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Still Learning…Website Topical Searches
July 6, 2020 by Stephanie Williams · Leave a Comment
While working on a different topic, I came across a derogatory reference to California gold, which started me thinking of how little I know concerning that period in American history. I was born into the Information Age so there is no reason for me to remain in ignorance; the world wide web is packed with timelines and maps and diary excerpts. Since I work in a place that houses many original pieces concerning every era since the first colonists arrived, I decided to begin my research on the Rare Newspapers site.
By merely typing “Gold Rush” in the search bar, I accessed 122 titles. As an experiment I only used the items and listing descriptions to obtain an overall working knowledge, and for entertainment purposes I thought it might be interesting to summarize my findings.
Modifying my results to an issue date sort, and beginning with the oldest first, I found the following attached to a paper dated September 28, 1848:
Page 3 has a lengthy article: “The Gold Region of California” which is from the very early period of the Gold Rush. It is mostly taken up with two letters from the gold fields, introduced with: “It would seem from late accounts that California is afflicted with some rich gold mines. The people there have been seized with madness on the subject & are abandoning the ordinary pursuits of life for the sake of hunting gold…”
Listings for publications from October, November and December of that year bear similar accounts and tell of the growing numbers of those involved. By January of 1849 the tone becomes cautionary:
Page 2 has: “California” which warns those thinking of heading to the gold fields to be very careful: “…large number of persons making preparations to proceed to El Dorado…will be obliged to undergo much suffering before reaching their wished-for haven & many will perhaps die on the passage…” with more. Also a short bit: “Death at the Gold Regions”.
Reading through all the write-ups I felt a bit more sure of my historical bearings when I encountered a familiar name that was not in this instance attached to a favorite brand of coffee (Pike’s Peak).
THE WASHINGTON UNION, Washington, D.C., August 29, 1858
* Pike’s Peak gold discovered
* Cherry Creek
* Start of Colorado gold rush
A page 2 report headed “Newly Discovered Gold Mines” says: “Monsieur Borden and company have arrived in Kansas City, from Pike’s Peak, Nebraska Territory. He reports newly discovered mines. He brought with him several ounces of gold, and confirms the existence of gold mines on Cherry Creek, branch south Platte; latitude 39”
It seems I have barely scratched the surface…
Still Learning… The Scientific American & the Cost of Cotton…
June 29, 2020 by Stephanie Williams · Leave a Comment
An 1862 series of issues from The Scientific American highlights farm equipment week after week. There are new inventions in the shape of plows, seed distributors and devices for shelling beans. Beyond agriculture, there are articles on engraving with electricity, followed by a detailed report of a boiler explosion. When I sat down with a stack of dates for the purpose of compiling this post, I lost track of an hour and a half of my life, poring through the smorgasbord of offered information. The 
regular feature “Patent Claims” describes patents issued and rejected, while the American prizes won at the London World’s Fair applaud the successful application of those successful inventions. Finally, there are consistent complaints about the delinquency of the U. S. Patent Office.
However, I particularly appreciated the note from the editor in the issue dated November 22, 1862. The heading reads, “An Important Crisis in the History of Newspaper Publishing.” It describes the impact of the Civil War and the cotton supply on the printing industry, and serves as a reminder that large disasters and challenges within a nation have far-reaching effects on priorities and resources — often at an intensely personal level.
“This is a time of severe trial to all newspaper and book publishers; and the prosperity — yes, the very business existence — of may of them is suspended upon a slender thread. That hitherto great national blessing, cheap literature, is likely for the present to receive a severe shock, and possibly its death-blow…The war now being waged for our priceless national heritage is working sad mischief to the newspaper interest. A heavy tax is laid upon white paper…Paper-makers will not and cannot, prudently, enter into contracts to supply publishers. They will only sell from week to week at their own prices; and, as usual, spectators are busy in getting a hold of every article that goes into the manufacture of paper, with a view to still further enhance the price.”
In contrast to the challenges of today, we can look at this warning in hindsight. Munn & Company, Editors and Proprietors successfully navigated the economic upheaval, and “The Scientific American” is still being printed today. However, the quality of an issue from the 19th century is definitely superior…
Still Learning… Gentleman’s Magazine – “Obituary, with Anecdotes”…
June 15, 2020 by Stephanie Williams · Leave a Comment
Bound volumes are masterful displays of a subscriber’s esteem for the published word. Not only aesthetically pleasing, they are effective methods of preserving printed pages from more than 200 years ago. I am quite partial to the untrimmed collections with ruffled edges wrapped into a stack and placed between two decorative covers. As most collectors are not seeking entire volume, individual dates are disbound before being sent out. Each extraction leaves a gap, and, consequently, all sorts of misshapen profiles neatly array our shelves.
