Lincoln Assassination Newspapers Atlas…

January 14, 2016 by · 2 Comments 

Rick Brown been collecting Lincoln assassination newspapers for over 50 years. He has also been a historic newspaper dealer and bought, sold, or brokered in excess of one million historic newspapers. Currently he has in about 200 original Lincoln assassination newspapers – Both Union and confederate. In that same time he been setting aside reprints of the April 15, 1865 New York Herald as he came across Blog-2-18-2016-NY-Herald-Reprintsthem. In 1992 he self-published “An Atlas of Known April 15, 1865 New York Herald Reprints.” In that work, all pages of 17 different reprint versions were shown. With concentrated efforts in 2015 he contacted a few major institutions and has now discovered 48 different/variants of this edition. His online version of the current atlas that shows all pages of 45  different variants. Also included in this online atlas is background information about the reprints – who published, when, how many pages, etc. The URL for his online Atlas is: http://www.historyreference.org/newspapers/assassination/

An average of three April 15, 1865 New York Herald’s are listed on eBay EVERY WEEK – that’s over 150 per year. Almost all of these listings claim there’s is an “authentic,” “original,” or “genuine” edition.  In the past 15 years he has been conducting weekly searches for “April 15, 1865 New York Herald” on eBay. There have been approximately 2,250 listings for this edition on eBay and ONLY TWICE the listings were actually original editions! Also, since he has been going to estate sales and auctions for over 20 years, he has seen a few hundred of these editions offered – NOT ONE OF THEM were an original!! Over 95% of these reprints were produced over 100 years ago so they LOOK OLD, Looking old does not necessarily mean it is an original. Buyer beware – Collector value for these reprint editions is $10-$20 depending on condition.

If you have a Lincoln-related Web site or know someone that does, please have them add a link to my online atlas.

Rick Brown
http://www.historyreference.org
A Nonprofit Organization

The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln… one the the very best…

January 18, 2013 by · Leave a Comment 

The April 22, 1865 issue of the National Police Gazette, New York, printed what many consider to be the best illustrated newspaper related to the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Judge for yourself. Regardless of your final analysis, please enjoy the images from this incredible authentic newspaper compliments of Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers… History’s Newsstand… via Pinterest:

The Assassination of President Abraham Lincoln illustrated by the National Police Gazette… on Pinterest…

April 15, 1865 New York Herald reprints… revisited…

November 1, 2010 by · 10 Comments 

A previous post by guest contributor Rick Brown  detailed how one can identify whether or not their April 15, 1865 New York Herald is authentic.  One of the most notable differences between an authentic issue (which is quite rare) and one of the reprints (which are rather common) is that the common reprint has an image of President Lincoln on the front page, whereas, the original does not.  We recently came across a photo of the Lincoln image (as shown to the right).  If your issue has it… unfortunately, your’s is not an original.

Your help would be appreciated…

June 14, 2010 by · 10 Comments 

Rick Brown, not unknown in our little world of newspaper collecting, is embarking upon a project and seeks your help.

Rick published “Collectible Newspapers” for many years and created the Newspaper Collectors’ Society of America along with producing several projects which remain valuable to our hobby today, including the “List of Common Reprints” found on our website. His current project is producing a list of all known reprint editions of the New York Herald of April 15, 1865, perhaps the most commonly reprinted newspaper on the market. He has identified 35 different versions and is lacking a few including:

* Kitchel’s Liniment for 1890, 1892 through 1899, 1903 and 1904, 1906
through 1908. (The date for each can be found at the
top margin of page 2.)

* Smith’s Buchu Lythia Pills

He also wishes to produce a reprint of the front pages of each of the four
genuine editions of the newspaper for free online use. Should you have a genuine New York Herald, April 15, 1865 in your collection, or one of the reprint edition editions noted above, please be in touch with Rick directly for details on how to assist in his project: Curator@historybuff.com

April 15, 1865 New York Herald Reprints

September 30, 2008 by · 97 Comments 

Quick note:  If you have an April 15, 1865 New York Herald and it has either an illustration of Lincoln on the front page, or, if it is the “Extra 8:10 AM” edition, it is a reprint. Other reprints exist, but these are the most common. Additional information can be found below and via the Library of Congress’ website.

