Newspaper Curiosities in 1867 from the Harper’s New Monthly Magazine…

February 28, 2022 by · Leave a Comment 

In a strange twist within this unique collecting niche, I came across a nine-page essay within the Harper’s Monthly of September 1867.  Imagine my interest in uncovering the following opening:

The history of newspapers has been frequently, but perhaps never yet fully, written.  However, that may be, the history of the press of this country is very far from being complete.  Many important facts are wrapped in obscurity, requiring incredible industry to bring them to light; and he would be a benefactor to literature who should reveal them in naked simplicity.

The author (whose name I cannot discern recorded within the volume) begins with the first press, “established in Cambridge, Massachusetts, eighteen years after the landing of the Pilgrims, where it was operated for forty years without a rival in America.”  He goes on to say that 1644 marked the appointment of “censors of the press”, and that Boston saw its first press thirty years later, and that the Boston News-Letter reported the news from Europe — thirteen months after the fact.  There are many interesting details quoted concerning the earliest days of colonization, followed by the appearance of the New England Courant, the American Weekly Mercury, the Pennsylvania Gazette, the Boston Evening Post and the Pennsylvania Journal and Weekly Advertiser, all of which preceded the dailies begun with the Pennsylvania Packet in 1794.

One appealing aspect of this article, beyond the timeline which includes excerpts from most of the earliest papers, is the outside perspective.  The writer acknowledges that all we can know is limited to the information reported, subject to a selection process influenced by the motivation/perspective/experience of the editor.  Thus it has always been, and likely will always be.

Announcing: Catalog #316 (for March, 2022) – Rare & Early Newspapers (for purchase)

February 25, 2022 by · Leave a Comment 

http://images.rarenewspapers.com.s3.amazonaws.com/ebayimgs/Webs/Catalog-Rare-Newspapers.jpgMarch’s catalog (#316) is now available. Also shown below are links to a video featuring highlights from the catalog, our currently discounted newspapers, and recent posts to the History’s Newsstand Blog. Please enjoy.

CATALOG #316 – This latest offering of authentic newspapers is comprised of more than 300 new items, a selection which includes the following noteworthy issues: Madison’s proposed Amendments to the Constitution, the famous “Join or Die” engraving in the masthead (1774), the “Gunpowder Incident” in a 1775 Williamsburg newspaper, The Gettysburg Address in the famous New York Tribune, Washington is elected President, a great issue on the sinking of the Lusitania, and more.

 

Helpful Links to the Catalog:
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Video – Highlights of Catalog #316 (3 options – same video):
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DISCOUNTED ISSUES – What remains of last month’s discounted issues may be viewed at: Discount (select items at 50% off)
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HISTORY’S NEWSSTAND – Recent Posts on the History’s Newsstand Blog may be accessed at: History’s Newsstand

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Thanks for collecting with us.

Sincerely,

Guy Heilenman & The Rare & Early Newspapers Team

570-326-1045

The links above will redirect to the latest catalog in approx. 30 days,

upon which time it will update to the most recent catalog.

Old Newspapers – Music to My Ears…

February 21, 2022 by · Leave a Comment 

From my earliest memories I can picture an original (“improved”) Edison Phonograph gracing my family home.  My parents loved antiques, and at some point, along their collecting journey, they had stumbled upon this gem. Recently, while downsizing, this vintage treasure was sold to a collector in Australia who was beyond excited.  As you can imagine, my parents’ “investment in history” did quite well.  While I am sorry to see it go, I’m glad it found a home with someone who will delight in its presence as much as I did.

This walk down childhood lane was triggered while I was viewing one of our old listings of a SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN for Feb. 27, 1909. It sure made me smile as it warmed my heart. These old newspapers are wonderful storytellers and memory joggers, never ceasing to delight.

The more things change… Vaccinations and the immoral influences on children…

February 15, 2022 by · Leave a Comment 

Currently, the whole world over is speaking of virus and antibodies, of carriers and immunization. Outbreaks are mapped in news blurbs, along with identified hot spots and constant status reports on flattening the curve.  Comparisons are made to the “Spanish Flu”, but an article in a September, 1808 issue of The Gentleman’s Magazine led me to comparisons with smallpox instead.  More specifically, they led me to the smallpox outbreak that eventually brought Edward Jenner into focus — he of the cowpox vaccination fame (or, infamy, as critics would have it).

The mannerly Gentleman’s employs an ambitious article heading as it delves into the fray: “Practice of Vaccination Dispassionately Discussed.”  As the Reverend Cotton Mather discovered in 1721, there is much passion involved in the subject.  He, who pleaded for the adoption of the African method of inoculation to save the afflicted residents of Boston, was the object of threats and the target of a bombing.  The periodical contributor, pen named “Cosmopolitan,” attempts a scholarly address of the merits just twelve years after Edward Jenner formalized the medical application of a controlled injection of the cowpox virus in order to immunize a human body against smallpox, which was disfiguring and killing people by the thousands.

