1890 J. Armoy Knox Signed Card Texas Siftings Co-Founder Humor Publisher NY For Sale
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1890 J. Armoy Knox Signed Card Texas Siftings Co-Founder Humor Publisher NY:
$142.49
Original 1890 signed autograph/business card of John Armoy “J. Armoy” Knox (1851–1906), Irish-born American journalist, humorist, publisher, and co-founder of the influential illustrated humor weekly Texas Siftings.
The front is boldly signed:
“J. Armoy Knox”
“1890”
The reverse bears an original circular printed identification for:
J. ARMOY KNOX
TEXAS SIFTINGS
PUB. CO.
NEW YORK
This period publisher identification makes the card especially desirable, directly connecting Knox’s autograph with the newspaper that made him nationally known.
John Armoy KnoxJohn Armoy Knox was born in 1851 in Armoy, County Antrim, Ireland. He emigrated to the United States in 1871 and eventually settled in Austin, Texas, where he became involved in journalism and publishing.
In 1881, Knox and fellow humorist Alexander E. Sweet founded Texas Siftings, a weekly humorous newspaper specializing in illustrated satire, comic sketches, social commentary, and humorous observations of Texas and American life.
The publication quickly grew beyond its regional origins. By the middle and late 1880s, Texas Siftings had become one of the best-known illustrated humor publications in the United States. Its circulation during its peak years reportedly reached approximately 150,000 copies, an extraordinary figure for a humor periodical of the era.
The paper ultimately established operations in New York City, with Knox playing an important role in its business and publishing activities. The reverse of this card specifically identifies him with the Texas Siftings Publishing Company, New York.
Knox and Sweet also collaborated on books derived from the magazine’s humorous material, including:
- Sketches from Texas Siftings (1882)
- On a Mexican Mustang Through Texas (1883)
Knox later continued his career as a journalist, editor, and author before his death in New York in 1906.
Historical SignificanceThe handwritten 1890 date is particularly appealing because it falls directly within the period when Texas Siftings was enjoying its greatest national prominence.
Unlike a simple clipped autograph, this card retains its original printed publisher identification on the reverse, providing an unusually direct association between Knox and the Texas Siftings Publishing Company.
A desirable piece for collectors of:
19th-century autographs, American journalism, Texas history, humor and satire, newspaper history, publishing history, Irish-American figures, and literary ephemera.
ConditionOriginal cream-colored card stock with expected age toning and handling wear. Small dark mark/chip at the upper-left corner of the signed side. Reverse has old adhesive or mounting remnants on either side of the printed circular publisher logo. Signature remains large, bold, and highly legible.
Please review photographs carefully for exact condition.
Guaranteed original period autograph as shown.
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