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My collecting story… R.P. in Boise, Idaho…
March 31, 2020 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
As an attempt to make good use of the extra time many of us now have as a result of the current restrictions on mobility, about a week ago (from this post) we sent out an email asking collectors to submit their collecting stories. Three topics were suggested:
- Which newspaper within your collection do you value the most and why?
- Have you ever found something you consider special within an issue you’ve collected that you did not know was present prior to your decision to obtain it? If so, what did you find?
- Why do you collect rare/historic newspapers? How did you get started?
The response to-date has been overwhelming (and new entries are welcome – just email them to me at guy@rarenewspapers.com). Over the next few months our plan is to post 1-2 per week. Today we begin with a contribution from R.P. in Boise, Idaho. Enjoy.
In response to your request for posts regarding your customer’s collections I would like to answer a bit of all three suggested topics.
I have been a rare book collector for over 45 years. I am a native Oregonian who lives in Idaho. As a Northwesterner with an interest in history, early on I began to collect first editions of accounts of early expeditions and travels to the western United States. Because Lewis and Clark reported the first overland expedition to the Pacific across mostly territory controlled by the United States, I needed to begin adding their expedition items to my collection.
In my early collecting days, Lewis and Clark first editions were beyond my means. However, accounts of their expedition exploits, and President Jefferson’s early messages to Congress, were available in newspapers and some magazines. So I began collecting as many newspaper recordings about the expedition as I could find. My collection isn’t huge, but it provides an immediacy which even first edition books don’t provide since all books (even Congressional Journals) were printed well after the activities being reported. The close proximity of a newspaper account to the actual event occurrence is a primary reason why I collect newspapers and 18th Century American magazines.
Your second suggestion asks about surprises. From your last catalog I purchased a newspaper from 1848 which contained a Congressional recording of three votes made by Abraham Lincoln while he was in the House of Representatives. Although I am not a Lincoln collector, I thought this was interesting and worth owning. Also, the price was right. When I perused the Newspaper, I saw two articles regarding the soon to be completed establishment of a new Oregon Territory. The writers of both articles (one was a Georgia senator and the other was South Carolina’s John Calhoun) advocated that immigrants to Oregon be able to bring their slaves to the territory with the retention of their slave status. Happily, Oregon did not become a slave territory nor a slave state.
These articles fit well with my reasonably large collection of books, maps and ephemera related to the Oregon Territory which encompassed the present states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho and parts of Wyoming and Montana.
As additional “stories” are posted they will be available at: MY COLLECTING STORY. We did this many years ago as well – and their posts are also included.
Collector Historic Newspapers – A discussion with Tim Hughes…
March 27, 2020 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
On March 3, 2020 Mike Safo conducted a podcast with the Tim Hughes, founder of Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers. His textual intro. to the podcast states:
Joined today by the owner and founder of Rarenewspapers.com, Timothy Hughes. Tim and I talk about our weird passion of collecting newspapers and discuss the current state of collecting and the industry today. We chat about his infamous hometown of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, the home of the Little League World Series. How before the newspaper business Tim was employed by Little League International. He talks about the famous 1980 World Series and how that put the LLWS on the map and golfing with Mike Mussina. Tim takes us back to collecting coins and stamps and how buying a 3-dollar newspaper changed everything. From leaving employment with Little League International to how he acquired over a million newspapers from the 1600a to present day. He tells us which newspaper’s he’ll never sell, which are the most in demand and why the hobby is growing.
The entire, informative podcast can be heard at: Mike Safo’s Interview With Tim Hughes
Mike describes himself as: “Just a regular New York City guy who gets to interview some pretty amazing people… A conversation/hangout podcast with friends, athletes, authors, celebrities, fighters, and the world’s most fascinating people. ‘The greatest podcast ever’ – My Mom”
March through the years via the lens of Rare & Early Newspapers…
March 6, 2020 by GuyHeilenman · 4 Comments
Walk with us back through time to see what noteworthy, historic and collectible events occurred during the month of February. In so doing, we hope you’ll agree: “History is never more fascinating than when it’s read from the day it was first reported.”
March Through Time
Announcing: Catalog #292 (for March, 2020) is now available…
March 2, 2020 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
- Catalog 292 (in its entirety)
- Noteworthy Catalog 292 ($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.)
The February (2020) Newsletter from Rare & Early Newspapers…
February 17, 2020 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Each month the staff of Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers sends out a newsletter to our members which includes special offers, discounts, alerts to new inventory, and information related to the rare newspaper collectible.
