Search
History of Newspapers Video (see more)
Email Subscription
Sign up to receive our latest blog updates!Buy Historic Newspapers
Rare Newspapers Recent Items
WNEP TV turns the spotlight on Rare & Early Newspapers…
January 13, 2023 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
A Northeastern Pennsylvania television station (WNEP) recently highlighted Tim Hughes and the Rare & Early Newspapers efforts to serve the world-wide collectible community. Although brief, any opportunity for Tim to share his love for the hobby is a bonus.
Millions of newspapers for sale in Lycoming County (PA)
Snapshot 1982… A “Feel Good” Story to Kick-Off the New Year…
January 6, 2023 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
As we all know, bad news sells. The medium (social media, television, newspapers, etc.) doesn’t matter, if something tragic happens, everyone grabs their camera (phone) and lawn chair and heads to the scene. However, an ongoing diet of bad news (and negativity in general) is not good for the soul. With this reality in mind, one of my New Year’s resolutions is to spend more time focusing on the good – and thankfully, while perusing newspapers within our archives, I came across a “feel good” story which I thought was worth sharing. I’ll let the article I unearthed in a South Bend Tribune (August 8, 1982) do the talking (see below).
For the record, upon visiting the young boy in the hospital, future Hall of Famer Jim Rice recognized the family was of modest means, so on his way out of the hospital he stopped by the Business Office and requested the bills be sent to him. What a true hero!
You can also read additional details here: Jim Rice Saves Young Boy’s Life
Resolutions… at the start of a New Year and Throughout Time…
December 30, 2022 by Laura Heilenman · Leave a Comment
It’s that time again. Some of us don’t want to admit it to others or even ourselves, but as the calender turns to the 1st of January, our minds naturally drift towards resolutions. I wonder if this impulse is built into human nature – the desire for a fresh start… to turn over a new leaf… to look forward to a new adventure pulled from one’s bucket list? As we consider what resolutions to write in pencil for the coming year, below are a few interesting “historical resolutions” to ponder. While I may have stretched the definition of “resolution” a bit, may our resolutions have as much staying power as these. Happy New Year and blessings on your new adventures.
April 1775 … The Gunpowder Incident… This report mentions: “…that the powder in the publick magazine, in the city of Williamsburg, deposited there at the expense of the country & for the use of the people in case of invasion or insurrection, has been secretly removed under the clouds of the night…by order of the Governor…came to the following resolution: Resolved, that it is the opinion of this committee that the removing the said gunpowder…is an insult to every freeman in this country…”
September 1774 … Historic Duché Letter to General Washington… Duché first came to the attention of the First Continental Congress in September, 1774, when he was summoned to Carpenters’ Hall to lead the opening prayers. When the United States Declaration of Independence was ratified, Duché, meeting with the church’s vestry, passed a resolution stating that the King George III’s name was no longer to be read in the prayers of the church. Duché complied, crossing out said prayers from his Book of Common Prayer, committing an act of treason against England, an extraordinary and dangerous act for a clergyman who had taken an oath of loyalty to the King.
February 1876 … National League Baseball Established… During the establishment of the National Baseball League, an interesting resolution was adopted… The report continues mentioning the passage of a resolution concerning “championship play” while the second resolution prevented “…any two clubs from playing in a city in which neither of them belongs.”
January 1991 … U.N. Resolutions for Desert Storm… individually significant headlines on Desert Storm: the beginning of the air war: “WAR!”; the beginning of the land war: “INVASION!” and the “VICTORY!” once Iraq conceded and agreed to all U.N. resolutions.
Harper’s Weekly… A Journal of Civilization…
December 26, 2022 by Laura Heilenman · Leave a Comment
Last week, as I was preparing a January 22, 1898 Harper’s Weekly for shipment, I noticed it was to be sent to Japan. We at Rare & Early Newspapers love knowing our collectors span the Globe; in fact, on a wall in the shipping department we track all the countries where our issues now reside.
Although I knew we had sent many collectible newspapers to this region, I was still curious to see if there might be a cultural motivation behind the purchase. As I paged through the issue to see what may have caught the attention of our Japanese collector, near the back I discovered 4 pages of beautiful prints with the heading, “The Porcelain Arts of Japan”. Full certain this gentleman would be pleased with such charming illustrations, I was delighted knowing this historical treasure would make its way across the World to his collection. As I closed the pages to resume my task my eyes fell on the tagline used by Harper’s Weekly Illustrated: “A Journal of Civilization”.