After Mr. Cosmopolitan completes his summary of the beneficial relationship between the vaccine and the decreased virus contraction rate, he promises the editor, Mr. Urban, that as the science may not be completely convincing to all, he is prepared to offer testimonials in the next issue.

I was able to locate the fulfillment of that pledge in the October issue.

The facts which were there mentioned, must of themselves be nearly sufficient to convince an unprejudiced observer of the efficacy of the Vaccine preservative.  It now remains to take an impartial review of the remaining part of the evidence on this interesting topick, which may be gathered from the experience of eminent individuals and from the avowed opinion of public bodies.

These are the same methods employed today about the still-controversial procedure of immunization — presentation of scientific data, followed by explanation of that data from medical professionals, and the promotion or recommendation of the practice by public officials.  For the Coronavirus of today, the vaccine has not even been developed, and the debate is already heated.

PS This issue also has an article regarding juveniles obtaining access to “age-inappropriate literature” through libraries. Two current topics which reach back to the early 1800’s: “The more things change…”.

Scientific American & the Harlem River… 1890…

February 11, 2022 by · Leave a Comment 

Growing up less than 50 miles from NYC, it was a regular occurrence for “us kids” to reach as far forward in the car as we could to be the first of the family to pass the paint mark on the Lincoln Tunnel walls delineating the New York/New Jersey boundary.  Along with the iconic skyline and the Statue of Liberty, tunnels and bridges defined the vista of any excursion to Manhattan.

Today’s jaunt into the Scientific American reminded me of those childhood outings and had me scouring old maps to discern the changes wrought in the waterway systems for the development of metropolitan New York.  This publication, filled with inventions and botanical discoveries, also chronicles the many arenas of civil engineering foresight and ingenuity.  Those examples of “aging infrastructure” so hotly debated in the political arena of today, were the marvels of yesterday.  Without computer models, before construction vehicles, absent the communication methods of today, great changes were made to the natural landscape in order to accommodate the iconic center of commerce.

An article in the March 22, 1890, Supplement to Scientific American describes “The Harlem River Improvement and Ship Canal” — a project that lasted thirteen years and cost over $200,000.  Many political, geological, and legal difficulties are described, along with evaluation of decisions made, as well as alternate proposed solutions.  The detail is fascinating, even to someone who has no understanding of the impact rivers and railroads have on commerce and industry.  In fact, it never occurred to me that rivers are moved, straightened or even deepened in order to make them more useful.  And I wonder what today’s civil engineers think of the building strictures from over one hundred years ago.

The laws of May 20, 1879, provides that all bridges hereafter to be constructed over this channel shall be at right angles to its courses, and that the bridges at the draws shall not be less than 24 feet above high water of spring tide, and that no tunnel shall be constructed under it which will not permit the excavation of a 20-foot channel.

 

Sometimes We Miss It – Isidor Louis… 1870’s San Diego…

February 7, 2022 by · Leave a Comment 

After 47 years as both a collector and reseller of “Rare & Early” newspapers, you can imagine we have unearthed a ton of historical content. However, Every now and then we are reminded that, “Sometimes we miss it”. Today a customer called after purchasing an issue of The San Diego Union to let us know he found a fascinating ad on the front page of his issue. For those who love 19th century California history, there was an early citizen of Jewish descent who had an enormous entrepreneur’s spirit. Isidor Louis had many irons in the fire and was advertising one of his first ventures on the frontpage of the newspaper. Interestingly, his son later became the city editor for the San Diego Sun. Have we piqued your interest? Do a little investigating of Isidor for yourself. Are you wondering how we had an image of the ad after we had already sold the paper? Perhaps we have uncovered others. As a lesson learned, it always pays to read the fine print … in case we missed it.

Snapshot 1927 – An unexpected, dystopian gem…

February 3, 2022 by · Leave a Comment 

What are the top ten most influential movies of all time? Depending upon the criteria used to define “most influential”, the lists could look quite different, but my guess is 1927’s Metropolis would fly under the radar of most people’s thinking. Yet, Wikipedia has the following to say about this (hidden?) gem: “Metropolis is now widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential films ever made, ranking 35th in Sight & Sound’s 2012 critics’ poll. In 2001, the film was inscribed on UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register, the first film thus distinguished.” Not bad.

We recently discovered an advertisement and review of this masterpiece in a New York Times dated March 6, 1927. At the time of this post it was listed on eBay, however, if it is no longer available for viewing through its eBay listing, you can read more about it on Wikipedia or our website.