20th century prices realized… revisted…

September 30, 2010 by · 2 Comments 

The previous post focused on “prices realized” from a sampling of key issues from the 20th century.  Fellow collector, Charles Signer, posted a response we thought collectors would appreciate.

These papers (see previous post) are excellent choices for your article. I think the Titanic disaster marked a new era in journalism, since improvements in printing technology and inventions like the facsimile machine made it possible for newspapers all over the United States and the world for the first time to cover the story simultaneously with full coverage and great graphics. Because the Titanic event took place at sea there was no “home advantage” as there would have been for a disaster taking place in a populated area. I don’t have the Rhode Island version of the story that you show, but I have seen others like it from other cities. I am amazed how they could get such good reporting and graphics literally overnight on such an unexpected story.

When I see the Honolulu Star-Bulletin First Extra I think of it as a time capsule marking of an end of an era. The front page of course gives the full first report, but the inside pages were mostly set up before the event, in the last hours of peacetime. The ads for 1941 consumer goods and Christmas sales suddenly fell out of place in the grim new wartime world. I imagine the people shown in the ads floating at the bottom of the ocean where they are all drowned dead but still visible to divers. It’s eerie.

I was going to say that the whole First Extra paper could be seen on the Honolulu Star-Bulletin website, but in trying to test the link as I write this I see that the Honolulu Star-Bulletin and the Honolulu Advertiser merged on June 7, 2010. The combined paper is now the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. There used to be a great story on the Star-Bulletin’s old website about the people who put out those first reports that day. I guess it’s gone now.

I got a copy of the Dewey Defeats Truman paper from Tim Hughes before 2000 for about $850. It was real cherry. I grew up in Chicago where my dad and I would drive down in the evenings to get the first edition of the following day’s Tribune. When you opened up a Tribune for the first time there were tiny holes made in the printing process which made the pages stick together. The copy I got from Tim had those little holes so I knew I was opening that Dewey Defeats Truman paper for the first time ever. It was almost like being there on November 2, 1948, the evening the paper was printed. Yes, it truly is a classic that will be recognized as long as newspapers are remembered, which may be a lot longer than some of them are being published.

Thanks Charles!

Prices realized… 20th century…

September 27, 2010 by · 1 Comment 

We continue with our series on “prices realized”, with this 4th installment providing select examples of issues from the 20th century.  While there are many issues to choose from, we tried to cover a variety of collectible interests.

Note: While collectible newspapers have had a good track record of increasing in value over time (see upcoming posts), we encourage hobbyists to collect for non-financial reasons.  History in your hands…

20th century selections:

The most famous of all Stock Market Crash newspapers…
THE NEW YORK TIMES, October 25, 1929 ($1,830 – 2010)

Perhaps the nicest Titanic report to be had ?
THE EVENING TIMES, Pawtucket, Rhode Island, April 16, 1912 ($2,423 – 2008)

Best of all Pearl Harbor newspapers…
HONOLULU STAR BULLETIN, 1st EXTRA, Dec. 7, 1941 ($2,352 – 2005)

Most recognized of all 20th century headlines…
CHICAGO DAILY TRIBUNE, Nov. 3, 1948 ($1,925 – 2005)

The previous posts in this series are:

Prices realized… 16th & 17th centuries…

Prices realized… 18th century…

Prices realized…  19th century…


Prices realized… 19th century…

September 20, 2010 by · 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:

1st Ever Public Basketball Game Played…  SPRINGFIELD REPUBLICAN, Massachusetts, March 12, 1892 ($15,000, 2007)

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)

Winslow Homer’s famous “SNAP THE WHIP”…  HARPER’S WEEKLY, New York, NY, September 20, 1873 ($1,000, 2009)

The previous posts in this series are:

Prices realized… 16th & 17th centuries…

Prices realized… 18th century…


Prices realized… 18th century…

September 13, 2010 by · 2 Comments 

We continue with our series on “Prices Realized”.  Below are a examples of actual prices paid for a few scattered issues from the 18th century.  While not the highest valued from the period, they certainly are “premium” issues.  Our hope is to provide a more-comprehensive listing in the not-too-distant future.  In the meantime, for what it is worth…

The Constitution of the United States… CONNECTICUT COURANT, Hartford, Oct. 1, 1787 ($17,500, 2007)

