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War makes “sad havoc” among the newspapers…
April 2, 2011 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
This item provides some interesting facts on what war does to newspaper publishing. It appeared in the “Daily Richmond Examiner” issue of February 4, 1864.
Rare Newspapers… What to collect?
March 31, 2011 by GuyHeilenman · 1 Comment
There are an infinite number of ways to approach collecting rare newspapers. The History’s Newsstand Blog is pregnant with suggestions. Over the course of the next several months we will 
begin to explore the topic in earnest. For those who are new to the hobby, and are anxious to explore what has been written to-date, the following links are to help bring you up to speed:
Feel free to share your thoughts on ideas for collecting rare and early newspapers: themes, eras, topics, etc.
The “experts” don’t always get it right…
March 28, 2011 by GuyHeilenman · 2 Comments
We recently unearthed two different newspapers which scream the reality “the experts are often wrong”. The first report was an early review of “Gone With The Wind” which was not favorable (issue #580564). The 2nd was a statement concerning Babe Ruth which occurred soon after he was traded to The New York Yankees which questioned whether he would be an impact player (issue #581104). Interestingly enough, the opinion was given by Billy Evans, one of the most famous umpires (and member of the Hall of Fame) of all time. Feel free to comment on similar finding of your own. In the meantime, enjoy the reports:
Gone With The Wind…
Babe Ruth…
The Traveler… Booker T. Washington facing court… “Reach out, reach out and touch someone”…
March 24, 2011 by The Traveler · Leave a Comment
A few days ago I traveled to New York City through the New York Tribune dated March 21, 1911 (I’m running a little behind schedule). The front page of the issue carries the report of “Dr. (Booker T.) Washington Too Ill To Go To Court”. I found that this was an interesting assault case between Dr. Washington and Henry A. Ulrich, re: who attacked whom. I had to google this case to find the verdict. What I found was that this case/verdict has become known for extreme injustice due to Mr. Ulrich acquittal. However, he was re-arrested in the courtroom for desertion of his wife!
Also in this issue is the reporting of the funeral for John B. M’Donald, the builder of the subway system in New York… I guess he made his final stop.
Do you remember when you actually were able to talk with a “live” operator when calling information? When Henry McGinn reached the operator and conversation ensued, he found that the operator was his sister whom he had not seen or heard from for seventeen years! A reunited relationship occurred from the “reach out, reach out and touch someone…” archives.
~The Traveler
The Traveler… Maine becoming a state?… the horses know the way!…
March 10, 2011 by The Traveler · Leave a Comment
This week’s journey found me with the Middlesex Gazette issue dated March 7, 1811. This contained a headline “Another New State” in which the District of Maine (a part of the state of Massachusetts) had held a Convention in Boston and voted 56 to 18, that “it is expedient to take the sense of the people on a separation from Old Massachusetts.” However, they did not obtain their statehood until nine years later as part of the Missouri Comprise.
An amusing story (see below) is of a Coachman, who while fetching some straw for his seat, found his horses leaving without him. They proceeded to the next place (with the coachman in chase) and stopped as they would normally do. A countryman entered and called “go on!” and the horses took off again at full speed to the next place, four miles away. Early auto-pilot?
~The Traveler
The Traveler… Black Beard, somewhat live… “Wonderful Woman”…
February 24, 2011 by The Traveler · Leave a Comment
This journey found me traveling to Boston via The Repertory dated February 22, 1811. I was instantly attracted to the front page of this issue when I spied “BLACK BEARD — The Pirate” front and center. I knew the time frame for his name would not 
be fitting which made me look even more so! I found that this was actually a five-act comedy musical about this monstrous pirate, of which they took some liberty in the story line as stated in the article. Inside the issue is an advertisement of the play.
Two headlines in the advertisements attracted my attention, “The Wonderful Woman!”, which I thought would have been unusual for that time period. The one was of a book being available about the life of Ann Moor, Tutbury, England, who had for more than three years lived entirely without food. The other advertisement was of a correct likeness, in wax, of Mrs. Moor, that was just added to the Columbian Museum. Was this the early beginning of the liquid diet fads or what??
~The Traveler
She prepared for the end…
February 21, 2011 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
Some news reports we discover in our newspapers are so beautifully written that they beg to be share with more than just the collector who buys the issue. This is one. Not only is the report of Martha Washington’s death eloquently presented, it is interesting how she knew her time was coming to an end and was prepared for it.
This report appeared in the “Farmer’s Museum or Literary Gazette” from Walpole, New Hampshire, June 8, 1802:
Entry point to the Rare Newspapers Collectible… 16th & 17th Centuries…
February 17, 2011 by GuyHeilenman · 2 Comments
Our peek at the lower-end entry points into the hobby of collecting rare and early newspapers draws to a conclusion today with a gander at inexpensive newspapers published prior to 1700. A list of titles priced at under $50 includes: The London Gazette, The Athenian Mercury, Votes of the House of Commons, The Observator, and The Weekly Pacquet of Advice From Rome, all of which are British publications.
The following link will take you to these potential pre-1700 entry-point issues: Pre-1700 Inexpensive Issues
Enjoy!
Note: View the following to explore the History’s Newsstand Blog’s featured posts on the upper end of the collectible: “Prices Realized” and “Most Collectible Issues“.
The Traveler… traveling to Rio de Janeiro… part of the “health test”??
February 10, 2011 by The Traveler · 1 Comment
I decided to take my travels a like further back in time and to a place that always intrigued me. Through letters from Boston and Philadelphia, The London Gazette dated February 12, 1711 reported on a vessel that had been shattered from Rio de Janeiro. The French had landed and were being beaten off with the reinforcement of eight thousand men from the mines… the French retreated.
In my readings, I see numerous “An Act..” within newspapers, but found this one quite unusual. “An Act to enable John Lord Gower, Baron of Stitnham, an Infant, to make a Settlement upon his Marriage.” I wonder what the terms of the settlement were??
Last, the back page had an announcement about “The Corporation of the Amicable Society for the Perpetual Assurance-Office” for the Affidavit of the Health. The way the announcement read, this may have been part of the qualification testing… if you understood it all, then you were in good (mental) health.
~The Traveler
First newspapers in New Jersey…
January 31, 2011 by TimHughes · 2 Comments
Given that New Jersey is geographically wedged between the the large colonial cities of New York and Philadelphia, there seemed to be little interest in creating a New Jersey newspaper until relatively late in the 18th century. Although New York & Pennsylvania had newspapers in the 1720’s, New Jersey’s first title, “The New Jersey Gazette“, did not appear until 1777.
But printing was being done in the colony as early as 1723, and it even had its first magazine, “The New American Magazine“, done by James Parker at Woodbridge in 1758. But it was Isaac Collins who on Dec. 5, 1777 started in Burlington the province’s first newspaper, “The New Jersey Gazette”, which would be removed to Trenton just three months later where it continued until 1786.
Technically there is another contender for the the title of New Jersey’s first newspaper, as Hugh Gaine removed his “New York Gazette & Weekly Mercury” to Newark, New Jersey, just prior to the British occupation of that city. His first Newark edition was on Sept. 21, 1776 and he only printed seven issues through Nov. 2, 1776 before returning to New York a few days later.