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Reflecting back on December, 1773… The Boston Tea Party…
December 19, 2022 by LauraH · Leave a Comment
As we come to the end of 2022 and consider both the good and the bad… the peaceful and the tumultuous… the triumphant and the tragic, we may be harboring some of the same thoughts and sentiments as many of our fellow “Americans” from 1773.
As they gathered around their fireplaces at the close of the year, and read an article in the CONNECTICUT JOURNAL & NEW HAVEN POST-BOY for the day datelined December 23rd, there is no doubt their reflections took them back to the dark and cold night of December 16, 1773, while snow lay round about, of the match which ignited a powder keg lighting up the entire world – what we now refer to as the Boston Tea Party. Tumultuous may be an understatement for their year-end ponderings.
Perhaps not the same thoughts, but “felt” oppression from those in position of power are rarely long endured.
‘Twas the Week Before Christmas – Rare Newspapers Edition…
December 16, 2022 by LauraH · Leave a Comment
Ok, so it’s a bit corny, but decorated with my brand of holiday cheer!
We at Rare & Early Newspapers thought you might like a glimpse of Christmas week through the years, so we implored our resident videographer (Lyndsay) to put together the following work of art for your merriment:
A joyous Christmas to all,
The Rare & Early Newspapers Family
They Never Saw it Coming… The Sinking of the Titanic.
December 9, 2022 by LauraH · Leave a Comment
We may at times wonder what happens to a person as they experience a traumatic event. What drives them to react as they do? My brother-in-law, who served as a Marine, once told me that people rarely rise to a higher level of nobility when faced with crisis. They are either overcome by terror, or they default to their training.
As I read through an article covering testimonies of Titanic survivors printed in the Evening Tribune (San Diego) from April 23, 1912 (shown below), while I have no life experience to know firsthand, I had to admit he may be right. After considering the quotes of a lifeboat captain who was being questioned by Congress, it was clear he was surrounded by two types of individuals: your average everyday citizen and ship hands who had been trained to follow orders. Pondering this type situation, I would like to think I would respond differently, but perhaps I should put a bit of preparation alongside of my hope. Of course, how does one prepare for such a calamity?
“It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year”…
December 5, 2022 by LauraH · Leave a Comment
I saved this post for today because I realize the “official start” to the Christmas Season can, on occasion, cause a degree of family angst. However, once Thanksgiving is in the rear-view mirror and December has arrived, few can argue against fully embracing all things Christmas. So, here we go…
Top on my list this year is a hope I’ll have a series of lightbulb moments which reveal the perfect gift to get for each of my loved ones. Inevitably, each year there are always a few whose selections cause me distress since I don’t want to merely check the box next to their name on my gift list; rather, I want the unboxing to cause them to smile from ear to ear. I’m sure it is no surprise that I find gift-buying for older relatives the most difficult. After all, what can you get for the person who has had a lifetime to collect all the things they want? Thankfully, last week I found my answer in a Motion Picture Daily from December 10, 1954. These quaint issues are full of movie news of the day and are often chocked full of high gloss vintage movie ads. Take a look for yourself at those we’ve already listed on our website… and, our archives hold many more.
Merry Christmas to all with a wish for successful gifting.
Our obsession with “firsts”… History gives us plenty – including John Rock…
November 28, 2022 by LauraH · Leave a Comment
We are a people enamored with firsts: our 1st kiss … finishing in 1st place… 1st to fly… 1st to discover “The New World” (still up for debate)… When I study Scripture, I love using something called “the law of first mention” which says, we best understand a particular word or doctrine by finding and then learning all about the first place in Scripture the word or doctrine was revealed. We also love the 1st man on the moon, the 1st rock opera – and the list goes on and on. Speaking of 1sts…
On February 2, 1865, THE NEW YORK TIMES gave us another first to appreciate, and then later, on February 25, 1865, HARPER’S WEEKLY put a face on this first: that is, John Rock becoming the first African American attorney admitted to the bar of the U.S. Supreme Court. The New York Times stated in part: “J. S. Rock, of the Supreme Court of Massachusetts, was to-day, on motion of Senator Sumner, admitted an Attorney and Counsellor in the Supreme Court of the United States.” Quite historic!
Whether we are reading or collecting “early” newspapers, history provides us with a fascinating list of 1sts which can be celebrated and studied… 1st shut out in baseball… 1st Hispanic Supreme Court Justice… shall I go on?
Separation of Church & State – Catholic concern in early 1800’s…
November 14, 2022 by LauraH · Leave a Comment
On April 23, 1804, The Order of Ursuline Nuns from New Orleans penned a letter to then President Thomas Jefferson. In their letter, they expressed concerns about their property being confiscated. The letter said in part: “they [those within the Order] cannot but be anxious to know that the property which is to enable them to fulfil these duties will be secure to them”. Just seven months later, Jefferson replied with the following:
“To the Soeur Therese de St. Xavier farjon Superior, and the Nuns of the order of St. Ursula at New Orleans:
I have received, holy sisters, the letter you have written me wherein you express anxiety for the property vested in your institution by the former governments of Louisiana. the principles of the constitution and government of the United States are a sure guarantee to you that it will be preserved to you sacred and inviolate, and that your institution will be permitted to govern itself according to its own voluntary rules, without interference from the civil authority. whatever diversity of shade may appear in the religious opinions of our fellow citizens, the charitable objects of your institution cannot be indifferent to any; and its furtherance of the wholesome purposes of society, by training up its younger members in the way they should go, cannot fail to ensure it the patronage of the government it is under. be assured it will meet all the protection which my office can give it.