The Boston Massacre…  THE ESSEX GAZETTE, Salem, Massachusetts, March 20, 1770 ($9,250, 2006)

America proclaims independence…  THE AMERICAN GAZETTE OR, THE CONSTITUTIONAL JOURNAL, Salem, Massachusetts, July 23, 1776 ($9,750, 2007)

The premiere (British) issue of the war…  The Declaration of Independence…  THE LONDON CHRONICLE, August 17, 1776 ($9,750, 2009)

The following is a link to our previous post in this series:

Prices realized… 16th & 17th centuries…

Prices realized… 16th & 17th centuries…

September 6, 2010 by · 5 Comments 

While we’ve written several posts identifying some of the factors which impact the value of a rare and/or historic newspaper, a “price guide” showing prices realized is as of  yet unavailable.  Our hope would be to have such a resource accessible within the not-too-distant future.  In the meantime, we’ll be taking the next few Mondays to provide some information in this regard which we hope you will find helpful.

16th & 17th Centuries:

One of the earliest issues you will find…  ZEITUNGEN, AUS WELSCHLANDEN, 1546 ($1,752, 2007)

THE KINGDOMES WEEKLY INTELLIGENCER, London, January 23-30, 1648 – King Charles I – Trial and Execution ($3,450 – 2008)

The Great London Fire report in a London newspaper… THE LONDON GAZETTE, September 3, 1666 ($6,350 – 2007)

Extremely rare 1665 Oxford Gazette…  THE OXFORD GAZETTE, England, January 4, 1665… 1666 by today’s calendar ($1,999 – 2010)

Finding authentic newspapers from this period (16th and 17th centuries) is becoming exceedingly difficult.  As a result, what would these same issues be valued at today?  What impact did the condition, displayability, content, proximity (date and location to the content), rarity, etc. have on each?  While these factors, and more, impact the valuation of an issue, the above examples are what they are – prices realized.

Note:  Many price guides (in other collectible areas) show highly inflated prices.  This enables resellers to offer items at slightly under “established” prices, giving buyers the illusion that they are getting a bargain.  However, the truth is, the value of an item is really the price that others are actually willing to pay – not what a catalog/price guide lists.  In the field of Rare Newspapers, our approach will always be to base prices on hard data – the track record of previous sales.  Additionally, at Rare Newspapers, we try to set prices at a point where both resellers and individual collectors are comfortable.  As a result, we do not have a two-tier system (one price for resellers, and another for collectors).  We believe this policy provides a degree of integrity within the collectible community.  We hope you agree.

They put it in print… Jesse James’ belongings auctioned at “high” prices…

December 14, 2015 by · Leave a Comment 

Collector interest in the personal effects of the famous and infamous is certainly strong, with news noting auctions of noted personalities reporting surprising high bids.

Blog-12-7-2015-Jesse-James-auctionThis is not a recent phenomena. The St. Louis Globe-Democrat” of April 11, 1882, contains a front page report headed: “Jesse James Relics” which reports on an auction of household goods at the home of the infamous bandit who was killed just 8 days prior. Interest in his personal effects was high, with the report noting in part: “…The crowd began assembling at noon…several thousand people had gathered about the house. The goods sold were of little or not value, yet a large sum of money was realized. Six plain cane-bottom chairs sold for $2 each, and the one on which the outlaw was standing when he received the fatal bullet sold for $5…an old revolver, $17; washstand, $11…The entire lot would not, only for the name, be worth $10, but nearly $200 was realized…”.

Can you image what these Jesse James belongings would sell for today? A revolver (the one noted above?) owned by Jesse James was in a Heritage auction in 2013 & was expected to bring $1.6 million. It did not sell.

Prices… a walk down memory lane… 2006…

October 4, 2010 by · Leave a Comment 

We recently took a look at “prices realized” for a number of historic newspapers spanning the centuries.  We’ll now take a look a the pricing of authentic newspapers from a different perspective:  pricing over time.  Over the course of the next several weeks we’ll post a random page from old Rare & Early Newspapers catalogs.  We’ll start with a page from a catalog sent in 2006, and work backwards through time.

You decide… Which is really the best? Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr…

June 19, 2015 by · Leave a Comment 

When it comes to placing a value on collectible newspapers, past prices realized can be invaluable. However, in most instances, due to the vast number of variables which exist even within a common event (city of publication, condition, dramatic appeal, etc.), finding comparables can be difficult.

