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Fascinating Conspiracies (Episode 2) – Secret Societies in the 18th century…
November 15, 2021 by LauraH · Leave a Comment
I have a dear friend who, while attending Penn State in the late 70’s, became intrigued with The Illuminati and spent countless hours in the library pouring over microfiche of old newspapers for insight into this Secret Society which made it’s way from Europe to the Colonies during America’s founding years. Fast forward 40 years…
Now I spend my days surrounded by old newspapers… probably some of the very same titles and dates my friend was digging through (albeit electronically), so it should come as no surprise the following snippet in an issue of THE GENTLEMAN’S MAGAZINE for February, 1798 caught my attention (see below). A quick mention to my friend is certainly in order and perhaps a bit more perusing of other issues on Secret Societies.
Last words can say it all – John Hancock’s thankful heart… Happy Thanksgiving!
November 11, 2021 by LauraH · Leave a Comment
Food for thought as we wish each other a Happy Thanksgiving.
What do the following sayings have in common: “A man’s last words reflect what he held most dear”… “He finished well”… “He ran with perseverance the race set before him”?
I would argue, based on a fascinating issue of the Columbian Centinel (Oct. 9, 1793) I found today, they are all applicable to John Hancock. What began as intrigue with a Proclamation for a Day of Thanksgiving by this notable Founding Father, turned to a swell of warmth as I noticed his death announcement within the same issue. At the end of his life, he was clearly focused on giving thanks: “Where as it is the Duty of Men, as well in their social, as individual state, religiously to consider the dispensation of God’s Holy Providence – To acknowledge with gratitude, their obligations to Him and their entire dependence upon Him: I have therefore thought fit, by and with Advice and Confident of the the council, to appoint, and I do hereby appoint Thursday, the Seventh Day of November next, to be observed as a Day of Public Thanksgiving throughout this Commonwealth…”
His well-run race, punctuated by an abundance of highlights along the way, stands as an emphatic reminder to never take thankfulness for granted. While it is easy to assume gratitude has always been in the hearts of men, truth is, its more rare than one would hope and needs to be proclaimed more often. In John Hancock’s case, his words and deeds proclaimed the overflow of his heart long before he signed off on this life and entered the next.
Announcing: Catalog #311 (for October, 2021) is now available…
October 1, 2021 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
- Catalog 311 (in its entirety)
- Noteworthy Catalog 311 ($250+)
- Combined Catalogs (current, w/ remnants of previous)
Don’t forget about this month’s DISCOUNTED ISSUES.
The links above will redirect to the latest catalog in approx. 30 days,
upon which time it will update to the most recent catalog.
Announcing: Catalog #310 (for September, 2021) is now available…
September 3, 2021 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
- Catalog 310 (in its entirety)
- Noteworthy Catalog 310 ($250+)
- Combined Catalogs (current, w/ remnants of previous)
Don’t forget about this month’s DISCOUNTED ISSUES.
The links above will redirect to the latest catalog in approx. 30 days,
upon which time it will update to the most recent catalog.
Announcing: Catalog #309 (for August, 2021) is now available…
July 30, 2021 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
- Catalog 309 (in its entirety)
- Noteworthy Catalog 309 ($250+)
- Combined Catalogs (current, w/ remnants of previous)
Don’t forget about this month’s DISCOUNTED ISSUES.
The links above will redirect to the latest catalog in approx. 30 days,
upon which time it will update to the most recent catalog.
18th Century Gentleman’s Magazines – So Much For So Little…
July 16, 2021 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Over 40 years ago we discovered one of the best titles of the 18th century for period news reporting. The title wasn’t even a newspaper but rather, “The Gentleman’s Magazine” from London.
Having begun in 1731, Gentleman’s Magazines ran uninterrupted for nearly 200 years publishing pages capturing news reports concerning America which could never be found in period American newspapers, and were rarely found in period British newspapers.
