1896 Great St. Louis Tornado — 17 Photos, Eads Bridge Cyclone, Cuba War — Jun 13

🗞️ HARPER'S WEEKLY · June 13, 1896
Complete Issue · New York

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A historically exceptional issue devoted primarily to one of the great natural disasters of the Gilded Age — the Great St. Louis Tornado of May 27, 1896, the third deadliest tornado in United States history. Five pages of coverage including seventeen photographs and illustrations of the destruction, combined with a full front-page dramatic illustration of the cyclone at the Eads Bridge. A primary document of one of the most catastrophic weather events in American history.

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🌪️ THE GREAT ST. LOUIS TORNADO — PRIMARY DOCUMENT
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🌪️ FULL FRONT PAGE — "THE ST. LOUIS TORNADO — THE CYCLONE AT THE EASTERN END OF THE EADS BRIDGE"
A dramatic full front-page illustration of the Great St. Louis Tornado at the Eads Bridge — the defining image of the worst natural disaster in St. Louis history. On May 27, 1896, a massive tornado — estimated at EF-4 intensity with winds between 168 and 199 mph — cut a ten-mile path of destruction through St. Louis and East St. Louis in less than half an hour, killing between 255 and 306 people, injuring over 2,500, and destroying or damaging nearly 10,000 buildings. It remains the third deadliest single tornado in United States history. The tornado's most dramatic moment came at the Eads Bridge — the great steel span across the Mississippi River that had been built in 1874 and touted as "tornado-proof." The storm tore away 300 feet of the bridge's eastern masonry approach, drove a 2-by-10-inch wooden plank through a 5/16-inch wrought iron plate, and demolished the East St. Louis riverfront almost completely. Boats on the Mississippi were destroyed, their crews drowned or swept away. The NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information cites the Great St. Louis Tornado as one of the defining American weather disasters of the 19th century. This Harper's Weekly front-page illustration — showing the cyclone at the Eads Bridge at its most dramatic moment — is a primary visual document of the disaster published just seventeen days after the event.

📸 FOUR FULL PAGES — SEVENTEEN PHOTOS AND ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE ST. LOUIS TORNADO
Four full pages of seventeen photographs and illustrations documenting the aftermath of the tornado — the destroyed buildings, the wrecked Eads Bridge approach, the devastated East St. Louis riverfront, and the human cost of one of the greatest natural disasters in Gilded Age America. Seventeen images across four pages is an extraordinary concentration of disaster documentation for the era, making this issue one of the most comprehensive primary visual records of the 1896 St. Louis tornado in any American publication. A significant, historically important, and very collectible piece of American natural disaster history and St. Louis history.

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🇨🇺 THE WAR IN CUBA
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🪖 FULL PAGE — "THE WAR IN CUBA — NEWS FROM MACEO'S CAMP" — THREE SCENES
A full-page illustration of the Cuban War of Independence — with three scenes from the camp of General Antonio Maceo, the Afro-Cuban military leader known as "The Bronze Titan," who was one of the greatest and most celebrated commanders of the Cuban independence struggle. Maceo was fighting the Spanish in the western provinces of Cuba, and news from his camp was among the most eagerly followed dispatches of the war. A significant piece of Cuban independence history and Afro-Cuban military history — two years before the Spanish-American War would bring the United States into the conflict.

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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 spots 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 ··············· June 13, 1896
City ··············· New York
Format ············· Complete issue

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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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