A rare report… Wild Bill Hickok…

November 22, 2010 by · 3 Comments 

Some reports have gained greater notoriety long after the event happened, particularly those of the Old West which have been romanticized by television, movies and countless books on the era. The gunfight at the O.K. Corral is one, and the report of the killing of Wild Bill Hickok is another. Neither are commonly found in newspapers of the day with the Hickok report being one of the more difficult to find, and typically on a brief report when found.

We recently came across the  “New York Herald” of August 13, 1876 with the report & thought it worth sharing:

Golden Nugget Contest – 1st place winner…

November 12, 2008 by · Leave a Comment 

We (Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers) recently released the winners of our 1st History’s Newsstand Blog contest – finding unexpected gems within newspapers – a pleasure not often found in other collectibles.  As a follow-up, we’d like to provide the rare newspapers community with the first place entry along with images (provided post-selection by the winner):

“A couple of years ago, a batch of newspapers from Deadwood, Dakota Territory came on the auction block. “The Black Hills Pioneer” I knew to be an extremely rare and desirable title from an iconic Old West location. This newspaper, I believe, was the earliest paper published in Deadwood, first published in 1876. The issue I really wanted had a report on the killing of Wild Bill Hickok in Deadwood, but that went for several thousand dollars. I felt quite lucky when I was able to purchase what I thought was just an atmosphere issue with nothing too newsworthy for just over $200, dated March 3, 1877. When I looked inside the newspaper, I was surprised to find a headline “Execution of Jack McCall” along with a short article reporting the execution in Yankton, Dakota of the murderer of Wild Bill. A later report of the execution in the same newspaper had just been auctioned for over $700. Nice bargain for me…” submitted by Alan Pollack