Snapshot 1903 – “Jack the Ripper” in America?
April 15, 2024 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
In the midst of what appears to be the steady decline of American culture, and the resulting tendency to develop a “woe is us” mindset which begins to long for the past, every now and then I come across a newspaper which serves as a reality check. Such was the case as I perused a Memphis Morning News dated December 21, 1903. The front-page alone had the following headlines: “No Safety for Americans” in Columbia, “Thieves Rob Jail”, “Killed All His Family”, “Russell Is Hurt” (student hits teacher in the head with a rock), “Mountain Bandit Escapes From Jail”, “Charles Nellens Arrested – Charged With Murder of Millionaire Wentz…”, “Saved Two Women From Fire”, “Preferred To Die – Charged With Postal Robberies, He Suicides”, and my favorite, “Jack The Ripper… Ghastly Find In A Hotel”. AND, I’ve yet to move past the front page. YIKES!
Truth be told, Western Culture (in general) and American Culture (specifically) are declining, but the call should be to right the ship for present and future generations, not to bury our heads in the sands of the past. Thanks to the slap in the face provided by this newspaper from 1903, I’ll get back to being thankful for all that is good in the present, while pushing for an even better tomorrow. Go back to life in 1903? No thank you – and WWI, the Spanish Flu, and the devastating Qing Famine are still far beyond the horizon. Note: The latter may not have been a “Western Culture” event, but when 20-30 million people die of starvation, it deserves a mention.
PS Spoiler alert. The Jack the Ripper headline is an early 1900’s version of what today would be labelled “click bait”.
Announcing: Catalog #341 for April, 2024 – Rare & Early Newspapers…
March 29, 2024 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
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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.]
Announcing: Catalog #340 for March, 2024 – Rare & Early Newspapers…
March 1, 2024 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
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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.]
This Day in “News” History… January 26th…
January 26, 2024 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Another day of news as reported in original newspapers… January 26th…
There are many internet sources available to explore what happened on a particular day in history. However, as collectors and resellers of “Rare & Early Newspapers”, our curiosity lies in what people were reading in their morning newspaper on specific days in history. In nearly every instance they were discovering what happened the day prior – and if one reaches back into the 1600s, 1700’s, and early 1800s, when news travelled a bit more slowly, they very well could have been (finally) reading about “rumored” and/or anticipated events from days, weeks, or even months prior.
Today’s adventure?
What about January 26th? The following link will take you to all of our available newspapers dated January 26th:
NEWS REPORTED in NEWSPAPERS on January 26th (through time)
Enjoy the trek. Oh, and if you want to try other dates, go here and plug in any month/day of interest.
Happy Thanksgiving, 2023…
November 17, 2023 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Each year as Thanksgiving approaches my thoughts (rightfully) bend a knee in the direction of gratitude which I try to express, for better or worse, in a simple post. In so-doing, while the feedback has been generally positive, on occasion I have been accused of being rather verbose, loquacious, over-talkative, etc., when what I tried to communicate could have been delivered with a higher degree of eloquence with considerably less long-windedness (i.e., I can be a bit wordy). In an effort to reign in this default behavior, in expressing this year’s thoughts I’ve elected to let a series of photos taken from a single issue of Harper’s Weekly from 1900 do the talking. I hope you find them thought-provoking.
Happy Thanksgiving!
By the way, if pictures really do say a thousand words, success! My verbose, loquacious, over-talkative streak lives on!!!
Announcing: Catalog #336 for November, 2023 – Rare & Early Newspapers…
November 3, 2023 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
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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.]
If they would only have built it sooner… (Shoeless) Joe Jackson…
October 27, 2023 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Even if you are not a fan of baseball, in case you haven’t done so already, the movie “Field of Dreams” is winner. The themes of perseverance, worthwhile priorities, and personal sacrifice are masterfully woven together to create one of the more inspiring movies of the 1980-1990’s. Steering clear of spoilers for those who have yet to see it, I’ll just restate that which is already included in the movie’s trailer: “If you build it, they will come!” Without being overly sappy… honestly, you really need to see it.
So, how does this relate to Rare & Early Newspapers? A few days ago one of our staff found an article from 1913 featuring one of the three main characters – “Shoeless” Joe Jackson (of Black Sox scandal fame), who was given a “2nd chance” at playing baseball – the assumption being he would have jumped at the chance to reengage at the professional level had he been given the opportunity to do so. Without saying more, I’ll let the heading and the 1st few paragraphs of the article do the talking (see below). Oh, and for the record, post-baseball, Joe and his wife (who were a team of their own until his death) eventually moved on from baseball, opened a BBQ restaurant, then “Joe Jackson’s Liquor Store”, and along the way co-raised two of his nephews. For better or worse, even if someone would have built it, I’m not sure he really would have come.
I hope you enjoy a portion of the article:
October Newsletter from Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers…
October 16, 2023 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
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Who will be the Superpowers of the 22nd century?
October 9, 2023 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
While Great Kingdoms come and Great Kingdoms go, no one can argue that The British Empire owned the title of Superpower for much of the 1600’s through 1800’s. This is not to disparage Spain, Prussia, France, Russia, Portugal and the entire Asian and African regions, but during this stretch of time, England/Britain had staying power to go with their strength. However, as the writing on the wall began to identify potential challengers to their title, it is interesting to hear who Lord Stanley, the notable British Prime Minister in 1858, had to say would be the major powers of the 20th century. An article with his thoughts which would prove to be prophetic in less than 100 years appeared in the March 22, 1858 issue of The New York Times. I wonder who will be the global force(s) 100 years from today? Bonus question: Will their dominance reach into the heavens… or to the depths of the sea?
Goodbye Lyndsay… Hello Breck…
October 2, 2023 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
It is with both joy and sadness we (the staff at RareNewspapers.com) say goodbye to Lyndsay Miller who served as our office assistant and primary “order fulfillment guru” over the past few years. We are sad to see her go as she was an outstanding member of our staff, and many of those who collect with us were very fond of her pleasant and helpful spirit. However, we are also excited on her behalf as she embarks on her next adventure: a brick-and-mortar store in downtown Williamsport, PA (as a companion venue to her on-line presence) where she has the opportunity to engage in her love for vintage clothing. We wish her the best and are thankful we had her with us for longer than expected.
In typical Lyndsay fashion, she helped us find her replacement, Breck Miller – a young man from Jersey Shore, PA who has a strong work-ethic, solid values, a love for history… oh, and in case you haven’t already guessed, he just happens to be Lyndsay’s brother-in-law. Welcome Breck! The fun has just begun!!!