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Rare newspaper printed on board a transcontinental train...



Item # 672794

June 25, 1870

TRANS-CONTINENTAL, San Francisco, California, June 25, 1870  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 7, published at San Francisco after reaching its western terminus & before returning 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 a poem titled: "California". Page 2 has: "Eastward Bound" beginning: "Punctually to the minute, our train left the depot of the Western Pacific Railroad Company...Our beloved train was tastefully decorated to receive us..." Also: "Notes from Our Log Book" providing a day-by-day account of the events. Other tidbits the passengers experienced.
A fine opportunity for a very rare title. Four pages, 7 by 9 3/4 inches, very nice condition.
Included with this issue is a reprint set of all 12 issues published. See our item 615312 for details.

Category: Post-Civil War