THE IDIOT, OR INVISIBLE RAMBLER, Boston, Oct. 3, 1818  

* "First American Comic" ?
* Editor Henry Trumbull
* "Uncle Jerry Simpleton" 

A quite rare issue which lasted but 52 issues, published "By Samuel Simpleton" and is "Devoted to Innocent Amusement" as noted in the masthead.
An eclectic array of content which includes a page 3 engraving of, presumable, the "Idiot", his image in the masthead as well.
Four pages, never bound nor trimmed, 9 3/4 by 12 1/2 inches, two small rubbing holes at the central fold, good condition.

Background: Published in Boston between January 1818 and January 1819, The Idiot, or Invisible Rambler stands as a landmark in early American periodical history, often cited by historians as the first American comic due to its pioneering use of recurring characters and primitive speech bubbles. Edited under the pseudonym "Samuel Simpleton" by Henry Trumbull and printed by Nathaniel Coverly Jr., the four-page weekly utilized a satirical, irreverent tone to offer social commentary under the guise of "innocent amusement." The publication is most famous for its woodcut caricatures, particularly the recurring "Uncle Jerry Simpleton" series, which served as a biting anti-migration tool; one iconic illustration depicted a prosperous man heading to the Ohio frontier contrasted with a ragged, "idiotic" traveler returning from it, effectively lampooning the hardships of Western expansion. Despite its brief 52-issue run before merging with the Boston Kaleidoscope, the journal’s eclectic blend of rhyming couplets, local news, and graphic satire represents a critical evolution in American visual storytelling and the early Republic's appetite for sophisticated, masked political critique.