{"product_id":"1848-49-western-miscellany","title":"1848-49 WESTERN MISCELLANY. Superbly Illustrated Ohio Imprint - Cane Ridge Revival, Shakerism, and Native Americans.","description":"\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eThe Western Miscellany, published and edited in Dayton, Ohio, by Benjamin Franklin Ells between July 1848 and June 1849, holds significant importance in the history of early American printing and Midwestern periodical literature. During the late 1840s, the trans-Appalachian West was rapidly expanding, and local publishers sought to cultivate a distinct regional print culture. Ells, an ambitious pioneer printer, schoolbook publisher, and editor in southwestern Ohio, created the monthly journal to provide educational, moral, historical, and entertaining reading material tailored to the growing populations of the Ohio Valley and frontier regions. By collecting national news, literary pieces, local histories, and moral essays into a bound annual volume, the publication served as both a cultural mirror for early Ohio settlers and a primary vehicle for disseminating knowledge outside major Eastern publishing hubs like Boston and Philadelphia.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eWhat set The Western Miscellany apart from many of its regional contemporaries was its ambitious inclusion of extensive visual art. Producing illustrated periodicals in the antebellum West was a costly and technically challenging undertaking, as high-quality printing presses, skilled engravers, and paper stock were far less accessible than on the East Coast. Ells countered these limitations by richly decorating the volume with dozens of black-and-white woodcuts and steel or copperplate engravings. These illustrations featured historic portraits, such as a now-famed frontispiece of George Washington, alongside depictions of national landmarks, natural wonders, architectural achievements, and moral allegory. By incorporating such visual components, Ells elevated the publication from a standard text-heavy magazine into a visually engaging compendium, demonstrating that western publishers could produce sophisticated, illustrated media that rivaled Eastern counterparts like Godey's Lady's Book and Harper's Magazine.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eFrom the prospectus:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eOur object in getting up this Periodical, is to furnish a course of Cheap, and Useful reading, of a healthful Literary and Moral character, and of such a variety as to be adapted to the capacities of reading members of all families. The articles published will generally be short, thereby enabling us to comprehend the greater variety. We shall devote a brief portion of each number to Valuable Statistics, Useful Recipes, Medicine, Anecdotes, \u0026amp;c. Among the leading articles will be a history of the Rise and Progress of Shakerism in the West. Also, a history of the Great Religious Revival or Awakening which took place in the Western Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee, some fifty years ago; in which will be giving a description of the Jerking, Falling, Rolling, Barking, and Dancing exercises. This was one of the most remarkable and astonishing religious excitements, of which we have any account, since the day of Pentecost,\u003c\/em\u003e \u003cem\u003eetc.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eContents include: George Washington at Prayer at Valley Forge; The Artist Lover. A Sketch of the Life of Filippo Lippi [with Engraving]; Signers of the Declaration of Independence [with Engraving]; Common Errors in English Composition; The Capture of Major Andre [with Engraving]; Early Heroism of George Washington; Eddystone Light-house [with Engraving]; Benjamin Franklin [with Engraving]; Living Costumes [with Engraving]; Rev. Thomas Allen; Captain Franklin's First Journey [with Engraving]; Indian Juggler's Exhibiting Tamed Snakes [with Engraving]; The Brilliant Exploit of Colonel Barton; Speech of the Little Turtle - Indian Chief; The Whiskey Rebellion [Insurrection] in Pennsylvania; Anecdote of General Putnam [with Engraving]; Portrait Painting among the Red Indians; Telescopic Appearance of the Moon; Poor Richard's Advice at the Auction Block [with Engraving - Benjamin Franklin]; Colored Printing Inks; The Tea Riot \/ Boston Tea Party; The Whale Fishery [with Engraving]; Remedies against the Cholera; Sugar-Cane [with Engraving of Slave \/ Slavery]; Laws of Aliens and Natives; Biographical Sketch of Lord Timothy Dexter [with Engraving]; The Return of Captain Ross from the Arctic [with Engraving]; Siberian Sled Dogs [with Engraving]; On Female Education by Mrs. A. B. Whelpley; The White, or Polar Bear [with Engraving]; The Maniac Maid - A Tale of the Tyrol by Mrs. J. Webb; History of Shakerism in the West [series]; History of Oregon; The Western Hunter [with Engraving]; Bell Rock Lighthouse [with Engraving]; Experiments in Blacksmithing; The Steamboat by Oliver Wendell Holmes [with Engraving]; The Great Kentucky Revival. Of the First Appearing of the Extraordinary Work in Different Parts of Kentucky in 1800 and 1801; On Crossing the Alleghanies by Mrs. Laura M. Thurston; The Beaver [with Engraving]; Bedouins [with Engraving]; First Use of the Gallows in the Sandwich Islands; Great Eruption of the Volcano Kilauea; Sugar Making [Maple Syrup, with Engraving]; Duck Shooting [with Engraving]; Salmon of the Columbia River; The Steam Ship Great Western; A Ludicrous Indian Scene among the Pawnee; White-Headed, or Bald Eagle [with Engraving]; Captain Paul Jones [with Engraving]; North American Indians; The Esquimaux [with Engravings]; The Baptism of Pocahontas [with Engraving]; Character of George Washington; General Jackson; etc. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe copy of Jacob Billmann [Billmann] of Dayton, Ohio with use as a business diary and handwriting practice book at the prelims.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eElls, B. F. [Ed.] The Western Miscellany. Volume I. July 1848 to July 1849. Dayton, Oio. B. F. Ells. 1849. 384pp.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFair only, heavily worn, boards and spine cover connected to each other but separated from text block. Foxed and handled as shown. Four pages with horizontal tears, not impacting legibility. Still, complete and remarkably deep, crisp imprint of images and text. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Specs Fine Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51186144837668,"sku":null,"price":350.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0093\/3910\/9435\/files\/07-31-2026SpecsFineBooks-11.jpg?v=1785783102","url":"https:\/\/specsfinebooks.com\/products\/1848-49-western-miscellany","provider":"Specs Fine Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}