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Words spoken softly would prove to be extraordinarily prophetic…
April 14, 2025 by TimHughes · 1 Comment
Some of the newspapers that are so desired by collectors are those with innocent reports–often inconspicuous amongst the jumble of lengthier articles–that would only find relevance in the passing of years. Such is the case with the “New York Semi-Weekly Tribune” issue of May 15, 1860. Keep in mind that at this date, the Republican National Convention in Chicago had yet to formally begin (May 16-18) and Abraham Lincoln was pretty much an unknown in the world of national politics. He did capture some attention with his famous “…house divided…” speech two years earlier, and more contemporarily with his Cooper Union address in February, 1860, but he was–at best–an outsider for the Presidency.
Page 5 has a column headed: “The Chicago Convention” “The People Gathering” “Prospects of Various Candidates” “Seward Leads Them All” and more. However, the report suggests Seward’s work will be difficult, noting in part: “The crowd gather thick & fast…The Seward leaders are also very confident and profess the utmost faith, but it is impossible to see how his nomination can be carried…”. As for the candidates, it notes: “…Mr. Seward will lead, Mr. Bates will come next, and Mr. Chase will be third…Mr. Cameron will come next, and then Mr. Lincoln…”. By the reporter’s reckoning, Lincoln was a distant 5th.
Ultimately, as the following days would give evidence, Seward led on the first ballot but fell short of a majority, while Lincoln would finish in a strong second place. Cameron’s delegates shifted to Lincoln on the second ballot, leaving Lincoln essentially tied with Seward. Lincoln clinched the nomination on the third ballot after consolidating support from more delegates who had backed candidates other than Seward.
All of this is intriguing and noteworthy, but of special collector interest is a comment in the page 4 editorial. It is a simple, yet very prophetic statement: “…Mr. Lincoln of Illinois, however, is rising in prominence.” And so he did, becoming unquestionably one of the most well-known names in all of American history.
More than just another anti-slavery newspaper… A recent find…
February 7, 2025 by TimHughes · 2 Comments
I would have thought that after roughly a half-century in this hobby I would have heard of almost every title in America, even if I never owned them. But recently we encountered some issues of “The Non-Resistant” from Boston. Certainly the title intrigued me.
Wikipedia does a nice job of describing it:
“The New England Non-Resistance Society was an American peace group founded by William Lloyd Garrison (publisher of the famous ‘Liberator’ newspaper) in 1838. At the organizing convention, members of the American Anti-Slavery Society & the American Peace Society expressed discomfort with Garrison’s philosophy of non-resistance & inclusion of women in public political activities. After conservative attendees opposing Garrison walked out of the convention in protest, those remaining formed the ‘New England Non-Resistance Society’.
The Society condemned the use of force in resisting evil, in war, for the death penalty, or in self-defense, renounced allegiance to human government, and because of the anti-slavery cause, favored non-union with the American South.
The New England Non-Resistance Society was one of the more radical of the many organizations founded by William Lloyd Garrison, adopting a Declaration of Sentiments of which he was the principal author, pledging themselves to deny the validity of social distinctions based on race, nationality or gender, refusing obedience to human governments, and opposing even individual acts of self-defense.
In the Society’s Declaration of Sentiments, Garrison wrote, ‘any person without distinction of sex or color, who consents to the principles of this Constitution may become a member and be entitled to speak at its meetings.’ The Society rejected loyalty to any human government; one historian has described the Non-Resistance Society’s ‘basic outlook as that of philosophical anarchism’.
The declaration was signed by 44 people, of whom 20 were women. Maria Chapman became the editor of its publication, The Non-Resistant, along with Edmund Quincy and William Lloyd Garrison and started publication in 1839. The publication lasted only several years but was indicative of the millennial character of parts of the reform movement.”
An interesting newspaper with an intriguing history. I should never be surprised by what comes our way.
The reason I collected it: magazines in original bindings…
January 27, 2025 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
In my last post I discussed the difference between disbound and never-bound newspapers – the latter being more preferred presuming other factors are equal.
The same holds true with 18th century magazines, with one added bonus: they usually contain original outer wrappers, almost never found with disbound magazines.
As was the case with newspapers, it was common for a full year’s edition of a magazine to be set aside by the publisher when printed and bound at the year’s end for sale to institutions & personal libraries in book form. I would say 95% or more of 18th century magazines we offer were once bound. They are easy to spot as they have disbound evidence at the spine, and their margins were trimmed for a more even, aesthetically pleasing appearance (some were bound but the margins were not trimmed).
