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The value of a newspaper… impacted by content…
April 12, 2010 by GuyHeilenman · 7 Comments
One of the common questions received at Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers is “What elements are involved in determining the collectible value of a newspaper?” Several posts on this subject may be viewed at: “Determining the Value of an Historic Newspaper“. Two of the elements which drive the collectible value of a paper are content and age. For example, the $0.50-$1.00 newsstand price of a Washington Post, USA Today, or Chicago Tribune with the 1st report on the election of President Obama quickly rose to $35 a month (and higher) after the event (content), and will likely be valued at many times this amount in 20+ years (age).
In contrast, we recently came across a newspaper whose value increased by more than 700% (due to content – a photo) before the end of the day of its initial printing. Our find… the May 1, 1945 Mediterranean edition of Stars and Stripes. The front cover printed the famous photo of Benito Mussolini shown after his execution. In an effort to show a little discretion, the photo is not shown within this post, but may be viewed at: http://www.rarenewspapers.com/view/568477?acl=779383924
Although there have been times when the collectible value of a newspaper increased by the following day, we’d love to know of other pre-2000 events which resulted in an increase in the value of the newspaper on the same day the issue hit the newsstands. If you know of any, feel free to share with the collectible community.
Food for thought… a little humble pie…
April 10, 2010 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
While looking for content on the death of General William Walker in an October 6, 1860 issue of Harper’s Weekly, I came across an interesting morsel I thought everyone might enjoy. Just a little something to chew on (sorry):
The Civil War…
April 1, 2010 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Not too long ago we had a collector ask several questions regarding rare newspapers from the Civil War. We thought others might be interested in the questions and responses as well.
Most major city papers had a daily and bi-weekly edition, and some a tri-weekly edition. The cost of a newspaper from the pre-1890 era was no small expense, so the latter two were more affordable for many. I suspect the “Evening Edition” did not publish 7 days a week; perhaps 2 or 3, maybe 4 (?). If this was the case it was easy for them to fill in the balance of the issue with news from a day or two before as the type was already set and those who purchased it hadn’t read it. This was more clearly defined with the Phila. Inq. run we had because they had in the first column that it was the “tri-weekly” edition, and in the same issue was another masthead from the day before. The Tribune did not print such a notice, or at least I haven’t found it yet.
And such editions with 2 masthead are quite uncommon because libraries would have only subscribed to the regular daily edition, given their desire to document all news for every day, and 95% of early newspapers on the market came from some institution after microfilming. So the 2 masthead issues are typically only found as never-bound issues which have survived the years in attics, trunks, etc.
Thanks for the member inquiry which led to these responses from Tim. Feel free to send your questions, comments as well.
Featured websites – TeachHistory.com
March 18, 2010 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Teachers with a love of history, listen up! The following resource can improve your curriculum and make you a stronger educator. Students of history will enjoy the breadth and depth of the historical journey as well.
TeachHistory is a fantastic website (blog), developed and maintained by Ben Edwards, which provides engaging information & a plethora of useful educational resources related to history. It describes itself as:
“a blog dedicated to social studies and history teachers across the United States who use Colonial American history, imagination and multisensory teaching methods to inspire their students. Our goal is to provide a resource where teachers like you can access information about colonial history plus technologies, methods and products that are making a difference in education today.”
While Ben’s experience with teachers and students is varied, perhaps the most useful channel for keeping him in touch with the pulse of teacher/student interests and needs occur via the many intimate conversations had while engaging teachers and students through his Walking Tours of Historic Boston. Combine this with both his (historic) heritage and his natural love of history, and you have the making of a blog which is sure to stay relevant over time. Some of the recent posts include:
Colonel Shaw, Sergeant Carney and the 54th Massachusetts
Remembering Alex Haley and Roots
Black History Month: A Tribute to Phillis Wheatley
Young Ben Franklin and the Silence Dogood Letters
Teachers: Are You Engaging AND Empowering Your Students?
Many of the posts include detailed images and reference accounts of actual Rare & Early Newspapers – most of which come from his personal collection. Ben fully grasps a foundational truth regarding primary sources: “History is never more fascinating than when it is read from the day it was first reported.” Thanks Ben, for your contributions to both the Rare Newspapers and Educational communities.
