They put it in print… the Stamp Act…

August 27, 2015 by · Leave a Comment 

Blog-7-17-2015-Stamp-ActSome of the most noteworthy events in history have humble beginnings. Such is the case with the announcing of the passage of The Stamp Act in The Gentleman’s Magazine, March, 1765. Under the Historical Chronicle section is the rather inconspicuous note, “Lord Mansfield, as speaker, and the Earls Gower and Marchmont, by virtue of a commission from his majesty, gave the royal assent to the following bills: …for laying a stamp duty in the British colonies in America.”  While this official notification of the Stamp Act most likely flew under the radar of most readers of the day, there is no doubt regarding its significance. I wonder which one-liners which go unnoticed today will prove similar ten years from now?

“Brownsville Gazette” – a gem from the American Antiquarian Society…

August 24, 2015 by · Leave a Comment 

Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers’ focus: The American Antiquarian Society

In celebration of its 20oth anniversary the American Antiquarian Society published a beautiful  exhibition catalog titled “In Pursuit Of A Vision – Two Centuries of Collecting at the American Antiquarian Society”. Featured are a fascinating array of books, documents, maps & other paper ephemera, as well as several very rare & unusual newspapers we felt worthy of sharing with our collectors (with permission from the A.A.S.).

161. Brownsville Gazette“, Brownsville, Pennsylvania, May 21, 1808

Clarence S. Brigham’s two -volume History and Bibliography of American Newspapers, 1690-1820, published by AAS in 1947, was a landmark in newspaper bibliography. The fruits of thirty-six years of painstaking research are amply displayed in the detailed publishing histories and comprehensive censuses of institutional holdings. For fully 194 (nine percent) of the 2,120 titles included, Brigham was unable to locate any extant issues, though he could document the newspapers’ existence from other sources.

Since Brigham’s day it has been as AAS priority to locate and acquire issues of these “lost” newspapers. Many have been found, and much new information has been gathered towards a supplement to Brigham’s bibliography. Here is one such “discovery issue,” for the Brownsville Gazette, which turned up on eBay in 2004. The accompanying page from the manuscript to Brigham’s bibliography shows his draft entry for this title, clipped from the April 1920 number of the AAS Proceedings, where it was originally printed: from Isaiah Thomas’s 1810 The History of Printing in America (Cat. 9), Brigham knew that the Brownsville Gazette was being published early in 1810; and an 1882 county history citation indicated that it began publication no later than January 14, 1809. But no new information had come Brigham’s way between 1920 and 1947. Based on the discovery issue’s date and numbering, however, it is now known that William Campbell launched the Brownsville Gazette sometime in 1807.

Great Headlines Speak For Themselves… Watts riots in Los Angeles…

August 20, 2015 by · Leave a Comment 

The best headlines need no commentary. Such is the case with the LOS ANGELES TIMES–EXTRA, August 14, 1965: “EIGHT MEN SLAIN; GUARD MOVES IN“…Blog-7-9-2015-Watts-Riots

The Traveler… Miami gets some “new fish”…

August 17, 2015 by · Leave a Comment 

Today I traveled to New York City by the way of The New York Times dated August 17, 1965.  There I found an announcement on the sports page, “Miami Is Granted an American Football League Franchise for 1966 Season.” (see below) The text includes: “A group headed by Danny Thomas, the comedian-television producer, was granted an American Football League franchise today to field a team in Miami next year… A name has not been chosen for the team yet… Once before, Miami had a professional football team, the Miami Seahawks of the now defunct All-America Conference. But the team folded after only one year of play — 1946…”.  The team did receive a name, the Dolphins.

~The TravelerBlog-8-17-2015-Miami-Dolphins

Great Headlines Speak For Themselves… Dodgers are moving!

August 13, 2015 by · Leave a Comment 

The best headlines need no commentary. Such is the case with the HERALD EXPRESS-EXTRA, Los Angeles, California, October 8, 1957: “It’s Official! DODGERS COMING TO L.A.“…Blog-6-12-2015-Dodgers-Move-To-Los-Angeles

“Le Bijou” – a gem from the American Antiquarian Society…

August 10, 2015 by · Leave a Comment 

Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers’ focus: The American Antiquarian Society

In celebration of its 20oth anniversary the American Antiquarian Society published a beautiful  exhibition catalog titled “In Pursuit Of A Vision – Two Centuries of Collecting at the American Antiquarian Society”. Featured are a fascinating array of books, documents, maps & other paper ephemera, as well as several very rare & unusual newspapers we felt worthy of sharing with our collectors (with permission from the A.A.S.).

180. Le Bijou“, Cincinnati, Ohio, September, 1879

A hobby practiced especially by teenagers, amateur journalism exploded in popularity in the United States following the invention of an inexpensive table-top printing press in 1867. During the 1870s and 1880s, thousands of amateur newspapers were published and liberally exchanged with other amateur journalists around the country. Because of the circumstances under which they were produced, amateur newspapers are becoming of increasing interest to historians, and AAS actively adds to its large collection.

One of the most interesting amateur newspapers at AAS is Le Bijou, edited and published by Herbert A. Clark (ca. 1860-ca. 1924). A great-grandson of Lewis and Clark Expedition leader William Clark, Herbert was born into one of Cincinnati’s leading African-American families. His father Peter, an associate of Frederick Douglass, was politically active and instrumental in establishing free public schools for Ohio African-Americans. Le Bijou is notable for its prominent and forthright and advocacy of civil rights, a fight carried over to the Amateur Press Association, which in 1879 elected Clark it’s third vice-president over the heated objections of its Southern members. Many withdrew, forming in its stead the secret Amateur Anti-Negro Admission Association. Clark delightedly reported on the controversy in the pages of Le Bijou, which he published from 1878 to 1880. He then moved on to a career as a journalist and publisher of African-American newspapers.

The aftermath of the Civil War… August, 1865

August 6, 2015 by · Leave a Comment 

Blog-8-6-2015-Post-Civil-WarWhat news was reported in August, 1865 – approximately 150 years ago? The horrors of the Civil War were now in the past, but the emotions and sorrow of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln were still fresh. Where would the nation go from here? How would we move forward? Was unity possible?
Such a walk back in time through the eyes of those who read the daily and weekly newspapers of the period can be quite revealing. This is why we often say, “History is never more fascinating than when it’s read from the day it was first reported.” The following link will take you back in time to show the available newspapers from the Rare & Early newspapers website. There’s no need to buy a thing. Simply enjoy the walk back in time:

August, 1865

A sampling of what you will find may include articles and info regarding: Andersonville Prison – and the trial of Captain Wirz, a return to a degree of normalcy via sports (baseball, horse racing, rowing, etc.), the follow-up to the trial of the Lincoln conspirators, and much on cleaning up after the Civil War and the beginning of reconstruction. Key Civil War figures (Jefferson Davis, Frederick Douglass, Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee, etc.) continue to make headlines as well. Please enjoy your travel into the past as you browse through the currently available original newspapers!

The Traveler… the defeat at Waterloo…

August 3, 2015 by · Leave a Comment 

Blog-8-3-2015-WaterlooToday’s journey took me to Boston, Massachusetts, through the Independent Chronicle of August 3, 1815. There I found the lengthy report from the Duke of Wellington to the secretary of state for the war on the Battle of Waterloo. “…The position which I took up in front of Waterloo… and the Marshal had promised me, that in case we should be attacked, he would support me with one or more corps, as might be necessary… The enemy repeatedly charged our infantry with his cavalry, but these attacks were uniformly unsuccessful…”. This was the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte, ending his rule in France.

~The Traveler