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The State of the Union… Did you know…?
March 20, 2023 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Did you know, starting with George Washington and lasting through much of the 20th century, most newspapers printed the entire text of each President’s Annual Message (State of the Union Address)? Although in some cases only excerpts were given, including the full text was the common practice, and would often take a page or more to print. One of the benefits of this practice was that it enabled newspaper recipients to read the President’s message in-line with a bit of editorial commentary, and then see how people reacted by reading related reports and letters to the editor over the course of the next several days (or more).
Although these issues are very popular with collectors, we (RareNewspapers.com) are always on the hunt for more to offer. Our current inventory may be viewed at:
*State of the Union Addresses
The addresses have been arranged in chronological order so even if you do not wish or are unable to add any to your collection, you can still enjoy reading portions through the images and descriptions to capture the progression of Presidential thought through time.
*The link contains newspapers with both S.O.U.’s and follow-up reporting.
St. Patrick’s Day in the news…
March 17, 2023 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
A parade, a fire, a discovery, a flood, a celebration, and more… St. Patrick’s Day since the mid-1800’s has certainly been newsworthy. Feel free to browse the link below to view more than a dozen issues with St. Patrick’s Day themed reports. Enjoy!
ST. PATRICK’S DAY
Note: In some instances, you will need to click on the individual issue’s link to see the related content.
Announcing: Catalog #328 for March, 2023 – Rare & Early Newspapers…
March 3, 2023 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
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The March catalog (#328) is now available. Also shown below are links to a video featuring highlights from the catalog, our currently discounted newspapers, and recent posts to the History’s Newsstand Blog. Please enjoy.
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[The links above will redirect to the latest catalog in approx. 30 days
upon which time it will update to the most recent catalog.]
They Don’t Make ‘Em Like They Used To… Displayable Mastheads . . . A Lost Art
February 6, 2023 by Laura Heilenman · Leave a Comment
As citizens of the 21st century we are often aware of the diminishing quality we see in current products compared to the same items owned by our parents or grandparents (many technology-based items excluded). Perhaps the differences are due to available materials, the labor required to produce things, or perhaps a decreasing commitment to excellence (golly I’m sure sounding old). Case in point: Whereas pre-1850 newspapers, due to the cost of paper and “taxes”, were created in a very pragmatic way with every inch on a page packed to the hilt using a very small-font text, there was often one exception – the masthead. Consider the image above and the two newspapers from 1848 & 1849 shown in the links below. These issues are wonderful examples of the pragmatism of early printers combined with their desire of share beauty. Compared to today’s mastheads and graphic headlines, these newspaper publishers valued balance as they dispersed the daily or weekly news – blending both fascinating content and winsome artwork. Even today, decades or centuries later, these mastheads give me pause and solicit a deep appreciation for those who took the time to bring such charm to daily lives which were often devoid of significant beauty.
OLIVE BRANCH, Boston, November 10, 1849
Note: The 1850 date above was not a hard cut-off date. Newspapers such as The Liberator continued this practice well into the 1860’s, and a few other titles had wonderful mastheads well into the early 20th century.
Announcing: Catalog #327 for February, 2023 – Rare & Early Newspapers for collectors…
January 30, 2023 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
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February’s catalog (#327) is now available. Also shown below are links to a video featuring highlights from the catalog, our currently discounted newspapers, and recent posts to the History’s Newsstand Blog. Please enjoy.
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[The links above will redirect to the latest catalog in approx. 30 days
upon which time it will update to the most recent catalog.]
This Day in “News” History… January 23…
January 23, 2023 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
There are many internet sources available to explore what happened on a particular day in history. However, as collectors and resellers of “Rare & Early Newspapers”, our curiosity lies in what people were reading in their morning newspaper on specific days in history. In nearly every instance they were discovering what happened the day prior – and if one reaches back into the 1600s, 1700’s, and early 1800s, when news travelled a bit more slowly, they very well could have been (finally) reading about “rumored” and/or anticipated events from days, weeks, or even months prior.
