Ideas on how to collect Rare & Early newspapers…

July 30, 2011 by · Leave a Comment 

While we at Rare Newspapers’ History’s Newsstand Blog are committed to continually adding material to help support the hobby, every now and then we come across informative material produced by others.  Just recently we found a set of videos related to the collectible produced by eHow.com.  They may be viewed at:

http://www.ehow.com/videos-on_5949_collecting-comics-newspapers_-tips-strategies.html

Please enjoy!

The Civil War… 150 years ago today… July 27, 1861

July 27, 2011 by · Leave a Comment 

We continue our weekly feature of reflecting upon the appropriate 150 year old issue of “Harper’s Weekly” from the perspective of a subscriber in 1861:

The front page (of the July 27, 1861 issue) prints of General Prentiss and Brigadier-General Williams are nice, allowing the subscribers to put a real “face” on the names appearing in the daily newspaper battle accounts. I always look forward to prints of our military leaders. The front page also has a scene of soldiers marching from Boonville, Missouri, to the Arkansas border.

A full page is taken up with a dramatic print of “The Battle of Rich Mountain, Virginia” showing a very daring charge of solders. I can only imagine the petrifying fear of the soldiers.  I also love the great full page print of a “Balloon View of Washington, D.C.” offering a perspective not appreciated from ground level. The huge dome of the Capitol is only partially complete, and the streets of the city are both perpendicular and diagonal–an unusual look which would seem to be confusing. Another print includes a “Review of the New York Troops…” in front of the White House. What a huge edifice!

The Traveler… the frigate Huzza… struck by lighting!

July 25, 2011 by · Leave a Comment 

In today’s travels, I found the July 25, 1811 issue of the Middlesex Gazette from Middletown, Connecticut was carrying a lengthy article from Thomas Pickering to the People of the United States pertaining to Commodore Roger’s actions in the “Little Belt” incident.

There is also a report of the DIVING BELL which had just located the British frigate Huzza which had sunk during the Revolutionary war period. The frigate had 28 guns and was heading to Boston with money to pay the British troops when it struck a rock and sunk.

A death notice is also mentioned for Richard Penn, Esq., former governor of Pennsylvania. He was also the grandson of William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania.

Also within is a report from Carlisle, Pennsylvania, of a miraculous event. A boy was struck by lightning, which went through him and even instantly killed the horse he was riding. The boy escaped with but a singe behind his ear and his side somewhat scorched and blistered. He managed to make it the rest of the way to his home (less than a mile) on his hands and knees, and recollects nothing whatever of the circumstances.

~The Traveler

Interesting wording of an obituary…

July 23, 2011 by · Leave a Comment 

The photo shows an obituary of Lady Oglethorpe as found in the Country Journal Or the Craftsman” newspaper from London, July 1, 1732. It is always interesting to see how differently reports were presented several hundred years ago:

The Civil War… 150 years ago today… July 20, 1861

July 20, 2011 by · Leave a Comment 

We continue our weekly feature of reflecting upon the appropriate 150 year old issue of “Harper’s Weekly” from the perspective of a subscriber in 1861:
Today’s issue (July 20, 1861) has the front page taken up with two prints on the progress of “Filling Cartridges at the U.S. Arsenal at Watertown, Mass.”, which involves a surprising number of women. There are two interesting pages with a dozen prints of “Scenes About Camp” showing some of the activities while in recreation (dancing & acrobatics!) as well as practicing for warfare. These scenes offer a different view of soldier life; one away from the battle field. I can imagine relaxing & recreation is a welcome diversion.

One print has a scene of soldiers with Hagerstown, Maryland, in the background, and a few other prints have scenes of Harper’s Ferry, just a few years after the John Brown raid.  Very impressive is the doublepage centerfold showing “The Navy Yard at Brooklyn…” which shows several massive sailing ships. And yet another print shows that not all soldiers wear the traditional garb, as “Irregular Riflemen of the Alleghanies, Virginia” are in frontier clothing. How can those involved in a fight tell the enemies from their fellow soldiers?

