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Here’s Hoping History Doesn’t Repeat Itself… 1693…
March 28, 2022 by LauraH · Leave a Comment
They say those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. I’m pretty sure they only break out that proverb when discussing something horrific. So it is with The Salem Witch Trials. On February 7, 1693, THE ATHENIAN MERCURY out of London advertised the book: “The Second Edition of the late TRYALS of several WITCHES in New-England. Written by Cotton Mather”. The ad was “Published by the Special Command of the Governor”. Perhaps he wanted to make sure the readers were not doomed…
The End of Something Bad… The Kickoff to Something Good…
March 24, 2022 by LauraH · Leave a Comment
In the moment, we are often oblivious to the long-term impact significant newsworthy announcements will have as time goes on. “Henry Ford has made a car nearly anyone can afford” – eventually smog make city -living unbearable and the ozone takes a beating. “Computers can be made both inexpensively and small enough for daily use at home” – pornography spreads like wildfire. “A new substance called ‘plastic’ will revolutionize our lives” – our landfills overflow and our oceans are overcome with garbage which will take many lifetimes to decompose (if ever). However, not all unexpected “consequences” are bad.
The announcement on May 8, 1945 that the war with Germany was over (aka, V-E Day), wildly celebrated throughout much of the World, was such a case in point. Amidst all the exuberance, most people were probably not cognizant of the marvelous “consequences” which would arrive within a year’s time. Introducing: “The Baby Boomers – 1946 Edition!” Here, have a cigar.
The front page of this issue of THE MORNING CALL (Patterson, NJ) is one of the many reports which helped inspire the creation of an entire generation.
Announcing: Catalog #316 (for March, 2022) – Rare & Early Newspapers (for purchase)
February 25, 2022 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
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The links above will redirect to the latest catalog in approx. 30 days,
upon which time it will update to the most recent catalog.
Snapshot 1927 – An unexpected, dystopian gem…
February 3, 2022 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
What are the top ten most influential movies of all time? Depending upon the criteria used to define “most influential”, the lists could look quite different, but my guess is 1927’s Metropolis would fly under the radar of most people’s thinking. Yet, Wikipedia has the following to say about this (hidden?) gem: “Metropolis is now widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential films ever made, ranking 35th in Sight & Sound’s 2012 critics’ poll. In 2001, the film was inscribed on UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register, the first film thus distinguished.” Not bad.
We recently discovered an advertisement and review of this masterpiece in a New York Times dated March 6, 1927. At the time of this post it was listed on eBay, however, if it is no longer available for viewing through its eBay listing, you can read more about it on Wikipedia or our website. 
Announcing: Catalog #314 (for January, 2022) is now available…
December 31, 2021 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
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Catalog 314 (in its entirety)
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Noteworthy Catalog 314 ($250+)
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Combined Catalogs (current, w/ remnants of previous)
Don’t forget about this month’s DISCOUNTED ISSUES.
The links above will redirect to the latest catalog in approx. 30 days,
upon which time it will update to the most recent catalog.
Snapshot 1864… Confederacy’s fight – for independence or slavery?
December 20, 2021 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
In grade school back in the 1960’s/1970’s I was taught that the Civil War was fought between the Northern (Yankee) States who wanted to free the slaves and the Southern States (Confederates) who wanted to keep the slaves in bondage. Bad Southerners! Perhaps if I had been born in The South my education would have been bent in a different direction, but through my teenage years I assumed this was the accepted “truth”. When I moved on to college… and then graduate school, my assumption of such a simplistic view was challenged by my enlightened (now I think they would be called “woke”) professors who informed me of the true reason: The Southern States merely wanted to exercise their right to self-government (i.e., “State’s Rights”)… to not be controlled by a federal government whose reigns were largely in the hands of the Northern States and their own interests… the right to separate (succeed)., while the Northern States wanted nothing more than to preserve The Union (largely for selfish reasons). Bad Northerners!
