Snapshot 19xx – The Youngest Olympic Gold Medalist EVER!

December 9, 2024 by · Leave a Comment 
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Without searching the internet (or scrolling to see the images below), who do you think is the youngest Olympic athlete to ever win a gold medal in an individual event (i.e., not a team sport or relay)? If you are unsure, would you guess the youngest to be a male or female? How about their country… or the event (sport) tin which they competed?

I purposely left out the year in the heading – otherwise some might have guessed Nadia Comaneci (she is actually ranked as the 7th youngest) or Klaus Zerta (who comes in at #2 and remains the youngest male). We found a newspaper with a report in a New York Times dated August 13, 1936 telling of 13-year-old Marjorie Gestring (13 years, 267 days) who still holds the top spot.

Note: There is a younger female (also 13, but 180 days younger), but she (Kim Yun-Mi) won her gold medal as a member of a relay team.

Details: Marjorie was a springboard diver from the United States who earned her Olympic gold in the 3-meter woman’s event in Berlin – the infamous games in where Jesse Owens (along with others) put a crimp in Hitler’s efforts to demonstrate the superiority of German genetics. To add to the check-back, the games were the first to be televised.

The following is a photo of the coverage of Marjorie’s accomplishment:

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“Guess & Click” – 1920’s Edition…

December 6, 2024 by · Leave a Comment 
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“Guess & Click” – a little game where I pose a question, you make a guess without using any on-line resources, and then you click on “View Answer” to find out if you were correct. Note: I intentionally left out the word “trivia” since some of the subject matter covered in this or future similar posts may not be trivial.

Ready to play?

In the early 1920’s, who was the richest per capita people group in the entire world?

Once you have your answer, click on the following link: “VIEW ANSWER”

Were you surprised? I know I was.

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This Month in History – December…

December 2, 2024 by · Leave a Comment 
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One of the most popular topics collectors of Rare & Early Newspapers seek are those with war reports. Due to the nature of the human condition, they are in relative abundance. However, primarily due to poor weather conditions often present in the month of December, such reporting does not dominate the news as much as during warmer months. So, what is a collector to collect during this month? Feel free to peruse the link below to see a host of other topics which collectors have found to be desirable. Sadly, war reporting will also be interspersed throughout.

NEWSPAPERS PUBLISHED IN DECEMBER

 

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Announcing: Catalog #349 for December, 2024 – Rare & Early Newspapers for collectors…

November 29, 2024 by · Leave a Comment 
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December’s Catalog (#349) is now available. This latest offering of authentic newspapers is comprised of over 300 new items – a selection which includes the following noteworthy issues: the House version of the Bill of Rights, Washington’s first inauguration (with an eye-witness account), a newspaper printed by Ben Franklin (with his imprint), an issue with a Paul Revere masthead (and great Ethan Allen content), a fine report of the Boston Massacre, an early ‘newsbook’ dated 1658, and more.

The following links are designed to help you explore all available items from this latest edition of our catalog:

         1500-1799 (full view OR quick-scan/compact view)

         1800-1899 (full view OR quick-scan/compact” view)

         1900-Present (full view OR quick-scan/compact” view)

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DISCOUNTED ISSUES – What remains of last month’s discounted issues may be viewed at: Discount (select items at 50% off)

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HISTORY’S NEWSSTAND – Recent Posts on the History’s Newsstand Blog may be accessed at: History’s Newsstand

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Thanks for collecting with us.

Sincerely,

Guy Heilenman & The Rare & Early Newspapers Team

570-326-1045

[The links above will redirect to the latest catalog in approx. 30 days

upon which time it will update to the most recent catalog.]

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Hidden gems – Searching for coverage of an 1850 shipwreck…

November 22, 2024 by · Leave a Comment 
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Yesterday I went on a hunt for a report on the death of Margarette Fuller whose life was unexpectedly cut short in a shipwreck off the shores of Long Beach Island, New York. The wreck occurred on July 19, 1850, so I naturally started reading through our newspapers from the following day. My first stop was an issue of The Boston Museum. While it did not have coverage of the tragedy, it did have a few other gems: A report on the death of President Zachary Taylor, a balloon ascension, a detailed report on the gold in and dangers of California (nice for 1850), a poem which encouraged me to count each day as precious, and perhaps the most interesting of all, what appears to be a bit of sarcasm related to the transcendental views of Ralph Waldo Emerson – all amongst additional poems, a sheet of music, excerpts from a selection of contemporary literary items, and general news of the day. I love this collectible!

 

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History Surrounds Us… The Underground Railroad…

November 18, 2024 by · Leave a Comment 
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I am sure every area of the country entices people in different ways – beautiful weather, stunning scenery, an abundance of activities, and more. Some even have multiple highlights, and the citizens of that region feel especially blessed. My community brings several of the above-mentioned highlights along with another some may not typically consider: rich history.

