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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.
Reflecting back on December, 1773… The Boston Tea Party…
December 19, 2022 by Laura Heilenman · Leave a Comment
As we come to the end of 2022 and consider both the good and the bad… the peaceful and the tumultuous… the triumphant and the tragic, we may be harboring some of the same thoughts and sentiments as many of our fellow “Americans” from 1773.
As they gathered around their fireplaces at the close of the year, and read an article in the CONNECTICUT JOURNAL & NEW HAVEN POST-BOY for the day datelined December 23rd, there is no doubt their reflections took them back to the dark and cold night of December 16, 1773, while snow lay round about, of the match which ignited a powder keg lighting up the entire world – what we now refer to as the Boston Tea Party. Tumultuous may be an understatement for their year-end ponderings.
Perhaps not the same thoughts, but “felt” oppression from those in position of power are rarely long endured.
‘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
Printed History: Collecting 3.5M rare newspapers in Central Pa.
December 12, 2022 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Approximately 2 months ago The Williamsport Sun-Gazette (PA) wrote an article about a presentation Tim Hughes gave a local historical society. As a follow-up, Joseph W. Smith III, a writer, speaker and teacher in Central PA, wrote an article about Tim’s trek through the hobby. If you ever wondered about “the story” behind “Rare & Early Newspapers“, or were considering jumping in yourself, this could be a great place to begin your adventure. The article may be viewed at:
Printed History: Collecting 3.5M rare newspapers in Central Pa
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.
Announcing: Catalog #325 for December, 2022 – Rare & Early Newspapers for collectors…
December 2, 2022 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.]