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A Labor Day Weekend Tribute through rare newspapers…
August 31, 2012 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
What was originally intended as a means for honoring the hard-working common laborers who helped build the United States into a prosperous nation (please, no “You didn’t build that!” comments), is now more closely associated with the end of summer. Families and friends join together in one final effort to squeeze the last drop of relaxation from their laborious efforts exerted through the Fall, Winter, and Spring seasons. Perhaps in the end this transition is well-suited to the intentions of the original proponents of the holiday… and much more has been gained than lost.
With appreciation for both the original and morphed sentiments of the holiday, the following links are intended to take you on a small trip back through the 19th and early 20th centuries, to view Labor Day through the eyes of those who have toiled before us. Please enjoy…
Labor Day as seen through:
Harper’s Weekly Labor Day issue of 1913
And a number of categories available via the History’s Newsstand eBay Store:
Thanks again to all those who have given so much to help make the world a better place. 🙂
Newspaper Reports of Olympic Proportions…
August 10, 2012 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
As the 2012 Olympics come to an end, the staff at Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers thought our readers might appreciate reviewing collectible newspapers with coverage of past Olympics. While considerably more issues are available within our inventory than what is shown, at least the list will provide a snap-shot of such greats as Jesse Owens, Nadia Comaneci, Jim Thorpe, Gertrude Ederle, and more. Please ignore the few scattered issues within this link that do not belong, and enjoy your walk back through Olympic history. View Newspapers With Olympic Coverage
Jack the Ripper… on Pinterest
July 20, 2012 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Jack the Ripper may very well be the most infamous serial killer in World History. While others may have murdered more people, the terror he caused to what was arguably the most recognized city of the time is 2nd to none. While authentic reports are hard to come by, The Times (London) did an excellent job of following the case. At Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers we’ve put together a set of images which help to tell the story, arranged chronologically, as the readers of the day would have read about it. I’d like to say enjoy…, but somehow such a term doesn’t sound fitting. The images may be viewed via Pinterest at: Jack the Ripper on Pinterest
Constitution for the “Philadelphia Dueling Club”…
July 13, 2012 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
“The Courier” newspaper of Norwich, Connecticut has in its July 2, 1800 edition an apparently tongue-in-cheek report detailing the constitution for the “Philadelphia Dueling Club”. The fact that it was approved on May 32, 1800, and signed by “William Blood, President’ and “Charles Bullet, Secretary” seems to render this less than real, the content is nonetheless interesting reading.
Its preamble notes that dueling has become: “…the fashion to the infinite satisfaction of all men of true honor, & whereas the opinion that this practice is improper & Immoral being only held by old women, or men who ought to wear petticoats…” with more. See the photo for the full 1st article… and the link above for the full text.
Wyoming’s first newspapers…
July 9, 2012 by TimHughes · 1 Comment
Wyoming has the interesting distinction of having once been part of four principal annexations: the Louisiana Purchase, the Oregon Territory, the Mexican Cession and Texas Annexation. It became a territory in July, 1868 and gained statehood on July 10, 1890.
The “Leader” was the first newspaper in Wyoming, begun on September 19, 1867, the same year that the first settlement had been created at Cheyenne. The newspaper was begun by Nathan Baker and J.E. Gates. Baker gained his printing experience in Colorado, working at the “Rocky Mountain Herald” and the the “Rocky Mountain News”. He went one to establish two other newspapers in Wyoming, the Laramie “Sentinel” on May 1, 1869, and the South Pass “News“. See the hyperlink for the interesting history of this town.
Also begun in Cheyenne in 1867 were the “Daily Argus” in October, and the “Star” in December, but neither one lasted beyond two years. Other early newspapers in Wyoming were the “Sweetwater Miner” at Fort Bridge in February, 1868, a vehicle to promote immigration, and a few months later the “News” at South Pass, noted above.
One of the more interesting newspapers from the West was the “Frontier Index” which began at Fort Sanders and moved along with the Union Pacific railroad going to Benton then to Bryan and then to Bear River City where it was completely destroyed by a mob. And no mention of Wyoming’s newspaper history should fail to mention the “Boomerang” (named for the editor’s mule), founded at Laramie on March 11, 1881 by Bill Nye. Subscribers were found in every state and some foreign countries. When Nye retired from the paper he became one of America’s best known humorists.
