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Noteworthy newspapers – one person’s view (part I)…
October 15, 2015 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
At Rare Newspapers, the most difficult to answer yet common question our staff is frequently challenged to answer is, “Do you having anything new to offer that’s interesting?” While some newspapers would certainly rise to the top of the heap and make the answer a no-brainer (Lincoln assassination, Declaration of Independence, an Oxford Gazette, a great Stock Market crash report, etc.), these issues are few and far between – and do not come along very often. What about the periods when no “best of the best” has come our way? Selecting great issues is often quite subjective – and ends up being heavily 
influenced by one’s own interests and knowledge base. This truth makes answering this question nearly impossible. However, just for fun, from time to time we’ll ask the Rare & Early Newspapers’ staff to take turns looking at the issues listed month-to-date to select their choice for the most interesting new item.
I’ll get things started by taking a look at September (to-date), 2015. In my opinion, there are several good issues to choose from: The New York Yankees acquire Joe DiMaggio, the very 1st King Kong advertisement, the announcing of the creation of a Jewish homeland, the execution of the Rosenbergs, and the death of William Randolph Hurst – to name a few. However, as a graduate of Penn State University, my selection of the month is an issue announcing Joe Paterno becoming a starter at Brown University. Just as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I’m confident my selection may not be the same as yours. You can weigh in on your own thoughts by looking at the first page of our Recent Listings. Enjoy.
Next stop: October, 2015.
The aftermath of the Civil War… July, 1865
July 9, 2015 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
What news was reported in July, 1865 – 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?July, 1865
Discovering hidden treasure…
April 17, 2015 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
One of the many pleasures of the Rare Newspapers collectable is finding content which was unexpected. The following note from a collecting friend drives this point home:
Dear Guy,
Thank you for sending the recent “History’s Newsstand” [newsletter]. Good stuff.
I wanted to share with you, assuming that you are also a history “nut”, a news item that I came across in a recent purchase.
From the Daily National Intelligencer, Washington, August 9, 1860 (see attached) a mention of a “Miss. A. Surratt” of Prince George’s County (Surrattsville now Clinton, MD.) Although I may never know for sure, the name, place and date seem to match up correctly with Elizabeth Susanna “Anna” Surratt (1843-1904), daughter of Lincoln assassination co conspirator Mary Surratt.
I became interested in the tragic life of little Anna through my research on the Chapman sisters of Ford’s theater fame.
Love these old newspapers. Historical goldmines each and every one.
Once again: History is never more fascinating than when it’s read from the day it was first reported.
Historic Newspapers in the classroom…
August 13, 2012 by GuyHeilenman · 2 Comments
We received the following note from one of our collector friends and thought our readers might enjoy his note:
Dear Tim Hughes and Rare Newspapers:
and rote memorization of facts. Rather, I teach that history is the interpretation of the present as viewed through a prism of past human experiences. I encourage my students to realize that “historical figures” were once living breathing human beings. They may be gone, but the life lessons that they left behind can still empower us to improve our lives and to better understand our world. I believe that “hand’s on learning” provides students with the most ownership of their knowledge. For this reason, my classroom is a museum filled with dozens of historical artifacts and framed newspapers. For example, when studying the Lincoln assassination, I allow students to hold a tear-stained Philadelphia Inquirer from April 1865. My students have even had the opportunity to re-‐enact the 2000 Florida Presidential election on an actual Dade County voting machine. As a practitioner of Problem Based Learning, I believe giving students access to actual historical documents and relics makes the lesson a truly authentic learning experience. I want my students to realize that history is a never-‐ending story of human triumphs and tragedies. It is a story to which they are contributing. That is a powerful lesson.
Prices realized… 19th century…
September 20, 2010 by GuyHeilenman · 4 Comments
This post is the 3rd installment of a series dedicated to exploring actual sale prices of historic newspapers from various periods of time. Below please find a few selections from the 19th century.
