Early Jewish America through the eyes of historic newspapers…

December 9, 2019 by · Leave a Comment 

As those of us at Rare & Early Newspapers have been saying for over 4 decades, “History is never more fascinating than when it’s read from the day it was first reported.” Another collector whole-heartily agrees as he has used his collection of historic newspapers as the foundation for his latest book: Strangers & Natives: A Newspaper Narrative of Early Jewish America 1734 -1869. Amazon describes this latest release as follows:

Strangers and Natives: A Newspaper Narrative of Early Jewish America, 1734 – 1869 focuses on the daily life and customs of the Jewish community and the Jewish people; the formation of Jewish congregations and organizations; and the involvement of Jews in education, literature, journalism, politics, the marketplace, the military, and history itself. While there are numerous historical accounts of early American Jewry quoting documents, diaries and memoirs, this is the first that uses periodicals from that time period. Using scans of the original newsprint, most from the author s own extensive collection, Strangers and Natives displays the actual written words – the first blush of history – in visual form.

The book can be purchased through Amazon through the link above. Thanks Ron.

Another author, among others, took on a similar newspaper-rooted effort which is also quite intriguing: “Reporting the Revolutionary War: Before It Was History, It Was News