Feb. 8, 1868 Literary advertisement - Harper's Weekly

Title

Feb. 8, 1868 Literary advertisement - Harper's Weekly

Description

This advertisement is representative of the foregrounding of facts over fiction in Harper’s Weekly. In contrast to All the Year Round which seeks to instruct through fiction, Harper’s Weekly chooses to instruct by advertising a piece of literature that has to be purchased and consumed elsewhere. This piece also takes care to note that “the fidelity of [the author’s] statements [were] confirmed”. This emphasizes the magazine’s concern with the presentation of viable facts to its viewers as proving the literature worthy of promotion and consumption. This makes the exaggeration of the Moonstone image even more remarkable because of the willingness shown to bend the truth in order to emphasize a material commodity. This advertisement is also careful to name Harper’s as the book publisher. Not only is Paul du Chaillu given credit, but Harper’s is ensured to gain profit as well. The fact that it is a French explorer being censured by English critics showcases another aspect of the literary disparity across cultures. Perhaps it is the fact that it is a Frenchman’s writing that makes the book more suspect in the eyes of British critics who might favor British literary craftsmanship.

Creator

Source

Archives and Special Collections

Publisher

Calgary: University of Calgary

Date

Contributor

Friesen, Sammi

Rights

http://library.ucalgary.ca/copyright/images

Format

English

Original Format

Print publication

Files

pg83.pdf

Citation

Harper's Weekly, “Feb. 8, 1868 Literary advertisement - Harper's Weekly,” University of Calgary Class Projects, accessed November 7, 2024, https://test.omeka.ucalgary.ca/document/71.

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