1859 Mountain Meadows Massacre, Pike's Peak Gold Mines, White Mountains — Aug 13

🗞️ HARPER'S WEEKLY · August 13, 1859
Complete Issue · New York

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A historically rich and varied Antebellum issue — the scene of the Mountain Meadows Massacre in Utah Territory on the front page, three illustrations of the Pike's Peak gold mines at the height of the Colorado Gold Rush, the White Mountains of New Hampshire, and a continuing Dickens serialization. A primary document of two of the most significant events of the late 1850s American West — the massacre and the gold rush — in one complete newspaper.

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⚔️ THE MOUNTAIN MEADOWS MASSACRE
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💀 FRONT PAGE ILLUSTRATION & ARTICLE — "THE SCENE OF THE MOUNTAIN MEADOWS MASSACRE, UTAH TERRITORY"
A front-page illustration and article on the Mountain Meadows Massacre — one of the most controversial and tragic episodes in American history, which had occurred on September 11, 1857, nearly two years before this issue. A wagon train of approximately 120 emigrants from Arkansas and Missouri — the Baker-Fancher party — was attacked over several days by a combined force of Latter-day Saints militiamen and Paiute Indians in the Mountain Meadows valley of southwestern Utah Territory, and all but 17 young children were killed. It remains one of the worst massacres of civilians in American history. The incident occurred during the tensions of the Utah War (1857-58), when the federal government had sent troops to Utah and the LDS church was preparing for conflict. Only one person, John D. Lee, was ever convicted — executed at the massacre site in 1877. The scene of the massacre — the remote, desolate valley in the Utah Territory — is what this Harper's Weekly illustration documents, in the period when the massacre was still raw public knowledge and deeply controversial. A primary document of one of the most significant and disturbing episodes in American frontier history.

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⛏️ THE PIKE'S PEAK GOLD MINES
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⛏️ FULL PAGE — "THE PIKE'S PEAK GOLD MINES" — THREE ILLUSTRATIONS
Three illustrations of the Pike's Peak gold mines — published at the height of the Pike's Peak Gold Rush of 1859, when tens of thousands of prospectors were streaming west to Colorado under the slogan "Pike's Peak or Bust." Gold had been discovered near present-day Denver in the summer of 1858, and by August 1859 the rush was at its peak — the mines at Gregory Gulch and Clear Creek were producing gold, the town of Denver was booming, and the American press was publishing every scrap of information about the mines it could find. These three illustrations are among the earliest published visual documents of the Colorado gold fields. A significant and collectible piece of Colorado Gold Rush history and Western Americana.

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🏔️ THE WHITE MOUNTAINS — SUMMER TOURISM
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🏔️ FULL PAGE — "THE WHITE MOUNTAINS — THE RIDE" AND "THE WHITE MOUNTAINS — ALL ABOARD!" — TWO ILLUSTRATIONS
Two companion illustrations of summer tourism in the White Mountains of New Hampshire — the great mountain resort destination of Antebellum New England, where the grand hotels at Bretton Woods and the Crawford Notch drew fashionable society from Boston and New York. A warm and vivid piece of Victorian American tourism and New England summer culture.

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🎭 INSIDE THE ISSUE
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🎭 FULL PAGE — "THE 'BATTLE OF MAGENTA' AT JONES'S WOOD, NEW YORK"
A full-page illustration of a theatrical or military reenactment of the Battle of Magenta at Jones's Wood — the great pleasure garden on the East Side of Manhattan that served as New York's premier outdoor entertainment venue before Central Park opened. A vivid and humorous piece of New York popular entertainment history, capturing how the Italian War was being dramatized for American audiences.

✍️ CONTINUING SERIALIZATION — "A TALE OF TWO CITIES" BY CHARLES DICKENS
A continuing installment of A Tale of Two Cities.

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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 ··············· August 13, 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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