Living in North-Central Pennsylvania tucked in among the Alleghany Mountains brings a sense of peace, and yet still gives easy access to some of the earliest sites related to U.S. history. From Philadelphia to Boston, Williamsburg to Gettysburg, we are surrounded by fascinating historical locations to visit and imagine what life was like for those early settlers and founders. In fact, the old barn which was once across the street from my house (now gone) was part of the Underground Railroad – and linked up to “Freedom Road”. Sadly, a considerable amount of newspaper content deals with slave ads, so, when I come across articles like the one found in the Oct. 6, 1854 issue of THE NEW YORK TRIBUNE,, my interest is piqued. When I read,

“Four fugitives from slavery arrived in this place on Thursday…by the underground railroad. They were kindly cared for by the inhabitants, and sufficient funds furnished them to pursue their journey to the land of freedom, and long ere this they are beyond the reach of a law abominable to all.”,

I am captivated with thoughts of where these sojourners for freedom stopped before they reached New York (perhaps the barn which was once a stones-throw from my house?), along with those who risked much to help them along their trek. It is a blessing to be surrounded by areas which are a constant reminder of the bravery and selflessness some people find within themselves when a moment of crisis arises. May we all be our best selves when faced with similar moments.

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The reason I collected it: The Spy…

November 14, 2024 by · Leave a Comment 
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Sometimes newspapers are just so odd that they defy description, and when we encounter such, they were added to the private collection.
One such title is “The Spy” (see below), or as noted inside “The Village Spy”. The masthead does not include a city or state of publication, other than: “Printed In Recluse” and the date: May 13, 1824. Printed on page two the title is actually: “The Village Spy” noting the publication place as: “City of Mud” along with the date.
This is the volume 1, number 7 issue, about which we can find nothing online. Noted in the masthead: “Edited by Gen. Consequence, and His Associates”.
This would appear to be an early comic or satirical newspaper. All of the front page is a play: “…to be performed soon at some place in the city of Mud.” Other odd notes take up pages 2, 3 and 4 including two poems.
We offer this post to allow others to do a bit of investigation if they find this intriguing, or perhaps someone already knows of this newspaper?

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There Are Not Enough Words to Say Thank You… Veteran’s Day

November 11, 2024 by · Leave a Comment 
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In 1918, on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, was declared between the Allied nations and Germany in World War I, then known as “the Great War.”

Commemorated in many countries as Armistice Day the following year, November 11th became a federal holiday in the United States in 1938. In the aftermath of World War II and the Korean War, Armistice Day became known as Veterans Day.” (History.com)

Those are the facts however, there is a much deeper truth… Where would we be without all the brave men and women, living and gone, who risked everything so we might all say with confidence, “I live in the freest nation on Earth”. There are magnificent places across this stunning World we live on however, none of these places, outside of the United States of America, have a people who can boast of a Constitution and Bill of Rights which protects our rights of Freedom of Speech, to worship as we please, to choose our friends and associates and to bear arms… which keep our Federal Government at bay and in check. So, with this in mind I would like to say to all of our soldiers of the past and present who have put country and her people before themselves, You have my heartfelt thanks and eternal gratitude!  May we all be even a fraction as brave as you and love our country with as much passion.

 

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I hear dead people. Seriously, I really do!

November 8, 2024 by · Leave a Comment 
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Spoiler Alert: If someone came up to those of us who were born between 1960 and 1980 and said, ” I see dead people!”, most would reply with something similar to: “I saw that movie too. It was awesome”. However, if someone came up to us and announced, “I hear dead people almost daily”, we would all think they were either joking or insane. Yet, each one of us can make this declaration with 100% legitimacy.

How? An issue of Scientific American dated November 17, 1877 was the first to announces the development of a process in which voices of the living could be captured and then replayed (and therefore heard), even after the one whose voice was recorded was dead, on a device recently created by the renowned electrician from New Jersey named Thomas Edison. At the time of the article the apparatus was called a “talking telephone”, but the name would eventually be changed to a “phonograph”.

While we cannot prove this with 100% confidence, a PBS special states that this appearance was the first such announcement in a nationally distributed publication. This special can be viewed at: The American Experience: The Phonograph (season 27, episode 3).

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This Month in History – November…

November 4, 2024 by · Leave a Comment 
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Let’s have some fun. Go to The History Place and pick three events which capture your attention. Limit yourself to 3 minutes.

… (waiting)

… (waiting)

… (waiting)

Welcome back. So, which events did you select?

Mine were:

November 1, 1848 – The first medical school for women opened in Boston. [Why did it take so long?]

November 4, 1922 – King Tut’s tomb was discovered at Luxor, Egypt. [“I see dead people.”]

November 6, 1860 – Abraham Lincoln was elected as the 16th U.S. President and the first Republican. [I’m sure we all picked this low-hanging fruit.]

Bonus selection: I would have said: “November 5, 1733 – The first issue of the New York Weekly Journal was published by John Peter Zenger, a colonial American printer and journalist. A year later, he was arrested on charges of libeling New York’s royal governor.”, but that may have come across a bit self-serving.

I’m sure if I had started at the middle or end of the list I would likely have a different “top three”. Furthermore, to be fair, the task was not served fairly by the time constraint. Oh well.

Although some of the events in their list may not have had corresponding reports within contemporary newspapers, my guess is more than a few did – and while each can be explored online, it is only through “rare & early newspapers” they can be easily pursued in context. Albeit not to Biblical proportions, context matters.

If your interest has been piqued, the following link will take you to an abundance of available newspapers containing reports of events which occurred in the month of November:

NEWSPAPERS PUBLISHED IN NOVEMBER

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