Those who have read our catalogs for years will recall that I give special attention to magazines that were never bound. They were as sold on the streets or delivered to the subscriber. Such magazines typically had outer wrappers (often blue) that protected the issue within and were bound with string rather than glue, the latter the case for bound issues. These wrappers were often decorative, featuring an engraving, perhaps the table of contents, or advertisements of the publisher. When magazines were bound into annual volumes the wrappers were discarded, considered superfluous, essentially rendering some magazines incomplete if the wrapper was where the city of publication and publisher’s name were found.
Given that such never-bound magazines did not enjoy the protection of hard-cover bindings and the relative inaccessibility on library shelves, they tend to be more worn at the margins. It would not be uncommon for the wrappers to be worn at the spine and margins, more so than the pages within. but I would prefer a worn, never-bound issue to a more perfect disbound issue. I might suggest at least one never-bound issue in a collection as a representative example of a magazine’s original state, knowing that the vast majority of issues collected will be disbound without wrappers.
The Gentlemen’s Magazine shown above is what is most commonly found – trimmed, disbound, and without the original protective wrapper which was removed during the binding process (since it was no longer needed for protection). The one shown below is of the same date and is an example of a never-bound nor trimmed issue which includes the original outer wrapper. Others can be found on our website but be forewarned: they are very much in the minority (and are priced higher due to their rarity). Enjoy your collecting!
The reason I collected it: never-bound issues…
January 24, 2025 by TimHughes · 1 Comment
For the serious collector, the ideal state for a collectible newspaper is one as sold on the streets or delivered to a subscriber, meaning never having been bound nor trimmed at the margins, and almost certainly read by someone on the day of issue. They are, however, in the minority of those available on the collector market.
Most newspapers found today were, at one point, bound into a volume, either 3 months, 6 months, or a full year’s editions per volume depending on the number of pages. Binding consecutive issues was an efficient way for institutions to store newspapers on their shelves, making them easily available for researchers, looking much like a large book with the spine noting the title and time period. Most were guillotined at the edges to make the three exposed margins even and more aesthetically pleasing, albeit with the loss of a small portion of the original newspaper.
With the advent of microfilm and microfiche–and now digital storage–institutions began converting their holdings to such user-friendly formats, often discarding the hard copies to save space on their shelves. Such discarded volumes often found their way into the hands of collectors who disbound the volumes to secure those issues of significance for their collections. Disbound newspapers are usually easy to spot as they often have glue remnants at the spine and/or binding slits, holes or irregularity where strings once held the issues into the volume. Issues as sold on the streets will not have binding evidence at the spine and their margins are wider and typically uneven, evidence of the limitations of paper-making in the era.
Not surprisingly, disbound issues tend to be in better condition having been protected by the bindings for 100 years or more. They are also far more plentiful than never-bound issues. Never-bound newspapers did not enjoy such protection through the years and tend to show more wear or staining, most having been lost or destroyed in time. So when a never-bound newspaper is found in great condition, it is a rarity and a prime choice for a personal collection.
There is an emotional intrigue to never-bound issues as well which no collector should overlook.
Bound issues were more typically set aside on the day printed, stacked, and later bound into a volume without having been read by anyone on the date issued, and perhaps by no one for hundreds of years. It’s the same paper, original to the date, but more emotionally sterile.
Never-bound newspapers were once owned by a subscriber (name typically handwritten at the top) or purchased at the corner newsstand allowing today’s collector a sense of fascination in holding & reading a newspaper once read by someone many years ago. One gains a more personal appreciation of history knowing the subscriber first learned of Lincoln’s assassination from the newspaper now in your collection. Remember, no radio, television, or internet announcing the event within moments of it happening.
Enjoy the hobby, and when the option permits, think about being more discriminating in what ends up in your collection.
The reason I collected it: just intriguing…
December 20, 2024 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
Through the nearly 50 years of collecting newspapers, some items are just plain intriguing; not historic and not necessarily desirable; just intriguing.
Such was the case with “The Spy“ (see below) I purchased many years ago. The masthead only notes that it was: “Printed In Recluse” with no city or state noted. Printed on page two the title actually appears to be “The Village Spy” noting the place of publication as: “City of Mud”.
This is the volume 1, number 7 issue. We can find nothing about this title online which tends to indicate rarity. And without a city and state noted we cannot research it in Gregory’s ‘Union List of Newspapers”. Noted in the masthead: “Edited by Gen. Consequence, and His Associates”.
This would appear to be an early comic or satirical newspaper. All of the front page is a play: “…to be performed soon at some place in the city of Mud.” Other odd notes take up pages 2, 3 and 4 including two poems.
Such a paper is the type that needed to be in my collection. I have not found another issue since.
The reason I collected it: The Spy…
November 14, 2024 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
Sometimes newspapers are just so odd that they defy description, and when we encounter such, they were added to the private collection.
One such title is “The Spy” (see below), or as noted inside “The Village Spy”. The masthead does not include a city or state of publication, other than: “Printed In Recluse” and the date: May 13, 1824. Printed on page two the title is actually: “The Village Spy” noting the publication place as: “City of Mud” along with the date.