Civil War Era Newspapers on Pinterest…
June 29, 2012 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
We at Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers have made a brief attempt at providing an overview of the Civil War via images of historic newspapers. These images may be viewed at: Rare Newspapers on Pinterest. We invite you to join with us in telling the story by going to www.rarenewspapers.com to find additional issues you believe should be added to “the story”. Feel free to provide us with the item number(s) of any you would like to have added. You may contact us by responding to this post or by e-mail (guy@rarenewspapers.com).
Hatfields & McCoys…The media drives interest in historical newspapers…
June 14, 2012 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
There is no question that media events affect our hobby. Although there was always collector interest in the sinking of the Titanic, it wasn’t until the James Cameron movie was released in 1997 that interest exploded. It was amazing to experience the dramatic increase in calls & requests at our office concerning newspapers reporting the Titanic disaster . The movie release preceded the eBay craze so it was only by individual quotes & listings in our catalog that we could keep up with the demand. Prices did increase dramatically.
The “Amistad” slave ship movie had a similar reaction. Few people even knew of the event before the Stephen Spielberg movie, but upon its release we sold dozens of notable issues of the event & subsequent trial at prices which far exceeded those possible before the movie.
Other historically-themed events in American or world history, whether they happened on the big screen or television, have had similar effect on the rare newspaper hobby. The most recent “event” is the Hatfield-McCoy feud, spurred on by the recent History Channel mini-series.
Thought by some to be nothing more then legend and not an historical event, the Hatfield McCoy feud was, indeed, very real. We find it interesting the degree to which coverage of the feud appeared in newspapers of the era. We are fortunate to have newspapers from West Virginia (example) in 1889 (the feud happened at the Kentucky-West Virginia border) which have extensive articles on the feud, and our listings on eBay have created a following which far exceeds those listed prior to the mini-series. And many of those following our offerings–and buying them–are new hobbyists who likely never purchased an historical newspaper before.
All this is of benefit to the hobby. Although much criticism has been levied against what is seen on television and in movie theaters today, occasionally quality productions which are based on historical fact have increased interest not only in America history but also appreciation for genuine newspapers which report those events at the time they happened. This can only be good for the hobby.
Washington’s first newspaper…
June 11, 2012 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
Interest by historians in Washington’s first newspaper may well be eclipsed by the press upon which it was printed, as it had a fascinating history.
The “Ramage Press” was well traveled. It originated in Boston, was sold to a printer in Hawaii only to never be used as the printer purchased another press before its arrival, then was sold to California where it was transported to Monterey to Sonoma and then back to Monterey where it printed California’s first newspaper, the “Californian”, on Aug. 15, 1846. Both the press and the newspaper moved to Yerba Buena where the newspaper continued printing, moved then to Sacramento City where it printed the first issue of the “Placer Times” in 1849. It then moved to San Francisco, then to Stockton, then to Sonora, eventually becoming the first press on which printing was done in Oregon, and then the same for the state of Washington.
During the 1850’s Washington was part of the Oregon Territory. The old Ramage press made its way to Olympia and on September 11, 1852 the first issue of the “Columbian” was printed, Washington’s very first newspaper. Just six months later in 1853 the Washington Territory was created causing the printers, James Wiley and Thorton McElroy, to change the name of their newspaper to the “Washington Pioneer”. After another name change the paper continued until 1861.
The second newspaper in Washington was the “Puget Sound Courier” which began on May 19, 1855 at Steilacoom but the newspaper lasted for just a year. Steilacoom was the location of Washington’s third newspaper, done by Charles Prosch and titled the “Puget Sound Express”, which began on March 12, 1858.
Atmosphere versus Events – which newspaper-collecting path to tread?
May 28, 2012 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
The following is a guest post by blogger Chee Seng:
Newspaper-collecting is something of an oddity in the collectibles and antiques scene. That’s because it’s not the printing house – or the paper/ink – which makes a newspaper valuable to the collector. It is something more ephemeral. It’s the very words that are printed on those yellowing sheets (or not so yellowing for pre-1875 issues), and how they connect to the unfolding story of the times. In other words, it is content, not the vessel, that can elevate one newspaper above all others, in the eye of the collector.
It’s also true to say that, because that collection of news-stories, articles, pictures and adverts are a snapshot of the very essence of an historical epoch – its life-and-times, its mores and outlook – that collectors can be looking at the same newspaper with very different eyes. Some want plenty of local interest, some are fixated on a great news story, some collect certain types of coverage religiously – and some are even looking for specific writers or illustrators.
