On eBay Now...1839: CEMETERIES - Highgate, Norwood, catacombs; BORDEAUX; hemp rope For Sale
1839: CEMETERIES - Highgate, Norwood, catacombs; BORDEAUX; hemp rope:
$12.95
THE PENNY MAGAZINEDec. 21, ropesThis is a paper which is over 175 years old. It is printed in a small format, measuring 7” by 11” in size, and is 8 pages long. The issue came from a bound volume and has typical minor disbinding marks at the spine, and some small spots of age browning in its interior pages (see photos) but is otherwise in excellent and attractive condition. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The lead article of the paper is on CEMETERIES, with a fine wood engraved view on the front page of, “Entrance to the Catacombs of the Cemetery at Highgate.” The rest of the page and almost all the next page is devoted to a text which runs over 150 lines in length. It describes the new North London, or Highgate Cemetery, which was just consecrated by the Bishop of London in May of 1839; and the South Metropolitan Cemetery at Norwood. It praises the beautiful views afforded in Highgate, and says that while the Cemetery at Norwood is not so beautiful, it also is “decidedly picturesque,” and contains numerous worthwhile sights and buildings.* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
In the center of the paper is a 2-page spread on BORDEAUX, featuring a lovely wood engraving of “Bordeaux, and Bridge over the Garonne,” which shows a scene of fishermen and women laboring at the side of the river with nets and baskets, launching one boat, while men haul casks off a larger ship. The accompanying article says, in part:“Many of the streets, squares, quays, public buildings, are remarkably fine, and even magnificent, while they derive additional splendour from the striking view which they present from the river. . . . The stone bridge over the Garonne is one of the finish works of the kind on the Continent. . . .“Several of the finest streets are lined with trees, and form a fine promenade. . . . The Exchange and the Custom-house, both fine edifices, form two sides of the Place Royale. The quays stretch to a great length along the river, and have an appearance at once interesting and imposing. The public bonding-warehouses for colonial and other merchandise and produce are remarkable for their extent and beauty. The principal theatre for size and magnificence is scarcely exceeded by any in Europe. . . .“The coasting-trade of Bordeaux is greater than that of either Nantes, Marseilles, Havre, or Rouen. . . . Wine is the staple article of the commerce of Bordeaux, and claret is scarcely shipped at any other port. . . . Chateau Margaux, Lafitte, Latour, and Haut Brion . . . the quantity of wine exported from Bordeaux was 9,643,053 gallons, and 2,013,795 of brandy. . . .” * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
This is followed by an article on THE MATERIALS AND MANUFACTURE OF CORDAGE. It consists of a text of about 250 lines spread across two pages, and presents a detailed account of the process by which hemp is made into on this publication: The Penny Magazine was a weekly 8-page paper put out by London’s “Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge.” Throughout the 1830s, an American edition was very popular in the United States, only to dwindle into extinction during the following decade. The paper did not cover the current news of the day, and carried no advertising. Instead, the Penny Magazine provided excellent essays on a wide array of subjects, such as architecture, science, geography and natural history. The paper was compact in size and was usually illustrated with several fine woodcut engravings.495 [gsp4020]_gsrx_vers_1426 (GS 9.0.3 (1426))