Harper's New Monthly Magazine, December 1850 - May 1853, (5) Bound Volumes

Publisher: Harper & Brothers, New York, NY

Volumes Included: II, III, IV,V, & VI (December 1850 - May 1853)

Age:  1850-1853

Construction:  Paper, board, leather

Dimensions:  9 3/4" Tall x 6 3/4" Wide x 2 1/8" Thick (approx)

Condition:  Fair to good. Volumes II, III, IV, and V are in good condition for their age, with moderate shelf wear and sound bindings. These four exhibit foxing and toning throughout the pages as well as a few minor tears, dog ears, and general wear. Volume VI has a part of the spine cover detached, detached portion is included (inside the book). This volume also has fire damage on a few of the interior pages as well as a few torn pages. In all cases the spine is legible, although the leather is very dry. Please see photos. 

Details: Set of five monthly literary and political magazines bound in six-month lots. Half-bound with light brown leather spines and corners, red marbled paper cover boards.  Lightly tooled with gilt titles and minimal decoration.  Plain endpapers, some dog ears.  Foxing and toning of paper throughout.  Bindings are sound. Volume II opens with  "The Deserted Village" by Oliver Goldsmith.  Volume III carries a first printing of an excerpt from "Moby Dick" by Herman Melville.

The oldest general-interest monthly magazine in America and first published in 1850, Harper's New Monthly Magazine was initially meant to introduce European Literature to the American audience.  Soon American authors and artists' works began to take their places among the pages.  Herman Melville, William Makepeace Thackeray, and Charles Dickens were joined by Horatio Alger, Horace Greeley, and Mark Twain.  Frederic Remington and Winslow Homer were among the illustrators featured.  Travelogues and ladies' fashions were also included.  In the early 20th century politics and social reform began to make their way among the pages with writers such as Winston Churchill, Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt. Through format changes and ownership turnover, Harper's Magazine remains to this day an exemplar of fine writing and original thought.