Perhaps the earliest of comic newspapers...
Item # 694367
August 09, 1809
THE TICKLER, Philadelphia, Aug. 9, 1809
* Uncommon publication
* Unusual masthead engraving
The masthead features a very unusual engraving of a dog and an arm holding a switch, & notes: "by Toby Scratch'em".
This title was one of the earliest of the true comic papers. It kept up its flow of satire for six years, attacking local and national politicians and government. This is a volume 2 issue.
Four pages, very nice condition.
Background: Witness a rare survivor from the golden age of American vitriol: The Tickler, a cornerstone of early 19th-century journalism and one of the nation’s first true "comic" papers. This August 9, 1809, issue captures the razor-sharp wit of the legendary George Helmbold—writing as the provocateur "Toby Scratch’em"—during a period of intense political upheaval under President James Madison. The masthead itself is a masterpiece of symbolic defiance, featuring the iconic engraving of a hand wielding a switch over a cowering dog, signaling Helmbold's mission to "whip" the corruption and folly of Philadelphia’s elite. Produced on durable, high-quality rag paper that has defied the centuries, this Volume 2 specimen offers a visceral, four-page time capsule of the stinging satire and partisan warfare that shaped the American character. It is not merely a newspaper; it is a preserved strike against the establishment, making it a crowning addition for any serious collector of early Americana or the history of the free press.
* Uncommon publication
* Unusual masthead engraving
The masthead features a very unusual engraving of a dog and an arm holding a switch, & notes: "by Toby Scratch'em".
This title was one of the earliest of the true comic papers. It kept up its flow of satire for six years, attacking local and national politicians and government. This is a volume 2 issue.
Four pages, very nice condition.
Background: Witness a rare survivor from the golden age of American vitriol: The Tickler, a cornerstone of early 19th-century journalism and one of the nation’s first true "comic" papers. This August 9, 1809, issue captures the razor-sharp wit of the legendary George Helmbold—writing as the provocateur "Toby Scratch’em"—during a period of intense political upheaval under President James Madison. The masthead itself is a masterpiece of symbolic defiance, featuring the iconic engraving of a hand wielding a switch over a cowering dog, signaling Helmbold's mission to "whip" the corruption and folly of Philadelphia’s elite. Produced on durable, high-quality rag paper that has defied the centuries, this Volume 2 specimen offers a visceral, four-page time capsule of the stinging satire and partisan warfare that shaped the American character. It is not merely a newspaper; it is a preserved strike against the establishment, making it a crowning addition for any serious collector of early Americana or the history of the free press.
Category: Pre-Civil War
