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Contrasting pairs of historic newspapers: another way to collect…
November 11, 2008 by TimHughes · 2 Comments
The recent election, reflecting the great strides made socially & politically by the African-American community, brought to mind another opportunity in newspaper collecting not thought of by most. In preparing issues for a future Supplement the “Detroit Free Press” of June 12, 1963 struck me as a interesting
contrast to the election of just a few days prior. The headline proclaimed: “NEGROES ENROLL AT ‘BAMA”, noting the struggles African-Americans had just to enroll in universities across the country during the 1950’s and 1960’s. Zoom forward just 45 years and the headline of the “USA Today” read “America Makes History – OBAMA WINS” noting America’s first African-American president. (We have this pair listed on eBay. Click here to view.) I don’t believe it’s a stretch to say that in 1963 the thought of an African-American president in any person’s lifetime was considered a serious possibility, yet it happened, and indeed America did make history.
Carrying forward with this “contrasting pairs” idea, a fascinating collection of newspapers could be built around this theme. How about a December, 1903 issue report on the Wright brothers’ first flight alongside 
an issue of July 21, 1969 announcing man landing on the moon? How about an 1844 newspaper on the first successful telegraph transmission alongside an issue announcing the launching of the Telstar satellite, noting the achievements in distance communication? How about a 1920 newspaper reporting the ratification of the Suffrage Amendment giving women the right to vote, along side an issue just 64 years later reporting Geraldine Ferraro as the first female Vice Presidential candidate representing a major American political party? Consider the contrast in perspectives of having both a Yankee and Confederate newspaper for the same Civil War date. The advantage that newspapers offer to this interesting theme is they offer physical evidence of achievements & accomplishments…one can display such headline issues side by side.
What other “contrasting pairs” do you believe would be intriguing additions to an historical newspaper collection, and why?
Obama election victory : a follow-up…
November 10, 2008 by TimHughes · 1 Comment
I commented previously on the most desirable issue or issues to have on the November presidential election. My thought being a newspaper from the victor’s hometown and/or a newspaper from Washington,
D.C. being among the best. Plus, how desirable are presidential election newspapers in the scope of the historical newspaper hobby?
To most collectors, election reports are desired. But this election was different. More than just another presidential election, history was made. The first African-American will be heading to the White House in January and it’s interesting to speculate on how this makes a 2008 election newspaper more desirable than any previous election report.
It has been interesting following the eBay sales over the past six days. Not surprisingly thousands of newspapers have been listed and many have been sold, including at least one lot of over 600 issues of the Chicago Tribune (sold for $1799). The highest sold prices I’ve noticed have been the New York Times, and being one of the 
more famous & prestigious newspapers in the world I’m not surprised it would command some attention among bidders. I saw bona fide sale prices for individual issues of $400, $300, $265, $255 and another dozen sales above the $100 mark. Curiously, the highest Chicago newspaper sale price I noted (Tribune) was for $115. Most of these prices were achieved the day after the election as savvy sellers took advantage of the expected post-election euphoria to achieve what seem to have been the highest prices of the week.
Although I have no statistics upon which to base this thought, I don’t believe past election newspaper sales resulting in so many $100+ final sales. I suspect the added historical appeal this election provided had much to do with both the demand and the prices achieved. We are selling election issues from 2004 for $28 (interesting pair from Florida: see listing) and $50 for the Washington Post.
But how will prices be affected going forward? As is the case with all collectibles, buyer demand will set the
mark. The degree to which collectors recognize or appreciate this election as being different from most, and the shear quantity of issues hoarded last week–and which come on to the market over the next ten years–will determine whether prices will languish in the $10 to $25 range or whether $75 might be a typical sale price. Time will tell.
What’s your thought?
The vast majority of Chicago issues and the New York Times sold the past 4 or 5 days seem to be in the $10 to $25 per issue range although there are exceptions at both ends of this range. Looking forward ten years… will they be considered bargain purchases? Again, time will tell. It’s part of the fun of collecting!
