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A time to have fun and to gather perspective…
July 16, 2009 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Earlier this week Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers sent a newsletter to their members which contained a fun contest and a little food for thought. Based on member feedback, we thought the History’s Newsstand subscribers might also enjoy the newsletter (especially items 1, 2, and 6).
Newsletter (sent to members on July 14, 2009)
Dear Friends of Rare Newspapers,
Welcome to the July 2009 edition of our monthly newsletter. In an effort to counter (or at least soften) the pervasively negative economic/political tone which seems to be swirling about from every direction, we’d like to offer a few diversions (see items 1, 2, and 6 below). Please enjoy!
1. A New Scavenger Hunt – The History’s Newsstand Blog exists to serve those interested in the rare newspapers collectible. For the next 7 days we would like to encourage our members to go “scavenger hunting” at the blog. We’ve placed an image (see below) at the bottom of one of the posted articles which includes a discount code below the image (as a caption). This code may be entered at checkout at www.rarenewspapers.com to receive 20% off any website order, no matter how large or small. The code, if found, may be shared with friends, but it may only be used toward website listings (not eBay or custom quotes), and it may not be used in conjunction with any other discount code (new customer, new member, premium member, etc.). Have fun! Read the articles. Enjoy!!! The image to be “unearthed” is:
(the contest image looks identical to the above image)
2. Blog Posts from History’s Newsstand with a humorous edge may be accessed at: https://blog.rarenewspapers.com/?cat=116
3. The Most Recent Offering – Catalog 164 (just released) – Over 300 newly listed hand-picked issues may be viewed/purchased at: http://www.rarenewspapers.com/list?code=supplement
4. Discounted Items – From now until July 31st, we have a selection of issues which have been discounted by 20% (price shown reflects the discount). The “theme” of these items is 20th century “Displayable” issues. They may be viewed at: http://www.rarenewspapers.com/list?code=Discounted+Issues
5. Timely eBay/website listings:
Moon Landing (on eBay)
Stock Market Crash (on the website)
Abraham Lincoln (on eBay)
Public Enemies, Gangsters, etc. (on the website)
6. Food for Thought – Concerning Our Current Economic and Political Environment (source: wikipedia):
“This too shall pass” (Hebrew: גם זה יעבור, gam zeh yaavor) is a phrase occurring in a Jewish wisdom folktale involving King Solomon. The phrase is commonly engraved on silver rings.
Many versions of the folktale have been recorded by the Israel Folklore Archive at the University of Haifa. Heda Jason recorded this version told by David Franko from Turkey:
“One day Solomon decided to humble Benaiah Ben Yehoyada, his most trusted minister. He said to him, “Benaiah, there is a certain ring that I want you to bring to me. I wish to wear it for Sukkot which gives you six months to find it.” “If it exists anywhere on earth, your majesty,” replied Benaiah, “I will find it and bring it to you, but what makes the ring so special?” “It has magic powers,” answered the king. “If a happy man looks at it, he becomes sad, and if a sad man looks at it, he becomes happy.” Solomon knew that no such ring existed in the world, but he wished to give his minister a little taste of humility. Spring passed and then summer, and still Benaiah had no idea where he could find the ring. On the night before Sukkot, he decided to take a walk in one of the poorest quarters of Jerusalem. He passed by a merchant who had begun to set out the day’s wares on a shabby carpet. “Have you by any chance heard of a magic ring that makes the happy wearer forget his joy and the broken-hearted wearer forget his sorrows?” asked Benaiah. He watched the grandfather take a plain gold ring from his carpet and engrave something on it. When Benaiah read the words on the ring, his face broke out in a wide smile. That night the entire city welcomed in the holiday of Sukkot with great festivity. “Well, my friend,” said Solomon, “have you found what I sent you after?” All the ministers laughed and Solomon himself smiled. To everyone’s surprise, Benaiah held up a small gold ring and declared, “Here it is, your majesty!” As soon as Solomon read the inscription, the smile vanished from his face. The jeweler had written three Hebrew letters on the gold band: gimel, zayin, yud, which began the words “Gam zeh ya’avor” — “This too shall pass.” At that moment Solomon realized that all his wisdom and fabulous wealth and tremendo us power were but fleeting things, for one day he would be nothing but dust.”
The phrase “This too shall pass” and the associated ring story were made popular by Abraham Lincoln in his ‘Address Before the Wisconsin State Agricultural Society, Milwaukee, Wisconsin’ on September 30, 1859.
“It is said an Eastern monarch once charged his wise men to invent him a sentence, to be ever in view, and which should be true and appropriate in all times and situations. They presented him the words: “And this, too, shall pass away.” How much it expresses! How chastening in the hour of pride! How consoling in the depths of affliction!
