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Claiming the Land… America Presses Westward…
June 30, 2025 by Laura Heilenman · Leave a Comment
There are few events which capture the enormity and drama of America and her people more than the Westward Expansion. Vast lands to be settled and courageous people have produced tales and legends which continue to inspire generations to dream big and bravely press into the great unknown.
As our founder Tim Hughes states in his discription… “Considered to be one of the most significant achievements of the Congress of the Confederation, the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 put the world on notice not only that the land north of the Ohio River and east of the Mississippi would be settled but that it would eventually become part of the United States. Until then this area had been temporarily forbidden to development.
Increasing numbers of settlers and land speculators were attracted to what are now the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin. This pressure together with the demand from the Ohio Land Company, soon to obtain vast holdings in the Northwest, prompted Congress to pass this Ordinance.”
THE NEW HAVEN GAETTE & THE CONNECTICUT MAGAZINE on August 2, 1787 captures this monumental event at the moment of its birth. Feel free to browse this rare issue and let your dreams run wild.
Announcing: Catalog #356 for July, 2025 – Rare & Early Newspapers…
June 27, 2025 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
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The reason I collected it: an “association piece” attached…
June 23, 2025 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
Occasionally there are items that accompany a newspaper that add a bit of “flavor” to the issue, like a subscription receipt to the newspaper, or a glued subscription label of the subscriber, and occasionally a newspaper that was sent through the postal system with the postage stamp still attached. “The Manchester Guardian” newspaper from England dated July 5, 1861, by itself is inconsequential to history (i.e., it does not appear to contain any historical reports), however, it has an attachment that is rarely found on the front page. In fact, this is the first of this sort we have seen.
Printed on orange paper is a large label headed: “Newspaper Despatch Only. From Liverpool Agency of New York Associated Press…” noting that this newspaper was sent by the steamship “Asia” and that it: “Sailed July 6, 1861” bound for the “HERALD NEW YORK”.
Given this was before the Atlantic telegraph was fully successful, the only way for news to be exchanged across the ocean was by ship. It is possible the Guardian and the Herald had a reciprocal exchange subscription operated by the Associated Press, which was founded 15 years earlier.
Rare to find such an associated attachment and a nice issue to hang on to when found.
Discovery: Under the theme “Golden Nuggets”… After all of the years this has been in-hand, it was just discovered that the back page contains a report on the death of the renowned poet, Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Fun!
June 19, 1865 – The historical foundation of “Juneteenth”…
June 19, 2025 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
“Juneteenth”, also known as “Freedom Day”, traces its roots to June 19, 1865, when Union General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, and issued General Order No. 3, officially freeing the last enslaved people in the western Confederacy. Though President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation went into effect on January 1, 1863, its enforcement relied on Union military presence, leaving remote areas like Texas unaware of their liberty until Granger’s announcement more than two years later.
In the years that followed, formerly enslaved communities in Texas and beyond began marking June 19th with readings of the Emancipation Proclamation, songs like “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” and family gatherings. These early observances blended solemn reflection on the horrors of slavery with joyful celebration of resilience and community, laying the groundwork for a distinctly African American holiday honoring freedom and heritage.
Though Texas led the way by making Juneteenth an official state holiday in 1980, its recognition spread gradually until June 17, 2021, when it became a federal holiday—Juneteenth National Independence Day. Today, Juneteenth invites all Americans to reflect on our nation’s delayed promise of liberty, celebrate African American culture, and renew the commitment to racial equality and justice.
Since Juneteenth’s elevation to a federal holiday in 2021, collectors have eagerly hunted for contemporary newspaper accounts of those first celebrations following General Granger’s Order. Yet, such early reports remain elusive—a notable exception being a brief item in the June 21, 1866 issue of The New York Times (shown below).
Although firsthand press coverage is scarce, that scarcity in no way diminishes the profound significance of American slavery’s end. Our nation’s work to fulfill the promise enshrined in the Declaration of Independence—“that all men are created equal” and endowed with “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness”—remains unfinished. We must press on with unwavering resolve, viewing one another through the lens of divine dignity birthed by our Creator and allowing that vision to guide how we honor and uplift each and every person.
For those who would like to explore additional related topics through the eyes of “rare & early” newspapers, feel free to peruse the issues found through the following links:
Slavery
Emancipation
Abolition
Snapshot June, 1875 – Winslow Homer…
June 16, 2025 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Just for fun, I searched through our listings (RareNewspapers.com) to see what interesting events made the news during the month of June from 150 years ago. Honestly, I was slightly underwhelmed. My next step was to search On This Day’s website to see if perhaps we had missed any significant events. Again, and with sincere apologies to anyone who might know of something “newsworthy” which occurred during this timeframe, I think I dosed off once or twice while reading through the list – and it was relatively short. Not prone to raising a white flag prematurely, I made one last attempt adding the key word “newspapers” to my inquiry, and there it was. While my “find” may not be interesting to most, it certainly was to our beloved collectible:
Winslow Homer’s last print for Harper’s Weekly appeared within the issue dated June 26, 1875 – 150 years ago this month. After such wonderful contributions as his “Beardless Lincoln”, “Gathering Berries”, “Snap the Whip”, “Waiting for a Bite” and more, what might he chose to illustrate for his final curtain call? A tribute to those who put their lives on the line for the sake of freedom. Shown below is his “Battle of Bunker Hill–Watching the Fight From Copp’s Hill, In Boston”.
