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One collector’s passion…
January 16, 2012 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Old newspapers are not only great “stand alone” collectibles, but many collect them to be used as companion pieces to a separate primary interest. A fellow collector recently obtained what would normally have been considered a rather nondescript issue of Harper’s Weekly. However, after reading his note, I was reminded of the breadth of our favorite pass-time… rare & early newspapers. Please enjoy his story:
Hello, Guy…
I received the above order this past Saturday [a Harper’s Weekly, November 12, 1904, from New York, with “A Bird’s-Eye View of New York’s Rapid Transit Plans for the Future” by H. M. Pettit]. Ordinarily, I would not go to this length to confirm receipt of your fine products, but this is about a unique affair…something very different for me, and one – quite honestly – I never imagined would “come true”.
As you know, I’ve been studying the history of New York’s original Pennsylvania Station for many years now, and these studies have taken me on some incredible “journeys” through the land of (original) archival documents that have, some how, survived the “test of time”. I purchased one of your portfolios because what I recently acquired is so exceptional, it deserves a special place to reside in my archive.
Earlier this month, I inadvertently came upon an issued/cancelled stock certificate that is directly related to the construction of Pennsylvania Station…undeniably the most distinctive “find” I’ve made since I first pursued this subject years ago. What I actually found was a PDF link to the pages of a Spink Smythe auction catalog (pictured below, as Lot #516), the event having taken place in February 2010…Spink, with offices worldwide, specializes in rare stocks, bonds, and paper currency.
The significance of this document is that the Pennsylvania, New York & Long Island Rail Road was one of two “pioneering” ventures (the other being the Pennsylvania, New Jersey & New York Railroad) created in 1902 by the Pennsylvania Railroad to basically enact the provisions of its franchise agreement with the City of New York to build Penn Station and its sub-river tunnels, uniting Manhattan (by rail) with mainland America. These two small railroads – with a combined length of less than 20 miles – were consolidated in 1907 to form one operating authority, the Pennsylvania Tunnel & Terminal Railroad. Given the short “lifespan” and relatively low profile of these two railroads during the years of Penn Station’s construction, any documents pertaining to their existence (that have survived to this day) are very scarce.
I’ve had previous – though limited – experience with the Spink auction house, so I immediately “launched” an investigation into this document, and learned it did not sell at this February 2010 auction! Within a week or so, I made contact with a Spink official (in London, their corporate location) who not only confirmed the status of this item at that auction, but referred me to its consignee, to whom Spink returned the unsold certificate.
Not knowing what I was “in for” from this point onward, I telephoned the consignee, only to discover he is a reputable vendor of stock certificates and bank notes in New Hampshire…extremely knowledgeable, and an absolute pleasure to do business with. I’m sure – privately – he couldn’t believe somebody was calling him (from California, no less!) about a certificate that didn’t sell at auction so long ago, but we, nonetheless, had a wonderful conversation. Lo and behold, after briefly searching his inventory (of Spink returns), he called me back to say he found the certificate I was interested in. He offered it to me at a good price, and I now have this most incredible document (previously, a “distant”, digitized image from a nearly two-year-old catalog) in my possession.
While the “railroad-related” signatures and seals on the certificate are “chock-full” of history (and worth everything to me), an unexpected “bonus” surfaced when the vendor made note of the individual to whom this stock was issued…Clement A. Griscom. He suggested this person might be worth researching, so – while I awaited the certificate’s arrival – I did just that! Born 1841 in Philadelphia (died in 1912), Clement Griscom – pictured in his
1899 portrait above – was not your “everyday” stockholder, but, rather, a prominent shipping magnate…President of the International Navigation (steamship) Company. In 1902, he engaged Pierpont (J.P.) Morgan to finance the merger of International Navigation with five additional steamship lines, including a portion of Holland America, and the White Star Line (of Titanic fame). The Pennsylvania Railroad also retained Mr. Griscom as a director in their Northeast region for many years.
To set this monumental document before you is nothing short of dazzling…printed on watermarked (almost parchment-like) paper, the graphics are precise and impeccably executed. Handwritten inscriptions, such as Clement Griscom’s name and a date (July 1, 1902) – presumably entered by a secretary – and two signatures along the bottom, are all in black (fountain pen) ink, and very legible. The legendary Vice President of the Pennsylvania Railroad, Samuel Rea, signed the certificate to the right, and a very curious Treasurer’s signature – that of eminent 50-year PRR veteran “T {Taber} Ashton – pictured below, graces the left hand corner.