All this being said, please note: When the potential investment value of a newspaper becomes the primary motivation for purchasing historic newspapers rather than the intangible value of holding history in your hands, the joy of the hobby may well be sacrificed. Keeping true to the hobby, we urge “collecting” and not “investing”.
Obama Wins… What newspapers provide…
November 5, 2008 by GuyHeilenman · 2 Comments
Regardless of your view on the recent U.S. election, one thing is for certain: Barack Obama’s victory was a very significant and historic event! If you collect historic newspapers you’ve been able to follow the
progression of African Americans – from slavery, through the early rumblings of the abolitionist/anti-slavery movement, into the struggle for emancipation (both officially and pragmatically), to achieve the right to vote, followed by the struggle of the civil rights movement, and finally, to the top and most honored position of all – The President of the United States. It has been a long and hard-fought struggle, but thanks to all that has made our country great, it was a struggle with hope. The realization of this hope has set the stage for a new era in this great experiment in self-government. The melting pot is working, evolving the United States into a country where there are no African-American, Latino-American, Anglo-American, Mexican-American, etc. citizenry, but rather, one united citizenry poised to return to the great American Dream founded on the principles wisely set forth by our forefathers and supported by the many men and women who have given their lives in the cause of this great hope… And it has been and will continue to be chronicled passionately in rare and historic newspapers.
Note: To all those who have African American and/or slavery/anti-slavery newspaper collections: Don’t forget to obtain a USA Today, Washington Post, or similar newspaper containing the election results. Although it may not have siginificant financial value at the moment, my guess is there are many who have gone before us whom would declare it “PRICELESS”. 🙂
Thoughts on the most historic 19th century report…
October 21, 2008 by TimHughes · 7 Comments
A few weeks ago we had some interesting comments on what collectors thought was the most historic 20th century newspaper report. Let’s try the same with the 19th century. But given the tremendous diversity of events from 1801 thru 1900 I’m going to break the century into three parts: pre-Civil War; the Civil War; and post-Civil War. Let’s work our way backwards and discuss the post-Civil War era first.
There are many ways to approach “most historic”. My approach will be the most life-altering event with emphasis on “event”. One could argue that the second Industrial Revolution dramatically changed the world but it cannot be pinned down to a single date or event.
Several items come to mind: the first successful Atlantic cable in 1866 was a major step in causing the world to be much smaller–a trend which continues to this day; the completion of the transcontinental railroad in the United States was a major step in the westward expansion & settlement of the United States which changed the country in many ways; and then there is the Battle of Wounded Knee which was the last battle in the American Indian Wars and the official end of the Old West. Not to be omitted would be the invention of the automobile by gentlemen in Germany in 1889.
I’m going to go with the completion of the transcontinental railroad. In thinking of the multitude of events which played off this event and how it changed the fabric of America (pardon the ethnocentrism) I’ll vote for it as the most historic event of the 19th century post-Civil War era.
What are your thoughts?
Contest – Share your best “golden nugget discovery” story with the world!
October 16, 2008 by GuyHeilenman · 33 Comments
What do gold prospectors, pirates, treasure hunters, archeologists, and rare newspaper collectors have in common? They all share the thrill of the hunt and the reward of discovery.
When it comes to rare newspapers, finding the unexpected, in contrast to other collectibles, is often a good thing… and at times can even be quite valuable. Since the inception of the History’s Newsstand Blog, a number of posts have focused on this intrinsic pleasure of the hobby, and several readers have responded with “discoveries” of their own. In an effort to communicate this joy to the world, we would like to invite our readers to share their stories – for fun and for potential reward!
