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Wm Henry Hurlbut Autograph Snippet Cambridge MA NY World Editor Antique Van Eden
Clipping approximately .5" by 7" page
Item: Antique 19th-Century Autograph Snippet / Signed Paper Clip
Signer: William Henry Hurlbut (Handwritten as Wm Henry Hurlbut)
Notations: Features the location "Cambridge" in period ink, alongside a later pencil archival notation reading "Van Eden".
Item Condition & Details
Authenticity: 100% original period handwriting from the mid-to-late 19th century.
Format: Cut signature/clipped snippet from a historical letter or document. Ideal for framing, matting with a portrait, or adding to an Americana/ephemera collection.
Condition: Displays minor age-toning consistent with 19th-century paper. Ink remains bold, clear, and highly legible. (Please see the high-resolution scan for exact margins and edge details).
Historical Biography (For the Listing)
About the Signer: William Henry Hurlbut (1827–1895)
William Henry Hurlbut (frequently spelled Hurlbert later in life) was a brilliantly gifted and highly influential 19th-century American journalist, intellectual, and author. Born in Charleston, South Carolina, he was known for his remarkable linguistic skills and immense personal charm.
The Cambridge & Harvard Connection:
This specific snippet features the handwritten location of Cambridge. Hurlbut attended Harvard College, earning his undergraduate degree in 1847, followed by a degree from Harvard Divinity School in 1849. This piece likely stems from his formative academic years or early career network centered around Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Media & Cultural Impact:
Hurlbut is best remembered as the powerful Editor-in-Chief of the New York World (serving from 1876 to 1883), a premier American newspaper of the era. He was a prominent fixture in transatlantic literary and political circles, associating closely with major historical figures of the Gilded Age. Historians also widely credit him as the likely anonymous author of "The Diary of a Public Man" (1879), one of American political history's most famous nineteenth-century mysteries.
