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A rare report… Wild Bill Hickok…
November 22, 2010 by TimHughes · 3 Comments
Some reports have gained greater notoriety long after the event happened, particularly those of the Old West which have been romanticized by television, movies and countless books on the era. The gunfight at the O.K. Corral is one, and the report of the killing of Wild Bill Hickok is another. Neither are commonly found in newspapers of the day with the Hickok report being one of the more difficult to find, and typically on a brief report when found.
We recently came across the “New York Herald” of August 13, 1876 with the report & thought it worth sharing:
Mission to Mars… Climb aboard…
November 6, 2010 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
As China, Russia, and the U.S. (among others) begin to enter a new space race – a manned mission to the Red Planet, we are reminded of the early days of flight when dreams were high and understanding was… perhaps a bit lacking. While early film fueled the excitement, it wasn’t until knowledge of Robert Goddard’s work became widespread that the thought of space travel made the leap from dream to real possibility. These dreams took a hit on January 13, 1920 when the NY Times printed an editorial (unsigned) which scoffed at the proposal. However, on February 4, 1920, the President of the Aviator’s Club of Pennsylvania, Captain Claude R. Collins, restored the public’s hopes of space travel when he volunteered to be a passenger on a Mars bound rocket, if ever developed. Ironically, this “offer” was published on the front page of the of the February 5, 1920 NY Times (see image), alongside of the announcement from the Smithsonian Institution stating Goddard had invented and tested a rocket that might have the potential to reach the moon. This battle between nay-sayers and dreamers continues to this day. I wonder how we will be looked upon 100 years from now?
April 15, 1865 New York Herald reprints… revisited…
November 1, 2010 by GuyHeilenman · 10 Comments
A previous post by guest contributor Rick Brown detailed how one can identify whether or not their April 15, 1865 New York Herald is authentic. One of the most notable differences between an authentic issue (which is quite rare) and one of the reprints (which are rather common) is that the common reprint has an image of President Lincoln on the front page, whereas, the original does not. We recently came across a photo of the Lincoln image (as shown to the right). If your issue has it… unfortunately, your’s is not an original.
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.
20th century prices realized… revisted…
September 30, 2010 by GuyHeilenman · 2 Comments
The previous post focused on “prices realized” from a sampling of key issues from the 20th century. Fellow collector, Charles Signer, posted a response we thought collectors would appreciate.
These papers (see previous post) are excellent choices for your article. I think the Titanic disaster marked a new era in journalism, since improvements in printing technology and inventions like the facsimile machine made it possible for newspapers all over the United States and the world for the first time to cover the story simultaneously with full coverage and great graphics. Because the Titanic event took place at sea there was no “home advantage” as there would have been for a disaster taking place in a populated area. I don’t have the Rhode Island version of the story that you show, but I have seen others like it from other cities. I am amazed how they could get such good reporting and graphics literally overnight on such an unexpected story.
When I see the Honolulu Star-Bulletin First Extra I think of it as a time capsule marking of an end of an era. The front page of course gives the full first report, but the inside pages were mostly set up before the event, in the last hours of peacetime. The ads for 1941 consumer goods and Christmas sales suddenly fell out of place in the grim new wartime world. I imagine the people shown in the ads floating at the bottom of the ocean where they are all drowned dead but still visible to divers. It’s eerie.
I was going to say that the whole First Extra paper could be seen on the Honolulu Star-Bulletin website, but in trying to test the link as I write this I see that the Honolulu Star-Bulletin and the Honolulu Advertiser merged on June 7, 2010. The combined paper is now the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. There used to be a great story on the Star-Bulletin’s old website about the people who put out those first reports that day. I guess it’s gone now.
I got a copy of the Dewey Defeats Truman paper from Tim Hughes before 2000 for about $850. It was real cherry. I grew up in Chicago where my dad and I would drive down in the evenings to get the first edition of the following day’s Tribune. When you opened up a Tribune for the first time there were tiny holes made in the printing process which made the pages stick together. The copy I got from Tim had those little holes so I knew I was opening that Dewey Defeats Truman paper for the first time ever. It was almost like being there on November 2, 1948, the evening the paper was printed. Yes, it truly is a classic that will be recognized as long as newspapers are remembered, which may be a lot longer than some of them are being published.
Thanks Charles!
Prices realized… 20th century…
September 27, 2010 by GuyHeilenman · 1 Comment
We continue with our series on “prices realized”, with this 4th installment providing select examples of issues from the 20th century. While there are many issues to choose from, we tried to cover a variety of collectible interests.
Note: While collectible newspapers have had a good track record of increasing in value over time (see upcoming posts), we encourage hobbyists to collect for non-financial reasons. History in your hands…
20th century selections:
The previous posts in this series are:
Prices realized… 16th & 17th centuries…
Prices realized… 18th century…
Prices realized… 19th century…
Prices realized… 19th century…
September 20, 2010 by GuyHeilenman · 5 Comments
This post is the 3rd installment of a series dedicated to exploring actual sale prices of historic newspapers from various periods of time. Below please find a few selections from the 19th century.
Note: If you have an issue of your own you’re trying to price, one trick/strategy is to go to the “advanced” search engine at www.rarenewspapers.com (see top left of window), enter a 2 week range of dates (one week prior to your issue’s date to one week after), and view the results. This will give you comparable issues (if available) to help you in establishing a reasonable price for your issue. Make certain to take into consideration your issues title, city of location, proximity to the location where the event (key content) occurred, condition, displayability, proximity of issue’s date to the date the key event occurred, etc.
19th century selections:
The best Lincoln Assassination issue to be had… THE NEW YORK TIMES, April 15, 1865 ($2,800, 2009)
Wallpaper issue! THE OPELOUSAS COURIER, Louisiana., Apr. 4, 1863 ($2,650, 2006)
The previous posts in this series are:
Prices realized… 16th & 17th centuries…
Prices realized… 18th century…
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:
A real gem…
September 16, 2010 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
In the past we’ve taken several looks at one of the inherent pleasures of the rare newspaper collecting hobby – that of finding hidden (unexpected) gems within issues. While unearthing such gems is nearly a daily occurrence for our staff, it is especially rewarding when we discover content of the significance as what we’ve shown below. The December, 1787 issue of The American Museum contains, in addition to the printing of four Federalist Papers and the ratification of the Constitution by Pennsylvania and Delaware, the full text of Benjamin Franklin’s final speech before the assembly on the last day of the Constitutional Convention. Thanks to one of our members, this treasure is no longer “lost”. As for the content… it speaks for itself. Please enjoy the wisdom of Dr. Franklin: 
Prices realized… 18th century…
September 13, 2010 by GuyHeilenman · 2 Comments
We continue with our series on “Prices Realized”. Below are a examples of actual prices paid 
for a few scattered issues from the 18th century. While not the highest valued from the period, they certainly are “premium” issues. Our hope is to provide a more-comprehensive listing in the not-too-distant future. In the meantime, for what it is worth…
The Constitution of the United States… CONNECTICUT COURANT, Hartford, Oct. 1, 1787 ($17,500, 2007)
The Boston Massacre… THE ESSEX GAZETTE, Salem, Massachusetts, March 20, 1770 ($9,250, 2006)
The following is a link to our previous post in this series:
Prices realized… 16th & 17th centuries…