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Are you smarter than a 18th century 5th grader? Math exercises within Gentleman’s Magazines…
July 13, 2017 by GuyHeilenman · 2 Comments
As we continue to explore the diversity of content found on the pages of 18th and 19th century Gentleman’s Magazines, our attention was drawn to the abundance of Mathematical challenges found within many issues – particularly those from the 1700’s. Rather than opining on the difficulty level of the quests as opposed to what might be expected of the average reader of a common (blog) post or publication of the 21st century, especially since we have no idea as to the intended target audience. Instead, let’s just enjoy the challenge as if we were living just prior to the American War for Independence.
The challenge: On a somewhat regular basis the publisher would provide a set of Mathematical exercises and invite their subscribers to submit solutions. These responses would then be printed (along with the names of those who submitted them) within a future magazine – typically 1-3 months later. The set shown below is from an issue dated May, 1768. Go ahead and give the problems a try. As an act of 21st century kindness, next Thursday I’ll post the solutions which were submitted in 1768. Are you bold? Go ahead and reply with your solutions prior to next Thursday and allow the collectible world to observe your mathematical genius – or at least your ability to rival the math-prowess of a 17th century 5th grader – or mathematics professor of the period. Enjoy.
The Traveler… O Canada!
July 6, 2017 by The Traveler · 2 Comments
Earlier this week I traveled to New York City by the way of The New York Times dated July 2, 1867 where I found the headline “The Dominion of Canada” with the subhead “Inauguration of the Confederation — A General Holiday — Lord Monck Sworn in — Review of Troops”. “This day has given birth to the political infant, the Dominion of Canada…” This was the announcement of the birth of Canada.
Happy (belated) birthday Canada!
~The Traveler
Announcing: Catalog #260 (for July, 2017) is now available…
July 3, 2017 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Rare Newspapers’ monthly offering of collectible newspapers, Catalog 260, is now available. This latest collection of authentic newspapers is comprised of nearly 350 new items. Some of the noteworthy content includes:
• Period printing of the Declaration of Independence…
• Lincoln delivers his Gettysburg Address…
• Dealing with the hated tea tax…
• Washington’s Farewell Address…
• First report of Lincoln’s assassination…
• Displayable Battle of Gettysburg issue…
To view the above key issues and a whole lot more, go to: Catalog 260
(The catalog links shown above will redirect to the latest catalog in approximately 30 days.)
Victor Hugo – poetry in early 19th century Gentleman’s Magazines…
June 29, 2017 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
In our opinion, one of the early titles we come across, The Gentleman’s Magazine, is grossly underappreciated. This London “Reader’s Digest-sized” publication which spanned the early 18th through mid-19th centuries and was known for great reporting from throughout the world, was also pregnant with book reviews, poetry, mathematical challenges, birth and death notices, and an abundance of plates depicting everything from maps to sketches of rare animals, historical cathedrals, and notable men and women of the era. While we’ve written about this title in previous posts (view posts), our attention this time around is in regards to poetry – with a question.
Whereas nearly every issue contains poetry of the period, the poets are often unknown to me, and therefore, rarely catch my eye. However, during the process of scanning The Gentleman’s magazine for July, 1833 looking for content related to the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833, one name in the heading of a poem caught my eye: Victor Hugo. After reading the poem – and being moved, I became curious as to whether this was an early (1st???) printing – and therefore more valuable as a collectible, or if he had penned it many years prior. Unfortunately a cursory on-line investigation came up empty in regards to a validation that the poem was even written by him, let alone its original date of publication. Of course this begs the question: Can anyone attribute this to him and/or confirm its first printing? If anyone is in the know, please share your knowledge with the collectible community. Thanks in advance. AND as for the poem itself:
It’s amazing what one often finds buried in old newspapers…
June 22, 2017 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Flowers, leaves, photos, clumps of hair, historic trinkets… The list of what might be found buried within and among the inside pages of historic newspapers continues to foster our love for the collectible. The latest discovery? As we were scanning a September 22, 1880 issue of The Boston Investigator hoping to find a mention of Thomas Edison (which turned out to be successful), we noticed an article titled: “Strange Tribe Of Jews Discovered In The Caucasus”, which turned out to be quite interesting:
The Traveler… boxed himself into a corner…
June 19, 2017 by The Traveler · Leave a Comment
Today I traveled to New York City by the way of The New York Times dated June 21, 1967. I found on the front page “Clay Guilty in Draft Case; Gets Five Years in Prison” “U. S. Judge Also Fines the Boxer $10,000 for Refusing Induction”. “A Federal District Court jury tonight convicted Cassius Clay [Muhammad Ali], deposed heavyweight champion, of violating the United States Selective Service Code by refusing to be drafted into the armed services. The offense is a felony… sentenced to five years in prison and fined him $10,000… draft boards had had ample reason to deny Clay an exemption from military service on his contention that he was a minister for the Black Muslims… The 25-year-old boxer offered almost no defense against the Government’s charge and did not take the witness stand himself…”
~The Traveler
The June (2017) Newsletter from Rare & Early Newspapers…
June 17, 2017 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. Our most recent newsletter may be viewed at:
JUNE (2017) NEWSLETTER – RARE & EARLY NEWSPAPERS
The Traveler… they’ve got your number…
June 5, 2017 by The Traveler · Leave a Comment
I journeyed today to New York City by means of the New York Tribune dated June 5, 1917. There I found the bold headline announce “10,000,000 Men Will Register To-day for Army of 625,000”. “The nation’s roll of honor of 10,000,000 names will be compiled to-day. Every man between the ages of 21 and 31, whether eligible for military service ore exempt, in each of the forty-eight states of the Union, is required by the selective draft law to go to the regular polling place in his election district and register his name, date of birth and such other information as authorities require…”. This was the beginning of the draft for World War I.
~The Traveler
Announcing: Catalog #259 (for June, 2017) is now available…
June 1, 2017 by GuyHeilenman · 2 Comments
Rare Newspapers’ monthly offering of collectible newspapers, Catalog 259, is now available. This latest collection of authentic newspapers is comprised of nearly 350 new items. Some of the noteworthy content includes:
• Anti-slavery periodical by Frederick Douglass
• Treaty of peace ending the Revolutionary War
• Perhaps the best issue on the end of the Civil War
• Historic printing of the Star Spangled Banner
• Graphic issue on the Lincoln assassination
• Perhaps the finest baseball print in a periodical
To view the above key issues and a whole lot more, go to: Catalog 259
(The catalog links shown above will redirect to the latest catalog in approximately 30 days.)
The May (2017) Newsletter from Rare & Early Newspapers…
May 18, 2017 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. Our most recent newsletter may be viewed at:
MAY (2017) NEWSLETTER – RARE & EARLY NEWSPAPERS