Item Number: M00380
Item Title: The Daily Citizen, Vicksburg, Mississippi July 2, 1863 wallpaper edition
Price: $1500
Shipping: Not included
Provenance: CS
Model:
Type:
Book:
Location Recovered:
Description:This is arguably the most famous newspaper edition of the Civil War. It is extremely desirable and few are known. 4 are in the Library of Congress, including 2 of this type:
https://www.loc.gov/rr/news/circulars/dailycitizen.html
When Vicksburg fell, this edition was still on the presses to be printed on the reverse of old wallpaper because paper was in such scarce supply. Union soldiers removed the end section and replaced the type with this text:
NOTE
July 4, 1863
Two days bring about great changes, The banner of the Union floats over Vicksburg. Gen. Grant has "caught the rabbit:" he has dined in Vicksburg, and he did bring his dinner with him. The "Citizen" lives to see it. For the last time it appears on "Wall-paper." No more will it eulogize the luxury of mule-meat and fricassed kitten -- urge Southern warriors to such diet never-more. This is the last wall-paper edition, and is, excepting this note, from the types as we found them. It will be valuable hereafter as a curiosity.
This one was read with glee by Union soldier John Carey of Westfield, NY in Company E of the 112th Volunteers.
https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-soldiers-detail.htm?soldierId=D1F3E58A-DC7A-DF11-BF36-B8AC6F5D926A
Private Carey enjoyed this so much that he folded it up and mailed it home to his sister, and somewhere soon after it was placed in this double sided frame with the old brown ink note about its provenance.
This newspaper is extremely desirable and has been copied countless times. Following the link above to the Library of Congress yields the tests to see if this is an original or not. This copy passes all the tests except the mispelling of the words "secossion" and "whisttle." These were obviously corrected for a second printing, likely the same day or the next as the soldiers all clamored for this hilarious piece of history. 2 of the 4 copies in the Library of Congress have these spelling errors corrected just like this "second edition" version.