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Removing those annoying address labels…
November 11, 2010 by TimHughes · 2 Comments
Fellow collector Morris Brill raises a question which others may have pondered as well: “Is there a safe way of removing the label without harming or staining the newspaper?”
Address labels come in various sizes. The earliest ones are generally from the post-Civil War years and those labels tend to be relatively narrow strips with just the subscriber’s name or an institution’s name. A city might be included as well. Those of the 20th century tend to be one-half to three-quarters of an inch tall and contain the full address of the subscriber.
If discretely placed above the masthead & not touching any text they can be quite harmless and add a certain “charm” and authenticity to the newspaper, but those which cover portions of the masthead or headline are annoying. And they can be removed.
In every case I’ve encountered the glue is water soluble, and once softened the label can be peeled off with little trouble. Since the label is almost always of thicker paper stock than the newspaper, the quickest way to soften the glue is to moisten the reverse side, meaning the actual newspaper from page two. Once the outline of the label is felt (or hold up to the light & note the outline), I use a cotton swab and warm water (distilled would be best) to dampen the back side of the label. Patience and experimentation are important, as often two or three applications of water and up to ten minutes of waiting are required for the glue to soften such that the label can be removed by using an exacto-knife to peel it up from a corner.
Once removed and the dampness dries there may or may not be a minor water stain which remains, but I always find this much less offensive than the label covering part of the headline. It is my opinion that the value of the newspaper is enhanced by having the label removed despite a minor stain.
If you have had success with other methods of removing address labels, feel free to share.
Minister needed to be clever to say only nice things…
November 6, 2010 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
This interesting report In the “Richmond Examiner” issue of August 27, 1864 shows some creativity by the preacher:
A ghost robs a bank…
October 30, 2010 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
And just in time for Halloween, a report from “The Observer” of London, January 1, 1797:
Old age is relative…
October 23, 2010 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
Enjoy the following, which appeared in an 1857 newspaper:
Roosevelt to blame for the Pearl Harbor attack…
October 16, 2010 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
We often list on our website issues from the island of Guernsey during World War II when it was occupied by the Nazis. As such all news is filtered through the German propaganda machine which offers interesting reading, as the reports are in English because the residents speak English.
Although many battles reports border on the absurd, particularly with historical hindsight, the front page report in the “Evening Press” dated December 8, 1941, one day after the Pearl Harbor attack, is one of the more outrageous (see the photo below).
A great rarity comes into our inventory…
October 7, 2010 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
One of the more rare items in the world of early newspaper collecting has come into our inventory: a collection of the very first newspaper in Hawaii, including the volume one, number one issue.
Hawaii’s first newspaper was essentially a student newspaper, titled “Ka Lama Hawaii” (The Hawaiian Luminary), done by Protestant missionaries at their school at Lahainaluna on the island of Maui. The missionaries transported a printing press some 18,000 miles around Cape Horn to Hawaii, setting up what would become the very first newspaper building west of the Rocky Mountains. The newspaper was printed in the Hawaiian language on the manually operated flatbed press which could turn out 100 sheets per hour. Content included articles on government, Christian teachings, and in keeping with the educational element, illustrations of exotic animals like the lion, elephant and zebra. The very first issue, dated Feb. 14, 1834, was dominated by an essay on the habits & habitats of the lion.
This newspaper lasted for just these 25 issues printed in 1834, then did not print for several years only to resurrect itself to print just two final issues in January, 1841. Not only is it the first newspaper in Hawaii, but it also predates any newspaper in North America west of the Rocky Mountains.
We felt these rare issues were worth sharing with fellow collectors.
Beware what you “conjure”…
October 2, 2010 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
The “Massachusetts Centinel” newspaper from Boston printed this interesting item headed “Astrology” in its May 12, 1790 edition:
“Keeping” the Commandments…
September 25, 2010 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
The following is an interesting item printed in “The Floridian” newspaper from Tallahassee, August 12, 1848. The “Temperance Aphorisms” which follows it is worth a look as well:
Thoughts on titles in America…
September 18, 2010 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
The date was July 8, 1789, and the government of the “United States of America” was but a few months old when the “Massachusetts Centinel” printed this article: “Thoughts Upon Titles”. Given the only experience at the time was the European model when it came to titles for those in leadership positions, it would not have been unusual for the topic to be raised as to what titles should be used for America’s governmental officials. This piece offers some interesting insight into the thoughts of the day:
Presumably not a chamber of commerce sponsored event…
September 11, 2010 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
This appeared in the “New York Clipper” newspaper of December 6, 1856 issue. Hopefully this “expedition” in Bridgeport, Vermont, was so successful that the town is a nice place in which to live today: