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Meet the Staff – Timothy J. Hughes – Founder
September 17, 2008 by GuyHeilenman · 17 Comments
Much can be read and said about Tim Hughes, the collector:
- He began collecting coins as a child and quickly became disgruntled with the exuberant prices, which led him to search for an unexploited but interesting collectible. It was this search which helped launch his interest in and love for rare newspapers.
“I wanted to find a hobby that dealt with old things that hadn’t been exploited, that people really didn’t know much about. My thinking was that if it was a hobby that hadn’t been exploited, the prices would be fairly right.”
- He began Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers in 1976, working part-time from his home. By 1989, the business had grown such that he left his job with Little League Baseball to devote his efforts full-time to the collecting and selling of historic newspapers.
“Whatever money I made selling newspapers, I bought more. It just started snowballing. Eventually I needed to find another location and was able to secure the site of my father’s former saw-sharpening business. It brings me great pleasure to have built the business on the same spot which solicits fond memories of my childhood. My father, who contributes to the business on a part-time basis, still has the opportunity to see the reward of his labor.”
- During the next 20 years the business continued to grow – staff were added, warehouses were annexed to the existing facility, the private collection grew, and rare newspaper friends were made. Eventually Tim decided to sell a majority interest in the company to a group of investors from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Guy Heilenman was brought in as a part-owner and president, and received 9 months of intensive training from Tim. Although Tim’s intention was to retire, his love for the hobby proved to be too great. As a result, Tim continues to retain part ownership and works as a full-time consultant and part-time contributor to the daily activities of the business. His input is invaluable.
“I’ve always loved this. It’s something that I started from scratch on my own and because I loved it, it’s just been fun. I’ve been very fortunate. I consider myself one of the few people who really loves their work.”
But what about Tim Hughes, the person? He is a family man who dearly loves his wife (Chris) and son (Ben). He is a man of faith who pours himself regularly into the lives of the young people at his church. He continually looks for ways to give back to the community as evidenced by his current and past board appointments to Little League Baseball and North Central Sight Services (a non-profit association helping to meet the needs of the visually impaired). He is also a man of integrity and a loyal friend. Although his knowledge of the hobby is recognized around the world, his humility and love for the collectible continues to fuel ways to enhance the rare newspaper community.
His expertise, sincerity, loyalty and love of the hobby will all be reflected in his blog post contributions. We are both honored and privileged to have him.
Welcome to the History’s Newsstand Blog!
September 17, 2008 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Welcome to the History’s Newsstand Blog published by Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers. The heart behind the blog is to provide an environment where the love and knowledge of the hobby will be advanced. Over the years many of our fellow collectors have requested such a forum where they can both present their thoughts regarding the collectible and solicit advice from Tim, all with an intention of increasing the awareness of this wonderful, yet relatively unknown collectible. Our hope is that through ongoing discussion focused on early newspapers, novices and experienced collectors alike will benefit from the dialog. We are honored and excited about the opportunity to help guide such discourse.
Future posts will cover topics related to noteworthy headlines, contemporary reporting of major historic events, the pricing & valuation of old newspapers, preservation & storage, what makes collecting rare newspapers different (and we believe more interesting) than other collectibles (finding golden nuggets, viewing history intimately through the eyes of those whom were there, etc.), the impact of historic newspapers on revisionist history, how to build a collection, and much more. There will also be an opportunity for our collector friends to share their experiences. It is a journey we will take together. Hopefully we will have fun, grow in knowledge, and develop a sense of community.
We welcome and encourage relevant comments and discussion, but fully expect participants to be respectful and considerate of the authors and our business. Since our core values are firmly planted upon the solid foundation of the Judeo-Christian ethic, we ask that all discussion be family friendly. We reserve the right to moderate, delete or edit comments that are vulgar, disrespectful, spam, clearly off topic, or that promote other services and products. Thank you for your understanding.
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Welcome again to the launch of the History’s Newsstand’s Blog – a home for those interested in fostering the breadth and depth of the rare newspapers hobby. Spread the word!
Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers . . .
. . . History’s Newsstand
“…desiring to conduct ourselves honorably in all things.” Hebrews 13:18