I’m New Here…Weeks Nine & Ten
April 19, 2019 by Stephanie Williams · 1 Comment
Since my entries are personal perspective, and this is a significant week in the Christian calendar, my post carries a tinge of my own religious convictions. Please skip reading if such things offend you. After today I’ll endeavor to quash my worldview until a similar time next year…
There are newspapers inventoried in this facility that are so old they preceded the term, and are referred to by those in the know as a newsbook or a “coronto”. At least, that is my sketchy understanding. This week I am thinking about things that have survived generations, inventions, wars and cosmic changes. The listing that caught my eye was a title from 1629, banned in 1632 –but then given special license to continue six years later. Wikipedia says, “In 1638 they were granted a patent from King Charles I for the publication of news and history, in return for a £10 annual donation toward the upkeep of St. Paul’s Cathedral…” And, of course, I wanted to see this for myself. The small volume sold in 2015, just days after it was made available, but I was able to find a German newsbook from 1607 that I could look at. It wasn’t in a vault, but neatly cataloged and filed with all the other items in the seventeenth century inventory. There are so many treasures, I suppose a vault would have to be the size of a warehouse — which indeed it is. AUSSFUHRLICHER BERICHT was accessible, and I was able to pull the folder, open it on a surface, and even lift the clear archival cover in order to take a photograph without the obstruction of a reflected glare. Not many people have the privilege of holding a publication that is over four hundred years old, and I know myself to be ridiculously undeserving.
But this week Paris has superimposed itself on my mental wanderings. As for much of the western world, images of flames engulfing an icon that has stood for eight hundred years are incomprehensible. At a certain point old things seem to become everlasting. Particularly, stone cathedrals are expected to survive history itself. Invasion, famine, revolution and disease have moved around that block work for nearly a millennium. But we have records here at History’s Newsstand of many seemingly immovable things that have eventually yielded, and those accounts are interspersed with all the common themes of humanity that seem unhampered by the passage of time.
This is the week that Notre Dame burned. It is also the week before Easter — the darkness and mourning of “Good Friday” so closely followed by the joyful resurrection of Easter Sunday.
There is destruction and devastation, but there is also redemption. It’s the common cycle of the accounts told within these pages of history that are so neatly sorted, labeled, and shelved for retrieval. Obituaries and birth announcements. Demolitions and groundbreakings. Political structures that rise and fall, and new ones that rise again.
“A time to every purpose under heaven.”
Brokenness and healing.
Announcing: Catalog #281 (for April, 2019) is now available…
April 8, 2019 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
- Catalog 281 (in its entirety)
- Noteworthy Catalog 281 ($250+)
- Combined Catalogs (current, w/ remnants of previous)
Don’t forget about this month’s DISCOUNTED ISSUES.
(The catalog links above will redirect to the latest catalog in approx. 30 days, upon which time it will update to the most recent catalog.)
Did you know? Elections and Inaugurations…
March 26, 2019 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
You may already know U.S. elections and inaugurations have always fascinated citizens of the United States – which is probably typical throughout the world, but Did You Know the reporting of these historic moments within newspapers has traditionally been quite extensive, with most issues containing multiple articles surrounding these events – often including the entire text of the winner’s election and inauguration speeches? Many of these are available through our regular website, RareNewspapers.com. We’ve arranged these in chronological order for readers/explorers to enjoy: Inaugurations and Elections
Announcing: Catalog #280 (for March, 2019) is now available…
March 4, 2019 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
- Catalog 280 (in its entirety)
- Noteworthy Catalog 280 ($250+)
- Combined Catalogs (current, w/ remnants of previous)
Don’t forget about this month’s DISCOUNTED ISSUES.
(The catalog links above will redirect to the latest catalog in approx. 30 days, upon which time it will update to the most recent catalog.)
They Put It In Print… Black Americana……
February 25, 2019 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Few nations can boast of a peaceful trek from being a slave state (at least in part) to the enslaved people-group holding the highest position in the very land that had once enslaved their ancestors. Whereas there is still much work to be done, the United States’ governmental structure allows, and even promotes such progress. Since much of these historic events were put in print, the link below is able to provide a chronology of many of the highlights of this amazing, albeit bumpy road. Since the link only provides a snapshot of each issue’s content, in order to view the related coverage you may need to click on the item number of several in order to view the item’s full description.
BLACK AMERICANA (and more)
Note: While perusing the issues shown in the link above, one might wonder why a link to a chronology of “Black Americana” issues includes those from outside the United States. Answer? Life rarely happens in a vacuum – and this is equally true with the trek shown above. Both the related tragedies, atrocities, and eventual progress which transpired outside the U.S. were often foundational in the thinking of those within. As a result, they have been included.
December thru time (50, 100, 150, 200, & 250 years ago) – 2018 edition…
December 6, 2018 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
What news was reported in the month of December – 50 (1958), 100 (1918), 150 (1868), 200 (1818), and 250 (1768) years ago? Such a walk back through time via the eyes of those who read the daily and weekly newspapers of the period can be quite revealing. This is why we often say, “History is never more fascinating than when it’s read from the day it was first reported.” The following links will take you back in time to show the available newspapers from the Rare & Early newspapers website. There’s no need to buy a thing. Simply enjoy the stroll.
Announcing: Catalog #277 (for December, 2018) is now available…
December 1, 2018 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
- Catalog 277 (in its entirety)
- Noteworthy Catalog 277 ($250+)
- Combined Catalogs (current, w/ remnants of previous)
Don’t forget about this month’s DISCOUNTED ISSUES.
(The catalog links above will redirect to the latest catalog in approx. 30 days, upon which time it will update to the most recent catalog.)
November thru time (50, 100, 150, 200, & 250 years ago) – 2018 edition…
November 12, 2018 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
What news was reported in the month of November – 50 (1958), 100 (1918), 150 (1868), 200 (1818), and 250 (1768) years ago? Such a walk back through time via the eyes of those who read the daily and weekly newspapers of the period can be quite revealing. This is why we often say, “History is never more fascinating than when it’s read from the day it was first reported.” The following links will take you back in time to show the available newspapers from the Rare & Early newspapers website. There’s no need to buy a thing. Simply enjoy the stroll.
Announcing: Catalog #276 (for November, 2018) is now available…
November 1, 2018 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
- Catalog 276 (in its entirety)
- Noteworthy Catalog 276 ($250+)
- Combined Catalogs (current, w/ remnants of previous)
Don’t forget about this month’s DISCOUNTED ISSUES.
(The catalog links above will redirect to the latest catalog in approx. 30 days, upon which time it will update to the most recent catalog.)
October thru time (50, 100, 150, 200, & 250 years ago) – 2018 edition…
October 4, 2018 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment

What news was reported in the month of October – 50 (1958), 100 (1918), 150 (1868), 200 (1818), and 250 (1768) years ago? Such a walk back through time via the eyes of those who read the daily and weekly newspapers of the period can be quite revealing. This is why we often say, “History is never more fascinating than when it’s read from the day it was first reported.” The following links will take you back in time to show the available newspapers from the Rare & Early newspapers website. There’s no need to buy a thing. Simply enjoy the stroll.