HARPER'S NEW MONTHLY MAGAZINE, Dec., 1885  Published as a special, elevated Christmas issue, this issue features the true original first printing of The Garroters: A Farce by William Dean Howells, along with a serialized installment of his acclaimed novel Indian Summer. Also included is an installment of Constance Fenimore Woolson’s post-Civil War Southern novel East Angels, alongside an extensive, art-historical monograph on the tragic French watercolorist Léon Bonvin written by renowned art critic Philippe Burty and illustrated with delicate wood-engraved reproductions of Bonvin's floral works.

The historical and literary significance of this issue centers on its rich convergence of Gilded Age American realism and fine art scholarship. As one of the most dominant figures in late nineteenth-century American letters, Howells utilized Harper's to popularize both his serialized fiction and his widely successful social farces, making The Garroters a key highlight for collectors of American drama. Equally important is Philippe Burty’s article on Léon Bonvin, which was directly commissioned by Baltimore industrialist and collector William T. Walters (founder of the Walters Art Museum). This landmark publication played a critical role in establishing Bonvin’s posthumous legacy in the United States and shaping late nineteenth-century American art collecting. Packed with festive holiday contributions, literature, and fine engravings, this issue represents a prime example of high-caliber Victorian period publishing.

Other literary contributions, poetry, and period advertisements of the day are found throughout.

Complete in 40 pages, never bound, front and back cover have typical wear, otherwise good.