19th Century Advertising

Harper's Weekly was the leading illustrated American periodical during the 1857-1872 period. Its circulation exceeded 100,000 on a regular basis and reached 300,000 at times during the Civil War and its 1871 campaign to defeat Boss William M. Tweed in New York City. It is best known for the political cartoons of Thomas Nast, the illustrations of Winslow Homer, and the wood engravings of photographs by Mathew Brady.

In 1870, an annual subscription cost $4.00. An advertisement cost $1.50 per line per insertion for an inside page and $2.00 for an outside page. The newspaper had 16 tabloid-size pages per issue before 1870, and then increased up to 24 pages per issue.