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47 years as both a collector and reseller of “Rare & Early” newspapers, you can imagine we have unearthed a ton of historical content.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 1936… It’s time to help the Jews…

February 15, 2021 by · Leave a Comment 

In the midst of rampant anti-Semitism, and just a few years prior to the start of the Holocaust, David Lloyd George, the former Prime Minister of Great Britain, made an impassioned plea for the world to come to the rescue of the Jewish People by providing them with the homeland they had been promised decades earlier. In his speech he reminded the world of how the Jews had come to the aid of England… and the United States… and Russia, and were now in need of a response in kind. Unfortunately his call to action fell on deaf ears and the impact of heads buried in the sand now stands as a black mark on the timeline of history. The following account of his appeal to the House of Commons was found in The Scranton Times dated June 10, 1936:

They Put It In Print… How to hate – 1941…

September 22, 2019 by · Leave a Comment 

As we were searching through our issues from 1941 looking for new WWII content, to our great dismay we discovered a article on page 3 of the San Francisco Chronicle dated November 15th headed:  “Goebbels Tells Germans How To Hate Jews”, which was followed by his ten “reasons” to hate them. There are some who wish to ignore and/or deny the existence of the hatred which ran rampant during this time in world history, but thanks to the S.F. Chronicle, they put it in print:

 

Equal rights – a long and arduous path…

May 6, 2019 by · Leave a Comment 

“Equal Rights” – Within the United States, it is easy to think the struggle for equality based on race, gender and/or socioeconomic status was, and in certain areas continues to be, one placed on the shoulders of only Blacks and Women. However, it doesn’t take too much digging to see this was not the case. I was reminded of this reality when I recently came across a December 19, 1818 issue of the Niles’  Weekly Register. Therein I found a heading titled “Maryland legislature,” which included in part, “…A committee was appointed to bring in a bill to extend the same civil privileges to persons professing the Jewish religion as are enjoyed by those of any other religious sect…”.

As a bit of history, In 1776 Maryland’s constitution safely protected “…all persons professing the Christian religion…” yet said nothing at all for those of other beliefs. It was a fact not widely known among other Americans that in the State of Maryland, and in Maryland alone, a citizen professing the Jewish religion could not hold any office, civil or military. In 1797 Solomon Etting, Baltimore leader and representative Jewish figure, along with other prominent Jews petitioned the Maryland Assembly to address this prejudicial issue and secure equal rights for Jews. The petition was well received but ultimately rejected. Year after year as it was presented and turned down new advocates were enlisted including influential Gentiles. In 1818 Judge H. M. Brackenridge and others began a vigorous battle to right this wrong. The legislation ultimately to be known as “The Jew Bill” was enfranchised in 1825 and confirmed the following year. This change, along with a series of others, helped motivate many Jewish citizens to participate, from a position of privilege, in the early suffrage movement.

Regarding State and National Constitutions… Our fore(parents) may not have gotten everything right, but thankfully, in most cases, they had the foresight to created peaceful paths for change. Peaceful progress, using the proper channels the framers built within these founding documents, may take entirely too long, but staying within the given bounds has served us well over time. There is, and will likely always be much to be done, but we live in a marvelous land of progress. Let’s never let the need for pruning and continued growth ever cause us to hack away at the roots.

December thru time (50, 100, 150, 200, & 250 years ago) – 2018 edition…

December 6, 2018 by · Leave a Comment 

What news was reported in the month of December – 50 (1958), 100 (1918), 150 (1868), 200 (1818), and 250 (1768) years ago? Such a walk back through time via the eyes of those who read the daily and weekly newspapers of the period can be quite revealing. This is why we often say, “History is never more fascinating than when it’s read from the day it was first reported.” The following links will take you back in time to show the available newspapers from the Rare & Early newspapers website. There’s no need to buy a thing. Simply enjoy the stroll.

December:
1968 – 50 years ago
1918 – 100 years ago
1868 – 150 years ago
1818 – 200 years ago
1768 – 250 years ago
Wanting for more? Why not take a year-long gander at 1668, 1718, 1768, 1818, 1868, 1918, and/or 1968?

