HARPER'S MONTHLY, Nov., 1887  This complete, illustration-rich issue features an expansive 24-page feature article titled "A Santa Barbara Holiday" by Edwards Roberts. This extensive travelogue is lavishly illustrated with 13 detailed engravings, most notably featuring a magnificent, highly displayable full-page print capturing a panoramic view of Santa Barbara exactly as it stood in 1887.

It is great to have first-hand documentation of Southern California during the legendary "Boom of the Eighties." In 1887, Santa Barbara was rapidly transitioning from a sleepy, post-Spanish colonial outpost into the "American Riviera"—a premier, world-class resort and health sanctuary for wealthy Gilded Age Easterners seeking refuge in its Mediterranean climate. Roberts' evocative prose and the accompanying detailed engravings, which capture the majestic Santa Barbara Mission, local ranches, and the pristine coastline, served as a major cultural catalyst for the massive wave of westward migration, real estate speculation, and tourism that forever reshaped the golden state. For collectors of California history and Western Americana, this issue represents a definitive, romanticized snapshot of the region at the very dawn of its modern era.

Other literary pieces, historical essays, and poetry of the late 19th century are found throughout.

This is the complete 100+ page issue, measuring approximately 6 1/2 by 9 1/2 inches. It has been disbound from a larger volume and is without its original wrappers, but is in very nice, clean condition. See images for details.