Search
History of Newspapers Video (see more)
Email Subscription
Sign up to receive our latest blog updates!Buy Historic Newspapers
-
Recent Posts
- “Collecting Newspapers – The Basics” (Part IV) – Setting Values…
- Who’s Who in Newspapers? Pamela Sparhawk edition…
- Archetype Publisher . . . Benjamin Harris
- March, 2024 Newsletter from Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers…
- Dramatic Headlines Speak for Themselves… Martin Luther King Jr Assassinated!
Most Viewed Post
- Do Old and Antique Newspapers Have Any Collectible Value?
- "Collecting Newspapers - The Basics" (Part IV) - Setting Values...
- Genuine or reprint?
- Framing and Storing Newspapers… the ongoing story…
- Nobody like me, everybody hates me... 1863...
- More on printing newspapers in the 1700's...
- More on printing newspapers in the 1700's...
- The reprint issues of the “Honolulu Star-Bulletin” Pearl Harbor issue…
- Why Hawaii Became the 50th State...
- The Traveler... Ismay on "speed"... war of the roses...
Recent Comments
Rare Newspapers Recent Items
Categories
Tags
18th Century 19th century 20th century 1700's 1800's 1865 1966 Abraham Lincoln baseball black americana catalog Catalog announcements civil war collecting newspapers Confederate Food for Thought George Washington Great Headlines harper's weekly historic newspapers holidays humor humorous illustrated newspapers Inventions Jewish journalism Judaica just for fun literature London newsletter newspapers old newspapers old west politics President Lincoln Presidents rare newspapers religion Revolutionary War slavery sports war of 1812 www.rarenewspapers.comArchives
Blogroll
The work of a headsman…
October 2, 2008 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
Almost daily we find non-historical, but fascinating reporting in the issues we peruse. It is one of the hidden pleasures of the collectible. See the image to the right for one recently discovered intriguing little nugget published in the ILLUSTRATED LONDON NEWS issue of March 9, 1861. John Lund held the job of beheading state criminals in the Tower of London, but never mind that the last time such “services” were required was in 1746. Apparently his only responsibility was to show up twice a year to collect his pay check, which he did “…with a large bright hatchet on his shoulder”. They believe the position may be abolished(!)
By the way, a “sinecure” is “an office or position requiring little or no work”.
Have you found any such nuggets in your newspapers?
Filed under: Illustrated Newspapers, The Hobby, Unusual, Fun & Bizarre
Tagged: fascinating job, old newspaper, Tower of London, unusual news reports