Note: If you have an issue of your own you’re trying to price, one trick/strategy is to go to the “advanced” search engine at www.rarenewspapers.com (see top left of window), enter a 2 week range of dates (one week prior to your issue’s date to one week after), and view the results. This will give you comparable issues (if available) to help you in establishing a reasonable price for your issue. Make certain to take into consideration your issues title, city of location, proximity to the location where the event (key content) occurred, condition, displayability, proximity of issue’s date to the date the key event occurred, etc.
19th century selections:
The best Lincoln Assassination issue to be had… THE NEW YORK TIMES, April 15, 1865 ($2,800, 2009)
Wallpaper issue! THE OPELOUSAS COURIER, Louisiana., Apr. 4, 1863 ($2,650, 2006)
The previous posts in this series are:
Prices realized… 16th & 17th centuries…
Prices realized… 18th century…
The Civil War…
April 1, 2010 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Not too long ago we had a collector ask several questions regarding rare newspapers from the Civil War. We thought others might be interested in the questions and responses as well.
Most major city papers had a daily and bi-weekly edition, and some a tri-weekly edition. The cost of a newspaper from the pre-1890 era was no small expense, so the latter two were more affordable for many. I suspect the “Evening Edition” did not publish 7 days a week; perhaps 2 or 3, maybe 4 (?). If this was the case it was easy for them to fill in the balance of the issue with news from a day or two before as the type was already set and those who purchased it hadn’t read it. This was more clearly defined with the Phila. Inq. run we had because they had in the first column that it was the “tri-weekly” edition, and in the same issue was another masthead from the day before. The Tribune did not print such a notice, or at least I haven’t found it yet.
And such editions with 2 masthead are quite uncommon because libraries would have only subscribed to the regular daily edition, given their desire to document all news for every day, and 95% of early newspapers on the market came from some institution after microfilming. So the 2 masthead issues are typically only found as never-bound issues which have survived the years in attics, trunks, etc.
Thanks for the member inquiry which led to these responses from Tim. Feel free to send your questions, comments as well.
My Collecting Story… Richard Sloan…
May 28, 2009 by GuyHeilenman · 1 Comment
I’ve been interested in the Lincoln assassination ever since I was thirteen years old. The 19th century images really grabbed me, and continue to give me a sense of what took place. As a New Yorker, my interest expanded to Lincoln’s N.Y.C. funeral, Lincoln’s prior trips to NY, Mrs. Lincoln’s NYC shopping sprees, and John Wilkes Booth’s activities in the city. In the course of all of this, I also became interested in 19th century NY photographers, theaters, hotels, and department stores. It has become obvious to me that period photographs convey and impart just so much. The old newspapers turned out to be the missing ingredient. There is nothing like holding an old NYC newspaper in my hand (or a weekly like Harper’s, Leslie’s, Gleason’s, etc;). Turning old pages that someone had turned in 1865 doesn’t just provide research information; it takes me back in time and shows me what life was like. It’s a wonderful experience to re-capture the sense of immediacy and news-gathering that someone had experienced back then when he or she turned those very same pages — whether it’s reading the details of Lincoln’s 1861 arrival in the city, reading the details of such events as his assassination, his funeral, finding out what parades took place in town the previous day, or what shows are currently playing in town. Old newspapers are time machines!
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Thanks for sharing your story Richard. If you would like to share your story of how you became interested in collecting rare and/or historic newspapers, e-mail it to guy@rarenewspapers.com and place “My Story” in the subject field. Although not necessary, feel free to include an image. Please do not include your e-mail address or a personal website as part of the text of your story. We will post collector stories every few weeks and will send you a notice when your story appears. Thank you for your contribution to the community.
April 15, 1865 New York Herald Reprints
September 30, 2008 by GuyHeilenman · 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.
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
November/Thanksgiving Newsletter – Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers…
November 20, 2023 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
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Welcome to the November/Thanksgiving (2023) edition of our monthly newsletter. Understanding the busyness of the season as Thanksgiving (U.S.) rapidly approaches, I’ll make every effort to be brief. However, please do not miss out on this month’s highlights:
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Announcing: Catalog #336 for November, 2023 – Rare & Early Newspapers…
November 3, 2023 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
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CATALOG #336
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[The links above will redirect to the latest catalog in approx. 30 days
upon which time it will update to the most recent catalog.]