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The meanderings of those who collect Rare & Early Newspapers…
August 11, 2023 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
One of the more difficult challenges the staff at Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers face on a near-daily basis is to not be (too often) distracted by that which makes the hobby itself so interesting: that is, that one never knows what one may find while perusing an old newspaper… nor where it may lead. In other words, to not become endlessly distracted. It really is the “back in the good old days” version of surfing the web. This isn’t to say the meanderings are bad per se, for if we permit ourselves to be carried away for a period of time there is much to learn; however, if permitted to get out of hand the phone would be ringing off the hook from collectors wondering why their purchases, which will likely lead to their own meanderings, have yet to ship. Combining the old (rare newspapers) with the new (the internet) has only exacerbated the temptation.
One minor instance occurred just a few weeks ago which, if you have a few minutes to spare, I’d like to share with you.
We recently purchased a set of The National Era which included many of the original installments of the serialized printing of Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe. While tagging the issues which contained segments of her profoundly culture-altering novel, we noticed several issues which did not have portions still contained related articles. This led us to do an internet search for additional titles (newspaper publications) which had Uncle Tom’s Cabin themed coverage… and this is where the fun began.
I expected the big boys (The New York Times, Tribune, and Herald, along with other notable papers such as the Philadelphia Inquirer and The Liberator) to have mentions. However, I did not expect to see coverage of the book in The Saturday Evening Post – and as fate would have it, the issue referenced was one buried deep within our archives. Off I went to find the July 29, 1865 issue. Hoping for a glorious, detailed report, what I found instead was a poem with a mere mention. Still, although a bit disappointed, I was intrigued by the first line of the article: “There are fragments of songs that nobody sings”, by B. F. Taylor. After having my curiosity piqued by the line, and my sleeping heart stirred by the article itself, I headed back to the internet to find the text of the entire poem (which turned out to be significantly more challenging – dare I say time-consuming – than expected). Once found and read, the entirety of the trek to this point caused me to sense the tension between hope and sorrow… which led me to wonder how those who lived in the mid-1800’s morphed from anger (having read Uncle Tom’s Cabin), to hopelessness (seeing little-to-no change in the state of slavery since their “forefathers” had agreed it should be abolished, but did not do so for fear that the doing so would cause their quest to become a “united” group of states to fail), to hope in a trickle… and then a stream… and then a flood… and then a bloody tidal wave called the American Civil War… to deep sorrow (for the sins of the past and deadly consequences thereof), to restored hope and wonder (in what the future might hold).
Although at this point I could hear my daily tasks calling, this mental excursion was not to be stifled for it had caused me to recall a certain illustration from the cover of the Harper’s Weekly dated November 3, 1866) – a woodcut print of which I was familiar, yet one I had never taken the time to read the blurb describing it. Not wanting to let my travels come to an end with a whimper, I read the short description – And this led me to my final question and motivation for writing this verbose post: When/how did the moniker “Uncle Tom”, born from the text which had been instrumental in vanquishing slavery, morph from being a term of endearment to a gross insult? While the road I had taken did not lead me to new “finds” within our inventory, it did awaken my heart to the plight of slavery and my mind to the understanding of why a nickname which had once been bestowed on someone with kindness and admiration had transformed into one of the greatest cultural (and political) insults aimed at black Americans. The latter I learned by one more trip to the internet: When ‘Uncle Tom’ Became an Insult
The following photos provide a visual glimpse of my meanderings, with the poem by B. F. Taylor saved for last. If you made it this far, thanks for indulging me. Please know if you decide to start collecting rare and early newspapers, this condition is highly contagious. If you already are a collector, you already know.
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.
My collecting story… B. C. in Trion, Georgia..
October 5, 2020 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Below we continue our series in which we post the “stories” graciously submitted by our collecting friends during the pandemic of 2020.
I am the published author of over a dozen books of fiction and nonfiction. A few years ago, my publisher suggested that I write a book about Kathryn Kelly, the wife of “Machine Gun” Kelly and also the “brains” behind the crimes they committed over several years. What little I could find about K
athryn was interesting, but since no other books had ever been written about her, research was difficult. I turned to the FBI Vault of historical documents and personally interviewed people who lived during the Great Depression and the “Gangsta” Era. And then I came across “Timothy Hughes: Rare & Early Newspapers.” It was like finding a gold mine. I was able to access the newspapers from that time period that followed the crimes and eventual arrest of Kathryn Kelly and Machine Gun Kelly. With this information, along with the other research I had gathered, I wrote the book, Kathryn Kelly: The Moll behind Machine Gun Kelly. It was recently optioned for a major film. The newspaper I have saved for my collection is “The Bethlehem Globe-Times” – Tuesday, September 26, 1933. On the front page is the headline: “Machine Gun” George Kelly Is Captured. The sub-headline reads: Desperado Surrenders Without Resistance – Wife Is Also Taken Into Custody.
As additional “stories” are posted they will be available at: MY COLLECTING STORY. We did this many years ago as well – and their posts are also included.
The magic of old newspapers, in 1844…
May 24, 2018 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
An 1844 issue of the “Adams Sentinel” (Oct. 14th) from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, has an interesting front page item concerning the fascination of reading old newspapers, noting in part: “…few preserve them…brings up the very age, with all its bustle…marks its genius & its spirit more than the most labored description of the historical…” with more (see). An interesting perspective on the value of collecting old newspapers, written 174 years ago.
A tribute to Bob Moores…
April 24, 2017 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
We recently became aware of the passing of Bob Moores, former owner of Gateway Books and a dealer in historic newspapers. Past is Present, the American Antiquarian Society’s blog, has a wonderful related post worth reading:
Tribute to a Great Friend and Book Dealer
Gift of newspapers can spark a life-long hobby…
April 8, 2013 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
A recent piece on the web concerning the gift of a “stack of old newspapers” (see the hyperlink) to a grandson is a common story in our collecting world. A woman from Racine, Wisconsin, gave her grandson a box of historic newspapers, mostly World War II headline reports but including other events of the post-war era, collected by her husband. The photos show some nice banner headlines, several of the issues being the “Chicago Tribune” but including other titles from the Midwest.
Such finds, or gifts, are typically the catalyst for a new-found hobby. And newspapers from the last 60 or 70 years can be found for even the most modest of collecting budgets. Our website features major events of World War II, the Holocaust, the space race, baseball, Korean War, Vietnam War, Watergate–you name the event and it’s likely among the 2600+ issues from this era found on our website. Many prices range from $20 to $40 while some more significant events or dramatic headlines achieve higher values, and would be among the best newspapers for any collection.
For the beginning collector, the 20th century is an excellent entree to the much bigger world of our hobby which can includes newspapers back to the 16th century. Large headlines or events remembered by elder relatives bring to life the events which were formative to the American experience of the last 70 years. See: Stack of Old Newspapers
AmeriCollector.com is back at it again…
November 22, 2008 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
David Chesanow, at AmeriCollector.com, recently interviewed Tim to obtain his views concerning collecting newspapers related to the recent election. Two of the questions asked:
- Do you think people will start collecting Obama papers beyond the election?
- Do you anticipate this event raising interest in historic newspapers as a hobby (not investment)?
The answers to these questions, and more, may be viewed at AmeriCollector.com. Thanks David, for yet another positive contribution to the Rare Newspapers community.