From our guest contributor, Rick Brown:

Authentic April 15, 1865 New York Herald

I have been collecting Lincoln assassination ephemera for 43 years now. Since I am listed in several directories, I average 2 to 3 telephone calls a month from people wanting to know the value of their old newspapers. In the past 43 years I have been offered the April 15, 1865 New York Herald perhaps as many as 10,000 times and only once was it an original. I’ve heard many a story like  “It can’t be a reprint because my great grandfather fought in the Civil War and bought it in New York and brought it back home.” One of the strangest responses I received when I informed the owner their specimen was a reprint was: “Producing a reprint is against the law. Therefore it HAS to be an original!”

To add to the confusion, the first reprint was produced in 1871 and the last about 1908. (This does not include the reprints printed on parchment – those are still being produced today.) Thus, the reprints DO look old because they are old.

In 1995 I did extensive research into newspaper reprints including the April 15, 1865 New York Herald. At that time I documented 32 different versions. The only Herald reprint produced on rag linen was a single sheet printed on both sides. The back page has a large ad for Grain-O-Coffee (who later became the originators of JELLO) and was produced in 1871.

Due to the nation’s centennial in 1876, interest in major events in American history was high. Publishers produced literally a hundred different newspaper reprints of various titles.

Starting in 1890, Kitchel’s Liniment, a patent medicine company, produced an annual version of the April 15, 1865 New York Herald. The front and back page remained the same. Pages 2 and 3 were testimonials for Kitchel’s Liniment. At the top of page 2, centered in the margin, was the phrase “Use Kitchel’s Liniment (1890) and Forever.” Each subsequent annual reprint changed the year in the phrase. The last Kitchel’s Liniment reprint version I have found is 1908. Another patent medicine company that produced New York Herald reprints was MA-LE-NA liver pills. They, too, produced annual reprint versions but with no date indicated like with Kitchel‘s Liniment.

The assassination of President Garfield and McKinley also saw reprints of the April 15, 1865 New York Herald produced. Ford’s Theater and various museum gift shops also sold these reprints and still do today.

Authentic Left Column Heading

While very few actually indicated on the paper itself that is was a reprint, it is important to note that NONE of these reprints were meant to deceive. In the case of the patent medicines, people were hired to give the reprints away at county fairs or other places where a large quantity of people would be gathering. The reprints were a marketing device. It was reasoned that having the Lincoln assassination news on the front and back page, people would not throw them away like they would if it were just a flyer advertising their product.

In the 1930s, however, the height of the American depression, there were a few scam artists who went door to door selling a “valuable relic of American history” – An old April 15, 1865 New York Herald reprint they had obtained in quantity. Unknowing people would take what little cash money they had and purchase it for $1 or so (big money in those days.) They were hoping to sell it for much more. Meanwhile, the scam artist had moved on to another city.

Of the 32 versions I have documented, only one was printed on rag linen; the Grain-O-Coffee one. Four of the versions were single sheet and printed on both sides. All four of these have the date April 15, 1865 on the front page and April 14, 1865 on the back page. Three were printed on parchment paper and the other one on wood pulp paper. The rest of the reprints were 4-page editions. Of the 32 reprint versions, all but 6 of them have printed on the front page in the forth column from the left and about six inches down the phrase EXTRA 8:10 AM is printed. There were NO original 8:10 AM EXTRA editions produced. Originals have eight pages and were printed on rag linen.

One of my continual searches on Ebay is “April 15, 1865 New York Herald.” Currently, on average, there are 3 to 4 of these placed on Ebay on a weekly basis. Very few correctly state that they are offering a reprint. Most claim to be originals. From time to time I will send an email to the seller pointing out that their specimen is actually a reprint and referring them to my site for further information. – http://www.historybuff.com/library/refhotlist.html.  Of each ten sellers I send the email to, on average, four thank me for pointing it out to them but seldom edit their listing to point out that it is a reprint; four do not respond at all; and, shamefully, two reply back with something like “You know it is a reprint, and I know it is a reprint, but THEY don’t know it’s a reprint.” In the past 12 years I have used Ebay, only ONCE was an original offered. Fortunately, very few of the April 15, 1865 New York Herald’s reprints actually sell.

Authentic Page One Report

Recently, yet another Herald reprint was offered on Ebay that made me snicker. The photo showed one of the single sheet reprints so badly deteriorated that it was in four pieces. The seller stated that he would not normally sell this family heirloom, but for the right price he would sell it. The minimum bid was $100,000!!! I didn’t have the heart to break his bubble.

Rick Brown
HistoryBuff.com
A Nonprofit Organization

Editor’s Note:  The Library of Congress also provides a great web page which discusses this commonly reprinted issue:  NY Herald Reprints