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Dramatic Headlines Speak for Themselves… Hitler attacks Poland – WW2 begins!!!
September 8, 2023 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
The best headlines need no commentary. Such is the case with the New York Journal American, September 1, 1939, which had a pre-death report on the Hitler’s attack on Poland in 1939:
“GERMAN ARMY ATTACKS POLAND…“
“Uncle Tom’s Cabin” – impacting The Senate and The South (1853)…
September 4, 2023 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Few can argue against the claim of Harriet Beecher’s Stowe’s “Uncle Tom’ Cabin“ being one of the most influential books upon the 19th century… and beyond. However, many incorrectly believe the impact to have been largely upon America alone, but the reality is many European countries felt its sting long before its role in codifying anti-slavery sentiment within the United States. Scanning through newspaper reports from the early 1850’s dramatically reveal the initial polar-opposite reactions regarding its influence.
One such newspaper was the Mach 17, 1863 issue of the New-York Daily Times. The front page provides the text (except shown to the right) of the previous day’s debate on the floor of the Senate in which one senator refers its impact on England as a positive validation for his point, while another senator takes the reference to be an unjustified, gross, “miserable” insult. For those who were beginning to sense the foundation of slavery beginning to crumble, this novel would prove to be a thorn in their side for years to come.
Ironically, in case one wonders if the culture of the 1850’s was ripe for the demise of slavery, page two has a lengthy discussion on the impact of both slave and free labor on Southern Agriculture Prosperity – an excerpt which is shown below. One of the fun things about the relationship between this incredible novel and historic newspapers is that it was 1st printed in serialized form in The National Era, a newspaper out of Washington, D.C..
Announcing: Catalog #334 for September, 2023 – Rare & Early Newspapers…
September 1, 2023 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.]
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.
Are the Molly Maguires, Mormons, General Pickett, Jim Thorpe and Hitler connected?
August 7, 2023 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
What do Eskimos, George Washington, King William IV (England), the Ku Klux Klan, the Molly Maguires, Mormons, General Pickett, John D. Rockerfeller, Jim Thorpe, Amilia Earhart, Billy Burke, Adolph Hitler, “Bugs” Moran, Billie Jean King, and Roger Federer have in common? Coverage about each of them appeared in newspapers dated July 7th. The years may have varied, but one of the many reasons why were are familiar with their names is due to “This Day in History”. I wonder who might show up on a different day? Why not give it a try – see “Month and Day (Any Year)”?
The impact of Newspapers on the abolition of slavery…
August 4, 2023 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
The impact print media in general, and newspapers in particular had on attitudes towards slavery cannot be overstated. The abolitionist press was in full-force during the early-to-mid 1800’s with publications such as The Anti-Slavery Bugle, The Emancipator, the National Anti-Slavery Standard, the National Era (which had the honor of being the first to print Harriet Beecher Stowe’s “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”), among those who carried the torch. While some publishers became household names during this critical period in American history (William Lloyd Garrison – publisher of The Liberator), Frederick Douglass – publisher of the North Star [later, the Frederick Douglass’ Paper], and Horace Greeley – publisher of the New York Tribune), a slew of others, while highly influential, have largely been forgotten. One such unheralded publisher was Hezekiah Niles’, the publisher of the Niles’ Register from Baltimore, Maryland. While Niles’ Register would not be placed under the umbrella of The Abolitionist Press, not wearing this label coupled with its heavy focus on political issues may have played to his advantage when Hezekiah wrote and published his “Mitigation of Slavery” in serialized form over a span of 8 issues in 1819. It may not have had an Uncle-Tom’s-Cabin-level impact among the masses, there is little doubt the minds of many in-and-around Washington D.C. were challenged to keep the abolishment of slavery at the forefront of both political and public discourse. The full text of his essay can be read on-line, however, photo-snippets of portions of an original as well as a brief description may be viewed on the Rare Newspapers website: Hezekiah Niles’ “Mitigation of Slavery“. His final thoughts are shown below.
Horrace Greeley, Fred Douglass, Harriet Beecher Stowe… Hezekiah Niles…
Announcing: Catalog #333 for August, 2023 – Rare & Early Newspapers…
July 31, 2023 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
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The August catalog (#333) is now available. Shown below are links to various segments of the catalog, our currently discounted newspapers, and recent posts to the History’s Newsstand Blog. Please enjoy.
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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.]
Snapshot 1881: Is it a car, a bike, a train or a trike?
July 17, 2023 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Is it a car, a bike, a train, or a trike – or something else altogether? Looking back with an effort to place various inventions into current-day buckets is not always easy. However, in this case, there is one thing we know for sure: It is a velocipede: “a human-powered land vehicle with one or more wheels.” This one appeared in the April 16, 1881 issue of Scientific American.
Announcing: Catalog #332 for July, 2023 – Rare & Early Newspapers…
June 30, 2023 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
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The July catalog (#332) is now available. Shown below are links to various segments of the catalog, our currently discounted newspapers, and recent posts to the History’s Newsstand Blog. Please enjoy.
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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.]
June Newsletter from Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers…
June 16, 2023 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
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