Thanks Winslow. You certainly did your part to help immortalize key events and unique personalities from the mid/late 1800s.
The June, 2025 Newsletter from Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers…
June 13, 2025 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
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Where game history, moral philosophy, and educational theory collide…
June 9, 2025 by GuyHeilenman · 1 Comment
Ben Franklin’s contributions to The Gentleman’s Magazine of the 18th century are well documented, and in multiple instances, quite collectible. A handful of the his more noteworthy appearances include several regarding electricity, the “Magic Square of Squares”, “On the Increase in Mankind”, “Albany Union Plan”, and “The Speech of Miss Poly Baker”. One of the more interesting is his desirable (from a collecting standpoint) “The Morals of Chess”, which appeared in the July, 1787 issue. A bit of research regarding its significance is as follows:
Benjamin Franklin’s essay The Morals of Chess, written in the late 18th century, is a groundbreaking work that presents chess as more than a game, but as a tool for building moral character. Franklin highlights virtues like courtesy, patience, humility, and attentiveness, which he saw as essential to fair play. This focus on etiquette not only pioneered the concept of sportsmanship in chess but also influenced the formal codes of conduct later embraced by chess clubs and federations, establishing the game as a model for civil behavior.
Beyond etiquette, Franklin uses chess as a metaphor for life, reflecting virtues such as prudence and generosity against vices like rashness and envy. He positions the game as a didactic instrument, capable of teaching both strategic thinking and ethical decision-making. This perspective helped cement the idea that games can mirror real-world challenges, offering lessons in intellect and morality—a notion that resonated with later educators and writers who championed “learning through play.”
Finally, the essay embodies Franklin’s Enlightenment ideals of rationality, self-improvement, and social responsibility. By promoting chess as an accessible activity for all, not just the elite, he democratized it, framing it as a means of personal and civic growth. The Morals of Chess thus transformed the game from a courtly pastime into a lasting symbol of strategic thought and ethical conduct, shaping its role in education and society to this day.
Additional details can be viewed on our website at: Franklin’s Morals of Chess
Does anyone know about this obscure Thomas Nast print from 1877?
June 6, 2025 by TimHughes · 33 Comments
Amongst our holdings is an obscure newspaper called “The People” from New York City, dated November 3, 1877. A closer look notes this is the volume 1, number 1 issue, and more curiously, we can find nothing about this newspaper online. This may be the only issue published, and with no mention of it in Gregory’s “Union List of American Newspapers” one wonders whether any institution is aware it even exists.
Compounding this obscurity is the large comic illustration (shown below) of John Morrissey, done by the famed artist Thomas Nast, verified by a small front page article headed: “Our Cartoon”. It verifies: “The accompanying admirable portrait of Our Great Municipal Reformer is one of the earliest made by Nast, and cost $100. It was engraved by a peculiar process which reversed the artist’s signature; but by holding it before the glass the Nast’s familiar handwriting will be recognized.”
Nothing can be found online of the existence of a Thomas Nast print captioned as noted above, let alone being in a newspaper titled: “The People”. With as much academic research that has been on this famed political artist, I find it interesting that nothing seems to be known of it.
So I reach out to all the Thomas Nast scholars, collectors, and admirers. Is anything out there that we are missing as to the existence of this print? Photos accompany this post. It exists; we just want to know more, and hopefully someone can be of help.
The reason I collected it: the perfect logo for the company…
June 2, 2025 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
When I began this company back in 1975, my offerings were simply typed lists of newspapers I had recently purchased. When an issue sold, I cut it out, added new ones to the bottom of the list, made photocopies of the 8 1/2 by 14 sheets, and mailed them to those expressing interest.
I later evolved my offerings into a small catalog, essentially 8 1/2 by 11 sheets folded in half resulting in 16 pages of 5 1/2 by 8 1/2 inches. I wanted a logo for the cover that would represent what I was selling. Not finding anything magical, I opted for a print of a colonial printing press. Perhaps some of you still have some of those old catalogs featuring the printing press.
But a printing press was too generic. It was not specific to newspapers; books, pamphlets, broadsides–anything with ink–were printed on a printing press. So my quest for a more perfect image continued.
Back in the late 1900’s I was doing research on a collection of the “Illustrated London News“, the model that would be followed by Leslie’s Illustrated, Harper’s Weekly, and a host of other illustrated newspapers. On the back page of an issue from 1862 there was a brief article titled: “The Newsboy“ and it was accompanied by a great print of a young newsboy offering a newspaper (shown below). It was the perfect find. It had an old-time look (it was from 1862 after all), it was specific to newspapers, and it had a generally pleasant appearance that I thought would work well as a logo.
And so it became the framework for our logo (shown to the right above). You will find it front & center on our website and on any number of printed pieces we produce each year. So if you’ve ever wanted how it was created, perhaps appropriately, it came from an old newspaper.