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Larger Than Life… The Death of Jessie James
April 22, 2024 by Laura Heilenman · Leave a Comment
Without a doubt, certain terms elicit particular moods. A word or phrase can take us back to a bygone era or spring us into a futuristic vision. “Groovy” often equals kicking back & chilling in the summer sun… “Desolate” brings to mind a barren dystopian plain (perhaps with Mel Gibson racing across it). In the same way, the caption below a full-page image of Jessie James in the FRANK LESLIE’S ILLUSTRATED NEWSPAPER from April 22, 1882,” Notorious Desperado, Killed at St. Joseph, April 3d.”, can only throw us back to the Wild-West and the many men and woman who have inspired some of the greatest movies of all times. If you like to put a face to a name, take a look at this wonderful illustrated issue on our website.
You’ve Come A Long Way Baby. . . from the Pony Express to the internet…
April 12, 2024 by Laura Heilenman · Leave a Comment
Every one of our collectors is unique, a fact never more apparent than when a new catalog is released. Some place an order within moments of the release of the online version, while others wait till the hard copy hits their mailbox to quickly scour the pages – calling us with whatever instantly piqued their interest. Another group takes a laid-back approach and may not get to perusing until a week or more later, sometimes calling to order from a previous catalog. Whatever their style, all collectors enjoy receiving the catalog at regular intervals. Why am I bringing up catalog releases in a blog post? Today, as I was paging through a NEW YORK DAILY TRIBUNE dated April 2, 1860, I noticed an article on the pricing for the brand new Pony Express. I chuckled to myself as I contemplated a time when our catalogs would have been delivered on horseback. Imagine the feelings of distress for the people who lived in California compared to those who lived right down our street. No matter how you like to approach your catalog browsing, it has to be better than waiting for the Pony Express… unless you call and your item has already sold; then all bets are off!
Great Story Telling is Essential to Life… Hans Christian Anderson’s Mastery of Creating the Fairytale…
April 8, 2024 by Laura Heilenman · Leave a Comment
Some experiences transcend generations and ages, capturing the imaginations and hearts of both mother and daughter, grandfather and grandson. Often these moments come via a well-written narrative. The idea of being enraptured by a story to the point where reality fades away can be experienced by reading the tales “Scheherazade” spun or the fairy tales created by The Grimm Brothers. Such stories could have begun as follows: “On a cool spring evening, in a tiny hamlet, deep in countryside of Denmark, a small lad was born who would grow to bring magic and delight to people of all ages.” In fact, on April 2, 1805, this fictional beginning became a reality with the birth of Hans Christian Anderson. Undeniably one of the great storytellers of all time, his works would be told, retold and reimagined for every generation since they were penned – capturing the curiosity of children and adults alike.
Here, in the 21st Century, I often hear complaints concerning the lack of (quality) storytelling which mesmerizes the viewer or reader and allows the darker, heavier parts of life to fall away – enrapturing and encouraging the reader/listener by what is good and beautiful and true… traits which spur us on to be our better selves. These are the stories we need today, and if truth be told, everyday. Let us all hope & pray that exceptional storytelling is not a dead art. Thankfully, till it resurfaces in abundance, we can always enjoy the gems of the past.
Announcing: Catalog #341 for April, 2024 – Rare & Early Newspapers…
March 29, 2024 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
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The April catalog (#341) is now available. Shown below are links to various segments of the catalog, our currently discounted
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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.]
“Collecting Newspapers – The Basics” (Part IV) – Setting Values…
March 25, 2024 by TimHughes · 532 Comments
We are often asked “What’s my newspaper worth?” in phone calls and email messages. As one might suspect, there are many factors which determine value and much like a jeweler cannot give a value of a diamond by an email or telephone inquiry, our ethics do not permit us to place values on newspapers without seeing the issues in hand.
Many factors determine value. The more important include condition, desirability among collectors, extent of coverage, completeness of the issue, proximity of the city of publication to where the event happened, time lag between the event date and the reporting date, dramatic appeal (more so with 20th century issues), and location of the report within the issue (front page? page 3?). Other factors come into play with more significant events but those noted are the prime determinants of value.
From a personal perspective setting values has been an interesting process, as no guide book of values existed 30+ years ago when I started the business. I priced an item in my catalog for $10 and if I had twenty orders for it I knew the price was too low. If no one ordered it the price was too high. Through the years, and by data basing sold prices (on index cards prior to the computer!), I’ve honed my own “price guide” based on actual sales, and it is this now-sophisticated database which we use to set values for new inventory as it arrives.
Do values continue to rise? In general, yes, but we are careful to never recommend the purchase of early newspapers for investment purposes. As is true of most collectibles, rarity and desirability determine where prices will be for the future.
But providing an historical perspective from our own files, back in October of 1981 we sold in our catalog #26 the NEW YORK HERALD of March 5, 1865 reporting the inauguration of Abraham Lincoln, very nice condition, for $70. In 2018 we sold another issue of the NEW YORK HERALD of March 5, 1865, also in very nice condition, for $745. If we had a similar issue today, it would likely go for around $1,000 – and even more if offered through a prominent auction house.
So, what do you do if you have a newspaper and would like to know its approximate value? One resource is this Blog – not for posting questions, but for exploring. We have many posts which provide specific examples of issues and their prices. Perhaps a better resource is the Rare & Early Newspapers website which provides 10,000+ examples (best to search by date and look for a comparable – see image below). Once you’ve explored these avenues, you are always welcome to contact us directly by email (guy@rarenewspapers.com). We would need the exact title and exact date of each issue to get started. Sending only photos does not work for us.
What two resources are not helpful?
