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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.”
Some legal notices never change…
August 8, 2009 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
Although the wording may be different, some legal notices placed in newspapers haven’t changed much in over 200 years. Note this item from the “New York Journal” of January 7, 1768.
A legal conundrum…
August 1, 2009 by TimHughes · 4 Comments
“The Olympia Transcript” newspaper of Washington Territory, Nov. 30, 1867, poses an interesting question:
“Suppose a man owns a skiff; he fastens the skiff to the shore with a rope made of straw; along comes a cow; cow gets into the boat; turns around & eats the rope; the skiff thus let loose with the cow on board, starts down stream and on its passage is upset; the cow is drowned. Now, has the man that owns the cow got to pay for the boat or the man that owns the boat got to pay for the cow?”
Any thoughts from our readers?
Competition isn’t always friendly…
July 25, 2009 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
The “Amador Dispatch” newspaper from Jackson, California—small mining town in the northern part of the state—has two related items in its April 8, 1882 issue. The first is a report from the neighboring “Plymouth Reporter” newspaper concerning a pen knife which was found noting the owner could have it by proving ownership & by paying for the newspaper notice. The other is an editorial note from the competing “Dispatch” which includes: “…why in thunder don’t you give it up to her without putting her to the trouble of proving property, and charging her for such a small notice. We hate to see such petty avariciousness on the part of a high toned editor.”
I guess competing newspapers were not always friendly towards one another.
A new (old) definition of a “sacrifice hit”…
July 18, 2009 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
Since we are in the midst of baseball season, this little comic item from “Life” magazine of June 28, 1894 would seem appropriate.