How appropriate to have noticed their description at this moment and how sublime to know we have a community of collectors which extends across all of today’s civilization.
The Peace of Christmas… An image reminiscent of my own experience…
December 23, 2022 by Laura Heilenman · Leave a Comment
We each have those special moments in life which cause us to pause and breathe out the inner-tension we have allowed to build up over time. While rare, they are precious instances when all seems right with “the world” and a deep peace settles into our core – if only for a split second. This past week, I went looking for Christmas-themed prints at the behest of one our collectors, and as I paged through the LIBERTY magazine issues for the month of December, 1929, I came upon a cover which perfectly captured this sentiment. Viewing the warmth of the crackling fire, a couple snuggled together on a comfy couch while gazing at the perfect picture of peace, I felt warmth flow from my inner-most being as I reminisced about the similar setting my husband and I have been blessed to enjoy together on Christmas Eve over the past nearly 35 years (once the children were nestled and snug in their beds).
My hope and prayer is for you to experience similar core-deep breaths of peace in the midst of an often-hectic Christmas season.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from the Rare and Early Newspapers Family.
‘Twas the Week Before Christmas – Rare Newspapers Edition…
December 16, 2022 by Laura Heilenman · Leave a Comment
Ok, so it’s a bit corny, but decorated with my brand of holiday cheer!
We at Rare & Early Newspapers thought you might like a glimpse of Christmas week through the years, so we implored our resident videographer (Lyndsay) to put together the following work of art for your merriment:
A joyous Christmas to all,
The Rare & Early Newspapers Family
They Never Saw it Coming… The Sinking of the Titanic.
December 9, 2022 by Laura Heilenman · Leave a Comment
We may at times wonder what happens to a person as they experience a traumatic event. What drives them to react as they do? My brother-in-law, who served as a Marine, once told me that people rarely rise to a higher level of nobility when faced with crisis. They are either overcome by terror, or they default to their training.
As I read through an article covering testimonies of Titanic survivors printed in the Evening Tribune (San Diego) from April 23, 1912 (shown below), while I have no life experience to know firsthand, I had to admit he may be right. After considering the quotes of a lifeboat captain who was being questioned by Congress, it was clear he was surrounded by two types of individuals: your average everyday citizen and ship hands who had been trained to follow orders. Pondering this type situation, I would like to think I would respond differently, but perhaps I should put a bit of preparation alongside of my hope. Of course, how does one prepare for such a calamity?
“It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year”…
December 5, 2022 by Laura Heilenman · Leave a Comment
I saved this post for today because I realize the “official start” to the Christmas Season can, on occasion, cause a degree of family angst. However, once Thanksgiving is in the rear-view mirror and December has arrived, few can argue against fully embracing all things Christmas. So, here we go…
Top on my list this year is a hope I’ll have a series of lightbulb moments which reveal the perfect gift to get for each of my loved ones. Inevitably, each year there are always a few whose selections cause me distress since I don’t want to merely check the box next to their name on my gift list; rather, I want the unboxing to cause them to smile from ear to ear. I’m sure it is no surprise that I find gift-buying for older relatives the most difficult. After all, what can you get for the person who has had a lifetime to collect all the things they want? Thankfully, last week I found my answer in a Motion Picture Daily from December 10, 1954. These quaint issues are full of movie news of the day and are often chocked full of high gloss vintage movie ads. Take a look for yourself at those we’ve already listed on our website… and, our archives hold many more.
Merry Christmas to all with a wish for successful gifting.
