THE FREDERICK VISITER, Maryland, March 5, 1840

• Rare antebellum reform - temperance movement publication

A rather scarce title that existed for just 3 years, this being the first we have ever offered. Gregory notes it was a temperance newspaper, and printed in the masthead is: "Devoted To Literature Morality, and Religion."
Four pages, a vertical crease near the middle, close-trimmed at the bottom margin causes loss of the last line.

Background: The March 5, 1840 issue of The Frederick Visiter from Frederick, Maryland, stands out as an exceptionally rare artifact from the antebellum reform movement, surviving from a short-lived publication that operated for only three years (circa 1840–1843). Distinctly marked by its masthead motto—"Devoted To Literature, Morality, and Religion"—this four-page newspaper reflects the era's specialized temperance press, which blended creative prose, poetry, and religious commentary to advance the cause of total abstinence. Appearing precisely during the crucial transitional year of 1840—when the populist Washingtonian Temperance Movement was emerging nearby in Baltimore to reshape American reform culture—the issue provides a scarce, primary-source glimpse into early local temperance advocacy, regional news, and mid-19th-century moral literature in Western Maryland.