1865 THE DOLLAR MAGAZINE. Civil War, Runaway Slaves, Mormons, and More. Excellent. 1008pp.

Quite scarce, this is a full year of the Boston imprinted "Dollar Monthly Magazine," proudly self-touted as "The Cheapest Magazine in the World." 

It really was a wonder how the magazine survived, being published at such a price. It was lavishly illustrated on nearly every page, generally in a good quality, and the articles, most of which appear to be original, are generally quite lengthy and also of good quality. Certainly the editor did take some liberties with author's names. Just about every article was by someone "Grant" or "Hale" or "Bushnell." These were almost certainly all inventions to bring to mind names that resonated in New England with quality, history, etc. And it is editorially smart as well, with a mix of all that made for attentive reading at the time, ghost stories, the Civil War, Indian fighters, the Mormons, murder, and a smattering of Civil War love stories etc., 

Scarce in the trade. 

The Dollar Monthly Magazine. Volume XXI. From January to June, 1865. Boston. Office American Union, Flag of Our Union, and Novelette. 1865. 504pp.

Contents include: History of the Plough; Sixth Avenue, New York [Full Page Illustrated]; White Rose of the Ojibways. A Tale of Lake Superior by William H. Bushnell [Serial]; The Retreat [Civil War] by William H. Bushnell; Lora Lee by Jane G. Austin; Recipe for Calf's Head Soup; Life in Florida; Presidential Election of 1864; Total Abstinence; Humors of a Political Campaign [Illustrated Cartoons]; Scenes in South America; The Mysterious Guest by L. S. Goodwin; Loading Cotton on the Missippi River [with full page engraving, p.99 of slaves at work]; Deaf and Dumb Asylum at Jacksonville, IL; Bride and Groom a Century Ago; The Lady Katherine. A HIghland Tale by Richard Faulkiner; Our Heroes by William H. Bushnell; Horne Tooke and the Lunatic; Section Each Month of Recipes for "The Housewife;" Whirlwinds and Waterspouts [Tornadoes]; Tom Higgins Rescuing His Comrade - A Tale of the War of 1812 by Sidney Herbert; Tricked by a Texas Ranger by Godfrey Turner; The San Diego Dam; Sherman's March through Georgia [excellent series of illustrations, p.251, 252]; The Lunatic Asylum at Worcester [with full page illustration]; Romance of Pioneer Life by Sidney Herbert [Native Americans and Westward Expansion, ill. p. 272];  Black Dinah; or, The Soldier's Return by Arthur Meserve; The Grantville Murder, by a Member of the Bar; A Ghost Story by E. Landon; Half an Hour in a Dramshop; Playing Cards; Artemus Ward among the Mormons [with excellent cartoon illustrations of polygamy, etc,. p. 335, 336]; The Bushwhacker by the Bard of the Eighth; Winnie Holmes; or, Marriage without Love by Mrs. Emma F. Pradt; A Leap for Life - An Adventure in Texas by Arthur L. Meserve; The Moon [with excellent woodcuts]; Ham Cass and His Vow by Sidney Herbert [kidnapped by Indians, ill. p.441]; Outrunning a Runaway Slave. A Leaf from a Blackader's Log by Clew Garnet of the United States Navy [U. S. Transit. Excellent on fugitive slaves]; Signing the Temperance Pledge; Last of the English Blockade Runners [cartoon illustration]; etc. etc. 

[Bound with]

The Dollar Monthly Magazone. Volume XXII. From July to December, 1865. Boston. Office American Union, Flag of Our Union, and Novelette. 1865. 504pp.

Contents include: New Zealand and its People; The Magic Lantern; Biography of Charles H. Spurgeon with full page illustration [p.17]; Valley of the Shenandoah; Josiah Hunt - The Indian Fighter by Sidney Herbert; Out of the Wilderness - a Story of Today by Caroline B. Lerow [on Confederate soldiers]; The Hollingsworth Diamonds by Amanda M. Hale; A Few Incidents in the Life of Jefferson Davis [Jeff Davis, exceptional cartoon illustrations, including slaves, etc., p. 83, 84]; Americanisms; The Trapper's Escape. A Story of Indian Superstition by William H. Bushnell; The Rebel Chief's End by J. E. D.; Bachelor's Experience by H. W. B. [Henry Ward Beecher?]; Converting a Jew; Mirages at the White Mountains; Arctic Scenes; The Indian's Lament by R. T. A. Macey; Till the End of the War by Franc Smythe; The Colors of the Regiment by James D. M'Cabe Jr.; The Deerskin Belt by Mrs. P. H. Phelps; The Mormon Temple [p.347]; The Bald Headed Eagle; Manton the Murderer; The Pirate Foiled by Howard W. James; Captain Hubbell of Kentucky, Defending His Boat by Sidney Herbert; Negro Proverbs; China and the Chinese; Indian Falls, Cold Spring New York; "Escaped Contraband" [fascinating little cartoon, p. 504]; etc., etc., 

Two  volumes, 1008pp in one chunky 8vo, half leahter, rubbed as shown with some minor losses to marbling. Generally solid and clean with some occasional foxing and a few pages handled or with non-intrusive staining. Vol. XXI, leaf 493-500 loose, lacking 495-498, i.e. a single sheet comprising end of month matter rather than main content.  Vol. XXII. complete.