Harper's Weekly

In 1857, the first edition of Harper's Weekly was published by Fletcher Harper, co-owner of Harper Monthly and a small printing firm in New York. By 1860, the newspaper had reached a circulation of 200,000. Thomas Nast was hired two years later, remaining with Harper's Weekly for over twenty years. His exaggerated caricatures played an important role in the development of political cartoons. Harper's Weekly was, at first, a politically active newspaper, but began to stray from controversial subjects in the 1880's when the newspaper began publishing more news about entertainment and society.

Thomas Nast, Harper's Weekly: May 5th, 1877

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAharpers.htm