Israeli Statehood – You can learn something new every day…

July 9, 2018 by · Leave a Comment 

Which major power was the first to recognize the Statehood of Israel? Perhaps it was my arrogance, naivety, or a blend of both which led me to believe the United States would hold this position, but the err in my thinking was brought to light as I read a front page article in The Raleigh Times (May 18, 1948), which revealed that although the U.S. was the first to do so vocally, the first country to formally recognize Israeli Statehood was Russia. As a matter of fact, Venezuela, Romania, France, and a host of other countries formalized their recognition before the United States, who didn’t do so formally until the end of January – nearly 9 months later. If this were the Olympics, the United States, holding the 20th position, would be in the stands watching Russia, the Czech Republic, and Nicaragua receive their medals on the victor’s stand.

Rare Judaica Collectibles Spanning Three Centuries – 1600’s, 1700’s, & 1800’s…

June 27, 2018 by · Leave a Comment 

Although we rarely use this forum to highlight items being offered for sale – especially when posted as auction items, however all three authentic publications are rather unique and highly desirable:

1670 – The Jews Are Banished From Vienna (Austria)

1778 – A Rare Print from the inside of the Synagogue at Amsterdam showing the celebration of Rosh Hashanah – “The Sounding of the Ram’s Horn” (note: we’d love to know which synagogue is shown)

1865 – Congregation Shearith Israel, the oldest synagogue in the United States, mourns the death of Abraham Lincoln

From their ongoing quest to be accepted, to full acceptance demonstrated through their response to tragedy, with a rare, intimate, and illustrated look at one of their holy days sandwiched in-between, this set of issues certainly provides a broad-brush perspective of a people whose mark on history far surpasses their size. While the links above will expire once the auctions have ended, the links below will remain active indefinitely. Enjoy.

 

The Haggadah (during Passover) – 1st mention in a New York Times…

May 24, 2018 by · Leave a Comment 

I know I’ve said it before, but I absolutely love this hobby. Today, thinking about the Damascus Blood Libel from back in the 184o, which prompted The London Times to print the details of the Jewish practice during The Passover Celebration – The Haggadah, they printed the details of the ritual (event/meal). This caused us to wonder if any other publication printed similar details. We were astounded to learn that the first time The Haggadah was mentioned in the New York Times did not occur until nearly 40 years later. The full details of this report (which includes details regarding addition Jewish celebrations (and special days) may be viewed at: NY Times – Jewish Festivals

If a reader knows of another nationally distributed newspaper which included similar details, please let us know.

Who’s Who in Newspapers? Daniel Mendoza edition…

November 30, 2017 by · Leave a Comment 

The 2nd installment of Wh0’s Who in Newspapers:

George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton… Babe Ruth, Jesse Owens, Vince Lombardi… John Wayne, James Dean, Katharine Hepburn – these individuals among many are easily recognizable. However, there are quite a few historical figures who, while having adorned the pages of many a newspaper, are far from household names. Such is the case with Daniel Mendoza. Who is he? What was he known for? When did he live? These questions and more can be garnered through the newspapers of his day. Please enjoy the second installment of:

Who’s Who in Newspapers?

Daniel Mendoza Edition

Note: As you explore this chronological set of newspapers, if duplicate issues appear for the same date, the item with the highest item # will have the most up-to-date information.

Who’s Who in Newspapers? Mordecai Manuel Noah…

November 27, 2017 by · Leave a Comment 

George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton… Babe Ruth, Jesse Owens, Vince Lombardi… John Wayne, James Dean, Katharine Hepburn – these individuals among many are easily recognizable. However, there are quite a few historical figures who, while having adorned the pages of many a newspaper, are far from household names. Such is the case with Mordecai Manuel Noah. Who is he? What was he known for? When did he live? These questions and more can be garnered through the newspapers of his day. Please enjoy the first installment of:

Who’s Who in Newspapers? Mordecai Manuel Noah Edition

Note: As you explore this chronological set of newspapers, if duplicate issues appear for the same date, the item with the highest item # will have the most up-to-date information.

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