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A gem from the American Antiquarian Society…
January 30, 2015 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
In celebration of its 20oth anniversary the American Antiquarian Society published a beautiful exhibition catalog titled “In Pursuit Of A Vision – Two Centuries of Collecting at the American Antiquarian Society”. Featured are a fascinating array of books, documents, maps & other paper ephemera, as well as several very rare & unusual newspapers we felt worthy of sharing with our collectors (with permission from the A.A.S.).
93. “Moniteur de la Louisiane“, New Orleans, February 21, 1810
The Moniteur de la Louisiane, established in 1794 by Louis Duclot, was the first newspaper published in Louisiana. Because so few early issues have survived, its history is difficult to piece together. The earliest known issue — since lost in a fire but preserved in facsimile — was dated August 25, 1794; all other extant issues are from the 1800s. Although founded when Louisiana was under Spanish control, the Moniteur was published primarily in French, the language of Louisiana’s majority population. Over time the newspaper grew in size from octavo to quarto to folio, and it also change publishers. This 1810 issue lists Jean Baptiste Le Seur Fontaine as publisher, A role he had assumed by 1803 and perhaps as early as 1797. Publication apparently ceased in 1814. When Fontaine died that year, he bequeathed to the city of New Orleans his personal file of the Moniteur.
This is one of two issues of the Moniteur sent to AAS by Edward Larocque Tinker as part of his very substantial gift of early Louisiana newspapers and periodicals.
The Traveler… Zeppelin bombing… hidden in the city…
January 23, 2015 by The Traveler · Leave a Comment
Today I traveled to New York City by the way of the New York Tribune (January 20, 1915). There I found the headline “Zeppelin Throws Bombs At Sandringham Palace; Airmen Brought Down.” This was the reporting of the first time that Great Britain had been bombed by zeppelins, attaching them at night. Sandringham was one of the royal residences.
Another article on the front page was of a witness to the death of a bride almost a year ago surrendered herself to authorities. They thought that she had fled to Europe, only to find that she had found it easy to hide within New York City itself!
~The Traveler
The Civil War… January, 1865
January 15, 2015 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
What news was reported in January, 1865 – 150 years ago? Such a walk back in time through the eyes of those who read the daily and weekly newspapers of the period can be quite revealing. This is why we often say, “History is never more fascinating than when it’s read from the day it was first reported.” The following link will take you back in time to show the available newspapers from the Rare & Early newspapers website. There’s no need to buy a thing. Simply enjoy the walk back in time:January, 1865
Time capsule dating to 1795 included coins, newspapers…
January 9, 2015 by GuyHeilenman · 1 Comment
It’s all over the news (thank you API): “Time capsule dating to 1795 included coins, newspapers!” The time capsule was embedded in a cornerstone of the historic Massachusetts Statehouse by a group which included Samuel Adams and Paul Revere. The contents, in part, contained a number of coins, a silver plate with one of Paul Revere’s engravings – often used in the creation of the mastheads for various Boston area newspapers, and several late-18th century Boston newspapers. As newspaper collectors ourselves, we’ll be anxious to discover their exact titles and dates. While we have several authentic issues from the 1700’s with either Boston mentions or which were printed in Boston, it will be interesting to see if those placed within the capsule were included due to noteworthy content, their containing Paul Revere engravings, or for yet another reason. A video and related article covering the opening of the capsule is available at: 18th Century Time Capsule
The Traveler… Johnson’s “Great Society”… death of a poet…
January 5, 2015 by The Traveler · Leave a Comment
Today I traveled back to January 5, 1965 by way of The Springfield Union, Massachusetts (January 5, 1965). There I found the reporting of President Johnson’s 
State-of-the-Union message in which he presented several new programs. “…These are all parts of the Johnson design for a ‘Great Society’, he hopes will develop through decades ahead… the search begins for a way to ‘elevate the quality of our civilization.’…” This was to be for a better health care program for the elderly under the Social Security, to help develop regions suffering from distress and depression, new education programs, and more.
