Item #20625 1892 Issue of the Madagascar Mail Reporting the Death of the U.S. Vice-Consul, with An Autograph Letter Describing His Death. MADAGASCAR.
1892 Issue of the Madagascar Mail Reporting the Death of the U.S. Vice-Consul, with An Autograph Letter Describing His Death

1892 Issue of the Madagascar Mail Reporting the Death of the U.S. Vice-Consul, with An Autograph Letter Describing His Death

Tamatave, Madagascar: 1892-93.

Single Issue of this dual-language Madagascar newspaper, dated 15 November 1892, reporting on the Death of U.S. Vice-Consul Richard M. Whitney and accompanied by an ALS to Whitney's brother, providing an account of his death. The newspaper is four pages, with the first page containing articles in English under the masthead of The Madagascar Mail, the second page containing ads in both English and French, and the final two pages containing articles in French under the masthead of Le Courrier de Madagascar. 12.5 x 18.5 inches, on newsprint. In delicate condition, with some archival reinforcements, but clean and complete. The English and French articles are entirely different (not translations of the same material). The English section includes a lengthy article on the death of Richard M. Whitney, a Massachusetts businessman and Civil War veteran who had lived in Madagascar for 22 years and was Vice-Consul at the time of his death from "Malagasy fever" at the age of 53. The article describes Whitney as a man of great integrity and much-loved member of the community and says "the whole male population of Tamatave" turned out for his funeral. With the newspaper is a two page autograph letter from a local man to Whitney's brother, giving details of his final hours and the disposition of his possessions. The remainder of the English section of the paper and most of the French section is devoted to political and legal matters. By 1892, France had invaded Madagascar and the British had accepted the imposition of a French protectorate on the island, but French authority was not yet acknowledged by the government of Madagascar. The Madagascar Mail/Courrier de Madagascar appears to have been published from 1891 to 1894. We locate only one institutional holding of this paper, at the Biblioteque Nationale.

Item #20625

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