Adjacent to Mr. Ashton’s signature is the “wonder of it all”…a perfectly-embossed seal of the Pennsylvania, New York & Long Island Rail Road, whose name encircles the words, “New York 1902”. On the reverse side of this certificate [IMG 0095] is another set (“trio”) of beautiful graphics that were intended to be “showcased” when the document was folded in “thirds”. Fortunately, it was never folded, which certainly enhances its value and charm. The certificate looks wonderful in the portfolio…a perfect place to keep it for future reference, and to ensure its posterity.
As always…many thanks…
Ed
Collector Eric Fettmann on Babe Ruth & Yankee Stadium…
October 24, 2011 by TimHughes · 2 Comments
Our website item #584134 offers a New York Times newspaper from 1914 which has the earliest mention of Babe Ruth in that newspaper, and possibly any newspaper. Has anyone found earlier mention? The listing also mentions a report of a new Yankee Stadium being built–with an illustration of it–but I could find no documentation of it elsewhere. Eric offers further information on both with his comments:
Tim,
Actual headlines…
September 10, 2011 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
We offer thanks to fellow collector Morris Brill for some of the following headlines which appeared in recent newspapers:
“Iraqi Head Seeks Arms”
“Cold Wave Linked To Temperatures”
“Man Struck By Lightning Faces Battery Charge”
“Many Antiques At Senior Citizens’ Sale”
“Lack of Brains Hinders Research””
“Prisoners Escape After Execution”
“No Cause of Death Determined Fro Beheading Victim”
“Teacher Dies; Board Accepts His Resignation”
“Experts Are Sure The Dow Will Either Rise Or Decline”
“Lucky Man Sees Friend Die”
“Voluntary Workers Strike For Higher Pay”
Actual headlines in 2002…
August 20, 2011 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
We offer thanks to fellow collector Morris Brill for the following headlines which appeared in 2002:
“Something Went Wrong In Jet Crash, Experts Say”
“Police Begin Campaign To run Down Jaywalkers”
“Panda Mating Fails; Veterinarian Takes Over”
“Teacher Strikes Idle Kids”
“Miners Refuse To Work After Death”
“Juvenile Court To Try Shooting Defendant”
“War Dims Hope For Peace”
“If Strike Isn’t Settled Quickly, It May Last Awhile”
“Red Tape Holds Up New Bridges”
“Typhoon Rips Through Cemetery; Hundreds Dead”
“Kids Make Nutritious Snacks!”
“New Study Of Obesity Looks For Larger Test Group”
(more later!)
Antebellum American Newspapers… AAS…
April 11, 2011 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Vincent Golden of the American Antiquarian Society, recently produced a video which describes the history and characteristics of Antebellum American newspapers. We thought our readers might enjoy this informative piece, from the Curator of the AAS:
Antebellum American Newspapers from American Antiquarian Society on Vimeo.
The early muckrakers – collecting newspapers that dished the dirt…
April 9, 2011 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
The following is a guest post submitted by Edward Khoo:
People collecting old and rare newspapers will give you many different reasons for their
hobbies. For some it’s about owning a little piece of history, for others it’s a way of connecting
to important date in their life – say a birthday or marriage – to something real. For some it’s
just that wonderful sense of smell and touch you get from handling something that was meant
to be thrown away – fragile, disposable, but now wonderfully evocative.
But once you get past those initial reasons, many of us newspaper-collectors like to build our
collections around favorite themes, to give us a focus. And there’s a lot to choose from – you
can collect papers just from your local area, where a lot of the stories may have some real
relevance to the people still living in your town or county. Or you can collect on a particular
important news story, or historical theme – I know one guy who has collected editions only on
dramatic murder cases. Though maybe you should avoid that sort of collector, because you
don’t know where it’s going to lead!
For me, though, it’s the history of the newspaper journalism that fascinates me. It’s simply
amazing to be able to see how much has changed, in journalistic style, over the last 200
years – and how much has stayed the same! And the wonderful, and surprising, thing about
collecting rare and old newspapers is the fabulous state of preservation many of these copies
are still in.
