Ballou's Pictorial Drawing-Room Companion, May 19, 1855. East Boston Ship-building; The King and the Cobbler; Bridge of Cobosac;Tame Thrush; Mexican Snake Bird; Mammoth Cave; Rose at the Sill; Lake Winnipiseogee (Winnipesaukee); Red Hil; The Culprit Fay; George Washington Matsell; Daniel Webster's Marshfield Farm; Baltic Fleet; Greek Tombs at Canosa; New York Street Figures

Boston: Ballou, M.M., 1855. First Edition . Soft cover. Very Good. Elephant Folio - over 15" - 23" tall. From Engravings. Boston: M.M. Ballou, 1855. First Edition. The May 19, 1855 issue, Volume VIII, No. 20, Whole No. 202. Numerous illustrations from engravings. Elephant folio size, sewn newsprint wraps, 16 pp. A strong Very Good Plus; other than modest occasional darkening to places on the covers (see scans), and of course a bit of age-toning to the newsprint paper (not excessive), not much to point to here. See scans. High grade. Maturin Ballou's paper was quite supple, not at all fragile, and it shows. Sharp, healthy, well-preserved. This issue contains stories, articles, and / or the diverse and now somewhat legendary engravings - regarding as follows: Ship-Building at East Boston (text and one large engraving); "The King and the Cobbler - A Romance of Ancient Persia" (continuation) by Austin C. Burdick; The Bridge of Cobosac, France (text and one large engraving); The Tame Thrush and The Mexican Snake Bird (text-only articles); Mammoth Cave, Kentucky (text and five engravings); "The Rose at the Sill", by Henry L. Osgood; a large text-and-engraving-rich two-page spread on "New Hampshire Scenery", most specifically Lake Winnipiseogee (now Winnipesaukee) and Red Hill, with six quite beautiful engravings; "The Culprit Fay", by Eva Milford; George Washington Matsell, short bio with his engraved portrait; Residence of the Late Daniel Webster at Marshfield (text and one engraving of the farm there); The Baltic Fleet (text and one engraving); Greek Tombs at Canosa (text and one engraving); on the rear cover, a panoply of "New York (City) Street Figures"; and of course a number of short editorials, news pieces, poems, and ads. Please see all scans. Maturin Ballou's 16-page newsprint periodical was already a piece of American history when he, as managing editor of Gleason's Pictorial, bought that - the first successful illustrated weekly newspaper in America - from owner Frederick Gleason in 1855. An early issue under this name. lLng1