From now until Sunday, October 31st, you will have the opportunity to share your story (or stories) of a time when you purchased a newspaper (for one reason or another) only to discover upon reading the issue that it 
also contained key, historic, or highly interesting content that you did not know was present when you initially obtained the issue. The staff at Rare Newspapers will select a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place story by Friday, 11/7 (perhaps sooner), and announce the winners via the blog and through a personal e-mail contact. The winners will have their stories recognized on the blog, will receive Rare Newspapers gift certificates worth $100 (1st place), $50 (2nd place), and $25 (3rd place), and will have the satisfaction of knowing they contributed to the enhancement of the rare newspapers collectible community. If you have more than one story to share, enter them as separate comments to this post. Please include the title and date of the issue along with your story of discovery.
Don’t delay. Share your story with the world!
Finding those unexpected historical nuggets.
October 13, 2008 by TimHughes · 5 Comments
Few thrills are greater in the rare newspaper collecting hobby than finding the unexpected historic gem. Those moments of serendipity are the treasures we all hope for at some point in our quest for new additions to our collection.
I have come across many in my years of collecting with two among the more interesting.
Long before the days of the internet I subscribed to the catalogs of the prestigious Sotheby’s auction house in New York City as they occasionally ran Americana sales which included newspapers. One sale offered an 
issue of the SOUTH CAROLINA GAZETTE from August of 1776. Trying to assemble one newspaper of all thirteen colonies from the Revolutionary War, this would be a new addition to that set. The lengthy catalog description noted some war skirmishes but nothing significant. But that was not a concern to me as I was only seeking a title from that colony from during the war, and the date of 1776 made it that much better. I placed my bid and was excited to learn I won the issue.
Several weeks later the issue arrived. In preparing it for my collection I casually looked over the content, and you can imagine my shock upon finding on page 2 a complete printing of the Declaration of Independence! I couldn’t imagine the incompetence of the cataloger–employed by Sotheby’s no less–who missed this report.
Not many years ago we purchased the newspaper holding of a public library in Massachusetts which includes a lengthy run of a Springfield newspaper, in fact two truckloads of volumes ranging from the mid-1800’s thru the latter part of the 20th century. Knowing the wealth of historical material which could be culled from this collection we put our attention to those events for several months upon its return to our
office & warehouse in Williamsport. Some time later we realized that the sport of basketball was founded in Springfield. Could we be so fortunate to to find a report off the very first game every played? Did the local newspaper even report what is now an extremely significant event in the history of basketball?
Indeed they did. The Springfield Republican, March 12, 1892 issue reported somewhat inconspicuously on page 6 an event headed “Basket Football Game” played the day before (which we now recognize as the first public basketball game), with mention of James Naismith who is recognized as the founder of the sport. It was a thrill to find the report which languished for over 100 years, unbeknown to anyone, in the back shelves of a library. Curiously the curator of the Basketball Hall of Fame didn’t appreciate its significance, however the Smithsonian Institution did as it now is part of their collection.
What historical gems have you discovered serendipitously in issues purchased for another reason, or as part of a collection where nothing special was expected? Feel free to share your stories with other collectors!
Likely a one-of-a-kind newspaper from the private collection…
October 9, 2008 by TimHughes · 2 Comments
One of the thrills of collecting newspapers is coming across one which has never been discovered before nor since. Such is the case with our issue of the Civil War newspaper titled “The Red River Rover”, which I discovered at a Civil War Book Fair in Gettysburg many years ago.
This newspaper was “Printed on board Steamer Des Moines” and is dated March 21, 1864. It is a most fascinating and possibly unique little newspaper printed on lined, blue ledger paper. This is the first issue (and possibly the last) as the front page contains the “Salutatory” which explains how this paper came into being:
“We present to-day this little sheet to the citizens of Red River country and the soldiers who are now threading their way among the intricate bayous of this part of Louisiana, with the hope that it may be beneficial to those who follow the ways of treason, and entertaining to the brave boys who are now vindicating the integrity of the Federal Union even at the cannon’s mouth. It is printed upon the material of the Louisiana Democrat, of Alexandria, the last number of which was issued on the 15th of March, the day before the Stars and Stripes were raised upon the Court House, though it contained not one word of warning to its readers that the army of the United States was moving upon the waters of the Red River–but was brimful of blustering secession news, all favorable for success to the Confederacy…”
There is other interesting reading on pages 1 and 4, with the blank pages 2 & 3 being taken up with a handwritten letter of a soldier to his wife dated March 31.