You may expect that newspapers older than 50 years would just crumble in your hands –
but you’d be wrong. Although the newspapers we find when we lift the carpet are usually
yellowing and fragile – after just 10 or 20 years – back-in-the-day they made them very
differently. Most of the earlier 19th century papers were made from a type of linen, not paper,
which ages very well – so some very ancient newspapers can look almost pristine!
The period that I’m particularly interested in dates back to that century – those great
champions of newspaper journalism, who set the standard for the humbling of the powerful
– the ‘muckrakers’. That term was coined by a certain Theodore ‘Teddy’ Roosevelt, who
compared those who sought to expose ‘many grave evils’ in the ‘body politic’ to a character
from John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress : ‘Man with the Muck-rake, the man who could look no
way but downward, with the muck-rake in his hand.’
That, for me, is where journalism shines most bright – when its delving deep into the dirty
underbelly, and exposes it for all to see. We wouldn’t have a true democracy at all without
those guys. So where do you start, if you want to collect some of the finest examples of
exposé-journalism?
Well, one of my favorites is a woman who was a pioneer on several fronts – Nellie Bly. Not
only was she a journalist at a time when the fairer sex was frowned upon for doing anything
except being mothers, and supporting ‘their men’ – she also broke the record for going around
the world, beating Phileas Fogg. Her journalistic exploits were groundbreaking, so owning so
me the newspaper she printed in is to hold onto social history in the making.
She really made her name at Pulitzer’s New York World, with her undercover work in an
asylum. She actually managed to get herself committed, so as to show what really went on in
the mental institutions of the time. The paper had a big circulation, so picking up copies is notinsanely hard (excuse the pun). But some of her more interesting work was on the Pittsburgh Dispatch, on which she worked as a foreign correspondent in Mexico. These papers are rarer – so naturally more valuable.
Another principled muckrakers, on the west coast this time, was Fremont Older. He wrote for
first the San Francisco Bulletin, and then for William Hearst’s San Francisco Call, at the turn
of the last century. He had a knack for getting up the noses of local politicians, such as the
corruption machine of Abe Ruef, just after the San Fransisco quake. We could probably do
with more of his ilk on today’s San Francisco Examiner!
That’s the wonderful thing about this hobby. Whatever slice of real life you’re interested in, the
rags and hacks of the past will have covered it in one way or another. By collecting those thin
sheets of typeset from the past, you’re opening a window onto how the world has changed –
and yet is still very much the same.
Edward Khoo is a writer who is proud of his language and based in one of the exotic and
tropical islands of Malaysia.
My collecting story… Graham Dukes…
November 15, 2010 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
I have been collecting newspapers longer than most fellow enthusiasts, beginning when I was at school in England in 1943. My father went into a small second-hand shop and noticed that the owner, who sold candlesticks, old dinner plates and suchlike, was wrapping up the items in copies of the London evening “Star” for 1818, that he was tearing out of a bound volume. There were about 150 papers left and my father, who was well aware of my budding historical interest, bought the whole volume for threepence (10c).
From there I continued myself, often picking up items from shopkeepers who had no idea what they were. Nearly 70 years later, with several thousand items in store, (particularly London national papers, but also items from many other countries) some of my prize items, going back to the earlier sixteenth century, are still those that I found in the English back streets during my time as a schoolboy and later as a university student!
Graham Dukes
20th century prices realized… revisted…
September 30, 2010 by GuyHeilenman · 2 Comments
The previous post focused on “prices realized” from a sampling of key issues from the 20th century. Fellow collector, Charles Signer, posted a response we thought collectors would appreciate.
These papers (see previous post) are excellent choices for your article. I think the Titanic disaster marked a new era in journalism, since improvements in printing technology and inventions like the facsimile machine made it possible for newspapers all over the United States and the world for the first time to cover the story simultaneously with full coverage and great graphics. Because the Titanic event took place at sea there was no “home advantage” as there would have been for a disaster taking place in a populated area. I don’t have the Rhode Island version of the story that you show, but I have seen others like it from other cities. I am amazed how they could get such good reporting and graphics literally overnight on such an unexpected story.
When I see the Honolulu Star-Bulletin First Extra I think of it as a time capsule marking of an end of an era. The front page of course gives the full first report, but the inside pages were mostly set up before the event, in the last hours of peacetime. The ads for 1941 consumer goods and Christmas sales suddenly fell out of place in the grim new wartime world. I imagine the people shown in the ads floating at the bottom of the ocean where they are all drowned dead but still visible to divers. It’s eerie.
