Even then they wondered, “what’s next?”…
October 10, 2009 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
The “Mother Lode Magnet” newspaper from the small mining town of Jamestown in Northern California had an interesting item in its September 14, 1898 issue. One wouldn’t be surprised if it appeared in a newspaper today:
Related collectibles… carrier & newsie memorabilia…
October 8, 2009 by TimHughes · 1 Comment
The world of rare newspaper collecting need not be limited to just newspapers. I’ve ventured into peripheral collectibles which I find interesting, and I’m wondering if any of you have as well.
I’ve picked up several “paper bags” as we used to call them, and which are rarely seen today. They are the cloth “slings” newspaper carriers wore over the shoulder in which newspapers we held when being delivered (does anyone remember them?).
I’ve also purchased two of the newspaper wagons used in the earlier part of the 20th century in which carriers pulled the day’s edition as he made his deliver rounds. They make decorative pieces today and look much like other early children’s wagons but often had higher side rails. And they were distinguished by the newspaper name & logo painted on the sides.
I’ve also collecting little nick-knack figurines which include a newspaper in some way, and my, have I been amazed how many exist! There is at least one Hummel piece, a few Precious Moments, and a number of more “generic” brand figurines which feature a newspaper in a variety of ways. And those who collect Christmas pieces will encounter numerous miniature print shops and newsstands if they browse in any mall gift or specialty shop. I’ve also found a few framed prints which show someone reading a newspaper, or perhaps a newspaper print shop, a news carrier, etc.
What related newspaper collectibles do you pursue? Feel free to respond and share with others.
Could have been worded better…
October 3, 2009 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
The following appeared in “The Daily Courant” newspaper from London, January 2, 1705:
“This day is publish’d, Her Majesty’s Head finely Engrav’d upon a Copper Plate fifteen Inches square, and Adorn’d after the manner of Penmanship. Price 6d. Sold by J.Nutt near Stationers-Hall. “
Desperate spy tactics…
September 26, 2009 by TimHughes · 1 Comment
This interesting item found in the Confederate newspaper “The Daily Delta” from New Orleans, Feb. 20, 1862, speaks for itself.
Before they became famous…or “infamous”…
September 19, 2009 by TimHughes · 2 Comments
A special desire for many collectors is to find a newspaper mentioning a name which would not become famous for many years, such as the “Lincoln & Herndon” attorney advertisements from Springfield, Illinois in 1857, or a newspaper ad noting John Wilkes Booth appearing in a play in 1863.
The item shown in the photo fits this category, appearing on the front page of the “Detroit Free Press” in its November 1, 1959 newspaper. If a Kennedy assassination plot existed, the plans may have begun as early as…
Politicians can state the obvious…
September 12, 2009 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
The little tidbit shown in the photo appears in “Harper’s Weekly” of January 22, 1876.
A novel way to keep the money coming…
August 29, 2009 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
The following is taken from the “Gentleman’s Magazine” issue of July, 1768, published in London. Perhaps a distant ancestor of Edgar Allan Poe?
Beware of the pony…
August 22, 2009 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
I suspect this little item printed in “The Sag Harbor Express” newspaper from Long Island, New York on February 23, 1871 is fictitious, but it gives a sense of 19th century humor nonetheless.
Not quite a portable hairdryer…
August 15, 2009 by TimHughes · 1 Comment
So how would you like to pack this hairdryer in the suitcase for a weekend trip? It might have been a great devise in 1900 but I’m sure it didn’t travel well. This ad appeared in the “Ladies’ Home Journal” issue of August, 1900.
How to be a cowboy: The protocol in 1882…
August 13, 2009 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
It’s interesting how the stereotype of the cowboy as created by Western movies and the lore generated by Western writers can hold true to reality. This was my thought when I can across an interesting tidbit from a Yuma, Arizona, newspaper of January 7, 1882—from a truly Western town at the high point of the Wild West era:
“He Wanted to be a Cowboy”
A youth recently went all the way from Chicago to New Mexico to become a cowboy. When there he explained his desire to a typical mountaineer whom he met and asked for instructions in the role he had wished to assume. Grasping him by the hand the mountaineer said: “You want to get a buckskin suit with plenty of fringe, a pair of high boots and a pair of high spurs. Then you want to get a broad-rimmed hat–the broader the better; two fort-fives, a knife, a Winchester rifle and a horse; then you want to get drunk and get on your horse; then take the reins in your teeth, a revolver in each hand, and go down the street at a full run, shooting at every jump. then come back and yell as loud as you can: ‘My name is ______ and I’m stinking for a fight; I’m a sone-of-a-gun from the plains.’ After that you will be a cowboy.” The picture is duly referred to the cowboy’s prototype in Western Missouri.”




