1834 paper - ROTTERDAM; Hogarth; cold drinks for NAPLES; Netherlands; UK mining

Description

The Penny Magazine
Aug. 30,
1834
This is a weekly London paper which is 190 years old
!
. It is printed in a small format, measuring 7” by 11” in size, and is 8 pages long. The issue came from a bound volume and has typical minor disbinding marks at the spine, but is otherwise in excellent and attractive condition.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The lead article is one in a series on
HOGARTH AND HIS WORKS
. It presents a fine engraving which takes up almost the entire front page, of his
“The Distrest Poet,”
and devotes the next page to an analysis of this work by Hogarth.
Following this is a page and a half on the conclusion of a series titled
MINERAL KINGDOM
, which is about Britain's mineral wealth, and its various mining industries for harvesting ores, etc.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
In the center of the paper is a story on
ROTTERDAM
, which is illustrated with a lovely large engraving of
“Rotterdam, showing the Church of St. Lawrence.”
The accompanying text is over 250 lines long, extending across four pages. It says, in part:
“Rotterdam owes its prosperity entirely to its advantageous situation as a commercial port. . . . The town is not fortified, but it is surrounded by a moat, and entered by six gates . . . . The streets of the town are in general straight and long, but narrow. . . . The long and stately row of houses facing the Meuse . . . is the finest part of the town. . . . Next to the Boomtjes, the quay of the Haring Vleit is the most pleasant place in the city. . . .
“The houses of Rotterdam are rather convenient than elegant. . . . Altogether, no scene can at first be more novel or interesting to a stranger than that which Rotterdam presents;—masts of ships enlivened by gay streamers, beautiful stately trees and lofty leaning houses appear mingled, and at one view he sees before him the characteristic features of the country, the city, and the sea. . . .”
Etc.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The final article is on the
SNOW HARVEST
, about the industry of bringing ice and snow from the mountains of Italy to Naples in order to cool the wines and water drunk there.
********************
Background on this publication:
The
Penny Magazine
was a weekly 8-page paper put out by London’s “Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge.” Throughout the 1830s, an American edition was very popular in the United States, only to dwindle into extinction during the following decade. The paper did not cover the current news of the day, and carried no advertising. Instead, the
Penny Magazine
provided excellent essays on a wide array of subjects, such as architecture, science, geography and natural history. The paper was a compact 7.5 x 11 inches in size, and every issue was illustrated with several fine woodcut engravings.
154[p12288]
_gsrx_vers_1651 (GS 9.7.3 (1651))