I salute you, holy sisters, with friendship & respect.
Th: Jefferson”
The POLITICAL OBSERVATORY, November 17, 1804, carried the entire letter with Jefferson’s signature.
Ironically, within the next 30 years, a very different story was recorded. The October 11, 1834, NILES’ WEEKLY REGISTER, had multiple pages of coverage of the August 11 and 12, 1834 Ursuline Convent riots in Charlestown, Massachusetts.
Wiki states these riots were, “fueled by the rebirth of extreme anti-Catholic sentiment in antebellum New England.”
Perhaps the Nuns of 1804 had a prophetic gift enabling them to foresee troubles to come.
The Battle of Gettysburg… an intimate look…
November 7, 2022 by LauraH · Leave a Comment
I would imagine, as a journalist, an eyewitness is the “rare pearl”. Research is all well and good but interviewing someone who saw it with their own two eyes will most often give the very best information. So it was for the journalist who wrote for the DAILY RICHMOND EXAMINER, July 17, 1863 issue. The article…
“The Invasion of Pennsylvania–The Battle Of Gettysburg–The Retreat To Hagerstown” features an eye-witness account of the retreat and is prefaced with: “…the only connected, intelligent and intelligible account that has yet been given to the public of the movements of General Lee…after the Battle of Gettysburg.” This lengthy & detailed accounting by one of the soldiers begins with the Confederate advance from Virginia into Maryland on June 18, then continues with: “On Friday, 26th, we took up the line of march through Chambersburg on the Harrisburg road. The splendid band in the 4th Louisiana brigade…proceeded the column playing ‘Dixie” and the Marseillaise…We passed through Shippensburg to the sound of martial music again & went on to Carlisle…Harrisburg was in a panic…”.
A report from a soldier who was more than an eyewitness of the battle; rather, one who experienced it first-hand… From a journalist’s point of view, it just doesn’t get any better. 
It’s All About the Headline…
November 5, 2022 by LauraH · Leave a Comment
Some of our collectors are drawn to a poignant political speech and some are passionate about 17th – 19th century maps. More than a few seek reports of famous battles while others can’t resist death reports of notable generals. When it comes to the Rare & Early Newspapers collectible, breadth of interest runs from the heart-wrenching past (illustrated slave ads – lest we forget), to the lighthearted (a recent issue containing an ad & review of a favorite movie. However, regardless of their interest, for a majority of collectors it’s all about the headline – the more frameable and dramatic, the better!
With this in mind, may I submit as an example the banner headline of Hearst’s Boston American for April 23, 1906: “SAN FRANCISCO SUFFERERS GO MAD! “, followed by: “Crazed By Horrors They Roam The Streets”. Can we all agree… even the tabloids of today can’t touch this! So, whether you are drawn to the macabre, the triumphant, or merely the historical, for many it’s all about the headline. After all…
GREAT HEADLINES SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES
The Sounds of Summer and the Crack of the Bat…
October 28, 2022 by LauraH · Leave a Comment
What makes summer feel like summer? Hazy evenings where light still lingers until after 9… Fireflies flitting across the grass… Children laughing as they romp in the neighborhood yards or… the crack of a bat at the local little league field? We at RareNewspapers have a particular fondness for baseball – not only because our Phillies made it to the World Series… or that our founder (Tim Hughes) has served for decades on the board of Little League International… or that the Little League World Series is played each year within a few blocks of our archives in PA, but also because baseball captures the essence of summer, America and apple-pie (with vanilla ice-cream), and we each have a fondness for all three.
To join our baseball enthusiasm a bit, take a look at some of our best baseball issues including one from the current catalog … a CHICAGO DAILY TRIBUNE, Sept. 29, 1920 covering the Black Sox Scandal. Even America’s pastime has a skeleton or two in its closet.
A Fly on the Wall at the Constitutional Convention of 1787…
October 17, 2022 by LauraH · Leave a Comment
It is not uncommon these days to hear people discussing The Constitution. How they discuss this crucial founding document may differ radically and the accuracy with which they discuss it may vary as well. As you can imagine, those of us at Rare Newspapers fall into the “Perhaps the best secular document ever written” camp. So, I am sure it will not surprise you to know that I have always longed to have been “a fly on the wall” during the Constitutional Convention. Given the writings of the Founders, I have to imagine we would all be blown away by their passionate discussions. Just the other day I heard someone discussing various states’ desire to hold a Constitutional Convention… to make some changes. His comment went something like this (paraphrased)…
– I have been in favor of a current day Constitutional Convention in the past however, as I look at where we are today as a nation, I do not think we can be trusted as a people to open this precious document and leave it vulnerable to changes made by this culture. –
He went on to say (again, paraphrased) … -I believe the day may come in the future when we could be trusted with such a sobering task, but today is not that day. –
For now, we will just need to content ourselves with protecting this amazing document as is until/if that day comes.
Note: The image shown above announcing a quorum had finally been reached at the Constitutional Convention was taken from THE INDEPENDENT GAZETTEER; OR THE CHRONICLE OF FREEDOM, Philadelphia, May 26, 1787.