Rick Brown’s Primer on Collecting Old & Historic Newspapers…

July 30, 2012 by · Leave a Comment 

Several year’s ago, a newspaper enthusiast by the name of Rick Brown had a passion to spread the love of collecting “history in your hands… from the day it was first reported”.  One of his efforts was to print a newsletter for the hobby.  An early entry was a primer on collecting newspapers.  While many of the prices are out-of-date, we invite you to enjoy this original contribution to the hobby:  Primer on Collecting Old & Historic Newspapers

We will continue to post additional contributions to the collectible experience in future posts.

Not sure this one worked…

July 27, 2012 by · Leave a Comment 

Before the days of plastic surgery or rhinoplasty, here is how problems with the nose were supposedly “cured”. While subscribers were on the hunt for great baseball news, this ad is in the “Baseball Magazine” issue of June, 1923. 

Print date for the Gentleman’s Magazine…

July 23, 2012 by · Leave a Comment 

Actual printing dates of monthly magazines have always been difficult to establish, but some times dated news reports will give some indication.  An advertisement for the Gentleman’s Magazine in the “Daily Post-Boy” of London, September 4, 1732, provides a valuable clue for the earliest issues of this title (it began publishing in 1731). Note that the advertisement has at the top: “September 2 was published…The Gentleman’s Magazine…for August, 1732…”. So at least during the early years of this magazine’s existence it printed a few days after the end of the month.

Another interesting tidbit is provided in this advertisement as well. We knew that the first several issues of the first year of “Gentleman’s Magazine” printed at least six editions, as some were noted as such on the title/contents page, but we never knew when they were reprinted. Note the very bottom of this advertisements mentions: “…Where may be had, The former Numbers, except Numb 1 and Numb. II which will be republished a 4th Time in a few days.” This indicates that the fifth edition of the January and February, 1731 issues were  printed in the first week of September, 1732.

Jack the Ripper… on Pinterest

July 20, 2012 by · Leave a Comment 

Jack the Ripper may very well be the most infamous serial killer in World History.  While others may have murdered more people, the terror he caused to what was arguably the most recognized city of the time is 2nd to none.  While authentic reports are hard to come by, The Times (London) did an excellent job of following the case.  At Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers we’ve put together a set of images which help to tell the story, arranged chronologically, as the readers of the day would have read about it.  I’d like to say enjoy…, but somehow such a term doesn’t sound fitting.  The images may be viewed via Pinterest at:  Jack the Ripper on Pinterest

The traveler… a presidential proclamation… some things never change…

July 16, 2012 by · Leave a Comment 

Today I traveled to Baltimore, Maryland, through The Weekly Register of July 18, 1812. There I found President James Madison had issued “A Proclamation” to the people of The United States for a day of Humiliation and Prayer for “… their common vows and adorations to Almighty God, on this solemn occasion produced by the war… that turning the hearts of our enemies from the violence and injustice which sway their councils against us, he would hasten a restoration of the blessings of peace…”.

The very last item in this issue (see below) dealt with the newspaper receiving complaints on the irregularity in which it has been received. They were assuring the people that all the newspapers were being “…put into the post office at this place on the day of publication…” and that “.. The delays are upon the road… It is however, due to our excellent post office establishment to say that there are fewer complaints than were anticipated.” Some things apparently have not changed in 200 years…

~The Traveler

Constitution for the “Philadelphia Dueling Club”…

July 13, 2012 by · Leave a Comment 

The Courier” newspaper of Norwich, Connecticut has in its July 2, 1800 edition an apparently tongue-in-cheek report detailing the constitution for the “Philadelphia Dueling Club”. The fact that it was approved on May 32, 1800, and signed by “William Blood, President’ and “Charles Bullet, Secretary” seems to render this less than real, the content is nonetheless interesting reading.

Its preamble notes that dueling has become: “…the fashion to the infinite satisfaction of all men of true honor, & whereas the opinion that this practice is improper & Immoral being only held by old women, or men who ought to wear petticoats…” with more. See the photo for the full 1st article… and the link above for the full text.

Wyoming’s first newspapers…

July 9, 2012 by · 1 Comment 

Wyoming has the interesting distinction of having once been part of four principal annexations: the Louisiana Purchase, the Oregon Territory, the Mexican Cession and Texas Annexation.  It became a territory in July, 1868 and gained statehood on July 10, 1890.

