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First newspapers in Missouri…
July 19, 2010 by TimHughes · 3 Comments
It was in 1808 when the first printing press arrived in what is now the state of Missouri, which was the Territory of Louisiana at the time. That was in St. Louis, which had about 1000 inhabitants at the time. Previous to moving to St. Louis, Joseph Charless, the printer, worked on a newspaper in Lexington, Kentucky in 1803, and then 4 years later was involved in the “Gazette” of Louisville. And it was on July 12, 1808 when Charless printed the first edition of the “Missouri Gazette“, the first newspaper in Missouri. He had 170 subscribers at the time, many of whom paid in flour, corn, beef or pork to the value of the $3 annual subscription. He changed the title to the “Louisiana Gazette” in 1809, but then when Congress created the Missouri Territory in 1812, the paper again became the “Missouri Gazette“.
Not uncommon to early printers, Charless had made many enemies through his newspaper, prompting opponents to head a movement to bring another printer into town. It was in 1815 when Joshua Norvell arrived in town, and in May of that year printed his first issue of the “Western Journal“. He sold it within two years, when the new printer changed the name on May 17, 1817 to the “Western Emigrant“. It again changed hands & title again in another two years, to the “St. Louis Enquirer“.
Just following the doctor’s orders…
July 17, 2010 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
The following piece appeared in the “Bethlehem Daily Times” issue of November 22, 1869.
Value for an “Ulster County Gazette”…
July 12, 2010 by TimHughes · 31 Comments
If there is any one newspaper about which we receive the most calls as to value, it would have to be the “Ulster County Gazette” issue of January 4, 1800. This Kingston, New York, newspaper documents the death of George Washington, hence the appeal.
Anyone who has been collecting newspapers for more than a few years has likely encountered at least one of the more than 60 varieties of reprints which have been documented and which exist by the hundreds of thousands. The Library of Congress has an informative sheet which will allow one to distinguish a reprint edition from the original.
As of this date, only two genuine issues have been discovered, now in the hands of the American Antiquarian Society and the Library of Congress. Although the history of the reprints, going back to 1825, is an interesting subject in itself, my thoughts with this blog post are on the value of a genuine issue should a third one surface.
Keeping in mind that historical significance is perhaps the single most important determinant for value, The report of Washington’s death does not rank–in my opinion–on the “top shelf”. The “Ulster County Gazette” issue is a relatively late report with a Jan. 4, 1800 date (he died Dec. 14, 1799), and there is no particular significance to the city in regard to Washington; he wasn’t born there, didn’t die there, perhaps never even visited there (although during the Revolutionary War he was in that vicinity). The Declaration of Independence & Constitution rank high on the “top shelf”, and these documents in Philadelphia newspapers would be premier issues for such reports commanding values well above $100,000 each. As such, the “Ulster County Gazette” issue is famous for being a reprint and not much more.
So, the question is, should a third genuine issue surface, how much should it be worth? Yes, it is a rare newspaper as only two are known to exist, but I’m sure there are other small town newspapers from the era which are equally as rare. In our catalog 177 we will be offering a Providence, R.I. issue of January 1 for less than $2000, it being a first report also with front page mention and much inside page text regarding Washington’s death. But six institutions have this issue with perhaps a few more in private hands. I think some collectors believe the U.C.G. would be worth $100,000 or more, but I would disagree. Yes, it is “famous” as a reprint, and finding a 3rd issue would be neat, but how does this affect value? It’s a late report of Washington’s death in a small town, upstate New York newspaper which has no significance to the life of Washington. Perhaps add some premium for the notoriety of the issue, but I’m not sure I’d want to pay more than $3000 or $4000 for the issue. Step beyond the small circle of serious newspaper collectors and attempts to legitimize a hefty value would fall on deaf ears. Better reports, closer to Virginia, with earlier dates can be purchased for less.
So what are your thoughts? Feel free to share.
How bad do you have to dress to offend a horse?
July 10, 2010 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
The “Boston Commercial Gazette” of February 12, 1818 has an interesting tidbit about a man who walked from Concord, Massachusetts, to New Orleans. I was struck by the comment that: “…His appearance on the road was a great annoyance to women, children and horses.”
The first newspapers in Mississippi…
July 8, 2010 by TimHughes · 1 Comment
Even before the Mississippi Territory was made whole in 1804 (or nearly so; a small portion was annexed in 1812), a printing press was moved into Natchez at the request of the newly appointed governor in order to: “…diffuse a knowledge of the laws and other useful matters…”. Documentation gives evidence that Benjamin Stokes: “…commenced in Natchez, and continued some time, the ‘Mississippi Gazette’…This was some time in the summer of 1799, but he soon failed…”. But the earliest issue located is dated Oct. 13, 1801, vol. 2, no. 7, which would carry the date of establishment back to September, 1800. At the time the population of the entire Mississippi Territory was just 7600. The paper was discontinued on Dec. 1, 1801.
Another title, the “Intelligencer“, begin in Natchez on Aug. 11, 1801 judging from the date of the earliest issue located. This publication failed to last through the year, ending publication on Dec. 8, 1801. The next several papers also published in Natchez, with the “Mississippi Herald” beginning July 27, 1802 (ended in 1807); the “Constitutional Conservator” beginning in Oct., 1802 but only one issue has been located, that of April 16, 1803; the “Mississippi Messenger” beginning Sept. 7, 1804 (ended in 1808) and the “Natchez “Gazette” beginning on Jan. 7, 1808 (ended on Nov. 16, 1808).