Today I pulled an untouched volume of The Gentleman’s Magazine that chronicled an entire year, and spent some time just scanning the page headings. And stopped, quite decidedly, when I read, “Obituary, with Anecdotes, of Remarkable Persons”. Like a w
ander through an old cemetery, there is something appealing about reviewing the names of these people of note, as well as the few words allotted to them at the close of their lives. Who made the cut, and was worth a mention? What chosen phrase summarized the extraordinary essence of a human being and his or her impact on the world around them for the span of their days? Some epitaphs perfectly illustrate “damned with faint praise” and others kindle a more noble flame within those who have time to amend their mark. Either way, the vocabulary and turn of the phrase most definitely eclipse my tone and word choice, so I will let those loftier pens speak for themselves.
In Gloucester-place, Mary-la-Bonne, in her 32d year, Helen, wife of H.T. Hardacre, esq. the original proprietor of “The British Neptune,” leaving a young and numerous family.
At her brother-in-law’s house, in Russell-square, aged 50, Mrs. Elizabeth Trelawny, wife of Capt. T. Adjutant of the Bedforeshire Regiment of Militia. She was esteemed in the earlier part of her life as particularly handsome; and Time had been uncommonly kind in making his progress on her countenance with forbearance.
In his 47th year, having enjoyed his title only two years and a half, Peter-Isaac Thellusson, Baron Rendlesham, of Rendlesham. He was on a shooting party at Gosfield with Louis XVIII, the Earl of Chatham, and other Nobles, when he suddenly fell from his horse, and expired.
I couldn’t help smile at the section that immediately preceded this: “Additions and Corrections to former Obituaries,” but that’s an excursion for another day.
Still Learning… Harper’s Monthly Magazine & Disaster…
June 8, 2020 by Stephanie Williams · Leave a Comment
These past few months have been characterized by intense focus. I wonder if we are all concentrating fiercely on the task at hand, since everything else seems a bit too immense. Whatever the reason, I have thoroughly immersed myself in systematically working through volumes of titles in search of particular dates of interest as if this is the most important job in the world. Since publications in view are from the 1800’s, I am glimpsing snippets of similarities and of differences to our modern era.
While shelving Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, I read the following:
“Harper’s Magazine has now reached the close of its Tenth Volume. During the five years of its existence, its prosperity has been constant and uninterrupted. It has not been checked even by the disaster which fell upon the establishment of the Publishers, or by the period of general depression from which the country is now emerging.”
I didn’t know about this time of economic difficulty that Wikipedia describes as “lasting [from the Great Panic of 1837] until the Great Panic of 1857.” From where we stand it is easy to lose a historical perspective, but the December 1854 issue — sandwiched between two economic trials — provides that opportunity. The editor’s note at the front claims the magazine even flourished through the difficulties. At 144 pages, with 64 illustrations, this Harper’s devotes the first two-thirds to literary offerings ranging from an account of Napoleon’s exile to an installment of fiction by William Makepiece Thackeray. Following that are an extensive listing entitled “Monthly Record of Current Events”, three categories of editorials (Editor’s Table, Editor’s Easy Chair, and Editor’s Drawer), two pages of political cartoons, and the illustrated hoops and flounces that comprise those “Fashions for December.” This is a comfortable compilation that seems to provide a wealth of distracting entertainment that was as surely craved then as it is now, situated alongside a factual depiction of the nation and world.
From the current events section I extracted a nugget of reporting that mirrors modern newscasts.
“It may be stated generally, however, in reference to all of them, that partisan divisions have been less rigid than usual — that old party lines have been broken down.”
Somehow, shared disaster still seems to have that unifying effect.
Website Discoveries: History of Rare Newspapers in Video
February 14, 2020 by Stephanie Williams · Leave a Comment
One day Mr. Timothy Hughes pulled out some photographs to show me the first stage of renovations here where the majority of our papers are housed. I say majority, because some travel around to various museums and government buildings, exhibits and showings. But most are here, and “here” used to be a small workshop building that was gutted, extended and eventually became the anchor for the two warehouses.