1) Ebay. Why? Just because someone is asking for an amazing price doesn’t mean they’ll ever sell it at that price. “Previous Sales” are what matters.
2) Posting a question on this Blog. Why? We rarely monitor it.
Feel free to send any additional questions concerning the valuation of newspaper to us at the same email shown above. We’ll do our best to answer any that come our way… and who knows, perhaps they show up in a future post. 🙂
Who’s Who in Newspapers? Pamela Sparhawk edition…
March 22, 2024 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
The 7th installment of Who’s Who in Newspapers:
Thanks to Swann Auction Galleries, we discovered another fascinating but unheralded name which appeared in three 1817 issues of the Columbian Centinel (see a photo of the notice below). Swann staff provided the following background:
Pamela Sparhawk was born circa 1761 in Africa, was captured as a young girl and brought to Boston in slavery and was granted her freedom during the American Revolution. She had been separated from her brother by her original owner, but miraculously reconnected with him in Boston, where he owned property and was living under the name Samuel Bean. When Samuel died in 1816, Pamela petitioned the court to be recognized as his heir. Her petition ran three times in the Columbian Centinel newspaper, telling the story of her life: “Pamela Sparhawk of Boston . . . is a native of Africa, and was brought from thence to the West-Indies by a slave trader . . . and was a slave in the family of Rev. Mr. Merriam, of Newton, until the American Revolution. . . Samuel Bean acknowledged her to be his sister and was satisfied of the fact, but it would be difficult if not impossible for her in a court of law to establish her claim . . . in consequence of the unhappy circumstance, which will be easily perceived.” The notices were signed in type with her mark, a sideways capital “X.” The statement was witnessed by Congressman Timothy Fuller (father of the important feminist author Margaret Fuller), but it apparently went unheeded by the General Court.
Pamela Sparhawk’s life has recently been reconstructed and celebrated by the Historic Newton organization in an online exhibition, “Finding Pamela: Writing a New History,” and was described in the Boston Globe on 30 June 2021.
The link to the auction (which at the time of this post was still in the future) is:
SWANN Auction #2663 – The petition of formerly enslaved woman Pamela Sparhawk
Thankfully we had an issue with this coverage as well, but the greatest gain was the research which Swann’s offering inspired. In less than 15 minutes we were able to locate *background information on Pamela which we found qui te interesting.
If you’re curiosity has been piqued to the point where you decide to discover more about her through the following link, please note the additional related information shown below the heading: “Who was Pamela Sparhawk?” Enjoy.
FINDING PAMELA
This Month in History – March…
March 8, 2024 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
When considering the month of March what historical events come to mind? I’m sure if we each came up with a list of ten, while there may be some overlap, our lists would be quite diverse. A quick internet search turned up an exhaustive list which included the following:
- the “Articles of Confederation” was ratified
- the Lindberg baby was kidnapped
- FDR gave his “Fear Itself” speech
- the famous Woman’s Suffrage March took place in Washington, D.C.
the Philippines gained independence- the Peace Corps was established
- Ulysses S. Grant became the commander of the Union armies
- Albert Einstein , David Livingston, and Wyatt Earp (among a long list of others) were born
- the Boston Massacre occurred
- the Equal Rights Amendment was passed by the Senate
- the Spanish Flu struck America
- Patrick Henry declared: “…give me liberty, or give me death!”
- the War in Iraq began
- the “Camp David Accord” was signed by Menachem Begin & Anwar Sadat
- the death of Isaac Newton
- Churchill gave his “Iron Curtain” speech
- the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was founded
- the Soviet Republic of Georgia declared their independence
Collectors of rare and early newspapers know that coverage of such events can nearly always be found in old newspapers; however, one of the added pleasures is discovering reports of previously unknown or long-forgotten events which inspire a deeper look – aiding the lifelong learning process which helps to keep us mentally engaged as we progress through life.
The link below will take you to a reverse-chronological list (1600’s-20th century) of our currently available newspapers from the month of March. There’s no need to buy anything. Simply enjoy your march backwards through time.
RareNewspapers.com has over 18,000 collectible newspapers available for under $50…
March 4, 2024 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
When it comes to authentic, collectibles from the past, it is hard to imagine that items 100-300 years old can be had for under $50, but it’s true. RareNewspapers.com has greater than 18,000 original newspapers priced under $50, of which well over 10,000 are 100-300+ years old. A chronological list can be found here:
Authentic/Collectible Newspapers Priced Under $50
The images below show a few snippets of what you may find.
The New York Draft riots from during the Civil War (1863)…
A newspaper from 1682 by a woman publisher…
Peace between Israel and Palestine?
Beloved actor Henry Fonda’s death report in a regional Hollywood srea newspaper (Los Angeles Times)…
Announcing: Catalog #340 for March, 2024 – Rare & Early Newspapers…
March 1, 2024 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
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The March catalog (#340) is now available. Shown below are links to various segments of the catalog, our currently discounted
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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.]
The reason I collected it: The State, 1892…
February 23, 2024 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
The odd, dramatic, and unusual have always been a draw for me, and when I encountered The State (dated Nov. 9, 1892) from Richmond, Virginia, I knew it had to be part of the private collection.
The entire front page is a celebration of the election of Grover Cleveland as President in 1892. It is done in a very dramatic fashion, featuring a huge engraving of a rooster (once the symbol of the Democratic party) that stretches from just below the dateline to the bottom of the front page. There are also insets of both Cleveland and Adlai Stevenson. Of curious interest is the lack of a headline or any text.
The condition is worn as was typical with newsprint of the era, and with various archival repairs, but wow, what a wonderful issue for display!