Harper's Weekly: A Journal of Civilization, Vol. VII., No. 314.-365., January 3 - December 26, 1863. [Volume 7, Number 314-365]

832 pp. Folio. 16 3/8 x 11 1/2. Brown spine and corners over pebbled cloth boards, gilt titles and rules. An important year of the extremely popular and influential weekly magazine known for its large format engravings. Often known simply as Harper's, the periodical was published from 1857-1916, and featured foreign and domestic news, fiction, essays on many subjects, and humor, alongside illustrations. It carried extensive coverage of the American Civil War, including many illustrations of events from the war. During its most influential period, it was the forum of the political cartoonist Thomas Nast. This volume contains a wealth of information printed during the American Civil War, including a cover portrait of Ulysses S. Grant, two-panel battle views, contemporary advertisements and commentaries, and perhaps most notably the images of escaped slave Gordon (also known as Whipped Peter), which for many Union subscribers was their first encounter with the physical violence and human cost of the institution of slavery. It was during the war that Harper's political leanings transitioned from appeasement of their Southern readership to full support of Abraham Lincoln, the Union, and the abolition effort. An important time capsule of the shifting political climate in the United States as seen through one of its most respected sources of news and literature. Includes No Name by Wilkie Collins.