First newspapers printed in Oregon…

July 18, 2011 by · Leave a Comment 

It was in 1843 when the great migration over the Oregon trail to the Pacific Northwest began, with some 3000 settling in Oregon City just a few years later. Located on the Willamette River, this town became the Oregon Territory’s first capital.

It was also the location of the first  newspaper in the territory, titled the “Oregon Spectator” which began publishing on Feb. 5, 1846. This newspaper changed hands several times, and one of its editors, George L. Curry, left the newspaper in 1848 to start the Oregon City “Free Press” printed on a press he crafted by hand out of wood and scrap iron. This newspapers lasted for less than eight months.

On June 8 in 1848, at Tualatin Plains, a religious newspaper was begun by the Rev. John Smith Griffin titled the “Oregon American & Evangelical Unionist“. By the early 1850’s Portland was being settled and numerous newspapers made their appearance, the first being the “Weekly Oregonian” on Dec. 4, 1850.  As more migrated West, more newspapers (The Morning Oregonian & more) made their appearance in not only Portland but other settlement towns in the Oregon Territory. Oregon would become the 33rd state in early 1859. (credit: “Printing In The Americas”)

A well dressed runaway…

July 16, 2011 by · Leave a Comment 

It is not uncommon that runaway reward ads include a small engraving of a person, but never have I seen an engraving of so well-heeled a runaway as this guy. And his reward of “1 mill” is a bit of an insult as to his value. This ad appeared in the “Middlesex Gazette” from Middletown, Connecticut, July 29, 1829

The Civil War… 150 years ago today… July 13, 1861

July 13, 2011 by · Leave a Comment 

We continue our weekly feature of reflecting upon the appropriate 150 year old issue of “Harper’s Weekly” from the perspective of a subscriber in 1861:

The front page (of the July 13, 1861 issue of my Harper’s Weekly) has a scene from: “The Battle of Boonville, Missouri”. So much gunfire & smoke! Inside has a nice print of “Fort McHenry, Baltimore”, a famous fortress from the War of 1812. There is also a nice full page print showing: “The Cabinet at Washington. It is great to put a face to so many names read in the newspapers, including Abraham Lincoln, William Seward, Simon Cameron, Gideon Welles, Salmon Chase among others.

Showing a “softer” side of the war is a full page print with 4 scenes of: “Hot Coffee Free For Volunteers Passing Through Philadelphia. Another page has a dramatic full page print of “Winfield Scott, Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Army” at 75 years old! (and he looks it). Also a full page print of “Major-General Scott at 41”.

Certainly the most dramatic print is the full page showing: “A Slave Auction at the South”. The whole process is incredibly inhuman and is part of what this war is all about.

There is another full page print of: “Major General John C. Fremont in His Prairie Costume”, just one of many different uniforms worn by soldiers in this war. He looks as though he stepped round of the wilds of the West.

The Traveler… times at odds… three shots, but not dead…

July 11, 2011 by · Leave a Comment 

Today I decided to travel back a little further than I have been of recent. Within the “The Post Boy” dated July 10, 1711, I found that it seemed that most of Europe was at odds with each other. The news from Paris, Lisbon, Genoa, Turin, Milan, Warsaw, Vienna and Hague all were dealing in some type of army and/or war activity.

A correspondence from Dover is of which a Privateer “had 3 small Shots in his Body, but was not dead; that only 3 of the Privateers engag’d him, and a great many are kill’d on both sides, the 3 Privateers had 300 Men each.”

Even with all that is occurring in our lives today, I’m thankful that we don’t live in the 18th century…

~The Traveler

Gen. John H. Morgan’s revenge…

July 9, 2011 by · Leave a Comment 

The following item from “The Crisis” newspaper from Columbus, Ohio, March 2, 1864, notes a curious revenge by General Morgan for having his whiskers shaved when in the Ohio penitentiary…

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