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Blockbusters of the Past. . . Movies Bring Nostalgia…
August 21, 2026 by Laura Heilenman · Leave a Comment
Summer blockbusters and Christmas releases are often a highlight as family and friends gather for celebrations. As evenings grow darker in late summer, or as the last of the Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner dishes are washed and dried, those big-budget Hollywood movies often tempt merrymakers out of the house and down the street to the local theater. One of the delights of working at RareNewspapers is unearthing nostalgic ads for movies from our past. We often shake our heads and remark to each other, “They don’t make them like that anymore.” While that sentiment may or may not be true, those films will always hold a special place in our hearts. If you love old movies. . . especially those from the final decades of the 20th century. . . perhaps the following full-page movie ads from the Los Angeles Times, Hollywood’s hometown paper, will renew your memories, hopefully bringing a smile to your face and possibly inspire a trip down the street to your local theater.
The reason I collect it: stunning graphics inside… Lincoln’s Funeral…
August 17, 2026 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
We have handled many Lincoln assassination and funeral issues, and many can be graphic in terms of type size and drama of the column headlines. Most notably, the ‘Philadelphia Inquirer’ had several issues from April 17 to 25 with very nice graphic appeal.
But never have we seen inside pages so dramatically presented as with the ‘Cleveland Morning Leader’ issue of April 28, 1865. Although the front page is focused on the capture and death of John Wilkes Booth, as well as reports on the Lincoln funeral (all page 1 and 4 columns have wide, black mourning rules), pages 2 and 3 are consumed with broadside-like graphics, offering no text save for that found within the graphics. Page 2 appears much like a monument in memory of Lincoln, and page 3 has a black border surrounding short poems and portions of a “Speech of Abraham Lincoln” and a line from his “Emancipation Proclamation”.
When first encountered I noticed the ink bleed-through on page 1 and thought it was offsetting from the previous issue (not uncommon). But when I opened the newspaper I discovered something I had never seen the likes of before.
August 2026 Newsletter – Rare & Early Newspapers…
August 14, 2026 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
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Ballot Box Standoff…Veterans Bring Justice…
August 7, 2026 by Laura Heilenman · Leave a Comment
On August 2, 1946, as reports from the previous night’s violence in McMinn County began reaching national newsrooms, The New York Times carried early accounts of the Ballot Box Standoff in Athens, Tennessee. Initial wire dispatches described a chaotic election-day confrontation in which returning World War II veterans, alleging that a corrupt local machine was preparing to steal the vote. Clashes ensued with heavily armed deputies, and one early headline erroneously claimed a sheriff had been slain, reflecting the confusion of overnight bulletins as the story was still unfolding. By the next morning’s August 3 edition, the Times gave the story prominent front-page treatment with an Associated Press report headlined “Armed Veterans Run Town After Tennessee Bloodshed.” Datelined Athens, August 2, the article detailed how GI-backed citizens had besieged the county jail after deputies seized ballot boxes, exchanged gunfire for hours, used dynamite, and ultimately forced the surrender of roughly fifty deputies. Eighteen people were wounded; the veterans then patrolled the streets with rifles to maintain order while the ballots were recovered and counted. An editorial on page 10, titled “Election in Tennessee,” weighed the deeper meaning of the events. It acknowledged the veterans’ conviction that a dictatorial political machine had long falsified results and that peaceful avenues of reform seemed closed. Yet the editorial also cautioned that taking the law into one’s own hands—however understandable the grievances—threatened the orderly processes essential to democracy, leaving readers with a sober reflection on both the courage and the risks of the armed stand for honest elections.
California’s Workaround… a Prohibition loophole…
August 3, 2026 by Laura Heilenman · Leave a Comment
When Prohibition took effect on January 17, 1920, under the 18th Amendment and the Volstead Act, American grape growers and winemakers faced a philosophical crisis. Commercial production, sale, and transportation of alcoholic beverages were suddenly illegal, threatening to wipe out California’s thriving vineyards. Many growers considered ripping out their vines and planting other crops. Yet a crucial loophole in Section 29 of the Volstead Act offered a lifeline: households could legally produce up to 200 gallons of non-intoxicating fruit juices or cider each year strictly for personal home consumption. Demand for wine grapes soared almost overnight as people began crushing and fermenting them themselves, and prices climbed dramatically.
Enterprising producers soon refined this workaround into a convenient product known as grape bricks (or wine bricks). Companies such as Vino Sano (appearing around 1921) and later Vine-Glo compressed concentrated grape juice into solid, shelf-stable blocks that could be shipped anywhere and stored for months. Customers simply dissolved a brick in a gallon of water to create grape juice. The bricks came in flavors that conveniently matched popular wines—port, sherry, burgundy, claret, muscatel, and others—making the intended use obvious to anyone paying attention. An ad for these grape bricks, by the company Vine-Glo, is found in THE CHICAGO DAILY TRIBUNE for December 8, 1930.
