Rare newspaper printed on board a transcontinental train...
Item # 704781
June 28, 1870
TRANS-CONTINENTAL, Laramie, Wyoming, June 28, 1870
* First Transcontinental Railroad "Overland Route"
* Very first excursion published newspaper (#9)
This is a very fascinating newspaper, borne in the ingenious mind of a publisher who decided to take a small printing press on board the first transcontinental railroad excursion and publish 6 issues westbound and 6 issues eastbound. Printed on a Gordon press in the baggage car, it is considered the very first newspaper composed, printed, & published on a train.
This is issue number 9, published at Laramie, just the second issue printed on the train's return trip to the East. Each issue recorded the process of the journey with the sights and events along the way. Each issue carries the dateline of a different city: Niagara Falls, Omaha, Cheyenne, Ogden, Utah; Salt Lake City, Utah; Summit Sierra Nevadas, San Francisco, Promontory Point, Utah; Laramie, Wyoming, Grand Island Nebraska, Burlington, Iowa; and Boston.
The front page is taken up with: "Notes From our Log Book", being a diary of what was seen & experienced along the route. Terrific content! Inside includes: "Seasons In California" as well as various interesting tidbits including: "Red Cloud, the Sioux chief...was escorted by U.S. cavalry & a military band of music, from Pine Bluffs to Fort Laramie & quite a feature was made of the occasion..." with more.
A fine opportunity for a very rare title. Four pages, 7 by 9 3/4 inches, great condition. Included with this issue is a reprint set of all 12 issues published. See our item 615312 for details.
AI notes: The TRANS-CONTINENTAL, dated June 28, 1870, and issued at Laramie, Wyoming, is a celebrated novelty newspaper produced during the famed Pullman Hotel Express excursion, the first chartered transcontinental railroad tour organized by the Boston Board of Trade. Edited by W. R. Steele and printed on a portable press carried aboard the train, the paper was published at various stops across the country, making it widely regarded as the first newspaper ever printed on a moving railroad train. The Laramie issue reflects the excitement and boosterism of the post–Civil War railroad age, featuring travel diary–style commentary (“Notes from Our Log Book”), observations on frontier towns, western landscapes, and encounters along the route, all written for a sophisticated eastern readership experiencing the West firsthand. Physically small—typically four pages—and produced in extremely limited numbers, this issue is prized today for its direct connection to the completion of the transcontinental railroad, western expansion, and the inventive spirit of 19th-century American journalism.
* First Transcontinental Railroad "Overland Route"
* Very first excursion published newspaper (#9)
This is a very fascinating newspaper, borne in the ingenious mind of a publisher who decided to take a small printing press on board the first transcontinental railroad excursion and publish 6 issues westbound and 6 issues eastbound. Printed on a Gordon press in the baggage car, it is considered the very first newspaper composed, printed, & published on a train.
This is issue number 9, published at Laramie, just the second issue printed on the train's return trip to the East. Each issue recorded the process of the journey with the sights and events along the way. Each issue carries the dateline of a different city: Niagara Falls, Omaha, Cheyenne, Ogden, Utah; Salt Lake City, Utah; Summit Sierra Nevadas, San Francisco, Promontory Point, Utah; Laramie, Wyoming, Grand Island Nebraska, Burlington, Iowa; and Boston.
The front page is taken up with: "Notes From our Log Book", being a diary of what was seen & experienced along the route. Terrific content! Inside includes: "Seasons In California" as well as various interesting tidbits including: "Red Cloud, the Sioux chief...was escorted by U.S. cavalry & a military band of music, from Pine Bluffs to Fort Laramie & quite a feature was made of the occasion..." with more.
A fine opportunity for a very rare title. Four pages, 7 by 9 3/4 inches, great condition. Included with this issue is a reprint set of all 12 issues published. See our item 615312 for details.
AI notes: The TRANS-CONTINENTAL, dated June 28, 1870, and issued at Laramie, Wyoming, is a celebrated novelty newspaper produced during the famed Pullman Hotel Express excursion, the first chartered transcontinental railroad tour organized by the Boston Board of Trade. Edited by W. R. Steele and printed on a portable press carried aboard the train, the paper was published at various stops across the country, making it widely regarded as the first newspaper ever printed on a moving railroad train. The Laramie issue reflects the excitement and boosterism of the post–Civil War railroad age, featuring travel diary–style commentary (“Notes from Our Log Book”), observations on frontier towns, western landscapes, and encounters along the route, all written for a sophisticated eastern readership experiencing the West firsthand. Physically small—typically four pages—and produced in extremely limited numbers, this issue is prized today for its direct connection to the completion of the transcontinental railroad, western expansion, and the inventive spirit of 19th-century American journalism.
Category: Post-Civil War