The “Leader” was the first newspaper in Wyoming, begun on September 19, 1867, the same year that the first settlement had been created at Cheyenne. The newspaper was begun by  Nathan Baker and J.E. Gates. Baker gained his printing experience in Colorado, working at the “Rocky Mountain Herald” and the the “Rocky Mountain News”. He went one to establish two other newspapers in Wyoming, the Laramie “Sentinel” on May 1, 1869, and the South Pass “News“. See the hyperlink for the interesting history of this town.

Also begun in Cheyenne in 1867 were the “Daily Argus” in October, and the “Star” in December, but neither one lasted beyond two years. Other early newspapers in Wyoming were the “Sweetwater Miner” at Fort Bridge in February, 1868, a vehicle to promote immigration, and a few months later the “News” at South Pass, noted above.

One of the more interesting newspapers from the West was the “Frontier Index” which began at Fort Sanders and moved along with the Union Pacific railroad going to Benton then to Bryan and then to Bear River City where it was completely destroyed by a mob. And no mention of Wyoming’s newspaper history should fail to mention the “Boomerang” (named for the editor’s mule), founded at Laramie on March 11, 1881 by Bill Nye. Subscribers were found in every state and some foreign countries. When Nye retired from the paper he became one of America’s best known humorists.

Only Through the Innocence of Children…

July 6, 2012 by · 2 Comments 

Our friends at HistoryBuff.com recently posted a newsletter which included an article regarding an early 20th century newsboy.  Please enjoy!

Only Through the Innocence of Children
A Memoir of a Newsboy in 1939

The following is a personal memoir of Stanleigh Nettleton written in 1987. Unfortunately, he died a number of years ago – but his memoir lives on!

About 1939 I was working the complaint desk on the Chicago Herald-American one Sunday morning. The complaint desk was simply where people call in that missed their paper and I would call the branch manager and he would send a kid over there with another paper. However, it was also the message center for 7 district managers and 91 branch managers who were supervising 3000 carriers delivering over 100,000 home delivery papers in Chicago.

About 6:30 I got a call from Freddy, the branch manager in 158. He called in and simply said, “The boss is looking for me, tell him I’ll call him when I get back. I just got a call from Austin Avenue Police Station that they are holding a couple of my kids out there, so I am going out there now to see what the beef is.”

Well, about 8:30 Freddy calls and he says, “I’m back and everything is OK.” I asked “What about the kids the cops picked up?” He says, “Well, that’s a long story. I’ll tell you Tuesday when I come in the office.”

Come noon Tuesday Freddy comes over to the desk and says, “Let’s go eat.” As we ate lunch Freddy tells me about the carriers.

Out on Wilcox Avenue in Chicago’s West Side there was this big apartment building that was entirely occupied by Jewish families. In one of these apartments was an old Jewish fellow who managed to flee the Gestapo and came to live with his son in Chicago. One Sunday morning the father goes out into the hall to pick up the paper and as he turns to come back in the apartment, he freezes with fear, for right in the center of the door was a big “X” mark made from white chalk. This was exactly the way the Gestapo would mark the houses in Germany when they took the Jews away to the concentration camps.

He finally stopped shaking enough to go in… (Unfortunately the original link to this story is no longer active. -If anyone can find an online printing of the story, please let us know and we will update the link.)

The Traveler… first female aviator killed… turn-about is fair play…

July 2, 2012 by · Leave a Comment 

Today I traveled to Carlisle, Pennsylvania by way of the Valley Sentinel dated July 2, 1912 where I found the report of the first female aviator killed. Miss Margaret Quimby and her manager fell 1,000 feet to their deaths as they were ejected from their seats when the monoplane that Miss Quimby was flying  was upset by gusty winds.  View the link above for additional details.

The front page of this issue also has an article about a man who had just been before a magistrate on charges of wife beating, “…was taken from a policeman by thirty-five masked men, dressed in women’s clothes, and was dragged to the ball park, where he was partly stripped of his clothing, tied to a post and a ‘rubber snake’ whip was plied to the bare flesh of Bowman until his cries for mercy could be heard for blocks…” He was taken home and warned to never to it again. I guess this was a case of turn-about is fair play… Nice to find such polar opposite woman’s interest coverage (women in flight vs. battered women within the home) within a single issue.

~The Traveler