But while no two-collectors are alike, you can split approaches to newspaper-collecting into two great camps. Those who are chasing after ‘events’, and those who want to steep themselves in the ‘atmosphere’. If you want to understand the sorts of newspapers you should be collecting,
you’d do well to try and understand the different viewpoints of these two camps. It’s not just a philosophical point – chasing ‘atmosphere’ versus ‘event’ can help decide whether a paper is worth one dollar, or a hundred.
It’s fair to say that ‘event’ collectors are hanging their collecting coats, first-and-foremost, from those real big hooks in the historical calendar. Those unforgettable and universal events that are remembered long after they have happened – and often very far from their point of origin. Good examples of these mega-events include the assassination of John F Kennedy or Abraham Lincoln,
the landing on the Moon, or the sinking of the Lusitania.
The reason these big events are so important is that, for many people, who would otherwise not come close to buying a historic newspaper, they resonate a strong chord with them. Having such a bold historical headline, framed and on the wall, is a way of displaying this strong emotional connection. And because so many people are seeking out these original ‘event’ newspapers, the pent-up demand drives up the value.
And of course, much of the interest in collecting newspapers, then, inevitably follows this money. Indeed, many people are drawn into the hobby purely to see if if they can reap big rewards from the ‘events’ held in that stack of newspapers, found stored in the attic. There is nothing wrong with taking such a monetary-influenced path – after all, it sustains many collectible hobbies. But it would
be sad if your newspaper-collecting was restricted to only these mammoth events – which can be counted on fingers and toes for most countries.
This is where the second path of newspaper collecting may be found to be ‘enriching’, on a different level: collecting for ‘atmosphere’. The starting point for the atmosphere collector is usually a personal interest in a particular era. Some people are drawn to the life-or-death drama of the World Wars – where even local news-stories are set against a backdrop of that wider struggle. Others are
find the moral contrasts of Prohibition-era America, for example, with its gangsters and raids and flighty fashions, irresistible.
Following this atmospheric path gives you a lot more scope to learn a little from history’s lessons. However, this is not the history taught in the dry words of the history text books – but in the often vivid and colorful language of the local news-hack. You may also find nuggets of historical interest that other collectors may also find fascinating – and so another route to a higher-than-normal
valuation can open up.
For example, there was a particular buzz, recently, over ‘frontier rags’ – newspapers that rolled out across the frontier, as the West was opened up. Some of these papers had short printing runs, and even shorter lives, as towns boomed and bust. That makes them pretty rare and exotic, and so a lively market grew up around these.
Of course its impossible to predict trends in atmospheric collecting such as these. Far better is to follow your instincts, and build a collection around what interests you. That way a labor of love will provide its own rewards, and any financial boon will come as a pleasant surprise. And that motto makes sense whichever path – event or atmosphere – your choice to take.
The reprint issues of the “Honolulu Star-Bulletin” Pearl Harbor issue…
May 14, 2012 by TimHughes · 30 Comments
If there is a second in line for the most common phone call or email about a newspaper which turns out to be a reprint, it would be the December 7, 1941 of the “Honolulu Star-Bulletin – 1st Extra“.
The genuine issue is arguably the best newspaper to have reporting the historic bombing of Pearl Harbor, being a dramatic headline, from the day it happened, and from where it happened. And consequently those conditions make it ripe for creating a reprint edition. From what I understand the reprints are still available at the souvenir shop at the Pearl Harbor memorial.
There are a couple of tell-tale indicators which are easily observed:
* The genuine issue has an ink smear between the “A” and “R” in the huge “WAR ! ” in the headline.
* The reprint edition does not have the ink smear, it having been “cleaned up” to make for a better appearance.
* The genuine “1st Extra” is 8 pages and does not have the “2nd Extra” nor the “3rd Extra” within, as they were separate, stand-alone edition printed later in the day. The reprint editions typically have one of both of the later editions on pages 3 and/or 5.
* At least one of the reprint edition has the front page of the “Honolulu Advertiser” newspaper on page 3. Obviously a competing newspaper’s front page would not be found within a genuine issue of the “Star-Bulletin”.
As if the above are not sufficient in determine a genuine from reprint edition, the photos of the reprints typically have a “muddy” appearance and are not as crisp & clear as would be found in the genuine issue.