Best wishes,
Guy & The Rare Newspapers Staff
If you’d like to become a member of “Rare Newspapers” (free), you’re invited to sign-up at: http://www.rarenewspapers.com/memberships
My Collecting Story… Brendan Dwyer…
July 9, 2009 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Here is my antique newspaper collecting story. Not how I got started, but in the middle:
—–I moved to Nantucket [see 19th century image] in 1997 and fell in love with it’s rich history—-whaling, Quakers, isolation, American Revolution neutralism, etc.—Well–in 1795 a bank robbery occurred here where around $20,000 was taken in various international currency ( keep in mind the date and the world travels of the whaling industry). This robbery shocked and shucked the town whereby feuds developed and lasted for generations. All very interesting. Well, I found out the court dates of the accused robbers and the newspapers which covered the proceedings. I had been buying antique newspapers from [Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers] for a number of years, so I searched [the] site and found several of the newspapers which covered the court proceedings.
Keep in mind this was from 1795!!!!! Just amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Thanks for sharing your story Brendan. 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.
My Collecting Story… Glenn Guttman…
June 25, 2009 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
The High Point of My Collecting Experience:
I started collecting “antique” newspapers after responding to an ad in the back of a Coin World magazine where Tim Hughes was offering his latest catalog of old newspapers. I was amazed at the variety of selections available, the reasonableness of the prices for items that were well over 100 years of age and the beauty of many of the features within the pages of the newspapers.
As a native of Chicago, one of the first items I purchased back in the early 90’s was a Harper’s Weekly dating back to 1871, just a couple of weeks after the Great Chicago Fire. I had purchased the item in very good condition from Tim for around $30-45 as I recall. The issue was chock full of many interesting items surrounding details of the Great Fire, how it started, what area it consumed, engravings of the landscape after the fire, etc. There were a couple of Nast cartoons as I recall in the magazine (newspaper) as well. Overall, a very interesting piece.
One day, I had heard the “Antiques Roadshow” was filming in Chicago, at Navy Pier and my wife and I decided to go with two items. She brought this intricate and delicately framed picture which was created out of shiny silk stitching that was unlike anything I (or anyone else) had ever seen. Truly a unique item.
We also brought my Harper’s Weekly to get an idea as to its value from an independent appraiser.
After about 2 hours of standing in line, finally someone came to analyze the items brought in by my wife and I. A woman saw what my wife had and was quite intrigued and asked if it could be reviewed by the art expert. We were taken out of line and my wife and I started “high-fiving” each other thinking we had hit the jackpot with our great find. Once looked at by the art appraiser, our hopes were deflated once we learned that our picture was a widely produced, and factory manufactured piece of no intrinsic value whatsoever. A complete bust in terms of value. Maybe worth $20 the expert stated.
Next, my newspaper and I were taken to a review appraiser who looked at the item carefully, smiling all the while, but saying nothing. He then spoke to what turned out to be one of the on-set producers and then came to us and asked if we were interested in being taped for the show with our item. They said it was a fascinating piece and that being filmed in Chicago, with an article of such local interest, it would be a wonderful addition to the show. We accepted the invitation and took a seat awaiting our turn to discuss the item on camera.
Three more hours passed and nothing was happening. Despite our numerous requests to get an idea as to when we would be called to begin filming, we received no information. We were hungry, tired, and had been sitting/standing/sitting and fidgeting for over 5 hours with no clue as to when our “15 minutes of fame” would occur. Finally, my wife said she had had it and that it was time to go. We informed the producer of our intent to leave and asked that our item be appraised if possible. The producer tried to persuade us to continue to wait, but enough time had elapsed to fill a double-header in baseball, with no indication that we would ever be called to the camera.
Anyway, about a half-hour later, the appraiser came and took a look at the item again, went through the many details he had noticed which made the magazine (newspaper) so interesting. And five minutes later he told us that the newspaper we purchased, in the Chicagoland area, if offered at auction, would probably fetch an offer of around $200 by his estimation.
It was a day I rather enjoyed but for the exasperating wait for many hours.
Thanks Tim for offering such great pieces of history to the public and sharing your passion with the rest of the world. It’s provided many years of fun.
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Thanks for sharing your story Glenn. 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.
Media Transformation…
June 22, 2009 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
From Benjamin Harris’ papers of the seventeenth century to the modern day media centers online and on TV, the newspaper has undergone a drastic change in style. The true transition began when America broke free of British news in 1783 and established the Pennsylvania evening Post as the first American daily. The many papers published in between these early years were deeply rooted in cultural ideals as well as secrecy from the British Empire depending on the time frame. The rise to the media outlets as we know them to be today has been a long time coming but is the best form of news to fit modern society.