This is the volume 1, number 7 issue, about which we can find nothing online. Noted in the masthead: “Edited by Gen. Consequence, and His Associates”.
This would appear to be an early comic or satirical newspaper. All of the front page is a play: “…to be performed soon at some place in the city of Mud.” Other odd notes take up pages 2, 3 and 4 including two poems.
We offer this post to allow others to do a bit of investigation if they find this intriguing, or perhaps someone already knows of this newspaper?
The reason I collected it: a movement that went nowhere…
October 11, 2024 by TimHughes · 1 Comment
I remember when I first encountered this newspaper I thought it was in a foreign language. But it wasn’t in a language we typically encounter. Then I took a more careful look.
The title of the newspaper is the: “AI ANGLO SACSUN” and is dated May 29, 1847. This is the volume 1, number 11 issue of an attempt to exploit a movement to spell words phonetically, just as they sounded. So their motto in the dateline is: “Devoted Tu Ai Difyushun ov Nolej and Nuz, Tru Ai Medium of Fonotipi, or the Tru System ov Spelin Wurdz As Iz, Just Az ae are Pronnst.” (difficult to translate as they use some characters not in the traditional alphabet. Their alphabet is found on page 3).
The entire issue has various articles spelled phonetically, which takes some getting used to. But within a few minutes, it’s easy to fall into the rhythm of reading phonetically. Otherwise the layout is much like other newspapers of the era, with a very decorative masthead.
This was obviously a movement that never caught on, but it did leave behind this interesting curiosity to delight collectors close to 200 years later.
The reason I collected it: with an eye-witness account of the invasion…
September 23, 2024 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
In some situations, the person from whom a newspaper is purchased adds a bit of flavor to the issue. Such is the case with the LIDOVA DEMOKRACIE newspaper of Prague, Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic), dated Aug. 21, 1968.
This issue is from this historic day of the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia.
Warsaw Pact member countries, except Romania and Albania, were led by the Soviet Union to repress the reforms being pressed by the Czech people through the invasion of Czechoslovakia and the capital, Prague, on August 21. The invasion, chiefly by infantry and tanks, effectively suppressed any further attempts at reform. The military occupation of Czechoslovakia by the Red Army would not end until 1991.
The banner headline (translated) pleads: “To All The People of Czechoslovakia! Keep Calm and Balanced !“
But it’s the accompanying typewritten letter from the collector-friend that enhances the value. A few portions of his letter include: “I lived this momentous event as I heard the Russian planes on the night of August 20, 1968 as I couldn’t sleep due to the heat… drove to the city center to the radio building…There I saw dozens of Soviet tanks and masses of soldiers and people. No Czech soldiers or police! I snatched up some of these papers as they were handed out by speedy taxis and autos. Also dropped from windows…it was extremely dangerous…there was much confusion as you can imagine…Luckily, the ‘LIDOVA DEMOKRACIE’ is on the day of the invasion and proclaims the Warsaw Pact nations of the USSR, Hungary, GDR, East Germany, Bulgaria and Poland have invaded Czechoslovakia…”.
The reason I collected it: Ai Anglo Sacsun…
August 19, 2024 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
Sometimes stepping outside the normal categories of historic, rare, or early when it comes to collecting newspapers can turn up some intriguing items. The odd, strange, unusual, and outright bizarre can be attractive additions as well.
The Ai Anglo Sacsun fits that bill.
This newspaper attempted to exploit a movement to spell words phonetically, just as they sounded. So their motto in the dateline is: “Devoted Tu Ai Difyushun ov Nolej and Nuz, Tru Ai Medium of Fonotipi, or the Tru System ov Spelin Wurdz As Iz, Just Az ae are Pronnst.” (difficult to translate as they use some characters not in the traditional alphabet. Their alphabet is found on page 3).
The entire issue has various articles spelled phonetically, making it difficult to read. Otherwise the layout is much like other newspapers of the era, with a very decorative masthead.
Obviously a movement that never caught on. Yet it produced a fascinating newspaper worthy of collecting.
The reason I collected it: The Spirit of ’76…
July 29, 2024 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
I have always been intrigued by newspapers with unusual, huge, patriotic, or simply beautiful mastheads. They always make for very displayable items.
This issue from New York, dated September 3, 1835, certainly fits the patriotic category and was added to the private collection for that reason. It features a heraldic eagle with a 7 1/2 inch wingspan, a scroll reading “The Spirit of ’76” in its beak, the US. flag in its talons, and a small portrait of George Washington.
A quite rare title as this is the only issue we have located in our approx. half-century of collecting. It appears to have lasted for just one year, this being the volume 1, number 113 issue. I only wish we had hundreds more!