Each of these titles, and others from the early period of the 19th century, were established before statehood was granted in 1817.
First newspapers in Michigan…
June 28, 2010 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
The first settlement in present-day Michigan was in Sault Ste. Mari in 1668, yet it was about one hundred years later before the first printing press arrived in the territory. Detroit was founded in 1701 and it was here in 1809 when the Rev. Father Gabriel Richard brought with him a printing press upon which Jame M. Miller, a printer from Utica, New York, would published the first issue of “Michigan Essay; Or, The Impartial Observer” on August 31. A portion of the issue was printed in French. Only four issues of this newspaper have survived and they are all the first issue so it is possible it may have been also the last.
The second newspaper in Michigan was also in Detroit, the “Detroit Gazette” which began on July 25, 1817. Three of the pages were in English while one was in French. It succeeded for about thirteen years, expiring on April 22, 1830. The third newspaper was again in Detroit, the “Michigan Herald“, which began in 1825 and lasted for four years. the first French newspaper in Michigan was the “Gazette Francaise, which also began in 1825, which was also the year the first newspaper outside of Detroit was begun, being the “Michigan Sentinel” in the town of Monroe. By the 1830’s newspapers in the Michigan Territory became more commonplace.
Historic printing press returns home…
June 24, 2010 by TimHughes · 1 Comment
The following appeared in the May/June issue of “The History Channel Magazine“. Given its focus I thought it worth sharing with our collectors:
“The ‘Cherokee Advocate‘ became the first newspaper published in Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) on Sept. 26, 1844. Published weekly, in both Cherokee and English, it provided Cherokees with information about their people and the United States. When it first started publication it was the country’s only tribal-owned newspaper; it would later be joined by the “Choctaw Intelligencer” in 1850 and the “Chickasaw Intelligencer” in 1854.
The last issue of the Advocate was published in 1906 after the federal government dissolved the Cherokee Nation. The printing office, press, and other equipment were sold to a Fort Gibson, Oklahoma, publisher in 1911, and the Cherokee syllabary typeset was sent to the Smithsonian Institution for preservation.
After nearly 100 years, the Cherokee Advocate printing press returned to its original home at the Cherokee National Supreme Court Museum in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, in early 2010. The printing press will be one of the museum’s centerpieces. For more information, visit cherokeetourismok.com.”
Minnesota’s first newspapers…
June 21, 2010 by TimHughes · 3 Comments
The first “Minnesota” newspaper has the curious distinction of never being printed in Minnesota. Dr. Andrew Randall, a U.S. government employee from Ohio engaged in a geological survey of the Minnesota district, decided to become a printer. He returned to his home town of Cincinnati, purchased printing equipment, and produced in Cincinnati the volume 1, number 1 issue of the “Minnesota Register“. There was but one number, but existing copies bear different dates of April 7 and 27, 1849.
Another outsider, James Goodhue, a lawyer-turned printer from Lancaster, Wisconsin, worked for a newspaper in Wisconsin before carting his equipment and heading north for St. Paul’s Landing in the Minnesota Territory. There he planed on printing what was to be named the “Epistle of St. Paul”, but after advice of friends the first issue was actually titled the “Minnesota Pioneer“, appearing on April 28, 1849. Not only was this the first newspaper actually printed in Minnesota, it was the first piece of any printing done in the territory.
The next newspaper was done by another Ohioan, James Hughes, who on May 31, 1849 printed the “Minnesota Chronicle” on May 31, 1849. Third in line was the “Minnesota Register“, now moved from Cincinnati to Minnesota to become a legitimate Minnesota newspaper when it printed its July 14, 1849 issue in St. Paul. Just over a month later the “Chronicle” and “Register” combined to produce the “Chronicle & Register” on August 25.
Rules for mourning…
June 19, 2010 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
The “Sentimental & Masonic Magazine” from Dublin, Ireland, July, 1792, has an interesting article headed: “General rules for Behaving in Mourning”. It may have been written partially tongue-in-cheek, but you can decide.
Your help would be appreciated…
June 14, 2010 by TimHughes · 10 Comments
Rick Brown, not unknown in our little world of newspaper collecting, is embarking upon a project and seeks your help.
Rick published “Collectible Newspapers” for many years and created the Newspaper Collectors’ Society of America along with producing several projects which remain valuable to our hobby today, including the “List of Common Reprints” found on our website. His current project is producing a list of all known reprint editions of the New York Herald of April 15, 1865, perhaps the most commonly reprinted newspaper on the market. He has identified 35 different versions and is lacking a few including:
* Kitchel’s Liniment for 1890, 1892 through 1899, 1903 and 1904, 1906
through 1908. (The date for each can be found at the
top margin of page 2.)
* Smith’s Buchu Lythia Pills
He also wishes to produce a reprint of the front pages of each of the four
genuine editions of the newspaper for free online use. Should you have a genuine New York Herald, April 15, 1865 in your collection, or one of the reprint edition editions noted above, please be in touch with Rick directly for details on how to assist in his project: Curator@historybuff.com