THE COUNTRYMAN. BY J. A. TURNER. VOL. III. NOS. 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12. NINE ISSUES: MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 1862 - MONDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1862.
Turnwold, Putnam County, Ga. 1862. Each issue a folio sheet, folded to [8] pp. Each page 9-1/4" x12." Each number printed in three columns per page. No. 1 is browned. Very Good.
Crandall does not record Numbers 4 and 5; but AAS, which says The Countryman was "suspended intermittently," evidently owns them. Its first printing was March 18, 1862. With the opening issue of this volume III, Turner trumpets the "remarkable" success of The Countryman, which has received a "universal acclaim of approbation" and has been financially successful. The articles cover an array of subjects including, of course, much on the War: Why the Hessians Enlist; the "worst provincialisms of the Yankees;" John Adams; observations on the War; the printing of The Countryman; poetry ["The Old Plantation"]; advertisements; President and leaders of the Confederate States; Iron; "Teaching Negroes to Read."
This interesting Confederate weekly was printed at Turnwold, Turner's Putnam County plantation, probably the only wartime newspaper so printed. "Joel Chandler Harris was an apprentice for Joseph Addison Turner. In 1862, Turner decided to produce a newspaper from his home at Turnwold Plantation. (In fact, in a more-than-semi-autobiographical book Harris wrote called, On the Plantation, he explains that the printing office for The Countryman was established 'in an outhouse.'). . . As was the typical arrangement for the time, Harris worked for Turner in exchange for clothing and boarding at the Turnwold Plantation for the four plus years he apprenticed there. As a printer's devil, Harris was responsible for setting and inking the type for the paper on the hand-press, individually placing the letters so they were spaced appropriately for printing" ["Joel Chandler Harris and The Wren’s Nest", December 3, 2020, Blog site of American Writers Museum, accessed May 01, 2026.]
Crandall 5152. Not in Parrish & Willingham. Lomazow 687. Item #41733
Price: $2,000.00