Of course I now know the reasons were varied and complex, but by far the most important result was in fact the Emancipation of enslaved blacks. After all, how could “We The People” possibly stand the test of time without embracing (to the core) the self-evident truth that “all [people] are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness”?
However, I digress. Circling back to the divergent views I was taught…
As I was perusing a Sacramento Daily Union (Nov. 3, 1864), the heading of a front-page article caught my attention: “The New Agitation in the South – Slavery as Well as Separation the Ultimate Object of the Rebellion”. It turns out that while revising history to meet a specific narrative may be the order of the day, the historical perspective regarding this particle issue may not be a victim of these Orwellian efforts. The article (in full) is as follows:
Where History Comes Alive (Part 2)… Gettysburg…
December 13, 2021 by LauraH · Leave a Comment
The Battle of Gettysburg, occurring roughly at the midpoint of America’s Civil War, was both the deadliest battle and the turning point of the war. An interested historian can traverse this soil where American struggled against American to uphold their way of life and protect their convictions and experience the humbling and somber journey which befalls those who explore first-hand the sacred ground which helped define the America we experience today. In the past, when I have personally been blessed to walk upon the sacred soil where so many gave their lives, I could almost hear Abraham Lincoln’s clear and determined voice echo over the valleys: “Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal...“.
As moving as this trek is, coupling the venture with actual accounts of the day gives a deeper insight of this nation-shaping event. If you ever have the opportunity to visit Gettysburg, it will be more than worth your while. However, before you set out on this adventure, you may want to peruse some of the contemporaneous reporting found within the authentic newspapers of the day. After all, it has been said: “History is never more fascinating than when it’s read from the day it was first reported.“
Announcing: Catalog #313 (for December, 2021) is now available…
December 3, 2021 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
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Catalog 313 (in its entirety)
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Noteworthy Catalog 313 ($250+)
-
Combined Catalogs (current, w/ remnants of previous)
Don’t forget about this month’s DISCOUNTED ISSUES.
The links above will redirect to the latest catalog in approx. 30 days,
upon which time it will update to the most recent catalog.
Snapshot 1801… The importance of newspapers…
November 4, 2021 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
In 1803 the well-respected Columbian Centinel and Massachusetts Federalist dated August 19, 1801 printed an article affirming a new publication, the Country Gazette of the United States (Philadelphia), and made a powerful statement regarding the importance of newspapers which we have shown below. This declaration is reflective of new president Thomas Jefferson’s comments regarding newspapers from back in the late 1780’s:
“The people are the only censors of their governors: and even their errors will tend to keep these to the true principles of their institution. To punish these errors too severely would be to suppress the only safeguard of the public liberty. The way to prevent these irregular interpositions of the people is to give them full information of their affairs thro’ the channel of the public papers, & to contrive that those papers should penetrate the whole mass of the people. The basis of our governments being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right; and were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter. But I should mean that every man should receive those papers & be capable of reading them.”
If either the publisher of the Columbian Centinel or Thomas Jefferson were alive today, do you think they’d feel the same? Please share your thoughts.
Snapshot 1909… The American Spirit takes flight…
November 1, 2021 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
It is easy to assume the 1903 “first flight” in Kitty Hawk instantly made Wilbur and Orville Wright household names, but the truth is this momentous event was ignored by many newspapers, and even when it did appear the coverage was minimal and often buried on an inside page. Sadly, this trend continued for several years, with the newspapers in France being a notable exception. However, continued progress with their experiments in flight, coupled with the setting of one record after another, eventually led to them receiving the recognition they deserved. Although a hair more than 5 years after their historic flight in Kitty Hawk, the January 2, 1909 Scientific American, published shortly after the Wright brothers won the first-ever Michelin Cup, included one of the most eloquent tributes of the era – words which embody what was once meant by “The American Spirit”, and continue to stand tall as a recipe for meaningful achievement. 