Also in the issue was the report of the death of poet and playwright T. S. Eliot. He won the Nobel Prize in literature in 1948 “for his outstanding pioneer contribution to present-day poetry”. His book of poetry “Old Possum’s Books of Practical Cats” is what the musical “Cats” was based on, which has been the third longest running show in Broadway history.
~The Traveler
When “white paper” was unavailable the presses kept running…
January 2, 2015 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
We recently came across an interesting issue of “The Daily Rocky Mountain News” from Denver, dated Oct. 4, 1864. The uniqueness was not in the reporting; it was in the newspaper itself. Rather than printed on traditional newsprint stock, this issue is printed on pink-colored tissue paper. Fortunately, although very flimsy, it is not the least bit fragile.
It was not unusual for print shops to run out of newsprint and to become inventive in finding ways to get out the day’s edition, particularly for newspapers in remote parts of the country as most paper mills were located in the Northeast. Think of the famous wallpaper issues from the Civil War. Some investigating came across the reason. One website on the history of the “Rocky Mountain News” noted that: “…When the Indian outbreak caused an embargo on traffic over the Western plains in 1864-5, he frequently ran out of white paper, and in such emergencies he printed the news on wrapping paper gathered from Denver stores…”. So this pink paper was wrapping paper. I wonder how long the need for “necessity paper” lasted. We also have two more issues with a similar date which are printed on yellow and green paper. In any case, very interesting curiosities for this fascinating hobby.
The Traveler… capturing Pensacola… plundering away…
December 15, 2014 by The Traveler · Leave a Comment
Today I traveled by the means of the Boston Patriot, December 17, 1814 (shown below) to Boston, Massachusetts. There I found that under the leadership of Maj. Gen. Jackson, Pensacola, West Florida, had been captured.The first portion of the report did not have details yet, however there is a “from an Office in Gen. Jackson’s army” letter. “I write you a few lines to tell you that I am alive and well. We took the town by a coup de main the 7th,… The Baranca has been blown up, and the object intended to be effected, to wit, preventing the British from entering the Bay, cannot now be obtained, so that we shall to day return to Mobile.”
Also reported is “The Brutal Enemy!”. “We learn that the enemy have descended the Rappahannock. Accounts from there state that their ascent up there was marked by a conduct every way worthy of the infamous Cockburn, plundering and burning on both shores and almost everything within their reach… They have laid in ashes the Court-house, prison, collector’s office, clerk’s office, and a large ware-house, and scarcely a building escaped plunder or damage… they broke into the family vault of Col. Richie, and ransacked the ashes of the dead…”.
~The Traveler
For United We Stand…
December 8, 2014 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
“And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.”
(God, as written by Mark in Mark 3:25)
“United we stand, divided we fall.”
(Aesop)
“A house divided against itself cannot stand.”
(Abraham Lincoln)
“For united we stand; Divided we fall. And if our backs should ever be against the wall. We’ll be together…”
(The Brotherhood of Man)
Bringing people together is no small task. Those who have the ability to rally factions behind a common cause are few and far between. Those who can do so for a noble cause are a true rarity.
While we all acknowledge Abraham Lincoln’s efforts to this end as exemplified in both his “House Divided” speech and yet again in his “Gettysburg Address”, it was another relatively unknown true American patriot who was instrumental in doing the same soon after the close of the American Revolutionary War: Dr. Benjamin Rush. Below please find (and enjoy) the full text of “Address to the People of the United States”, which begins:
“There is nothing more common that to confound the terms of the American revolution with those of the late American war. The American war is over; but this is far from being the case with the American revolution.”,
and concludes:
“PATRIOTS of 1774, 1775, 1778—HEROES of 1778, 1779, 1780! come forward! your country demands your services!—Philosophers and friends to mankind, com forward! your country demands your studies and speculations! Lovers of peace and order, who declined taking part in the late war, come forward! your country forgives your timidity, and demands your influence and advice! Hear her proclaiming, in sighs and groans, in her governments, in her finances, in her trade, in her manufactures, in her morals, and in her manners, ‘THE REVOLUTION IS NOT OVER!’ “, Dr. Benjamin Rush, MD.
