The Civil War… April, 1865

April 10, 2015 by · 2 Comments 

What news was reported in April, 1865 – 150 years ago? Such a walk back in time through the eyes of those who read the daily and weekly newspapers of the period can be quite Blog-4-3-2015-Lincoln-Shotrevealing. 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:

April, 1865

A sampling of what you will find may include articles and info regarding: the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln (along with much on his funeral), the capture and death of John Wilkes Booth, the surrender of Robert E. Lee at Appomattox, the Fall of Richmond, and more. Enjoy!

The City of Boston receives noteworthy journalism award…

March 9, 2015 by · Leave a Comment 

Blog_Guy_11_2012The following is a note we recently received from one of the collector friends of Rare & Early Newspapers:

Happy to report that the section “Boston Journalism Firsts” and other contents of the Boston Journalism Trail site were used to nominate Boston for the Historical Site in Journalism Award given by the American Society of Professional Journalists, the largest journalists organization in the United States. The organization gave its 2014 award to Boston, thus for the first time honoring a whole city for the totality of its contributions to journalism. The organization’s president is to present the city’s mayor with a memorial plaque to be placed in a public space in downtown Boston in 2015. Thanks for all your support over the years.

To view details:

http://www.spj.org/news.asp?REF=1260

http://www.emerson.edu/news-events/emerson-college-today/boston-recognized-journalism-history#.VL0ipnZ6_YI

The Civil War… March, 1865

March 5, 2015 by · Leave a Comment 

What news was reported in March, 1865 – 150 years ago? 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. TBlog-3-6-2015-March-1863his 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:

March, 1865

A sampling of what you will find may include articles and info regarding: Robert E. Lee offers pardon to deserters (in a Confederate newspaper), Lincoln’s inauguration and inaugural address, Sherman’s march through the south, southern planters arming their slaves, official battle reports from General Robert E. Lee and General George Meade, and more. Enjoy!

“All the News That’s Fit to Print”… one editor gets it right…

September 5, 2014 by · Leave a Comment 

While the remainder of the newspaper seems to overwhelming contradict an editorial comment made by a contributor for the Southern Sentinel (Louisiana) in the issue of October 24, 1863, one can certainly appreciate his honest approach to reporting. I dare to say this could not be printed in most current-day newspapers with any degree of integrity. Please enjoy:No News?

What about three wrongs making a right?

December 6, 2013 by · Leave a Comment 

Death of Jack RubyFinishing out our month-long tribute to the memory of John F. Kennedy, today we look at what may have been the closing chapter of the tragic death-sequence which began on November 22, 1963 with the assassination of JFK, advanced to November 23, 1963 with the shooting and death of Lee Harvey Oswald, and culminated on January 3, 1967 with the passing of death-row inmate, Jack Ruby. Many to this day are convinced that all three deaths are rife with conspiracy. Perhaps time will prove them to be correct.

Finding newspapers on the death of Ruby are quite difficult as the event was not deemed significant by most, and many institutions were no longer saving their newspapers for year-end binding – choosing instead to store them on microfiche to conserve precious storage space. However, every now and then one turns up. Please enjoy (?) the January 3, 1967 report as it appeared in The Parsons Sun (Kansas): The Death of Jack Ruby

Wisconsin’s first newspapers…

January 13, 2013 by · Leave a Comment 

The state of Wisconsin was under several governances before coming onto its own with statehood in 1848. It began as part of the Indiana territory, then part of the Illinois territory, then part of the Michigan territory, then detached as the Wisconsin territory in 1836.

Printing began in the territory in 1827, and it was on December 11, 1833 that Wisconsin had its first newspaper titled the “Green-Bay Intelligencer“, done by Albert Ellis and John Suydam. The city was actually listed as Navarino, which today is a small suburb of Green Bay, population at the 2000 census listed as 442. Ellis was also the very first printer in Wisconsin, printing lottery tickets in 1827 and an almanac in the Chippewa language.

The second newspaper in Wisconsin was actually created as a vehicle to support the candidacy of Morgan Martin for territorial delegate to Congress. He employed William Stevenson and Joseph Dickinson to produced the “Wisconsin Free Press” at Green Bay in August of 1835. But it lasted for less than a year with the printing equipment sold  to the “Intelligencer“.

Two more newspapers were created in the 1830’s, they being the “Wisconsin Enquirer” in November of 1838 at Madison, the newly created capital of the territory, and then the  “Milwaukee Advertiser” on July 14, 1836. During the 1840’s many newspapers were created as Wisconsin worked towards statehood.

A visit to Jim Thorpe (Mauch Chunk), PA…

November 16, 2012 by · Leave a Comment 

A few weeks ago my wife and I had the pleasure of visiting a relatively unknown town steeped in history. Upon our return to the Rare & Early Newspapers office/archives, I spent some time exploring one aspect of the town’s history (The Molly Maguires) through the eyes of contemporary newspapers. A sampling of what was discovered both on the excursion and upon our return has been posted through images on Pinterest.  Please enjoy:

Jim Thorpe & The Molly Maguires

Additional posts regarding Jim Thorpe himself, the town’s name since shortly after his death in 1953, may be viewed at:  Jim Thorpe… “the greatest athlete that ever lived.”

War makes “sad havoc” among the newspapers…

April 2, 2011 by · Leave a Comment 

This item provides some interesting facts on what war does to newspaper publishing. It appeared in the “Daily Richmond Examiner” issue of February 4, 1864.

The “experts” don’t always get it right…

March 28, 2011 by · 2 Comments 

We recently unearthed two different newspapers which scream the reality “the experts are often wrong”.  The first report was an early review of “Gone With The Wind” which was not favorable (issue #580564).  The 2nd was a statement concerning Babe Ruth which occurred soon after he was traded to The New York Yankees which questioned whether he would be an impact player (issue #581104).  Interestingly enough, the opinion was given by Billy Evans, one of the most famous umpires (and member of the Hall of Fame) of all time.  Feel free to comment on similar finding of your own.  In the meantime, enjoy the reports:

Gone With The Wind…

Babe Ruth…


A carefully worded conclusion…

August 21, 2010 by · Leave a Comment 

This item was published in the June 6, 1771 issue of the “London Chronicle“, but was taken from the Boston Evening-Post. It’s a comical piece which could have come from a modern-day situation comedy. As always, its the style of writing which adds to the article’s appeal.

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