Nice that it references where it received its paper (taken from Louisiana Democrat) with some comment on the Yankees moving in and capturing the town.
Old news is good news for collectors…
October 8, 2008 by GuyHeilenman · 2 Comments
David Chesanow recently posted an interview with Tim on his informative website americollector.com. With comments like “…newspapers, like books, extend into every collecting field…” and “Newspapers… are original historical evidence…”, David seems to get it right. The interview included such topics as:
- What newspapers do you (Tim) yourself collect specifically – by region, era, subject – or is the field your area and you just like the rarest, most historic items?
- What are the collecting areas within the hobby?
- What are some of the interesting collecting areas of some of your (Rare Newspapers) customers?
- What are the “Holy Grails” of newspaper collecting?
- Are newspapers ever forged? For example, aren’t there a lot of professionally done reprints in England?
- What have newspapers been made of over the years, and how perishable are they?
- Are the high-acid papers necessarily hard to preserve?
- When was the transition from rag content to high-acid paper in the U.S. and abroad?
- What’s the best way to store newspapers?
- Now that the Internet is killing printed papers, do you think the latter will become increasingly collectible?
To access the full text of the interview, go to “Old news is good news for collectors“. Thanks David for your fine contribution to the community and for your outstanding website!
Themes in collecting…
October 7, 2008 by TimHughes · 3 Comments
Perhaps the best aspect of collecting early newspapers is the endless ways one can collect. Although there are those who collect a great variety of dates, titles, or events, the opportunity to focus on a specific era or topic can provide an exciting collection which is much more diverse than one might guess.
Displayability and dramatic appeal are of interest to many, and the 1920 – 1945 era provides a tremendous opportunity for some “screaming” headlines typically not found prior to or after these dates. Within this era one can focus on various topics: politics, sports, economics, discoveries/inventions, and gangsters to name a few.
The gangster era intrigues many and some dramatic headlines can be found if one devotes the time to the search. Just one example from our private collection is the PALESTINE DAILY HERALD newspaper from Texas, dated May 23, 1934 which features a banner (from edge to edge) headline which reads just as a collector would want: “BARROW AND BONNIE PARKER RIDDLED WITH BULLETS”. And nice to have this report in a Texas newspaper as Bonnie & Clyde were killed near the Texas/Louisiana border. More typically this report was not much more than a column or two in most newspapers, and often found on an inside page rather than as a front page feature. Finding a banner headline can be very exciting. Banner headlines on Al Capone, “Baby Face” Nelson, John Dillinger and the host of other notorious names from the gangster era surface upon occasion and become choice additions to the collections of those who appreciate their rarity.
What “theme” in collecting do you enjoy? Are you a “generalist” with newspapers crossing over the broad spectrum of dates, titles, and events, or have you been intrigued by focusing upon a much more narrow theme which others may not have thought of? We’d love to hear of your collecting interest….feel free to share your thoughts. Note: Please focus on themes rather than specific issues within your collection.
The work of a headsman…
October 2, 2008 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
Almost daily we find non-historical, but fascinating reporting in the issues we peruse. It is one of the
hidden pleasures of the collectible. See the image to the right for one recently discovered intriguing little nugget published in the ILLUSTRATED LONDON NEWS issue of March 9, 1861. John Lund held the job of beheading state criminals in the Tower of London, but never mind that the last time such “services” were required was in 1746. Apparently his only responsibility was to show up twice a year to collect his pay check, which he did “…with a large bright hatchet on his shoulder”. They believe the position may be abolished(!)
By the way, a “sinecure” is “an office or position requiring little or no work”.
Have you found any such nuggets in your newspapers?