At the bottom of a box of donated books, at a local thrift store, I found a manila folder full of old newspapers. It was pretty fun to explore and I plan to share my treasures over a few posts.
The most exciting (briefly) was this May 6, 1865 issue of Harper's Weekly. "This issue remains one of the most desired of the Civil War era, if not the 19th century, as much of it deals with the assassination and funeral of President Abraham Lincoln.""The entire front page is a print captioned: President Lincoln At Home showing him reading a book to his son. This very image was made into a postage stamp by the United States Post Office."An inside page has a dramatic full page print captioned: "Scene at the Death Bed of President Lincoln" showing many standing around him. A full page print is captioned: "President Lincoln's Funeral Procession in Washington City" and yet another captioned: "President Lincoln's Funeral--Citizens View the Body at the City Hall, New York."So why was I only briefly excited? I found that this was actually not an original (which sells for $650), but a facsimile newspaper of the original Harper's Weekly, faithfully reproduced on acid- free paper. The issue is filled with news, commentary, images, political cartoons, and advertisements, giving not only the important moments of Civil War America but also some of the mundane details that make history fascinating.
Published on 01/01/2000 by Applewood Books, this amazing newspaper is still for sale for $3.50.And why was I 'fooled' in believing this was real? One of the included 'finds' is truly old, published in 1906... stay tuned!“This is what really happened,
reported by a free press to a free people.
It is the raw material of history;
it is the story of our own times.”
-Henry Steel Commager
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