This innovation kept many vineyards alive and even made some growers wealthy during the dry years. The most memorable feature of these bricks was the carefully worded “warning” printed on the packaging. Labels instructed buyers on how to reconstitute the juice and then solemnly cautioned them not to leave the mixture in a cool cupboard for twenty or twenty-one days, not to add sugar in certain amounts, and not to fail to add benzoate of soda—because otherwise the liquid would ferment into wine. These reverse instructions served as a thinly veiled recipe while allowing the sellers to claim they were only providing a legal non-alcoholic product. The wink-and-nod approach worked for years, turning grape bricks into one of Prohibition’s most ingenious (and widely enjoyed) workarounds until court challenges and the eventual repeal of the ban in 1933.
Catalog 369 (for August, 2026) is now available!
July 31, 2026 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
August’s catalog (#369) is now available. This latest offering of authentic newspapers is comprised of over 300 new items, a selection which includes the following noteworthy issues: Cornwallis surrenders to Washington at Yorktown, Washington’s first inauguration, the “Cherokee Phoenix”, the Battle of Bunker Hill, a rare 18th century newspaper from Canada, a huge headline on 
the end of World War II, a displayable issue on the death of Marilyn Monroe, and more. To view the entire catalog, go to:
Catalog #369 (for August, 2026)
What remains of last month’s discounted issues may be viewed at:
Discount (select items at 50% off)
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The Declaration Proclaimed – Military Challenges + Growing Confidence
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The Moment Before the World Changes… Lincoln’s Assassination Day…
July 27, 2026 by Laura Heilenman · Leave a Comment
You can’t read historic newspapers for long before you are struck by how often people experience “the moment before”.
The April 15, 1865 issue of the ADVOCATE FAMILY GUARDIAN has a prime example with so much nuance that you can’t imagine it was not planned and yet, clearly it was not.
Hours before President Lincoln was Assassinated, the paper published their daily edition and the front page was framed by 2 articles. On the left side was a poem describing the death of someone and how they would never be forgotten. The right side had an article describing slavery and how God’s people should have risen to speak against it. What a beautiful, accidental tribute to the President who was about to be mourned and who did rise and stand against slavery. The irony of the frontpage coverage could not be lost on the reader… in hindsite.
Liberty Hangs in the Balance… The Midnight Ride of Caesar Rodney…
July 24, 2026 by Laura Heilenman · Leave a Comment
We have all heard the poem… THE MIDNIGHT RIDE OF PAUL REVERE. Fewer of us may have heard of the midnight ride of Ceaser Rodney and yet, he is certainly an unsung hero in America’s courageous journey to Liberty.
Rodney’s most legendary moment came during the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia. By early July 1776, the Congress was debating Richard Henry Lee’s resolution for independence. Delaware’s three delegates were divided:
– Thomas McKean strongly favored independence.
– George Read opposed it.
– Caesar Rodney was absent in Dover, helping suppress Loyalist activity in Sussex County.
On the evening of July 1, 1776, McKean sent an urgent message to Rodney informing him of the deadlock. Rodney immediately set out for Philadelphia, roughly 70–80 miles away. Although his doctor forbade his going for his health’s sake, he rode through a severe thunderstorm all night. Despite suffering from lifelong asthma and facial cancer, he pushed through.
He arrived at Independence Hall on the morning of July 2, 1776, “in his boots and spurs,” muddy and exhausted. Thomas McKean reportedly met him at the door. Rodney voted with McKean, breaking the tie and allowing Delaware to support independence. This helped shift momentum; other colonies followed, leading to a unanimous vote. The formal Declaration of Independence was approved on July 4 and signed by Rodney on August 2. Rodney’s own account to his brother, Thomas, was incredibly modest: “I arrived in Congress (tho detained by thunder and rain) time enough to give my voice in the matter of independence.” Talk about an understatement! It just goes to show that some of history’s most courageous figures didn’t chase the spotlight—they just did what needed to be done.
July 2026 Newsletter – Rare & Early Newspapers…
July 17, 2026 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
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Welcome to the latest July, 2026 newsletter from
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Lead-up to a Nation… as reported in the newspapers of the day (reflecting back on June/July, 1776)…
July 15, 2026 by GuyHeilenman · 1 Comment
- Revolution Gaining Momentum – Building on Resistance (Lead-up to a Nation – E44)
- Irreconcilable Actions of England – Royal Authority Suppressed (Lead-up to a Nation – E45)
- The Brink of Independence – England Clings to Hope of Peace (Lead-up to a Nation – E46)
- The Virginia Convention – Colonies urged toward Independence (Lead-up to a Nation – E47)
- Centuries of Struggle – One Declaration that Changed the World (Lead-up to a Nation – E48)
We hope you’ve are enjoyed this year-long trek to the 250th anniversary of The United States through the eyes of those who were fully engaged, first hand. As we continue with the next phase of the journey, as mentioned previously, all accounts will be rooted in what they read in the newspapers of the day.
“History is never more fascinating than when read from the day it was first reported.” (Timothy Hughes, 1975)