I liked seeing the faces that are vaguely familiar (if a bit younger), and being reminded again that this is a close-knit, family group that has been working on all aspects of this endeavor for a long time. Anyway, I thought the general collecting public might be interested to know that our website links much more than a few photographs from thirty years ago. It’s well-stocked with professional videos ranging in topics from the history of this business, to insight into collecting and evaluating and caring for old newspapers.
So, browse a bit, and please let me know if there was any one in particular that caught your interest. Once a month I am going to peer into the nooks and crannies of our website; check in to see what else I find.
Happy Friday!
I’m New Here: Still Learning… Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper
February 7, 2020 by Stephanie Williams · Leave a Comment
I am always ready to learn although I do not always like being taught. Winston S. Churchill
This is an appropriate enough quote to summarize my perspective at the close of a year of many new lessons – and not all of them pleasant at the time of learning. It’s tough to be new, but it feels great to be not-new. Since I find myself in a “next stage” here at Rare Newspapers, as of this week I am transitioning the title(s) of my blog. Once a month I will continue to pass along something new I have learned, under the heading “Still Learning.” In the other three weeks I will focus on different aspects of this wonderful place.
My most recent orientation was a byproduct of searching the wide world of Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper. It seems these treasures, similar in size to Harper’s Weekly, are located in a completely different collection of Civil War Era papers. Although our titles are meticulously indexed and cataloged, the facilities could not possibly be rearranged with each new collection acquired. Consequently, the front warehouse has its own area of 1861-1865 issues, while the annex has a separate one. It’s so funny to still be discovering a nook packed full of Historical Relevance (in capital letters).
Within a publication from 1862, I located a four-panel, tipped-in centerfold. It’s a beautiful illustration that measures 20″ high by 32″ wide, folded inside the magazine, with no binding holes or glue lines within the image margins. The top half is titled “The Second Day of the Second Battle of Bunker Hill”, and depicts a lovely landscape in which lines of marching men wind along hilltops and alongside lanes of trees. Even the award winning photography of later wars doesn’t compete with the impact of this intricate rendering.
Note that this is not a double-page centerfold, as I originally described it to Guy, but a more extravagantly sized and highly desirable four-panel, tipped-in centerfold. I have recently been taught the difference.
Anyway, I have much more to learn, but in case you were wondering, I am ready for more Leslie’s requests — particularly Civil War issues.
I’m New Here: A Few Changes…
January 31, 2020 by Stephanie Williams · Leave a Comment
This week has gone by in a blur. The (exciting) new catalog ships out tomorrow, and all the attendant hoopla has filled our schedules. It’s always a juggling act to maintain regular work around special projects, because there is plenty of the latter to pack our days.
A seasoned collector was filling gaps prior to an approaching exhibit, and he called to have me check a New York Times obituary in 1898. 
We didn’t have the date it ran, and I exhausted all the other major papers. However, the deceased was an abolitionist who also contributed to the effort to gain the vote for women. As a last ditch effort I pulled a volume of the Woman’s Journal from Washington DC, and found a lengthy tribute to Robert Purvis. Mr. G was quite pleased, and I felt triumphant with my find, particularly as it led me to delve into my favorite category – publications in which women played an important role. Although much content pertains to suffrage, there seems to have been an effort to provide a platform for intelligent discussion that encompassed many other aspects of life in the 1800’s. These journals are a valuable resource for a look into the 19th Century, and I am always glad to fulfill an order with one of these gems.
As I begin this second year here at Rare & Early Newspapers, I am planning to dedicate my last post each month to a look at our titles, beginning with the Woman’s Journal. Hopefully, I can unearth enough nuggets that you will all start to consider that a collection cannot possibly be complete without containing at least an issue or two from the Woman’s Tribune, The Woman’s Journal, The North Shore Review, the Ladies Magazine or Womankind.
Thank you for the kind comments and encouragement in this first year. I beg your continued forbearance as I wade more deeply into the water.
Cheers!
I’m New Here: January 23, 2020
January 24, 2020 by Stephanie Williams · Leave a Comment
History’s Newsstand/ Rare & Early Newspapers has a well-deserved reputation for excellence and integrity; and procedures and processes are regularly evaluated to incorporate the highest quality systems available. Our website is undergoing some upgrades, most of which will be indiscernible to the average collector/follower. But in order to be certain things will indeed remain in order, I have been given the assignment to spend some time logging in and out and creating orders from an objective perspective.