As an example…
What about January 23rd? The following link will take you to all of our available newspapers dated January 23rd:
NEWS REPORTED in NEWSPAPERS on January 23rd (through time)
Enjoy the trek. Oh, and if you want to try other dates, go here and plug in any month/day of interest.
Scientific American’s “Not So Bright” (?) Ideas…
January 9, 2023 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Over the years our staff has written quite a few posts focused on historic and transformative inventions which were featured within early issues of the Scientific American. The phonograph, lightbulb, telephone, modern sewing machine, and thousands of other devices have all had their moment in the sun thanks to this publication. However, as is the case for many of the good ideas from the past which came to fruition and now make our lives easier, a host had rather humble beginnings. With this in mind, our resident videographer decided to gather together three examples which fall into the “humble beginnings” bucket. Please enjoy.
Announcing: Catalog #326 for January, 2023 – Rare & Early Newspapers for collectors…
January 2, 2023 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
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[The links above will redirect to the latest catalog in approx. 30 days
upon which time it will update to the most recent catalog.]
Resolutions… at the start of a New Year and Throughout Time…
December 30, 2022 by Laura Heilenman · Leave a Comment
It’s that time again. Some of us don’t want to admit it to others or even ourselves, but as the calender turns to the 1st of January, our minds naturally drift towards resolutions. I wonder if this impulse is built into human nature – the desire for a fresh start… to turn over a new leaf… to look forward to a new adventure pulled from one’s bucket list? As we consider what resolutions to write in pencil for the coming year, below are a few interesting “historical resolutions” to ponder. While I may have stretched the definition of “resolution” a bit, may our resolutions have as much staying power as these. Happy New Year and blessings on your new adventures.
April 1775 … The Gunpowder Incident… This report mentions: “…that the powder in the publick magazine, in the city of Williamsburg, deposited there at the expense of the country & for the use of the people in case of invasion or insurrection, has been secretly removed under the clouds of the night…by order of the Governor…came to the following resolution: Resolved, that it is the opinion of this committee that the removing the said gunpowder…is an insult to every freeman in this country…”
September 1774 … Historic Duché Letter to General Washington… Duché first came to the attention of the First Continental Congress in September, 1774, when he was summoned to Carpenters’ Hall to lead the opening prayers. When the United States Declaration of Independence was ratified, Duché, meeting with the church’s vestry, passed a resolution stating that the King George III’s name was no longer to be read in the prayers of the church. Duché complied, crossing out said prayers from his Book of Common Prayer, committing an act of treason against England, an extraordinary and dangerous act for a clergyman who had taken an oath of loyalty to the King.
February 1876 … National League Baseball Established… During the establishment of the National Baseball League, an interesting resolution was adopted… The report continues mentioning the passage of a resolution concerning “championship play” while the second resolution prevented “…any two clubs from playing in a city in which neither of them belongs.”
January 1991 … U.N. Resolutions for Desert Storm… individually significant headlines on Desert Storm: the beginning of the air war: “WAR!”; the beginning of the land war: “INVASION!” and the “VICTORY!” once Iraq conceded and agreed to all U.N. resolutions.
Harper’s Weekly… A Journal of Civilization…
December 26, 2022 by Laura Heilenman · Leave a Comment
Last week, as I was preparing a January 22, 1898 Harper’s Weekly for shipment, I noticed it was to be sent to Japan. We at Rare & Early Newspapers love knowing our collectors span the Globe; in fact, on a wall in the shipping department we track all the countries where our issues now reside.
Although I knew we had sent many collectible newspapers to this region, I was still curious to see if there might be a cultural motivation behind the purchase. As I paged through the issue to see what may have caught the attention of our Japanese collector, near the back I discovered 4 pages of beautiful prints with the heading, “The Porcelain Arts of Japan”. Full certain this gentleman would be pleased with such charming illustrations, I was delighted knowing this historical treasure would make its way across the World to his collection. As I closed the pages to resume my task my eyes fell on the tagline used by Harper’s Weekly Illustrated: “A Journal of Civilization”.
How appropriate to have noticed their description at this moment and how sublime to know we have a community of collectors which extends across all of today’s civilization.