1860 Balloonist's Narrow Escape at Savannah, Preacher to Thieves, Georgia Apr 14

🗞️ HARPER'S WEEKLY · April 14, 1860
Complete Issue · New York

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A vivid and varied Antebellum issue — a dramatic balloon escape at Savannah, a street preacher ministering to thieves and prostitutes, and a Georgia congressman who would become a Confederate diplomat. A charming and colorful slice of Antebellum American life on the eve of the Civil War.

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🎈 THE BALLOONIST'S NARROW ESCAPE AT SAVANNAH
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🎈 NEARLY HALF PAGE — "NARROW ESCAPE OF A BALLOONIST AT SAVANNAH"
A dramatic nearly half-page illustration of a balloonist's narrow escape at Savannah, Georgia — one of the vivid aeronautical adventure stories that made Victorian balloon ascents such popular press fodder. In the era of Professor John Wise and Thaddeus Lowe — both of whom Harper's Weekly had covered extensively in 1859 — balloon ascents were dangerous, unpredictable, and irresistible to newspaper readers. A dramatic escape at Savannah — whether from a runaway balloon, an emergency landing, or a violent gust — is a vivid piece of Victorian American aeronautical and Georgia history, capturing the era's fascination with lighter-than-air flight before it became routine. A charming and very displayable piece of early American aviation history.

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✝️ PREACHING TO THIEVES AND PROSTITUTES
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📖 HALF PAGE — "REV. W. CORBIT PREACHING TO THIEVES AND HARLOTS"
A half-page illustration of Reverend W. Corbit preaching to an audience of thieves and prostitutes — a vivid and dramatically human piece of Victorian urban mission history, capturing the street evangelism that characterized the era's most committed social reformers. The ministry to the lowest and most marginalized members of society — the thieves, the harlots, the drunkards of the Antebellum city — was one of the defining callings of Victorian evangelical Christianity, and Corbit's open-air or mission hall preaching to these audiences is a primary document of American social gospel history. A significant piece of Victorian religious and social reform history.

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🏛️ HON. MARTIN J. CRAWFORD — CONFEDERATE DIPLOMAT
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👤 ILLUSTRATION — "HON. MARTIN J. CRAWFORD, OF GEORGIA"
A portrait of Martin Jenkins Crawford — the Georgia congressman who would resign from Congress when Georgia seceded in January 1861, serve as one of the three Confederate commissioners sent to Washington to negotiate the peaceful transfer of federal property (including Fort Sumter) from the United States government, and later serve as a Confederate general and judge. Crawford was present in Washington in the critical weeks before Fort Sumter, attempting to negotiate with the Lincoln administration — a role that put him at the center of the events that triggered the Civil War. This portrait — published fourteen months before secession — is a primary document of Confederate diplomatic history in its making. A significant piece of Civil War origins history.

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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 14, 1860
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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