We recently came across two issues which illustrate this point – both containing front-page 1st reports of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. – one being the newspaper from where he was born and raised containing perhaps a little more detailed reporting (The Atlanta Constitution, Georgia), with the other being a nice issue from where the assassination took place (The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, TN). Which is the more collectible newspaper? The answer may not be as easy as one might think. Years of experience have shown the Dallas Morning News‘ reporting of the JFK assassination to be hands-down the most desired issue – that is, the issue from where he was killed. In contrast, collectors find the Wapakoneta Daily News (Neil Armstrong’s hometown paper) with coverage of Man’s 1st Moon Walk to be the best.

What about Dr. King’s assassination? It is rare we can view each side-by-side (see below). We have our thoughts, but feel free to weigh in with thoughts of your own.

Blog-6-12-2015-King-Assassination-1Blog-5-12-2015-King-Assassination-2

Entry point to the Rare Newspapers Collectible… 16th & 17th Centuries…

February 17, 2011 by · 2 Comments 

Our peek at the lower-end entry points into the hobby of collecting rare and early newspapers draws to a conclusion today with a gander at inexpensive newspapers published prior to 1700. A list of titles priced at under $50 includes:  The London Gazette, The Athenian Mercury, Votes of the House of Commons, The Observator, and The Weekly Pacquet of Advice From Rome, all of which are British publications.

The following link will take you to these potential pre-1700 entry-point issues: Pre-1700 Inexpensive Issues

Enjoy!

Note:  View the following to explore the History’s Newsstand Blog’s featured posts on the upper end of the collectible: “Prices Realized” and “Most Collectible Issues“.

Entry point to the Rare Newspapers Collectible… 18th Century…

February 3, 2011 by · Leave a Comment 

Over the past month the History’s Newsstand Blog has explored the lower-end entry points into the hobby of collecting rare and early newspapers. This next installment takes us back to the 18th century.  The further we move back in time the higher (price-wise) is the entry point.  One of the common ways to keep your early (into the hobby) 18th century collecting budget under control is to start by collecting newspapers/magazines from England.  Typically, reports on American affairs found within British publications cost as little as 1/10 (and sometimes even less percentage-wise) than the corresponding reports in American issues.  With this in mind…

The following selection provides a glimpse of the wide variety of 18th century issues available valued at $25* and under.  Many more exist on the Rare Newspapers’ website, but others can be found throughout the collectible community as well. The item numbers for each are linked to corresponding images.

The oldest newspaper in the world…

120436 THE LONDON GAZETTE, England, dates ranging from 1726 to 1730  – This is the oldest continually published newspaper in the world, having begun in 1665 and is still being published today. Reporting is almost entirely concerned with Parliamentary items and European news with some advertisements near the back of the issue.  $18.00*

From Pre-Revolutionary War England…

121059 THE ST. JAMES CHRONICLE; OR, THE BRITISH EVENING POST, London, England, 1767. Nice engraving in the masthead makes this a displayable issue. Various news of the day and a wealth of ads, from not long before the outbreak of the Revolutionary War. $18.00*

From Post-Revolutionary War England…

208968 THE GENERAL EVENING POST, London, 1792  A nice “typical” folio-size newspaper of 4 pages from the 18th century. There is a wealth of news of the day on the front page and inside pages with some ads scattered throughout as well.  $18.00*

By the town critic…

121100 THE CONNOISSEUR, London, 1755. See the photo below for an example of this title from our archives. An uncommon and early title “By Mr. Town, Critic & Censor General” as noted in the masthead. Done in editorial format.  $20.00*

From 18th century Scotland…

208447 THE EDINBURGH EVENING COURANT, Scotland, 1785.  A nice 18th century Scottish newspaper with the entire front page taken up with ads, with various news of the day on the inside pages. Some of the ads have illustrations as well. Complete in 4 pages, partial red-inked tax stamp on the front page, folio size, some light browning or dirtiness, but in generally nice condition.  $20.00*

Additional issues priced at $25* and under may be viewed at: Entry Level Newspapers

* All prices shown were valid as of the release date of this post.

View the following to explore the History’s Newsstand Blog’s featured posts on the upper end of the collectible: “Prices Realized” and “Most Collectible Issues“.

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