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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…
Prices realized… 16th & 17th centuries…
September 6, 2010 by GuyHeilenman · 7 Comments
While we’ve written several posts identifying some of the factors which impact the value of a rare and/or historic newspaper, a “price guide” showing prices realized is as of yet unavailable. Our hope would be to have such a resource accessible within the not-too-distant future. In the meantime, we’ll be taking the next few Mondays to provide some information in this regard which we hope you will find helpful.
16th & 17th Centuries:
One of the earliest issues you will find… ZEITUNGEN, AUS WELSCHLANDEN, 1546 ($1,752, 2007)
Finding authentic newspapers from this period (16th and 17th centuries) is becoming exceedingly difficult. As a result, what would these same issues be valued at today? What impact did the condition, displayability, content, proximity (date and location to the content), rarity, etc. have on each? While these factors, and more, impact the valuation of an issue, the above examples are what they are – prices realized.
Note: Many price guides (in other collectible areas) show highly inflated prices. This enables resellers to offer items at slightly under “established” prices, giving buyers the illusion that they are getting a bargain. However, the truth is, the value of an item is really the price that others are actually willing to pay – not what a catalog/price guide lists. In the field of Rare Newspapers, our approach will always be to base prices on hard data – the track record of previous sales. Additionally, at Rare Newspapers, we try to set prices at a point where both resellers and individual collectors are comfortable. As a result, we do not have a two-tier system (one price for resellers, and another for collectors). We believe this policy provides a degree of integrity within the collectible community. We hope you agree.
First newspapers in Nebraska…
August 23, 2010 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
The Nebraska Territory came about as an important event in American history, repealing the Missouri Compromise of 1820 and allowing new territories to be slave or free as their citizens desired. It happened in 1854 and within the year three Nebraska newspapers were established, all in towns on the west bank of the Missouri River: Bellevue, Omaha City, and Nebraska City. Curiously, none of these towns had a printing office. Each newspaper was printed across the river in separate Iowa towns.
The first was in Bellevue, titled the “Nebraska Palladium” which began July 15, 1854 printed in St. Marys, Iowa. But in November of the same year a printing press was set up in town and on the 15th the first newspaper printed on Nebraska soil was issued.
The first newspaper in Omaha was the “Arrow“, printed in Council Bluffs, Iowa. It began just two weeks after the “Palladium” and only continued through the end of the year, succeeded by the “Nebraskian” which was printed in Omaha beginning January 17, 1855.
The Nebraska City “News” started in the fall of 1854 and was printed in Sidney, Iowa although the printing office would be moved to Nebraska City on Nov. 14.
The first daily newspaper in Nebraska was the “Telegraph” which began on Dec. 11, 1860.
First newspapers in Montana…
August 19, 2010 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
Similar to other eventual states in the western portion of the country, it was the search for gold & other precious metals which took some of the earliest adventurers to the Montana Territory.
Gold was discovered in Montana in 1858 and a “town” immediately sprang up, named Bannack. A newspaper, title the “News-Letter“, was started but not being successful only lasted a few numbers. (Given its format and short life it is not considered Montana’s first newspaper by some, that honor given more commonly to the “Montana Post“.)
The following year a richer strike was made in nearby Virginia City, where the first issue of the “Montana Post” was printed on August 27, 1864. Its publisher, John Buchanan, sold the newspaper just two weeks later to Tilton and Dittes, and 4 years later when Helena became the state’s capital the newspaper moved to that location where the first issue from Helena was dated August 25, 1868.
The next Montana newspaper was the “Montana Democrat“, printed in Virginia City from 1865. It would be followed by a few more in the 1860’s: the “Montana Radiator” in late 1865, the “Rocky Mountain Gazette” in 1866 and the first daily newspaper titled the “Herald” from Helena late in the same year.
Collectors prize issues of the “Montana Post” from Virginia City, although those with a Helena imprint are the more commonly found.
The allure of the Old West…
July 26, 2010 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
While few of us will have the opportunity to visit some of the fascinating old mining towns of the Old West, holding a newspaper from a ghost town’s hey day can be the next best thing. And with a little knowledge about the town, a newspaper from the neighborhood press takes on added appeal and intrigue.
With this in mind I will, from time to time, offer some background information on the towns from which some of our Old West newspapers came. And I’ll start with an issue with an interesting title, the “Owyhee Avalanche” of Silver City, Idaho.
Silver City is one of the few old mining towns that did not burn down or become commercialized into a modern city. Visiting Silver City is like going back into history. The Idaho Hotel is as it was 100 years ago with a few modern amenities. Rugged and picturesque, the 8,000 feet-high Owyhee Mountains surround Silver City, elevation 6,200 ft. The history-filled town contains about seventy-five structures that date from the 1860’s to the early 1900’s.
During its “heydays”, Silver City had about a dozen streets, seventy-five businesses, three hundred homes, a population of around 2,500, twelve ore-processing mills, and was the Owyhee County seat from 1866 to 1934. Some of the largest stage lines in the West operated in the area, and Silver City had the first telegraph and the first daily newspaper in the territory in 1874.
More that two dozen camps provided shelter, supplies and amusement for the thousands of people who came to the mountains seeking their fortunes in one way or another. The ruins of some of these can still be found though nature is reclaiming most of them at an accelerated rate. Almost a dozen cemeteries and many more remote burial sites attest to the hard and sometimes dangerous and violent lives led by many. Hundreds of mines pock-mark and honeycomb the mountains; one had upwards of seventy miles of tunnels laboriously hand-dug through it. Between 1863 and 1865, more than two hundred and fifty mines were in operation and hundreds more were developed thereafter. At least sixty million dollars worth of precious metals were taken from the area. (credit: historicsilvercityidaho.com)
Click HERE for some photos of present-day Silver City.
Collecting “bookend” newspapers…
July 22, 2010 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
When writing up an newspaper on the beginning days of the Berlin Wall–when it was nothing more than barbed wire–it came to mind that we also have issues from Germany on the fall of the Berlin Wall. What a nice pair of issues to have together in a collection; the beginning and end of the Berlin Wall.
This caused me to think of other “beginnings & endings” which would be nice to keep as pairs within a collection. Let me mention a few:
* wars, from proclamations declaring “war” to “peace” reports at their end
* the first and last games of Joe DiMaggio’s 56 game hitting streak
* the first and last games of Cal Ripken’s 2,130 consecutive game streak
* on a more somber note the first election of Abraham Lincoln and his death report, spanning the scope of his national prominence
* the Wright brothers’ first flight and man landing on the moon (actually not and “end”, but certainly a nice “bookend” issue)
* beginning and end of Prohibition
* beginning and end of the Stamp Act
* arrival of delegates to the Constitutional Convention, and the submission of the final Constitution for ratification
* The stock market at its high point on Sept. 3, 1929, and at it’s Depression low point on July 8, 1932
There must be many more. Offer your suggestions to add to the list!
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“.