Featured websites – RagLinen.com
March 11, 2010 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
From time to time we like to take a look at various websites which may enhance our Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers‘ members collecting experience. Todd Andrlik’s “Rag Linen“, is such a site. It describes itself foremost as “…an educational archive of rare and historic newspapers, which serve as the first drafts of history and the critical primary source material for historians, authors and educators.” A sample of Rag Linen’s posts on the corresponding blog include:
- A Short Narrative of the Horrid Massacre in Boston
- B. Franklin’s Confession to Leaking Hutchinson’s Letters
- Paul Revere’s “View of the Year 1765″
- The Stamp Act Teaser of 1764
- The Great Scottish Witch Hunt of 1661-1662
- The 12 Letters That Preceded The Burr-Hamilton Duel
- The Original Flag of the Thirteen United States
- Three Cheers for Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address
- An Unlikely Spy Embedded as a Newspaper Printer
- The Real First President of the United States
Rag Linen also has useful information on the History of Newspapers, the Condition & Preservation of newspapers, and more. Well done Todd. Thanks for your contributions to the rare newspapers community.
20th century newspapers… revisited…
January 4, 2010 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Over the past month, Timothy Hughes has explored his thoughts concerning what he believes to be the top ten newspapers from each of the pre-18th, 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries (see below), the most recent being the latter. Some of his thoughts concerning historic newspapers from the 1900’s were captured in the following video:
Collecting authentic rare and historic newspapers from the 1900’s can be exciting, rewarding and surprisingly affordable. From the Wright brothers inaugural flight in 1903…to today’s routine shuttle hops to the orbiting space station, no other period in history bore greater witness to man’s capacity for brilliance, innovation, depravity, strife, compassion and technological ingenuity…than the 20th Century. And with this ingenuity came remarkable visibility into the daily lives of our parents and grandparents, through newspapers.
Each single page from the vast 20th Century archive of Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers brings this amazing century to life: from World War I, Prohibition, the Great Depression, World War II, onward… newspapers of the 20th century bring it all to daily account, from those who lived it!
Of course, many original newspapers documenting this century’s “turning-points” command premium prices (Titanic, Crash of 29, P. Harbor, V-E/V-J Day, Dewey Def Truman, Oil Strike, San Franc Earthquake, etc.)… but most other original and historical 20th century newspapers remain available for much less than you might think. At Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers, you can still own original editions recounting key events of the gangster era of the 20’s and 30’s, World War II, the industrial revolution, Korean War, the automobile, the golden age of Hollywood and beyond.
We also offer obscure original editions that are perfect gifts to commemorate a friend or loved-one’s birthday, marriage, graduation, or other event. They’ll love reading about what else was in the news back on their special day!
Whether your interest is in World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the golden age of Hollywood, the gangster era, a view of how life looked on the day you were born, etc., original newspapers provide an excellent view of history in context. History is never more fascinating than when when it’s read from the day it was first reported. If you love history… you deserve to have it in your hands. Rare newspapers make this possible. Please enjoy.
Top ten newspapers: “20th century”…
Top ten newspapers: 19th century…
Top ten newspapers: 18th century…
Top ten newspapers: 16th and 17th centuries…
19th century newspapers… revisited…
December 26, 2009 by GuyHeilenman · 1 Comment
Over the past three weeks Timothy Hughes has explored his thoughts concerning what he believes to be the top ten newspapers from each of the pre-18th, 18th, and 19 centuries (see below), the most recent being the latter. Some of his thoughts concerning the 1800’s historic newspapers were captured in the following video:
Collecting authentic rare and historic newspapers from the 1800’s can be exciting, rewarding and surprisingly affordable. Daily newspaper reports of America’s tumultuous 19th Century included first hand accounts of historic turning-points like….. the Louisiana Purchase…the Civil War…and Spanish-American conflict. As cries of “manifest destiny” signaled America’s unbridled expansion west, newspapers became a crucial link for a people suddenly united in a common quest that would set their young nation on a course of unprecedented and historic prosperity.
There are many sought after “holy grails” from the 19th century, including: o President Abraham Lincoln’s Assassination o Battle of Gettysburg and the Gettysburg Address o Battle of the Alamo o Deaths of Jessie James and Billy the Kid o Issue from Tombstone Arizona (Tombstone Epitaph) o Winslow Homer’s “Snap the Whip”
Of course, select accounts of the most historic & desired events of 19th century America are available for premium prices.
However, a wealth of fascinating original newspapers from the vast inventory of Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers are available for much less…often as little as $30 – $50. These include first-hand news from the War of 1812, Yankee & Confederate Civil War battle reports, slave ads from the South, the California Gold Rush with outlaw & Indian battle accounts, the Mormon migration to Utah and fascinating reports of when baseball was in its infancy.
