Advertisement for The Johnstown Horror or Valley of Death
About this photograph
Advertising Ephemera Collection. Database #A0075. John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History. Duke University Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library. Image accessed at American Memory, Library of Congress.
- Date created
- Unknown
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This image shows a flyer, issued around 1889, advertising the book The Johnstown Horror or Valley of Death. In addition to a pen and ink drawing of a little girl praying amidst floodwaters washing away bodies, houses, and debris, the advertisement states:
The appalling horror at Johnstown has shocked 50,000,000 of American people. Thousands of lives have been lost and millions of property destroyed. This is the greatest calamity of modern times. 5000 agents wanted to supply the universal demand for the most authentic and complete history of The Johnstown Horror.
Richly illustrated with superb engravings of scenes and incidents in the great calamity. Time is short! Strike quick! The work sets forth in glowing colors the frightful scenes and thrilling events of the terrible day and night, when a flood, like that of Niagara, swept through the romantic Conemaugh Valley and turned it into a valley of death. No such picture of horrors was ever before witnessed. Men, women and children by thousands were swept into eternity without a moment’s warning.
Caution. —The country is being flooded with unreliable catchpenny books about the Johnstown Horror. Do not be deceived. See that the book you buy is entitled “The Johnstown Horror or Valley of Death.” See that is contains more the 500 pages and a large number of illustrations of Vivid Scenes and incidents in the Appalling Disaster. No other book contains half so much interesting matter as this work does. Beware of the miserably printed and bound imitations of this very attractive and valuable work. Compare our history of the Johnstown Horror with the Cheap John imitation books and you will at once see the great superiority of our work.
Send 40 cents for a canvassing book and outfit at once.
The printing on the reverse side of the flyer is visible.