From its earliest years this popular title printed reports as varied as the creation of the colony of Georgia, William Penn laying out the city of Philadelphia, slave revolts, and reports of pirates operating in the Caribbean.
Issues have much on Ben Franklin & his work with electricity including the lightening rod & famous kite experiments as well as rarely published poems by the famed slave poet Phyllis Wheatley.
Death reports of the famous–and infamous–abound, from Mozart to Handel, from John Paul Jones to George Washington, Patrick Henry and Benedict Arnold… the list is awe inspiring.
Military events are abundant including much on the French & Indian War (with very early Colonel George Washington reports) & all the Revolutionary War battles from the Boston Massacre through the Treaty of Peace.
Keep in mind the American colonies were part of the global British Empire until 1776 so there was much interest in not only American events but notable world events which affected the broad scope of British interests.
Some of the best gems to be found are very inconspicuous reports such as the hanging of what would famously become known as the Liberty Bell. Under the heading: “America” and with a “Philadelphia, May 10” dateline from 1753 is a report reading: “Last week was raised and fixed, in the State-House Steeple, the great bell, weighing 2080 lb. cast here, with this inscription, ‘Proclaim liberty throughout all the land, to the inhabitants thereof.”
The full text of the hated Stamp Act is found within the pages of a Gentleman’s Magazine, and just one year later is found the formal repeal of the Stamp Act by King George III. Other Acts of Parliament harmful to colonial relations are reported as well.
Historic documents are certainly not lacking, among them being the Articles of Confederation, the “Causes & Necessity for Taking Up Arms”, the Constitution of the United States (in 1787), and the most desired document of all, the Declaration of Independence.
At a time when an early period printing of the Declaration in an American newspaper will sell for a half a million dollars or more, the ability to purchase a 1776 magazine with a timely printing of the full text of the document for under $4000 is a rare opportunity for any collector.
An added bonus found in many issues of Gentleman’s Magazine is that while plates and maps can simply not be found in newspapers of the 18th century, this wonderful publication contains a wealth of these engravings and wood-cut prints.
Printed separately from the regular pages of the issue and tipped within, most of the maps fold out to be double the size of the issue, and they include some of the more desired maps one would want of the 18th century, including Philadelphia, the colonies (from 1755), Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Rhode Island, the Caribbean, St. Augustine, the entire western hemisphere and so much more. Many collectors choose to frame the maps separately from the issue as they are very decorative and are typically dated in an upper corner.
Plates include the Philadelphia State House (later to be known as Independence Hall), St. Philip’s Church in Charleston, the fort at Bunker’s Hill, Ben Franklin’s ‘Square of Squares’, the guillotine which beheaded Louis XVI and his wife, a slavery medal, and even a plate of the Garden of Eden. What I have just described only scratches the surface of the treasures these magazines hold.
The “Gentleman’s Magazine” is a little gem packed with all the history one would want to find from the 18th century. Each issue typically has about 40 pages, and measuring about 5 by 8 inches, they take up very little room in a collection.
Perhaps best of all, The Gentleman’s Magazine is an accessible title as our inventory contains thousands of issues, and at prices far below what would be found in comparable American & British newspapers of the same period.
There can be little excuse for holding back on buying the best events in American history if one is willing to add this famous & successful title to their collection. And there certainly will be a time when even this title will become quite scarce as others discover it as a treasure just begging to be collected.
Swashbuckling Adventures…
June 28, 2021 by LauraH · Leave a Comment
Hollywood has painted an image of life on the high seas during the 18th Century… sometimes covering noble captains like Master and Commander’s Jack Aubrey or scheming bandits like Pirates of the Caribbean’s Captain Jack Sparrow. Real life offers us more enthralling examples of both heroes and villains to study and newspapers of the era provide fabulous reading material to mine for these adventures.