I was going to say that the whole First Extra paper could be seen on the Honolulu Star-Bulletin website, but in trying to test the link as I write this I see that the Honolulu Star-Bulletin and the Honolulu Advertiser merged on June 7, 2010. The combined paper is now the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. There used to be a great story on the Star-Bulletin’s old website about the people who put out those first reports that day. I guess it’s gone now.
I got a copy of the Dewey Defeats Truman paper from Tim Hughes before 2000 for about $850. It was real cherry. I grew up in Chicago where my dad and I would drive down in the evenings to get the first edition of the following day’s Tribune. When you opened up a Tribune for the first time there were tiny holes made in the printing process which made the pages stick together. The copy I got from Tim had those little holes so I knew I was opening that Dewey Defeats Truman paper for the first time ever. It was almost like being there on November 2, 1948, the evening the paper was printed. Yes, it truly is a classic that will be recognized as long as newspapers are remembered, which may be a lot longer than some of them are being published.
Thanks Charles!
How the Newspaper Changed the Press: Providing Contextual History…
September 2, 2010 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Imagine the newspaper in pre-revolutionary Virginia. It’s the only one in the state, so the governor has complete control over everything that’s published in it. His is the only opinion expressed, and if anything about a newspaper page fails to agree with him, it’s discarded and replaced. Thomas Jefferson sums it up by saying that it’s “no competitor for public favor.” One of the most attractive elements of a newspaper for the public is its variety of opinions, which ensures that everyone can find something to agree and disagree with when they read it. What is a newspaper without multiple viewpoints, opinions, and descriptions of events?
Creating Context for History
Context is one important characteristic that distinguishes the pre-revolutionary newspaper from the modern one. Now, newspapers allow us to define context using not only the circumstances and facts surrounding an event, but also the wide variety of public opinions and perspectives. This additional facet of contextual history provides a wealth of detail, dimension, and complexity to the texture of events and situations covered in newspapers.
The Turning Point of the Newspaper
Roger Mellen of George Mason University has researched the origins of newspaper competition, working to contradict the assumption that Thomas Jefferson was responsible for bringing it to Virginia. Mellen contends that it was the Stamp Act, not Jefferson, which influenced a second newspaper printer to relocate in Virginia, instigating competition against the governor’s newspaper. Because printers had to pay extra taxes on their products, they were motivated to sell more newspapers by allowing for civic discourse, taking sides on issues, and becoming more opinionated. Printers realized that the “public favor” mentioned by Jefferson was best courted by publishing dramatic political writing, a phenomenon that grew and changed with the public both during and after the revolution. With the public steering the direction of newspapers, the government no longer had the sole influence on what was published, and the scope of contextual history was broadened significantly.
Collecting Context
The way newspapers capture contextual history is just one of many characteristics that influence collectors to continuously search out and buy them. Finding contrasting opinions on a significant political issue, reading different accounts of the same important situation, and even locating various photos depicting the same event can be exhilarating. Tracking the changes in leading public opinion across an extended time period, comparing historical events to modern ones, and finding historical patterns are also hobbies that are enabled by newspapers’ contextual history. No matter what their interests, everyone can learn something from and enjoy the process of collecting newspapers.
Bio: Alexis Bonari is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She is currently a resident blogger at First in Education, researching areas of online education. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.
Recommended reading…
June 26, 2010 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Jim Wheeler, one of our “rare newspaper” friends, recently sent us an e-mail with the following recommendation for our summer reading list:
The Constitutional Convention: A Narrative History from the Notes of James Madison, by Edward J. Larson & Michael P. Winship, ISBN 0-8129-7517
This book essentially condenses and annotates Madison’s notes taken throughout the Convention so that the language and the important concepts that were discussed can be understood today. The book includes a list of those attending the convention and their respective states. When you keep a 
copy of this list handy while reading the notes, you can get a clear picture of the regional motives behind the discussion as the constitution was developed. This book, in conjunction with The Founding Brothers, John Ellis, were both extremely helpful in developing a working understanding of what I consider to be one of the most interesting 10 to 20 year time period in US history.
I thought that in addition to all of your other reading, these two items may be interesting and helpful.
Thanks for your suggestions Jim. To the readers of this post: “If you have a chance to read either of these (or have already done so), the community would love to hear your reactions as well.