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It All Depends On Your Paradigm…
September 6, 2021 by LauraH · Leave a Comment
Recently, while in Cancun, Mexico I was struck by a small yet complicating life perceptive… one man’s villain may very well be another man’s hero. Here at Rare Newspapers, we see varying sides of news stories on a daily basis… from American Revolutionaries vs. the British perspective to The Confederate troops vs. The Union soldiers. This day, however, as I stood in the Mexican sun, talking history with a young man who was the age of my children, I realized there was a new paradigm I had not considered. As he questioned what I did back in the states, his eyes lit up as he asked if we had any issues covering Pancho Villa. I quickly responded, “Oh, I’m sure we do. Let me check and I will get back to you.” Later as I scrolled through our inventory, I realized I would be hard pressed to find an issue that would excite him since the American perspective of this controversial figure was very different from my new Mexican friend’s view. I determined to find something to show him and finally settled on a rather benign Harper’s Weekly image without a splashy headline. He seemed pleased enough. My take away was a reminder to analyze my own heroes more carefully and to be sensitive to other people’s paradigms. There may only be one truth however, our paradigm can make it hard to distinguish at times.
A Federal Government by Careful Design…
August 23, 2021 by LauraH · 2 Comments
Anyone who studies the founding of our country and has peeked beneath the surface of how our Founding Fathers structured the United States of America’s Federal Government, must stand in awe of the delicate intricacies and broad sweeping stabilities the Founders instituted to keep us balanced. As a lover of American History, I am delighted when I find individual examples of their well oiled machine at work… when I see branches of our government “gird their loins” and bravely step into the role they were given. Such an incident occurred on June 2, 1952 when the Supreme Court decided Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co vs. Sawyer, also commonly referred to as the Steel Seizure Case or the Youngstown Steel case.
“[This] was a landmark United States Supreme Court decision that limited the power of the President of the United States to seize private property. The case served as a check on the most far-reaching claims of executive power at the time and signaled the Court’s increased willingness to intervene in political questions.
In the midst of the Korean War, the United Steel Workers of America threatened a strike, for higher wages, against the major steel producers in the United States. As President Harry S. Truman believed that a strike of any length would cause severe dislocations for defense contractors, Truman seized control of steel production facilities, keeping the current operating management of the companies in place to run the plants under federal direction. Though the steelworkers supported the move, the steel companies launched a legal challenge to the seizure on the grounds that the president lacked the power to seize private property without express authorization from Congress. “ (Wikipedia)
I wonder if sometimes our Founders smile to each other and say, “I love it when a plan comes together”. Here at RareNewspapers,we have great issues covering Supreme Court decisions. I find they make for a fascinating read. May there always be brave warriors to take up the mantles our Founders designed.
Giant leaps… Baby steps are nice, but every now and then…
August 16, 2021 by LauraH · Leave a Comment
With a large family (husband, 6 kids and a dog), car rides were always interesting and given that you can only play the ABC sign game so often without going crazy, Guy and I would often look for conversation starters to keep the troops occupied. Many of these would begin with the words, “Everyone think of your top 5 favorite…”. As a parent, we would reuse these every so often as it gave us new insight into how each child was thinking. One of my favorites was always, “What do you think the top 5 world changing events in history are?”. Gutenberg’s printing press always made several of our lists. Even before we became involved in the universe of Rare & Early Newspapers, we understood the importance and impact the disseminating of information was on society, and appreciated the transformative milestones in communication. Now, as I work daily surrounded by the gems birthed from his invention, my attention is often grabbed by other such pivotal events. The following event could be seen as a grandchild of Gutenberg’s printing press and therefore, the carrying on of a legacy.
William Bradford was born in 1663 to an English village printer. After apprenticing, he mastered the trade and married his master’s daughter, Elizabeth. The two set off on an adventure to the “New World” and “in 1685, the Bradfords emigrated to Philadelphia. Elizabeth gave birth to their first child, Andrew just one year later. Bradford set up Pennsylvania’s first printing press and, in 1690, helped construct William Rittenhouse’s paper mill, the first in the English colonies.”(wiki) William Bradford had brought the ability to disseminate information and knowledge to the colonies – with one example of his work being the April 3, 1735 edition of THE AMERICAN WEEKLY MERCURY (Philadelphia). With his son’s continuation of his father’s vision, World history was soon to pivot in a new direction once again with the birth of a new nation spurred on by the Founder’s ability to get their their message out to “We the People”.
Baby Steps… A journey of a thousand miles…
August 13, 2021 by LauraH · Leave a Comment
An old Chinese Proverb observes, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”. My grandfather would have said, “You can eat an elephant: just one bite at a time”. Perhaps both are true when discussing America’s progression from slavery to the 1st black president. This journey has taken thousands of steps – some quite noteworthy (ex., Brown v. the Board of Education), moved us forward by leaps and bounds – multiple steps at a time. Others, although relatively unknown (ex., The United States v. Cruikshank) set us back – steps in the wrong direction. The latter was recently brought to my attention through a report in the March 28, 1876 issue of The New York Times which reported the Supreme Court’s decision in this case which is described by Wikipedia as: “a major blow to Federal efforts to protect the civil rights of African Americans”. Perhaps “2 steps forward, one step back” better describes this journey of a thousand steps – the first which began with the declaration: “We the People”. Thankfully, what started as a crawl, at some point, broke into a sprint. However, the trek continues.
