Step directly into the bustling streets, merchant houses, and drawing rooms of mid-19th-century London. This exceptional offering features two original, consecutive mid-Victorian editions of The Times, dating from Saturday, January 12th and Monday, January 14th, 1850, beautifully bound together as a continuous snapshot of history.
Totalling an expansive 24 pages of incredibly crisp, dense typography, this set is complete with both prized supplementary editions, with the Monday supplement preserved separately. Measuring an impressive, grand 62cm x 46cm (24" x 18"), these are not modern facsimiles—they are the authentic, large-format broadsheets handled by Victorians at the dawn of the industrial decade.
Historical Significance & Features
The Pinnacle of Print History: Adorned with the magnificent, intricate Royal Coat of Arms masthead, Dieu et mon Droit, these papers capture the British Empire at its peak of global influence.
A Social Historian’s Goldmine: The expansive columns document the daily reality of Victorian society. It features columns of deeply personal announcements, from performances by the Sacred Harmonic Society at Exeter Hall and notices for London's Ragged Schools, to pages of job-seeking classifieds detailing desperate pleas for "Governesses," "In-Door Servants," and "Vellum Binders".
The Shipping & Global Trade Ledger: Study the early global migration and trade corridors with front-page merchant advertisements detailing packet ships departing for Sydney, Adelaide, California, and the Cape of Good Hope.
Condition Report
Both newspapers are in excellent, highly readable condition. The rag-paper construction typical of the 1850s has preserved the pages beautifully, leaving the paper structurally strong without the extreme brittleness found in later wood-pulp papers. The ink remains deeply struck, dark, and perfectly legible. Expect minor edge toning and standard gentle fold creasing from its historical storage, adding to its undisputed antique character.
The Times is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register, adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. The Times was the first newspaper to bear that name, inspiring numerous other papers around the world, such as The Times of India and The New York Times.
The papers will be folded along the original fold lines for shipping, a quarter size, and be shipped flat.
Please note that we also have a copy of the front page of The Times from 1840 which is always popular, available as a download, this listing is for the original physical copy and not to be confused.
