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The Traveler… can’t you just go outside and play???
September 23, 2010 by The Traveler · Leave a Comment
This week bring us to the reporting of the gubernatorial nomination for New Jersey. The front page of the September 23, 1910 issue of The Christian Science Monitor has the headline of “Believe Wilson May Have Career Like Cleveland” “Gubernatorial Victory in New Jersey for Princeton Man, It Is Said, May Lead to Presidency”. Do you think that they were possibly setting his next goals for him before he even got this one accomplished?
Also on the front page of this issue was a picture of a bi-plane and a young man standing beside it with a simple headline “Fitchburg Has Its First Aeroplane”. This intrigued me to read on, only to find that this a bit more unusual in more ways than one. “Fitchburg’s first aeroplane has been built and its wings tested in several short glides, according to its inventor, Edward W. Macy, 17-year-old… who had labored in secret on his free glider since early in February. The youthful inventory recently took the machine apart for the purpose of perfecting one or two points that the trials had brought to his attention…” It was noted that he was also intended to equip it with a motor. So, when your children get very quiet… watch out, you may not believe what they may be up to!!!
~The Traveler
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…
Presumably not a chamber of commerce sponsored event…
September 11, 2010 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
This appeared in the “New York Clipper” newspaper of December 6, 1856 issue. Hopefully this “expedition” in Bridgeport, Vermont, was so successful that the town is a nice place in which to live today:
The Traveler… oh rats…
September 9, 2010 by The Traveler · Leave a Comment
This week I have selected tomorrow’s date for our travel advantage. The Connecticut Mirror issue dated September 10, 1810 which on the front page carried an article entitled “Character of Bonaparte”. Mr. S. T. Coleridge had instituted a political paper in which the character of Bonaparte was handled with great severity of reprehension, and assailed with great vehemence of indignant feeling, for which Mr. Coleridge was attacked and vindicated through another newspaper. The article on Bonaparte’s character was introduced for the purpose of shewing the propriety of the epithets which he has applied to it and to be perused with interest. Inside the issue is the reporting of the “End of the Dutch Nation” with the annexing of Holland to the French Empire.
The story from Baltimore, Sept. 1 began as “Was set on fire, on Friday morning, between 2 and 3 o’clock … “ This proceeded to tell of a fire at the home of Jacob Hoffman, “the fire originated from a Rat, which conveyed a lighted candle from the fire hearth, to a closet where the hole was, the fire originated at the hole and made its progress thro the ceiling; but was happily discovered before any material damage was done… It is hoped the above will be a caution to those who are in the habit of letting lighted candles stand in low places after retiring.” By the way, it was noted that the “singular rat” was found dead after the fire was extinguished.
~The Traveler
Prices realized… 16th & 17th centuries…
September 6, 2010 by GuyHeilenman · 5 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.
How the Newspaper Changed the Press: Providing Contextual History…
September 2, 2010 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Imagine the newspaper in pre-revolutionary Virginia. It’s the only one in the state, so the governor has complete control over everything that’s published in it. His is the only opinion expressed, and if anything about a newspaper page fails to agree with him, it’s discarded and replaced. Thomas Jefferson sums it up by saying that it’s “no competitor for public favor.” One of the most attractive elements of a newspaper for the public is its variety of opinions, which ensures that everyone can find something to agree and disagree with when they read it. What is a newspaper without multiple viewpoints, opinions, and descriptions of events?
Creating Context for History
Context is one important characteristic that distinguishes the pre-revolutionary newspaper from the modern one. Now, newspapers allow us to define context using not only the circumstances and facts surrounding an event, but also the wide variety of public opinions and perspectives. This additional facet of contextual history provides a wealth of detail, dimension, and complexity to the texture of events and situations covered in newspapers.
The Turning Point of the Newspaper
Roger Mellen of George Mason University has researched the origins of newspaper competition, working to contradict the assumption that Thomas Jefferson was responsible for bringing it to Virginia. Mellen contends that it was the Stamp Act, not Jefferson, which influenced a second newspaper printer to relocate in Virginia, instigating competition against the governor’s newspaper. Because printers had to pay extra taxes on their products, they were motivated to sell more newspapers by allowing for civic discourse, taking sides on issues, and becoming more opinionated. Printers realized that the “public favor” mentioned by Jefferson was best courted by publishing dramatic political writing, a phenomenon that grew and changed with the public both during and after the revolution. With the public steering the direction of newspapers, the government no longer had the sole influence on what was published, and the scope of contextual history was broadened significantly.
Collecting Context
The way newspapers capture contextual history is just one of many characteristics that influence collectors to continuously search out and buy them. Finding contrasting opinions on a significant political issue, reading different accounts of the same important situation, and even locating various photos depicting the same event can be exhilarating. Tracking the changes in leading public opinion across an extended time period, comparing historical events to modern ones, and finding historical patterns are also hobbies that are enabled by newspapers’ contextual history. No matter what their interests, everyone can learn something from and enjoy the process of collecting newspapers.
Bio: Alexis Bonari is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She is currently a resident blogger at First in Education, researching areas of online education. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.
Same concern over 100 years ago…
August 30, 2010 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
While listing an issue of “Judge” magazine, the political satire publication popular for the three color political cartoons in each issue, I noted the back page of an 1888 issue has a caption: “Goods Will Be So Much Cheaper–But what will become of all the American Industries?” The print (see below) shows the opening of the “Protection” flood gates with “European Pauper Manufactures” pouring upon American industries, shown in disrepair.
With one of the concerns of the American economy today being the flood of manufactured goods from foreign plants and the flight of American industries to off-shore sites, I find it curious that an identical concern was a focus 122 years ago. This political cartoon could well appear in a newspaper today.