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Snapshot 1960… From Small Beginnings…
May 25, 2023 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
What happened? On July 16, 1960, a group of eight African American students – seven in high school and one in college, entered the “whites only” wing of the public library in Greenville, South Carolina to protest the library’s policy of segregation (the library had separate wings for blacks and whites).
Peaceful or violent? They entered the “whites only” wing quietly, selected books from the shelves, and sat down to read in silent protest.
Effective? While only lasting 40 minutes (at which point they were arrested), their actions led to the eventual desegregation of the library a mere 2 months later.
Public response? According to Wikipedia, although the library put up a fuss, and even initially closed stating, “the efforts made by a few Negroes to use the White library will now deprive White and Negro citizens of the benefit of a library”, they eventually reopened due to pressure from the black and white residents of the community.
“Red and yellow, black and white; they are precious…”
Legacy? While it is hard to measure the spidering impact of such “small” efforts, one of the “Greenville 8” is now a household name: Reverend Jesse Jackson.
The small report found on page 19 of The New York Times dated July 17, 1960 is symbolically shown in large format below.
The Birth of a Holiday… Mother’s Day Becomes Official!
May 5, 2023 by Laura Heilenman · Leave a Comment
As I was researching a collector’s Mother’s Day themed request this past week I happened upon a striking Rotogravure Section with a front page image of a mother and her 2 children. The image, titled “MATERNAL LOVE”, by Hughes Merle, perfectly captured the warmth, innocence and depth of a mother’s love for her children and her children’s trust of and love for her. Completely taken with the image, I checked to see if there was any correlation with Mother’s Day. This Rotogravure was not only published on Mother’s Day but more specifically, the 1st official Mother’s Day.
History.com notes the following:
“The official Mother’s Day holiday arose in the 1900s as a result of the efforts of Anna Jarvis, daughter of Ann Reeves Jarvis. Following her mother’s 1905 death, Anna Jarvis conceived of Mother’s Day as a way of honoring the sacrifices mothers made for their children.
After gaining financial backing from a Philadelphia department store owner named John Wanamaker, in May 1908 she organized the first official Mother’s Day celebration at a Methodist church in Grafton, West Virginia. That same day also saw thousands of people attend a Mother’s Day event at one of Wanamaker’s retail stores in Philadelphia.
Following the success of her first Mother’s Day, Jarvis—who remained unmarried and childless her whole life—resolved to see her holiday added to the national calendar. Arguing that American holidays were biased toward male achievements, she started a massive letter writing campaign to newspapers and prominent politicians urging the adoption of a special day honoring motherhood.
By 1912 many states, towns and churches had adopted Mother’s Day as an annual holiday, and Jarvis had established the Mother’s Day International Association to help promote her cause. Her persistence paid off in 1914 when President Woodrow Wilson signed a measure officially establishing the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day.”
On April 15, 1914, the New York Times had a small article stating… “The Federal Government is lending its assistance to the movement, and on that day the clergy of the whole country will be asked to preach sermons regarding the general welfare of the home and so help to make Mother’s Day of practical value. The celebration of this day is in no way connected with woman suffrage, although the association is friendly to the suffrage movement wherever it may benefit the home.”
While the above statement may not hold the warmth and tenderness often associated with Mother’s Day, it is nice to see formal recognition of the truth often summed up as, “the Mother is the heart of a family and home.”
With Mother’s Day merely a week away…
In addition to the various Mother’s Day themed original newspapers we have posted at RareNewspapers.com, our staff also created a Mother’s Day related video to go along with our sister-store on Etsy. Enjoy.
Announcing: Catalog #330 for May, 2023 – Rare & Early Newspapers…
April 28, 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.]
Dramatic Headlines Speak for Themselves… Charles Lindbergh’s Solo Flight…
April 24, 2023 by The Traveler · Leave a Comment
The best headlines need no commentary. Such is the case with the CHICAGO DAILY TRIBUNE, Illinois, May 23, 1927 which speaks of Charles’ Lindbergh‘s famous Trans-Atlantic flight in 1927:
“LINDBERGH’S OWN STORY!”
They Put It In Print – Everyone Aboard The Titanic Survived!!?
April 19, 2023 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Eternally filed the bin labelled “Don’t Believe Everything You Read” is the report found in the Oakland Tribune, April 15, 1912, that all of the passengers aboard the Titanic survived. Yet another example of newspaper publishers pushing too hard to scoop all others. I wonder if they bothered posting a retraction in the following day’s issue.
Announcing: Catalog #329 for April, 2023 – Rare & Early Newspapers…
March 31, 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.]
Dramatic Headlines Speak for Themselves… The Assassination of JFK…
March 27, 2023 by The Traveler · Leave a Comment
The best headlines need no commentary. Such is the case with THE DALLAS TIMES HERALD, Texas, November 22, 1963, reporting on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy:
“PRESIDENT DEAD“
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.
Oddities Found in Rare & Early Newspapers – 1944 edition…
March 13, 2023 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Talk about tall!!! While the humorous and the absurd can often be discovered withing the pages of old newspapers, let’s just hope this oddity found in The News-Commercial, Collins, Mississippi (July 28, 1944) was intended to be a joke.
Mr. Grady, a local business entrepreneur had recently taken over the management of a local company, and whereas the entire article was featured on the front page, due to his extended height, not all of the corresponding photo did. Enjoy.
Feel free to send your own rare & early newspaper “oddities” to me (guy@rarenewspapers.com). Please include the newspaper’s title, date, and a corresponding photo or two.
