No One Has More Harper’s Weekly Newspapers

Harper’s Weekly Influence

Harper's Weekly was inspired by the Illustrated London News, whichwas first published in May 1842—15 years before Harper's Weekly began printing issues. Other common illustrated titles of the period include Frank Leslie's , Ballou's, and Gleason's Pictorial.

Harper's Weekly, also referred to as Harper's Weekly Illustrated Newspaper, was particularly popular during the American Civil War. Published from 1857 through 1916, this highly sought afternewspaper provided a visual face to the Civil War through its many skillfully done battlefield sketches and other war-related illustrations. Harper'sWeekly was the most widely read journal in the country during this period, and we have many noteworthy issuesfrom the Civil War period in our archives.

Harper's Weekly became noteworthy for the incredible (and highly collectible) works by Winslow Homer, Frederic Remington, and A.B. Frost, and was instrumental in depicting the politics of the era through Thomas Nast's politically satirical illustrations. Additionally, Nast's creative woodcut depictions of Santa Claus, the Republican Elephant, and the Democratic Donkey remain well-engrained in current culture.

The election of Ulysses S. Grant in 1868 and 1872 is particularly notable as being influenced by Harper's Weekly editorials.

Another first for the newspaper was when it published Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes story "The Adventure of the Cardboard Box" on January 14, 1893. Thenewspaper also became known to possess significant influence over presidential elections, mostly due to the influence of Thomas Nast's political cartoons.

Interesting Reports

Harper's Weekly often published interesting news bits like this report of a man who left the courtroom undeterred as the jury was excused to deliberate his case! Or this interesting suggestion from young men to parents with "grown-up" daughters, published in an issue dated March 21, 1874.

“The illustrations within Harper's Weekly newspapers of the 19th century provided the Kodak moments of the day...and communicate to us infinitely more than mere words could ever do.”

—Guy Heilenman, President of Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers

A Clever Solution

The visual impact of Harper's Weekly is undeniable. Over its life, the newspaper produced about 75,000, cartoons, maps, illustrations, and portraits. At the time, artwork had to be hand carved into a wood block before it was printed; it was a labor intensive for one engraver working on his own. A clever solution was developed to resolve this problem—sketches were divided into 2-inch sections so that several engravers were able to work on a single, full-page print at the same time. Once the illustrations were engraved onto wood blocks, the blocks were aligned perfectly, screwed together tightly, and then printed.

Did You Know?

• Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, made its debut in Harper's Weekly in 1893.
• Civil War era Harper's Weekly issues were reprinted on their 100th anniversary. Look for the phrase "A reissue of" on the cover to spot a reprint.
• Harper's Weekly had more foreign correspondents and illustrated stories than any of its contemporaries.
• Harper's was, by far, the most popular newspaper during the Civil War with 500,000 subscribers.
• Henry Raymond, who was the newspaper's first editor, later went on to help found and publish The New York Times.