Isaiah Thomas’ Massachusetts Spy was one such paper that was secretly published within 1770 and 1776 during the American Revolution. Many similar papers were published during this time, albeit a difficult time in which to publish any type of paper with a continuous circulation. Many papers did not survive past a few months and those that did were changed to Royalist perspectives due to the British occupancy. However, after the independence of 1776, papers began to experience the freedom they so craved from the tyranny of an overseas empire. These new papers united resistance to oppression, praised patriotism, and denounced tyranny, often making the papers themselves a bit more radical than the majority of the population. These papers often served to unify the general public which proved to be a general step in the right direction when instating a nation.
The later eighteenth century saw the rise of partisan papers and political parties began to take shape. Federalist and Republican presses dominated different realms of the nation and proved to reach out to constituents in an easy way. This time period cemented the newspaper ideals and molded the reporting to be what we now know it to be: local affairs and the rivalry of competitors which has since become a dominant force in American journalism. With the increased annexation of states, the newspaper audience grew as more and more citizens joined the ranks of the United States. These early papers of the West were often poorly written but served to provide an outlet for these new national citizens in which to approach their Congressman and get their voices heard. This is what the news was originally about, catering to a smaller local audience in order to get their voices heard on a national scale in the end. After this original introduction of papers around the United States, they have since grown into larger entities that are all-encompassing.
“Yellow Journalism” and muckraking are terms of the later nineteenth and twentieth century which have helped to cement the importance of journalism in American society. Yellow journalism references journalism that features scandal-mongering, sensationalism, or other unethical antics by news media organizations; muckraker refers to an individual who investigates and exposes issues of corruption that violate previous societal ethical values. The original Yellow Journalism battle began between Joseph Pulitzer’s New York World and William Randolph Hearst’s New York Journal. These type of battles remain in existence today between rival news networks although they are no longer central to newspaper in print. The move from print papers to online and televised news accounts has made an extraordinary difference in the modern world. Most modern day businessmen do not have the time to read an entire newspaper which has since tripled in length, but can hear the snippets of news on the radio or from a news station on TV; furthermore, they can always go online and click the top headlines of the day. This transformation in the media world is a telling sign of the shift in technology that we have yet to fully realize the significance of.
This post was contributed by Meredith Walker, who writes about the BachelorsDegreeOnline.com. She welcomes your feedback at MeredithWalker1983@gmail.com.
Exploring the world of old paper…
June 12, 2009 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Marty Weil, a freelance writer and journalist, maintains the informative blog, “ephemera… exploring the world of old paper“. Today he is featuring a guest post from our very own Tim Hughes. To view the post, go to “Old Newspapers as a Collectible“. Thanks Marty, for expanding the ephemera world’s understanding of historic and collectible newspapers.
About Marty Weil: He has written more than 250 magazine features on a variety of subjects. Articles written by Marty Weil have appeared in more than two dozen publications, including Fortune, Managing Automation, Antique Week, APICS, and Scholastic Administrator. Previously, he was the President of Weil Marketing Communications Inc., a successful high-tech PR consulting firm. He is a graduate of Illinois State University.
My Collecting Story… Brent Lacy…
June 11, 2009 by GuyHeilenman · 1 Comment
I began collecting a few papers several years ago, by way of genealogy. For years I had been researching my family tree, started by an obituary of my gg-grandfather that mentioned that he fought in the civil war and was from Kentucky. Research led me to find out many things about where he came from and also some records from the war. One thing I found out was the unit he was fighting with and date that he was taken prisoner. To put together a book for the family, I began to look for more information to fill out the story other than who begat who. During this time I found old newspapers I began to look for anything that mentioned his commander or unit and papers around the time of his capture. What I found was amazing several papers from the days before and after contained first hand accounts and reports of the battles he was in. Information on where they were on specific days and time and what they were encountering told at the time, became invaluable to filling out his story. One story in particular locked me in, one that told of troops sneaking upon the enemy (my ancestors unit) early one morning and taking several prisoners. That was the day my ancestor was taken captive, and here was a newspaper article from 1864 describing the actual event. This was news of the day written in the day, not some glossed over or condensed history book and who knows he could have possibly read the same newspaper article at some point! I was hooked. I still look for things related to him and also now look for what was going on in other locales where other ancestors lived. It has made for fascinating genealogical research to see what was reported then and what they would have been seeing as current news, filling out the story of our ancestors lives. Well that’s my story. I am thankful for the www.rarenewspapers website.
