“The Times They Are A-Changin'”… Martha’s Vineyard… 1867 (updated)

May 13, 2022 by · Leave a Comment 

Elkman at en.wikipedia

We’ve made a few updates to a prior post…

Most are familiar with the Martha’s Vineyard of today, but few know of its early spiritual roots – at least I wasn’t. However, while scanning issues in search for content which might be of interest to collectors of Rare & Early Newspapers, a front-page article in a Springfield Republican dated August 21, 1867 caught our attention. Under the front page heading: “From Martha’s Vineyard,” appears considerable details regarding Wesleyan Grove (Wesleyan Camp Grove), with the subheading: “The World at a Camp-Meeting – The Sound, Its History and Associations,” followed by considerable detail. One might find it interesting to read the article (through the link above), and then dig a little deeper at Wesleyan Grove. While some elements of the Camp Meeting have undergone dramatic change over time, some things still remain the same. Please enjoy.

Snapshot 1977… The Original (?) Star Wars…

December 28, 2020 by · 4 Comments 

As we were searching the Calendar section of a Los Angles Times, July 10, 1977 for a full-page ad for an upcoming ELP concert to be held at the Long Beach Arena, we came across another full-page ad for the newly released movie, “Star Wars”. While such ads are desirable when found in a Los Angeles Times (due to the Hollywood connection), what caught our attention was the text of the ad which, instead of just having “STAR WARS”, had “STAR WARS NOW”. Upon investigation we learned that the original STAR Wars was quickly edited soon after it was decided to convert the stand alone movie into a trilogy. Several fans of Star Wars had posted frustration in their inability to obtain the original-release version of the movie. This made me wonder if the odd title in the ad (“STAR WARS NOW”) is/was related to this change. If anyone has more information in regards to this version of the ad, we’d love to know (guy@rarenewspapers.com). Thanks.

Snapshot 1775… A prayer for the country and its leaders…

December 7, 2020 by · Leave a Comment 

We recently sent sent out high-resolution images of a Virginia Gazette (Williamsburg, VA) dated July 20, 1775 which included coverage of the “Causes & Necessity of Taking up Arms”, the last appeal for peace, and the Battle of Bunker Hill. Within hours we were receiving an abundance of responses from those who had read the issue, and guess what was commented on most frequently? The coverage of the “Causes & Necessity of Taking up Arms”? No. The last appeal for peace? No again. Perhaps the report regarding the Battle of Bunker Hill? No, no, and again no. What captured the attention of most of those who responded was an anonymous prayer printed on the front page. Without commentary, I include this prayer below.

Dear Lord, As America continues to wrestle with election issues, my prayer is that no matter who You enable to hold positions of leadership/authority, You will direct their steps – whether they acknowledge You or not. I pray You will give them wisdom, humility, and compassion for all whom they serve. I am also grateful for Your sovereign will, and rest in the hope beyond reason which has already revealed the end of the story. Amen!

Note: To our readers, if anyone knows who wrote the above prayer from 1775, please let us know. Thanks.

“The Times They Are A-Changin'”… Martha’s Vineyard… 1867

January 22, 2018 by · Leave a Comment 

Elkman at en.wikipedia

We recently came across a front page article in a Springfield Republican dated August 21, 1867 which caught our attention. Under the front page heading: “From Martha’s Vineyard,” appears considerable details regarding Wesleyan Grove (Wesleyan Camp Grove), with the subheading: “The World at a Camp-Meeting – The Sound, Its History and Associations,” followed by considerable detail. One might find it interesting to read the article (through the link above), and then dig a little deeper at Wesley Grove. While some elements of the Camp Meeting have undergone dramatic change over time, some things still remain the same. Please enjoy.

The University of Pennsylvania makes an interesting discovery…

October 12, 2017 by · 2 Comments 

As we search old newspapers for specific historic content, we often find unrelated items which catch our interest. In this particular case, as we were scanning an August 4, 1913 issue of the  Commercial Appeal (Memphis, Tennessee) looking for coverage of the Leo Frank trial/investigation (which we found), we also discovered an article out of the University of Pennsylvania which announced the finding of hieroglyphics in Nippur which they believe confirmed many of the details of the Biblical account of a Great Flood (see below).

Are Presidential proclamations for thanksgiving and prayer unconstitutional?

