wrestling with a deer — a vivid piece of Victorian American sporting and outdoor life.

🐆 ILLUSTRATION — "PANTHER HUNTING IN AFRICA"
An illustration of panther hunting in Africa — a vivid piece of Victorian African exploration and big game hunting culture.

🎆 FULL PAGE — "FIREWORKS AT THE BROOKLYN CITY HALL"
A full-page illustration of a fireworks display at Brooklyn City Hall — a vivid and celebratory piece of Brooklyn civic history and Victorian American festive culture.

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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 ··············· May 14, 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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