In the late 1800’s
Captain James Cook “was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean and to Australia in particular. He made detailed maps of Newfoundland prior to making three voyages to the Pacific, during which he achieved the first recorded European contact with the eastern coastline of Australia and the Hawaiian Islands, and the first recorded circumnavigation of New Zealand… In these voyages, Cook sailed thousands of miles across largely uncharted areas of the globe. He mapped lands from New Zealand to Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean in greater detail and on a scale not previously charted by Western explorers. He surveyed and named features, and recorded islands and coastlines on European maps for the first time. He displayed a combination of seamanship, superior surveying and cartographic skills, physical courage, and an ability to lead men in adverse conditions. ” (Wikipedia).
On the darker side are stories of the notorious pirate, Captain Kidd, whom Wikipedia has the following to say … “ Acts of savagery on Kidd’s part were reported by escaped prisoners, who told stories of being hoisted up by the arms and “drubbed” (thrashed) with a drawn cutlass.” Whether you are looking for those in white hats or black, the news of the past offers intriguing characters to consider.
Apparently, Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Started Long Ago…
June 21, 2021 by LauraH · Leave a Comment
While looking through issues for a future catalog, I came upon an odd headline: “A Female Soldier”. As you can imagine, this gave me pause as I was looking at an issue of THE GENTLEMAN’S MAGAZINE from June of 1750. The brief story told of Hannah Snell, a British woman who disguised herself as a man and became a soldier (see photo below). Clearly, a woman before her time.
The Gentleman’s Magazine & Bankruptcy…
May 8, 2021 by Stephanie Williams · Leave a Comment
Under the illustration of St. John’s Gate that introduces each issue of the Gentleman’s Magazine, is the month and year, followed by the table of contents (each issue via the link will show an image of this – typically the last image posted). For the first time, I noticed the calligraphy that follows “CONTAINING” and precedes the article headings and their corresponding page numbers. “More in Quantity and greater Variety than any Book of the Kind and Price.” While I have nothing to compare it to, I can attest that of the thirty-seven distinct articles listed for March of 1782, the subject matter ranges from Parliamentary debates to a Swiss underground road, and includes bull-baiting and the wool trade along the way. The regular coverage of weather, news from around the world, births and marriages and deaths, trials, and literary reviews is fit in around the special bits.
In particular, my interest was caught by “Usual Causes of Bankruptcy, Caution against — ” and turned to page 138 to read.
In all ages there have been men, who, by sudden losses, by entering into indiscreet obligations, by improvident conduct, or through fraudulent designs, have become, or pretended to become, incompetent to the discharges of their just debts; but the number of bankrupts which now appear in every Gazette is a subject of serious and alarming consideration.
Along with the obvious financial harm that can be caused by frivolous living and participation in gambling, the author addresses the lack of care and foresight that must be viewed as the social responsibility of every gentleman, in order to enable him to properly discharge his debts and contribute to the public funds by means of taxes. He recommends annual reflection for the purpose of seeing areas of weakness in funding, and to not allow debts to unknowingly pile up beyond the ability to repay. Then, he maintains, steps toward frugality can be made in enough time to avert distress. Finally, he offers as example the late Sir Stephen Theodore Janssen who he terms a “virtuous citizen.” He records the words of Sir Stephen, addressed to the Livery, as he deems them of value to the general population. The speech concludes in this way:
I do further declare that it is my determined resolution to continue living in the same frugal manner, till the last shilling is discharged; and in case any turn of fortune should happen to me, my whole just debts shall be discharged so much the sooner, as I am determined to persevere in preserving the character of an honest man.
Announcing: Catalog #306 (for May, 2021) is now available…
April 30, 2021 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
- Catalog 306 (in its entirety)
- Noteworthy Catalog 306 ($250+)
- Combined Catalogs (current, w/ remnants of previous)
Don’t forget about this month’s DISCOUNTED ISSUES.
The links above will redirect to the latest catalog in approx. 30 days,
upon which time it will update to the most recent catalog.