What a tremendous rally for all Americans to unite behind a noble cause: the establishment of a nation like none other!
To read the complete text of this amazing speech, go to: American Museum, January, 1787
The Traveler… Col. Bradstreet’s peace offering… the devil’s what?…
December 1, 2014 by The Traveler · Leave a Comment
Today I traveled to London, England, by the way of The Gentleman’s Magazine of December, 1764. There I found a letter from Quebec reporting “Col. Bradstreet, on his arrival at 
Detroit, sent a belt of peace to General Pontiac, but he, like a true hero, depended on his power, and greatly dared his worst, by cutting the belt in pieces at the head of his army, (the Indians) and two days ago an Indian canoe came on board us, who assured us M. Pontiak had assembled all his forces together at St. Dusky, and received Col. Bradstreet with undaunted courage… “.
Also in the issue is a “sketch of Peak’s Hole commonly called the Devil’s A—–se-A-Peak in Derbyshire”. This also is Pool’s Hole and includes a plate with two illustrations. To enter this, “the entrance is by a small arch, so very low, that such a venture into it are forced to creep upon their hands and knees, but it gradually opens into a vault more than a quarter of a mile long, and, as some have pretended, a quarter of a mile high…”. This also has a running stream and both a cold and hot spring — the springs within a hand touch from the other.
~The Traveler
I’m thankful for… Abraham Lincoln…
November 26, 2014 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
As Thanksgiving rapidly approaches, one is compelled by the overwhelming blessings so many of us experience on a daily basis to consider things for which we are thankful, but often overlook. One such gratitude-producing individual for me is Abraham Lincoln. Was he a perfect man? No. Have many of his flaws been white-washed from history? Yes (I’m counting on the same treatment). However, this does not negate the truth that in my eyes, he was a man for “such a time” as his was. I’ve always appreciated his writing (whether it be from his own pen or another’s makes no difference to me). One of my favorites is:
“I do the very best I know how – the very best I can; and I mean to keep doing so until the end. If the end brings me out all right, then what is said against me won’t matter. If the end brings me out wrong, then ten Angles swearing I was right would make no difference at all.” Abraham Lincoln
We should all have such strength of conviction in regards to our actions under fire.
A short time ago I came across a letter from him which was printed in a National Intelligencer dated January 27, 1865 that may rival the above. It is his response to a letter received from him from Eliza Gurney, the wife of a recently departed friend. The full text is viewable via the image shown below, with the transcribed text to follow.
Executive Mansion,
Washington, September 4, 1864.
Eliza P. Gurney.
My esteemed friend.
I have not forgotten–probably never shall forget–the very impressive occasion when yourself and friends visited me on a Sabbath forenoon two years ago. Nor has your kind letter, written nearly a year later, ever been forgotten. In all, it has been your purpose to strengthen my reliance on God. I am much indebted to the good Christian people of the country for their constant prayers and consolations; and to no one of them, more than to yourself. The purposes of the Almighty are perfect, and must prevail, though we erring mortals may fail to accurately perceive them in advance. We hoped for a happy termination of this terrible war long before this; but God knows best, and has ruled otherwise. We shall yet acknowledge His wisdom and our own error therein. Meanwhile we must work earnestly in the best light He gives us, trusting that so working still conduces to the great ends He ordains. Surely He intends some great good to follow this mighty convulsion, which no mortal could make, and no mortal could stay.
Your people–the Friends–have had, and are having, a very great trial. On principle, and faith, opposed to both war and oppression, they can only practically oppose oppression by war. In this hard dilemma, some have chosen one horn, and some the other. For those appealing to me on conscientious grounds, I have done, and shall do, the best I could and can, in my own conscience, under my oath to the law. That you believe this I doubt not; and believing it, I shall still receive, for our country and myself, your earnest prayers to our Father in heaven.
Your sincere friend,
A. Lincoln.
So, what are you thankful for?