1837 paper: the WALRUS; Elvas in PORTUGAL; Berlin Germany life & customs

Description

The Penny Magazine
Aug. 19,
1837
the Walrus
Elvas, Portugal
Berlin
This is a weekly London paper which is over 180 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, with a little light browning from age.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
The lead article is on
THE WALRUS
, which features a great half-page wood engraving on the front page of a group of walruses on the ice. The accompanying text takes up the rest of the front page plus the next page and a half, running over 275 lines in length. This says, in part:
“The walrus, or morse (
Trichechus rosmarus,
Linn.) in the general shape of the body and position and structure of the limbs, closely approximates to the seals, between which group of animals and the
Herbivorous Celacca
, namely the manatee, dugong, &c., it seems to constitute an intervening form. . . . In size this animal equals the largest of the seal-tribe, often attaining to the length of twenty feet. . . . with a body superior to that of the largest ox. . . .
“The head of the living walrus is round, and . . . . presents two swollen protuberances, forming a sort of tumid muzzle. . . . From these protuberances, covered with thick wiry bristles, depend two enormous tusks, which, in conjunction with the bright and sparkling eyes of the animal, give to the phsyiognomy an expression of ferocity which its disposition does not warrant. . . .
“It lives in troops, which visit the shore, or extensive fields of ice, as a sort of home, where the rest and where the females produce their young. In ascending steep icebergs. . . . the walrus uses its tusks with great advantage . . . . They are also instruments by which the animal tears up the submarine vegetavbes on which in great measure it subsists. . . .
“In 1706 an English party killed 700 or 800 in six hours, for the sake of the tusks. . . . Of late years we have no accounts of such a wholesale slaughter of these animals, nor are they met with in such vast herds, or so frequently. . . . ‘our vessels which go every year to these shores on whaling expeditions have so terrified them, that they have retired to more remote abodes’ . . . . a full-grown walrus will furnish half a ton of oil, besides its tusks, which were. . . . regarded as superior to those of the elephant. The skin, he says, was thrown away as useless; it is, however, far from useless, as it makes leather of a very superior quality . . . . the harpoon is often thrown in vain; for . . . . the whale is more easily hit than the morse. . . .
“‘When wounded, they become furious, striking from side to side with their tusks; the shiver the weapons, or dash them out of the hands of those who attack them . . . It is only when wounded that the walrus becomes furious, or when called to act in defence of its mate or young. Like all the seal tribe, the parents (and especially the females) display great affection towards their offspring, and defend them to the last extremity. . . .
“They spend much of their time on shore, or on fields of ice, and shuffle along on their flippers with considerable speed. . . . when the animal rises in the water, from below, it blows like a whale, but with little noise. Its voice is loud and hoarse. . . .
“Formerly, the walruses used to assemble in almost incredible multitudes in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, at the setting of the spring, and take possession of the Madgalene Islands. . . . The traffic in oil and skin of the walrus, made by the Americans, have both tended to thin their numbers and to drive the remnant to other places of refuge. . . .”
Etc.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
In the center of the issue is an article titled
SKETCHES OF THE PENINSULA — ELVAS
. This is the 6th part of a series on regions and cities in Portugal. It consists of 190 lines of text, plus a nice woodcut engraving of
“Praca (Square) Elvas.”
It begins:
“The city of Elvas stands upon a part of the Zoledo range of mountains, which enters Portugal a little above the city of Badajos, and occupies the centre of the large and fertile province of Alemtejo (beyond the Tagus), of which Elvas is the second city in importance. . . . The works of Elvas are so strong as to require a large army and a regular siege before any impression could be made . . . . Though ranked the second city of the Alemtejo, it is decidedly the best fortified and the strongest. . . .
“The only gate by which strangers are allowed to enter is the Olivenca. . . . The Rue de Cadea is a fine antique looking street, and the remains of part of the Moorish houses and towers . . . . The Cadea or prison stands at one end of the street, and on the opposite side is the hospital for the towns-people; an excellent establishment. . . .
“The cathedral is a mixture of Arabesque and Gothic . . . . The tower . . . is accurately represented in the [engraving]. Behind the cathedral is a convent of nuns, dedicated to St. Domingo. . . .”
Etc.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Other articles in the paper include ones on
EDUCATION
, which is a speech by Lord Brougham giving statistics for education in England, and comparing it with the systems in Prussia and Saxony; a 2-page piece on
IMPROVEMENT OF THE LABOURING CLASSES
, about efforts to improve the lives of workers; and a page and a half on
MANNERS AND MODE OF LIVING IN BERLIN
, describing the life and customs of Berliners.
*******************
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 compact in size, and was usually illustrated with several fine woodcut engravings.
345
[gsp3247]
_gsrx_vers_1426 (GS 9.0.3 (1426))