The February, 2020 newsletter:
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February through the years via the lens of Rare & Early Newspapers…
February 10, 2020 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Walk with us back through time to see what noteworthy, historic and collectible events occurred during the month of February. In so doing, we hope you’ll agree: “History is never more fascinating than when it’s read from the day it was first reported.”
February Through Time
I’m New Here: Still Learning… Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper
February 7, 2020 by Stephanie Williams · Leave a Comment
I am always ready to learn although I do not always like being taught. Winston S. Churchill
This is an appropriate enough quote to summarize my perspective at the close of a year of many new lessons – and not all of them pleasant at the time of learning. It’s tough to be new, but it feels great to be not-new. Since I find myself in a “next stage” here at Rare Newspapers, as of this week I am transitioning the title(s) of my blog. Once a month I will continue to pass along something new I have learned, under the heading “Still Learning.” In the other three weeks I will focus on different aspects of this wonderful place.
My most recent orientation was a byproduct of searching the wide world of Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper. It seems these treasures, similar in size to Harper’s Weekly, are located in a completely different collection of Civil War Era papers. Although our titles are meticulously indexed and cataloged, the facilities could not possibly be rearranged with each new collection acquired. Consequently, the front warehouse has its own area of 1861-1865 issues, while the annex has a separate one. It’s so funny to still be discovering a nook packed full of Historical Relevance (in capital letters).
Within a publication from 1862, I located a four-panel, tipped-in centerfold. It’s a beautiful illustration that measures 20″ high by 32″ wide, folded inside the magazine, with no binding holes or glue lines within the image margins. The top half is titled “The Second Day of the Second Battle of Bunker Hill”, and depicts a lovely landscape in which lines of marching men wind along hilltops and alongside lanes of trees. Even the award winning photography of later wars doesn’t compete with the impact of this intricate rendering.
Note that this is not a double-page centerfold, as I originally described it to Guy, but a more extravagantly sized and highly desirable four-panel, tipped-in centerfold. I have recently been taught the difference.
Anyway, I have much more to learn, but in case you were wondering, I am ready for more Leslie’s requests — particularly Civil War issues.
Announcing: Catalog #291 (for February, 2020) is now available…
February 3, 2020 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
- Catalog 291 (in its entirety)
- Noteworthy Catalog 291 ($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.)
I’m New Here: A Few Changes…
January 31, 2020 by Stephanie Williams · Leave a Comment
This week has gone by in a blur. The (exciting) new catalog ships out tomorrow, and all the attendant hoopla has filled our schedules. It’s always a juggling act to maintain regular work around special projects, because there is plenty of the latter to pack our days.
A seasoned collector was filling gaps prior to an approaching exhibit, and he called to have me check a New York Times obituary in 1898. 
We didn’t have the date it ran, and I exhausted all the other major papers. However, the deceased was an abolitionist who also contributed to the effort to gain the vote for women. As a last ditch effort I pulled a volume of the Woman’s Journal from Washington DC, and found a lengthy tribute to Robert Purvis. Mr. G was quite pleased, and I felt triumphant with my find, particularly as it led me to delve into my favorite category – publications in which women played an important role. Although much content pertains to suffrage, there seems to have been an effort to provide a platform for intelligent discussion that encompassed many other aspects of life in the 1800’s. These journals are a valuable resource for a look into the 19th Century, and I am always glad to fulfill an order with one of these gems.
As I begin this second year here at Rare & Early Newspapers, I am planning to dedicate my last post each month to a look at our titles, beginning with the Woman’s Journal. Hopefully, I can unearth enough nuggets that you will all start to consider that a collection cannot possibly be complete without containing at least an issue or two from the Woman’s Tribune, The Woman’s Journal, The North Shore Review, the Ladies Magazine or Womankind.
Thank you for the kind comments and encouragement in this first year. I beg your continued forbearance as I wade more deeply into the water.
Cheers!
The January (2020) Newsletter from Rare & Early Newspapers…
January 27, 2020 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Each month the staff of Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers sends out a newsletter to our members which includes special offers, discounts, alerts to new inventory, and information related to the rare newspaper collectible.
The October, 2019 newsletter:
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Welcome to the first member’s newsletter for 2020. Shown below are links to recently listed items (a great set – see below), newly discounted issues (50% off), the History’s Newsstand Blog, and our most recent catalog of original newspapers (Catalog 290). Please enjoy.
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