The “Old West” and America’s westward expansion are represented in genuine newspapers from California, Utah, Nevada, Montana, and Arizona. You’ll also find affordable issues from the illustrated press which graphically documented every aspect of 19th century America in the pages of Harper’s Weekly, Frank Leslie’s Illustrated, Gleason’s, Ballou’s, and The London Illustrated News.
Whether your interest is in the War of 1812, westward expansion and the gold rush, the Civil War, and/or the Wild West, original newspapers provide an excellent view of history in context. History is never more fascinating than when when it’s read from the day it was first reported. If you love history… you deserve to have it in your hands. Rare newspapers make this possible. Please enjoy the hobby.
Top ten newspapers: 16th and 17th centuries…
Top ten newspapers: 18th century…
Top ten newspapers: 19th century…
Merry Christmas…
December 24, 2009 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
One of the more frequent questions we (the staff) are asked by members of Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers is whether or not we become distracted from our “work” by the call/allure of the content within the issues we offer – i.e., do we often find ourselves reading the issues?
The simple answer is an emphatic “Yes”. Rarely a day goes by in which we do not share new finds with one another. It’s one of the side benefits of being surrounded by history. Another simple pleasure is the ability to view some of the most incredible prints ever produced – those from the many illustrated newspapers from the 19th century (Harper’s Weekly, Leslie’s Illustrated, Gleason’s Pictorial, etc.).
Specifically, within the pages of these wonderful issues one can find some of the most amazing Christmas-themed prints. If you have a few minutes over the next few days, I invite you to go to the link below and take a few minutes to enjoy what we experience every day.
Link to issues containing Christmas-themed prints: Harper’s Weekly Christmas
Merry Christmas from the Staff of Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers
18th century & pre-18th century newspapers… revisited…
December 17, 2009 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Over the past two weeks Timothy Hughes has explored his thoughts on what he believes to be the top ten pre-18th century and the top ten 18th century newspapers (see below). Some of these thoughts were captured in the following video:
Collecting authentic rare and historic newspapers from the 1500’s – 1700’s can be exciting, rewarding and surprisingly affordable. British titles such as the London Gazette, London Chronicle, Gentleman’s Magazine and more, are all available for much less than you would expect, as are their American counterparts, the Columbian Centinel, Dunlap’s Daily American Advertiser, Concord Herald, and more.
Whether your interest is in the Colonial Era or the Revolutionary War Era, or extends to the 1500’s and/or 1600’s, original newspapers provide an excellent view of history in context. History is never more fascinating than when when it’s read from the day it was first reported. If you love history… you deserve to have it in your hands. Rare and early historic newspapers make this possible. Please enjoy the hobby!
Top ten newspapers: 16th and 17th centuries…
Top ten newspapers: 18th century…
Top 10 lists…
December 3, 2009 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Top 10 lists are always fun to consider. Their strength is in their ability to generate thought, reflection, and opinion. We all acknowledge that no two top ten lists are the same, and whereas going to experts in the field may add a certain level of credibility to a list, even an amateur/novice can bring food for thought to the discussion. Everyone has an opinion, and each and every opinion has some some value. In the end, the greatest benefit may well be in the journey traveled as we formulate and consider both our own views as well as the views of others.
It is with this in mind we plan to offer 4 top ten lists over the course of the next four Mondays. The focus will be on giving thought to the top ten most historic newspapers from each of the following eras: 17th century and earlier (12/7/2009), 18th century (12/14/2009), 19th century (12/21/2009), and 20th century & beyond (12/28/2009). In some cases we may choose a specific newspaper title (any date), realizing that having any issue of the title is of note. In other instances we may focus on a specific title and date of a newspaper – these being the “holy grails” of the hobby. Yet in other cases we’ll include a more general top ten entry, focusing on the event itself, acknowledging that finding any newspaper coverage of the event is noteworthy.
As we proceed through the month, we invite both reactions to our lists and the submission of your own “top tens”.
In an effort to help kick-start your walk into the past, we invite you to enjoy a recent post which appeared on OnLineSchool.net titled, “100 Great Moments in American History You Can Catch on YouTube”, by Amber Johnson: (http://onlineschool.net/2009/11/18/100-great-moments-in-american-history-you-can-catch-on-youtube/).