Our obsession with “firsts”… History gives us plenty – including John Rock…
November 28, 2022 by Laura Heilenman · Leave a Comment
We are a people enamored with firsts: our 1st kiss … finishing in 1st place… 1st to fly… 1st to discover “The New World” (still up for debate)… When I study Scripture, I love using something called “the law of first mention” which says, we best understand a particular word or doctrine by finding and then learning all about the first place in Scripture the word or doctrine was revealed. We also love the 1st man on the moon, the 1st rock opera – and the list goes on and on. Speaking of 1sts…
On February 2, 1865, THE NEW YORK TIMES gave us another first to appreciate, and then later, on February 25, 1865, HARPER’S WEEKLY put a face on this first: that is, John Rock becoming the first African American attorney admitted to the bar of the U.S. Supreme Court. The New York Times stated in part: “J. S. Rock, of the Supreme Court of Massachusetts, was to-day, on motion of Senator Sumner, admitted an Attorney and Counsellor in the Supreme Court of the United States.” Quite historic!
Whether we are reading or collecting “early” newspapers, history provides us with a fascinating list of 1sts which can be celebrated and studied… 1st shut out in baseball… 1st Hispanic Supreme Court Justice… shall I go on?
Time-Lapse… Frederick Douglass (1834) to Henry Garnett (1865)…
November 24, 2022 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
As I continue to slowly devour every word of the autobiography, “The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass”, I was recently moved to as close to tears as I come as I pondered his retelling of the crushing hopelessness he felt after having been beaten to a whisper of death:
“I have often, in the deep stillness of a summer’s Sabbath, stood all alone upon the banks of that noble [Chesapeake] bay, and traced, with saddened heart and tearful eye, the countless number of sails moving off to the mighty ocean. The sight of these always affected me powerfully. My thoughts would compel utterance; and there, with no audience but the Almighty, I would pour out my soul’s complaint in my rude way with an apostrophe to the moving multitude of ships.”
‘You are loosed from your moorings, and free. I am fast in my chains, and am a slave! You move merrily before the gentle gale, and I sadly before the bloody whip. You are freedom’s swift-winged angels, that fly around the world; I am confined in bonds of iron. O, that I were free! O, that I were on one of your gallant decks, and under your protecting wing! Alas! betwixt me and you the turbid waters roll. Go on, go on; O, that I could also go! Could I but swim! If I could fly! O, why was I born a man, of whom to make a brute! The glad ship is gone: she hides in the dim distance. I am left in the hell of unending slavery. O, God, save me! God, deliver me! Let me be free!–Is there any God? Why am I a slave? I will run away. I will not stand it. Get caught or get clear, I’ll try it. I had as well die with ague as with fever. I have only one life to lose. I had as well be killed running as die standing. Only think of it: one hundred miles north, and I am free! Try it? Yes! God helping me, I will. It cannot be that I shall live and die a slave. I will take to the water. This very bay shall yet bear me into freedom. The steamboats steer in a northeast course from North Point; I will do the same; and when I get to the head of the bay, I will turn my canoe adrift, and walk straight through Delaware into Pennsylvania. When I get there, I shall not be required to have a pass: I will travel there without being disturbed. Let but the first opportunity offer, and come what will, I am off. Meanwhile I will try to bear the yoke. I am not the only slave in the world. Why should I fret? I can bear as much as any of them. Besides I am but a boy yet, and all boys are bound out to someone. It may be that my misery in slavery will only increase my happiness when I get free. There is a better day coming.’
I shall never be able to narrate half the mental experience through which it was my lot to pass, during my stay at Covey’s. I was completely wrecked, changed, and bewildered; goaded almost to madness at one time, and at another reconciling myself to my wretched condition.”
All bound by the common thread of having been given the breath of life by the same Creator, how could one “brother” treat a fellow sojourner with such abject cruelty? This goes beyond black and white as the relationship between slave an owner has played out similarly since the dawn of time, however, will it never end? Would ”The Almighty” hear his cry?
Fastforward approximately 30 years. Frederick Douglass is now free, residing in the North, and is living a life of gratitude expressed by his exhaustive efforts for the cause of abolition. Slaves are on the cusp of being emancipated, and for the first time in the history of the United States, a former slave of African descent, Rev. Henry Garnett, was permitted to preach (a common occurrence for whites) at The Capital. The article below regarding this event was printed in the New York Tribune, dated February 13, 1865. There would still be many obstacles to overcome before former slaves (or their descendants) would be viewed as “equal under the law”, and some might (rightfully) argue additional progress still needs to be made, but in this moment in time, with the Frederick Douglass quote fixed firmly in my mind and weighing heavy on my heart, I am grateful for the hope provided by the gains which have been made through time.