June 26, 2017 by · 2 Comments 

Over the years we have written multiple posts featuring noteworthy Presidential proclamations for days of thanksgiving, humiliation, and prayer, and have listed quite a few on the Rare & Early Newspapers website. Not too long ago we came across an issue of The Boston Investigator for November 10, 1880 which contained an article focused on a view that such proclamations are/were unconstitutional. So, although we passionately disagree with this opinion, in an effort to be fair and balanced, we present the article below. Feel free to respond with your thoughts.

It’s amazing what one often finds buried in old newspapers…

June 22, 2017 by · Leave a Comment 

Flowers, leaves, photos, clumps of hair, historic trinkets… The list of what might be found buried within and among the inside pages of historic newspapers continues to foster our love for the collectible. The latest discovery? As we were scanning a September 22, 1880 issue of The Boston Investigator hoping to find a mention of Thomas Edison (which turned out to be successful), we noticed an article titled: “Strange Tribe Of Jews Discovered In The Caucasus”, which turned out to be quite interesting:

Separation of Church and State conflict, or good advice?

March 16, 2017 by · Leave a Comment 

While the last few decades have bestowed upon us considerable discussion in regards to the intended meaning of the separation of Church and State, one cannot deny the abundance of religious references which have peppered the language of Presidents, regardless of their personal faith (or lack thereof), from the onset of the Union through the present. One such example is found in the June 15, 1845 issue of The New York Times, which prints the text (see below) of the letter President Ulysses S. Grant wrote to the children and youth of America at the request of the editor of The Sunday School Times for insertion into their Centennial Edition. The letter emphasizes the importance of the Bible in regards to life and liberty: “My advice to Sunday Schools, no matter what their denomination, is: Hold fast to the Bible as the sheet-anchor of your liberties; write its precepts in your heart, and PRACTICE THEM IN YOUR LIVES. To the influence of this Book we are indebted for all the progress made in true civilization, and to this we must look as our guide in the future. ‘Righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.’ Yours respectfully, U. S. Grant”.

Mere religious blather, or good advice rooted in truth? Thoughts?

The slippery slope of deteriorating morality… a reminder from 1929…

February 27, 2017 by · Leave a Comment 

Through much of time certain behaviors have been universally accepted as immoral – the exploitation of women (in particular) through pornography being among them. However, perhaps it’s my age showing, but when did “Since legislating morality rarely changes behavior, let’s eliminate such legislation” become the modus operandi? As a former teacher I knew some of my students would likely cheat, but I still had rules and consequences regarding cheating. As a parent I understood my children might decide that hitting one another was a good way of handling disputes, but I still taught proper means of dealing with conflict and used my parental platform to legislate against hostile behavior. The recent (albeit well intended?) legalization of child prostitution in California in order to “protect” them from the consequences of being caught just doesn’t seem to make sense, and continues our slide down the slippery slope of immorality. I could be a bit off, but my gut tells me something is horribly wrong.

It is with these thoughts in mind I was struck by the front page of The Reform Bulletin from March 1, 1929 (see below), which focused on an effort in the State of New York to pull back on the decade old legalization of “obscene literature.” What’s “obscene literature”? Should morality be legislated, and if so, who makes the call as to which behaviors are moral and which are not? Should government take a role in the personal affairs of its citizens? Has the government overreached in this area in the past? While the answers to these questions and similar are quite complex, I think most would agree we’re not headed in the right direction – and the consequences are guaranteed to be non-partisan.

The Traveler… interesting information on the Mormons…

June 20, 2016 by · Leave a Comment 

Blog-6-20-2016-MormonismToday I traveled to Worcester, Massachusetts, by the way of the Worcester Evening Gazette dated June 20, 1866. There I found a very interesting article titled “Utah and the Mormons.”  The article is over a full column in length and provides great details of the life-styles of the Mormon life, including the pros and cons of polygamy; how some of the wives get along and where others do not; a polygamist that needs to do all of his own cooking, cleaning, washing and even sleeps on the floor because his wives don’t get alone.

Also mentioned is a description of Brigham Young, “…He is six feet high, portly, weighing about two hundred, in his sixty-fifth year, and wonderfully preserved… His face is fresh and unwrinkled, his step agile and elastic, his curling auburn hair and whiskers untinged with gray. He has grayish-blue, secretive eyes, eagle nose, and a mouth that shuts like a vice, indicating tremendous firmness. His manner is cold and egotistical. He uses neither tea nor coffee, spirits nor tobacco, speaks ungrammatically, is very rich and universally popular among the saints…” and also states “… Brigham is the favorite speaker, though he does not preach more than once a month. His sermons which I heard were very incoherent and illiterate…”.

An interesting life? You make that call!

~The Traveler

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