A pair of issues honoring the life of George Washington...
Item # 708870
January 29, 1800
THOMAS'S MASSACHUSETTS SPY OR WORCESTER GAZETTE, Jan. 29 and Feb. 5, 1800
* Eulogy on the death of George Washington
* Turn of the 19th century originals
A pair of consecutive newspapers from shortly after the death of George Washington.
The front page of Jan. 29 has nearly two column taken up with: "Judge Minot's Eulogy On Gen. George Washington, Delivered before the Inhabitants of the town of Boston" which continues to page 2, then concludes by taking over two-thirds of the front page of the Feb. 5 issue.
Page 3 of Jan. 29 has an item from Boston on the appointment of John Davis to deliver a eulogy: "...on the character of the late General WASHINGTON before the Society...", and the back page has a half column poem: "On the Death of the Immortal Wahington".
Each issue has 4 pages, the Jan. 29 issue has an ink stain affecting some words in the Minot eulogy, otherwise nice. The Feb. 5 issue has rubbing at the top in the masthead, otherwise nice.
background: These two consecutive issues of Thomas’s Massachusetts Spy from January 29 and February 5, 1800, represent a pinnacle of early American "Washingtoniana," capturing the young nation’s transition from shock to formalized grief. The extensive front-page coverage of Judge George Richards Minot’s eulogy is particularly significant; among the roughly 350 orations delivered during this mourning period, Minot’s was considered by contemporaries—and later by bibliographers like Sabin—to be the most meritorious for its eloquence and historical depth. By dedicating over two-thirds of the February 5th front page to the conclusion of this single speech, publisher Isaiah Thomas signaled to his readers that Washington’s death was an event of such magnitude that it superseded the usual "Foreign Intelligence" and local advertisements. The inclusion of the poem "On the Death of the Immortal Washington" and the notice regarding John Davis further illustrates the cultural effort to transform Washington from a revolutionary general into a permanent, secular saint. Because these issues were printed on durable rag linen paper, they serve as remarkably well-preserved artifacts of the precise moment when the "Cincinnatus of the West" was being etched into the American national identity.
* Eulogy on the death of George Washington
* Turn of the 19th century originals
A pair of consecutive newspapers from shortly after the death of George Washington.
The front page of Jan. 29 has nearly two column taken up with: "Judge Minot's Eulogy On Gen. George Washington, Delivered before the Inhabitants of the town of Boston" which continues to page 2, then concludes by taking over two-thirds of the front page of the Feb. 5 issue.
Page 3 of Jan. 29 has an item from Boston on the appointment of John Davis to deliver a eulogy: "...on the character of the late General WASHINGTON before the Society...", and the back page has a half column poem: "On the Death of the Immortal Wahington".
Each issue has 4 pages, the Jan. 29 issue has an ink stain affecting some words in the Minot eulogy, otherwise nice. The Feb. 5 issue has rubbing at the top in the masthead, otherwise nice.
background: These two consecutive issues of Thomas’s Massachusetts Spy from January 29 and February 5, 1800, represent a pinnacle of early American "Washingtoniana," capturing the young nation’s transition from shock to formalized grief. The extensive front-page coverage of Judge George Richards Minot’s eulogy is particularly significant; among the roughly 350 orations delivered during this mourning period, Minot’s was considered by contemporaries—and later by bibliographers like Sabin—to be the most meritorious for its eloquence and historical depth. By dedicating over two-thirds of the February 5th front page to the conclusion of this single speech, publisher Isaiah Thomas signaled to his readers that Washington’s death was an event of such magnitude that it superseded the usual "Foreign Intelligence" and local advertisements. The inclusion of the poem "On the Death of the Immortal Washington" and the notice regarding John Davis further illustrates the cultural effort to transform Washington from a revolutionary general into a permanent, secular saint. Because these issues were printed on durable rag linen paper, they serve as remarkably well-preserved artifacts of the precise moment when the "Cincinnatus of the West" was being etched into the American national identity.
Category: Pre-Civil War