As such, I have perused our web inventory – reading through descriptions and looking at photographs. I have completed numerous purchases the budget of my reality would never allow. And it has been great fun.
I learned two notable things. The first is that our website is an amazing tool to navigate the extraordinary inventory here. I searched date, title, topic, item number with successful outcomes. But most interesting to me was the list available by clicking the orange oval button “View All Categories”. This index of more than sixty topics, while not exhaustive, is a fabulous research resource. For those who regularly meander through online topics and items of interest, I encourage the home page of Rare Newspapers as a springboard for many happy hours of informative browsing.
As a second point of interest, I tagged the strangest report I encountered in my wanderings. It seems some of the earliest plastic surgery occurred in India and included rhinoplasty (although not identified as such). Through three separate avenues I arrived at the same description from The Gentleman’s Magazine, published in London, October of 1794.
Included is a fascinating–and extremely early–account of what we would call plastic surgery, being a letter from the East Indies which notes in part: “…the following very curious, and, in Europe, I believe, unknown chirugical [archaic spelling of ‘surgery’] operation which has long been practiced in India with success; namely affixing a new nose on a man’s face…” followed by the various details. Accompanying this is a full page plate of it, with 5 images (see).
Ironically, all these features and items are available on our website in its current state. I just hadn’t taken the time to look.
Have you?
I’m New Here: One Year In
January 17, 2020 by Stephanie Williams · Leave a Comment
This week I made two different forays into a subject I only visited once before — The Wild West. Thankfully, when you are dealing with a forty-four year old company that specializes in items printed hundreds of years ago, twelve months is not a long time. And that is good for me, because even when I tally up the number of days I have been here at Rare & Early Newspapers I still feel like a novice. Today I had back-to-back victories using the organizational system efficiently. Harper’s Weekly from 1912 is not in the front warehouse (designated “W” on location maps) with issues published through the end of the 19th Century, but in the annex (“A”) along the right wall, almost to the very end. Better still, as I confidently strode through the front building with an inward chuckle over my early bumbling efforts to determine what happened after December 30, 1899, I recalled the clipboard hanging in that area. Rather than maneuver the lift across four rows and down a 15′ column in order to ascend to the appropriate decade, I checked the sheet. There, recorded after exhausting all potential volume locations, was the notation, “August 17, 1912 — no cc”. So, a disappointing answer for the collector inquiring, but a resounding victory for me as the entire search took a total of three minutes.
Every time I can locate an issue someone is seeking, I feel victorious. But the worst thing is spending a lot of time (which is always needed elsewhere) without having anything to show for it. Today’s glance at the inventory tally reminded me that even a negative result can be useful, if not to me then surely to someone else. Anyway, I am finally reaching the stage where I am wasting less time when I head into the back in search of whatever someone has called, emailed, written or web queried about. In theory, the more time I save, the more I have to search out another Titanic issue (665700) for the collector in Germany or a Jay Gould cover portrait for the fellow in Minnesota.
And, for those of you who continue to read these posts, I will always make time to follow up on your requests. I might even write about them…
I’m New Here: Week Forty-Three…
January 3, 2020 by Stephanie Williams · Leave a Comment
Recently, a collector asked me to verify the presence of a continuing report within the Gazette of the United States – the Davila Discourse, which discusses political implications of a republican form of government, as perceived by John Adams in the early days of the young country. Mr. K offered the information that the section title printed within the sub-heading was not accurate, but a misidentification on the part of the publisher. Instead, he referenced an outside scholarly source to identify the sequence of text.
My son was old enough during the 2000 presidential election to be fascinated with the process. At his request, his grandmother kept every newspaper from the week before, through the many days following that strange Tuesday in this nation’s history. Most notable in his collection, however, is the issue that proclaimed Al Gore as the winner. This week I began thinking about the erroneous publication of “news” at historically crucial times.
Various reports of death have been “grossly exaggerated” – in fact, Wikipedia has alphabetically indexed 14 pages of such premature obituaries. In the Rare and Early Newspaper world one of the most well-known gaffes is the Chicago Tribune “Dewey Defeats Truman”. As I am new and just learning of these, I am appalled to find yet another winding road away from the details I am supposed to be taking care of during my working day.
Ultimately, a thing is not true just because it appeared in print. However, an editorial error can be quickly identified by reviewing the publishing context. Those of this community who have a more seasoned perspective might enjoy sharing some favorite errors with me via this blog, in case an opportunity arises to do a little wandering in my second year…