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Thanks for sharing your story Brent. 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.
Videos regarding the hobby… Private Collections…
May 30, 2009 by GuyHeilenman · 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.
My Collecting Story… Richard Sloan…
May 28, 2009 by GuyHeilenman · 1 Comment
I’ve been interested in the Lincoln assassination ever since I was thirteen years old. The 19th century images really grabbed me, and continue to give me a sense of what took place. As a New Yorker, my interest expanded to Lincoln’s N.Y.C. funeral, Lincoln’s prior trips to NY, Mrs. Lincoln’s NYC shopping sprees, and John Wilkes Booth’s activities in the city. In the course of all of this, I also became interested in 19th century NY photographers, theaters, hotels, and department stores. It has become obvious to me that period photographs convey and impart just so much. The old newspapers turned out to be the missing ingredient. There is nothing like holding an old NYC newspaper in my hand (or a weekly like Harper’s, Leslie’s, Gleason’s, etc;). Turning old pages that someone had turned in 1865 doesn’t just provide research information; it takes me back in time and shows me what life was like. It’s a wonderful experience to re-capture the sense of immediacy and news-gathering that someone had experienced back then when he or she turned those very same pages — whether it’s reading the details of Lincoln’s 1861 arrival in the city, reading the details of such events as his assassination, his funeral, finding out what parades took place in town the previous day, or what shows are currently playing in town. Old newspapers are time machines!
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Thanks for sharing your story Richard. 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.
Resources… The Library of Congress…
May 26, 2009 by GuyHeilenman · 1 Comment
The Library of Congress has a wonderful collection of original newspapers along with an extensive digitized database of American titles. An informative website is maintained in an effort to provide useful information related to rare and historic newspapers. They describe themselves as:
“The Serial & Government Publications Division maintains one of the most extensive newspaper collections in the world. It is exceptionally strong in US newspapers, with 9,000 titles covering the past three centuries. With over 25,000 non-US titles, it is the largest collection of overseas newspapers in the world. Beyond its newspaper holdings, the Division also has extensive collections of current periodicals (70,000 titles) comic books (6,000 titles) and government publications (1 million items).”
Some of the features to be found at their Newspaper Division’s website are webcasts, a searchable data base, full text versions of many newspapers and periodicals, and a link to their ongoing project “Chronicling America”. Although we at Rare Newspapers maintain an extensive list of common reprints (thanks to Rick Brown at HistoryBuff.com) the Library of Congress also has an abbreviated list of common reprints with descriptions as to how one can determine whether their issue is authentic… or not.
Thanks L.O.C. for your ongoing efforts on behalf of historic newspapers.
My Story… Carl Aspler…
May 14, 2009 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
For me, I love history and the first time I came across an old paper (I think it was the coronation of George V in 1911), I was smitten. I loved reading the headlines as they were years ago.
In the 80’s I also began collecting antique maps (also my love of history and discovery), and these took over for a while. Now I have antique maps and newspapers!
What gets me excited about the old news is to enjoy the personal connection that people make with the various stories. For example I used to keep a number of the front pages framed in my office at work. One day, a colleague came in and told me how he had admired the “Titanic Sinking” headline. This fellow, originally from Northern Ireland, told me that his father worked at the Belfast shipyard that built the ship, and that he had actually worked on the building of the Titanic. After thinking about it for a while, I gave him the paper. It meant a lot to him, and we all had a few tears in our eyes.
On another occasion I was talking to a friend and discovered that his father had been a soldier in the Canadian Army and had participated in the ill-fated Dieppe Raid in 1942. His father was captured by the Germans and spent the rest of the war in a Prisoner Camp. When I showed his the newspaper from a few days later, mentioning his father as “missing in action” it was also a very moving moment. I decided that I can live without it, and gave it to him.
Yet another time I mentioned to someone in the Salvation Army that I had a paper describing the sinking of the Empress of Ireland in 1914. The ship was on it’s way to an international congress of the Salvation Army. Most of the 150 members of the Army on board were drowned as was the Salvation Army Band. This was a difficult time for the Army (in fact the band was not reconstituted until 1969). I donated the paper to the Salvation Army museum, where more people can appreciate the story.
I also amaze my family from time to time. A few months ago, my teenage daughter was doing a history project on the London Blitz of 1940. I offered to loan her a front page describing the German first bombing assault on London. She originally wasn’t sure that people would be interested in an old newspaper. The fact that everyone thought it was “so cool” also gained me extra points with my daughter…
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Thanks for sharing your story Carl. 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.