The reason I collected it: The Battery, 1848…

January 19, 2024 by · Leave a Comment 

THE BATTERY, from Washington, D.C., was a campaign newspaper supporting Zachary Taylor for President and Millard Fillmore for Vice President.
In the era before radio, television, and the internet it was not uncommon for political parties to create short-lived newspapers to support their candidate and publicize their political platform. Such newspapers tended to be short-lived; once the election was over… so was the newspaper. However, some titles existed for some months afterward.
Shown below is a portion of the #16 issue dated Oct. 19, 1848, the title existing from July 6 through November 2, 1848, then printing just two more issues: Nov. 16, 1848 and Jan. 25, 1849, for a total of 20 issues.
Of special interest–and a prime reason for it qualifying for the private collection–is the great masthead engraving, which is essentially a political cartoon showing the heroic Taylor on his horse commanding: “A little More Grape! Captain Bragg” to be shot at Lewis Cass, his political rival.
This phrase was a famous one in Taylor’s military career, a command to then-Captain (later General in the Confederacy) Braxton Bragg to fire more grapeshot at the Mexicans during the Battle of Buena Vista in the Mexican War.

A wonderfully rare title, a short-lived Presidential campaign newspaper, and a political cartoon for a masthead.

The reason I collected it: Dodge’s Literary Museum…

August 21, 2023 by · Leave a Comment 

Mastheads of newspapers through the centuries offer a very wide assortment of styles, sizes and decorativeness, with many being quite mundane. Only the “special” ones make it to the private collection, and “Dodge’s Literary Museum” is one.
Any newspapering which the masthead consumes one-third of the front page qualifies. This title’s masthead engraving consumes over half of the front page, very unusual as such. The content may be literary items with no “newsy” reports, but the front page is certainly worth of collecting, regardless of what is inside.21

The reason I collected it: The Semi-Weekly Argus from Washington Territory…

July 10, 2023 by · Leave a Comment 

“The Semi-Weekly Argus” of Port Townsend, Washington Territory, July 7, 1873, might seem like an ordinary issue with typical content of the day. However the most intriguing aspect of the edition is not the data nor its content; it’s the paper upon which it is printed. It is yellow.
On rare occasions, newspaper publishers had to deviate from the traditional newsprint with which we are familiar, when necessity required an alternative. In such situations “necessity paper” was used, the term for whenever an issue was printed on anything non-traditional.
Given Port Townsend’s relative remoteness in the Northwest, I would suspect supply routes were often questionable a best, particularly with this date being 16 years before statehood.
We have encountered newspapers printed on paper with a wide assortment of colors, as well as wrapping paper, cornhusk paper, wallpaper, lined notebook paper. tissue paper, etc. Such editions were typically very short-lived, perhaps a few days at best, until supply chains could be re-established.
Here is a great example of the use of “necessity paper” and a visually prominent addition to any collection.

Videos regarding the hobby… Private Collections…

May 30, 2009 by · Leave a Comment 

Collecting rare and historic newspapers is a hobby with a personal flair.  Although an individual may begin collecting random issues covering a wide variety of topics, eventually they typically settle on a specific area of interest.  Perhaps it will be one of the war eras, the Old West era, or issues with Presidential signatures, acts, or addresses.  One might derive pleasure from collecting Civil War battle prints or issues with decorative mastheads.  Others may like to collect issues from each decade of the last few centuries or issues from each President’s administration.  Yet another way to collect newspapers is to use them as a companion collectible for another area of collecting interest – images of sewing machines, inventions, railroading, early flight, dentistry, slave ads, from the year of each coin’s release within one’s collection, with a box score for each major baseball card held, etc.  We’ve even known a number of collectors who have spent years focusing on a particular era (perhaps Civil War), who then migrate with a focus through time (perhaps moving on to the Revolutionary War and then Colonial eras).  The possibilities are endless. In the end, one thing is for certain, like an heirloom violin, no two collections are exactly the same.  Feel free to either share your areas of interest by commenting to this post or send us your collecting story (see more details below).

Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers continues to maintain and add to their own private/personal collection.  The focus has been on one-of-a-kind/rare titles and major historic events.  Even what one considers to be historic is somewhat subjective. Below is a video which was done a number of years ago which features Tim showing some of the Private Collection.  Please enjoy!

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If you would like to share your story of how you became interested in collecting rare and/or historic newspapers, e-mail it to guy@rarenewspapers.com and place “My Story” in the subject field. Although not necessary, feel free to include an image. Please do not include your e-mail address or a personal website as part of the text of your story. We will post collector stories every few weeks and will send you a notice when your story appears. Thank you for your contribution to the community.

From the private collection: “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus”

December 22, 2008 by · 2 Comments 

Sometimes historical content in newspapers takes a back seat to seemingly innocuous items found which, in time, resonate through our culture without the slightest impact on history. Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address could be one example. And such was the case with an innocent letter written to THE SUN newspaper of New York City in 1897.

Eight-year-old Virginia O’Hanlon wrote a letter to the editor and the quick response was printed as an unsigned editorial in their Sept. 21, 1897 edition. The work of veteran newsman Francis Pharcellus Church has since become history’s most reprinted newspaper editorial, appearing in part or whole in dozens of languages in books, movies, and other editorials, and on posters and stamps. It has unquestionably become a part of Christmas culture over 110 years later.

At this special time of year we feel it appropriate to share not only the inquiring words of Virginia O’Hanlon but the timeless response just as it appeared in the newspaper in 1897.

May all of you allow the spirit of the Christmas season as beautifully expressed by Mr. Church find a special place in your heart and home this week.

Curiosities are fun to collect…

December 4, 2008 by · Leave a Comment 

The strange and the unusual make interesting additions to a newspaper collection, not only in the reports within the newspaper but the newspaper’s appearance as well.

One issue from our private collection is significant for not only being a desirable title from Deadwood City in the “Black Hills” as noted in the dateline, but the front page and back pages have the columns printed alternately in red and blue ink. From what I can gather by the front page text they seem to be celebrating Washington’s birthday in a very creative way. It certainly makes for an unusual presentation.  We have found that many newspapers from the Old West included unusual formats, likely due to the difficulties of printing so far from the metro areas of the East Coast.

Have you found some similarly unsual newspapers which are now in your collection?  If so, what might they be?

Themes in collecting…

October 7, 2008 by · 3 Comments 

Perhaps the best aspect of collecting early newspapers is the endless ways one can collect. Although there are those who collect a great variety of dates, titles, or events, the opportunity to focus on a specific era or topic can provide an exciting collection which is much more diverse than one might guess.

Displayability and dramatic appeal are of interest to many, and the 1920 – 1945 era provides a tremendous opportunity for some “screaming” headlines typically not found prior to or after these dates. Within this era one can focus on various topics: politics, sports, economics, discoveries/inventions, and gangsters to name a few.

The gangster era intrigues many and some dramatic headlines can be found if one devotes the time to the search. Just one example from our private collection is the PALESTINE DAILY HERALD newspaper from Texas, dated May 23, 1934 which features a banner (from edge to edge) headline which reads just as a collector would want: “BARROW AND BONNIE PARKER RIDDLED WITH BULLETS”. And nice to have this report in a Texas newspaper as Bonnie & Clyde were killed near the Texas/Louisiana border. More typically this report was not much more than a column or two in most newspapers, and often found on an inside page rather than as a front page feature. Finding a banner headline can be very exciting. Banner headlines on Al Capone, “Baby Face” Nelson, John Dillinger and the host of other notorious names from the gangster era surface upon occasion and become choice additions to the collections of those who appreciate their rarity.

What “theme” in collecting do you enjoy? Are you a “generalist” with newspapers crossing over the broad spectrum of dates, titles, and events, or have you been intrigued by focusing upon a much more narrow theme which others may not have thought of? We’d love to hear of your collecting interest….feel free to share your thoughts.  Note:  Please focus on themes rather than specific issues within your collection.