Am I Dating Myself? The B&O Railroad…
August 6, 2021 by LauraH · Leave a Comment
Raise your hand if you spent hours as a kid playing Monopoly. Raise your hand if you can’t imagine why you spent hours as a kid playing Monopoly. Somehow, back in the day before handheld electronics did more than play music, I loved that game. Nowadays it would seem agonizing to play; however, my interest was peeked by a March 5, 1827 issue of The National Gazette and Literary Register which had: “the founding of the historic B & O Railroad, the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States.” Amazingly, this property is able to be purchased for a mere $200 in a Monopoly game – and just think, B&O was not the only railroad made famous by the world’s longest lasting board game.
Big things (sometimes) come in small packages…
August 2, 2021 by LauraH · Leave a Comment
A few weeks ago I was searching for a newspaper covering the Brown vs. the Board of Education case. Such searches can take anywhere from 15-20 minutes to hours, and not all are successful, so jumping in to such an effort is almost always accompanied by an interesting blend of enthusiasm and anxiety. I began my hunt by printing a list of the monthly volumes of the various titles within our archives which spanned May 18, 1954 – the day after the Supreme Court’s landmark decision, and then headed off to our archives to search them one-by-one, starting at the top of the list. The New York Times? Sold. The Detroit Free Press and Detroit News? Both sold. After working through the volumes from the largest cities of the era I moved on to those from smaller locations: The Times-Picayune? Sold as well. The Springfield Union from Massachusetts? Again… sold. I was about to give up when I thought, “I might as well check The Fitchburg Sentinel (from where?)”. Without much hope, I pulled the volume and turned to the date. And in that moment my lesson was learned – sometimes even small city papers have GREAT content! The Fitchburg Sentinel from May 18, 1954 actually contained 2 articles covering the Brown vs. the Board of Education ruling. Fantastic! If you have interest in this topic or other Supreme Court rulings, historic newspapers may be for you.
A New Term For An Old Happening…
July 26, 2021 by LauraH · Leave a Comment
If I asked you what comes to mind when you hear the term “embedded reporter”, most of us would quickly picture some war scene… perhaps Vietnam … perhaps The Gulf War. Few of us would picture a train or “A Canadian Pacific Steamships” and yet, in 1870 an ingenious publisher decided to take a small printing press on board the first Transcontinental Railroad excursion and publish 6 issues westbound and 6 issues eastbound. Printed on a Gordon press in the baggage car, it is considered the very first newspaper composed, printed, & published on a train. Think … 1st embedded reporter. Similarly, in 1939, the PACIFIC EMPRESS was printed and considered “A Newspaper Printed & Published Daily Aboard Canadian Pacific Steamships”. These reporters may not have been dodging bullets behind enemy lines but they did boldly put themselves into harrowing circumstances to give 1st hand accounts covering big events during their lifetime. A fascinating precursor to Geraldo Rivera.
Memorial and Independence Day’s behind us… Veteran’s Day before us…
July 19, 2021 by LauraH · Leave a Comment
Days come and days go. Time ticks by ordinary days and extraordinary days … work days and holidays. Another President’s day comes and another one passes. Another anniversary … birthday … Christmas in the rear view mirror. Each holiday blending into the one before. If I’m going to be completely honest, this Memorial Day came and went without me giving it the amount of focus I normally do. Fortunately, as I was writing up some issues for a future catalog here at Rare Newspapers, I came across a moving poem with illustrations on the front page of a Nov. 11, 1921 CHICAGO DAILY TRIBUNE. This poem was 1st published on August 7, 1914 but, on this November day it was republished as they dedicated The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. Below is the poem and above is a link to that issue so you can see the artwork as well. Perhaps everyday should be reverently approached as Memorial Day, with a grateful heart and compassion for the sacrifices made by others on our behalf.
Gold and green are the fields in peace.
Red are the fields in war.
Black are the fields when the canons cease.
And white forever more.
Creativity with Consequences…
July 12, 2021 by LauraH · Leave a Comment
Whereas hindsight is 20/20, or so they say, it is sometimes hard to reconcile this statement with our lack of propensity to learn from our mistakes. However, when Orson Wells picked up his morning paper the day after his incredibly creative radio broadcast of War of the Worlds had filled the airwaves, there is little doubt his hindsight had perfect vision. e realized he should have handled things differently. The reality that this new medium of radio was powerfully persuasive and must be handled with a large degree of responsibility could not have been missed. While we may not know which paper he held in his hands when this truth struck him like a ton of bricks, the discovery of a GREENSBORO PATRIOT (NC) for October 31, 1938 recently brought this moment to our attention.
Some Legacies Change the World…
July 5, 2021 by LauraH · Leave a Comment
We all leave our mark on this world to a greater or lesser extent. Most of us never know, this side of eternity, all the impacts we have made however, some legacies change the World in a way all can see and are without dispute… such is the case of Orville and Wilbur Wright. This summer I am once again headed to the Outer Banks of North Carolina with my extended family for a time of rest and relaxation. We are scattered to the four corners of the wind and so this very large house gives the 25 – 35 of us an opportunity to reconnect each year. Inevitably, each trip includes a visit to the Orville and Wilbur Wright museum in Kitty Hawk. In light of my upcoming excursion, I took a quick look at issues we here at Rare Newspapers currently have in our archives describing the world changing legacy these 2 adventurers left for us. We have many issues to choose from however, one issue particularly caught my attention. Next day reports are always very desirable. In some cases, an event may not get the amount of recognition we feel it deserves until later, however, the December 18, 1903 issue of The San Francisco Chronicle reported the Wright Brothers 1st flight from December 17, 1903. In retrospect, we might think it should have been on the front page, however, the publisher may have had a difficult time imagining the extent to which the Wright Brothers Legacy would forever change our world.