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A common thread…
September 22, 2014 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Question: What do Henry Ward Beecher (abolitionist), Leonard Bernstein (composer/conductor), Henry Bergh (founder of the A.S.P.C.A), Charles Ebbets (owner, Brooklyn Dodgers), “Boss” Tweed (NY political boss), Henry Steinway (founder of Steinway & Sons, piano manufacturers), and Samuel F.B. Morse (inventor of the Morse code) have in common?
Answer: They, along with many other equally famous, infamous, and relatively unknown individuals are currently resting in Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York – it being among the most noteworthy cemeteries in the United States. A scan over the list of those buried at this single location is quite sobering – causing one to pause and consider the hope for something beyond the grave.
What inspired the above query?
While searching a National Intelligencer (June 9, 1849) for California Gold Rush content (which we did find), we came across an interesting article written by a journalist who had visited Greenwood Cemetery soon after it opened, and then again just a few years later. His description makes for compelling reading. While a portion is shown below, the entire article may be viewed at: Greenwood Cemetery
Trivia: No one with an arrest record was permitted to be interred at Greenwood Cemetery. This policy held true until the death of “Boss” Tweed, whose corrupt influence and power were apparently not buried with his remains.
So… what does this title mean?
August 25, 2014 by GuyHeilenman · 2 Comments
We recently purchased a quite rare newspaper: “The Georgetown X“, as Gregory’s Union List of American Newspapers notes only one issue of this title was recorded in any institution–this very issue now in our possession. But the title seems very odd. What does it mean? The issue gives no hint as to what the “X” means; is it the Roman numeral “ten”? Feel free to offer your thoughts. We’d love to know.
A gem from the American Antiquarian Society…
August 11, 2014 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
In celebration of its 20oth anniversary the American Antiquarian Society published a beautiful exhibition catalog titled “In Pursuit Of A Vision – Two Centuries of Collecting at the American Antiquarian Society”. Featured are a fascinating array of books, documents, maps & other paper ephemera, as well as several very rare & unusual newspapers we felt worthy of sharing with our collectors (with permission from the A.A.S.).
172. “The Chess Monthly“, New York, February, 1859
It has been common practice when binding periodicals — whether by publishers in order to sell cumulative volumes, or by libraries and private owners for purposes of convenience and preservation — to remove the outer wrappers and advertisement leaves from individual issues, leaving only the main body of text. However, periodical wrappers and advertisement leaves often contain important material which scholars (and bibliographers) are increasingly finding vital to their research. In recent years AAS has made it a priority to collect early American periodical issues with wrappers intact, even going so far as to acquire second, wrappered copies to complement a set bound without wrappers. In many instances, wrappered copies prove to be exceptionally rare survivals.
This issue of The Chess Monthly is a good example. The journal’s editor was Daniel W. Fiske (1831-1904), then chess champion of the New York Chess Club and later Cornell University’s first librarian. For a time, American chess prodigy and unofficial world champion Paul Morphy (1837-1884) held the title of co-editor, lending the magazine his marquee name. Only on the wrappers, however, are their editorial roles mentioned. The wrappers also contain publication information not available elsewhere, an advertisement for a set of Morphy- endorsed chessmen made of cast iron and — perhaps most important of all — the answers to chess problems published in the previous issue.
A gem in the American Antiquarian Society…
July 28, 2014 by TimHughes · 1 Comment
In celebration of its 20oth anniversary the American Antiquarian Society published a beautiful exhibition catalog titled “In Pursuit Of A Vision – Two Centuries of Collecting at the American Antiquarian Society”. Featured are a fascinating array of books, documents, maps & other paper ephemera, as well as several very rare & unusual newspapers we felt worthy of sharing with our collectors (with permission from the A.A.S.).
63. “The New-England Courant“, Boston, February 5, 1722
As a member of the family which controlled the Boston Globe,and as the newspaper’s treasurer from 1893 to 1937, Charles Henry Taylor avidly collected publication on the history of American printing and journalism. He generously donated to AAS anything it lacked. Among his gifts were runs of many important American newspapers, including this issue — the second earliest at AAS — of The New-England Courant.
Only the third newspaper to be printed in Boston, The New-England Courant was published by James Franklin from 1721 to 1726. During the Courant’s first two years, its popularity was bolstered by the publication of fourteen letters from one “Silence Dogood,” the nom de plume of James’s younger brother and apprentice, Benjamin Franklin. But the Courant had a contentious history, as James was often at odds with the provincial government, the powerful Mather family, and other influential Bostonians. In 1723 James was imprisoned by the Massachusetts General Court and ordered to suspend the Courant, a ban which James circumvented by issuing the paper under his brother’s name. Even after Benjamin ran away to Philadelphia in October of that year, the Courant continued to appear under this imprint until it ceased publication.
The front page of this issue contains an extensive article on the smallpox inoculation controversy then raging in Boston. While Cotton Mather and other clergy supported inoculation, many Bostonians disagreed. James Franklin opposed the practice in this and many subsequent articles.
A gem from the American Antiquarian Society…
July 14, 2014 by TimHughes · 1 Comment
In celebration of its 20oth anniversary the American Antiquarian Society published a beautiful exhibition catalog titled “In Pursuit Of A Vision – Two Centuries of Collecting at the American Antiquarian Society”. Featured are a fascinating array of books, documents, maps & other paper ephemera, as well as several very rare & unusual newspapers we felt worthy of sharing with our collectors (with permission from the A.A.S.).
117. “Frontier Scout“, Fort Rice, Dakota Territory, June 15, 1865
Thanks to Donald McKay Frost, AAS owns a complete run of the second newspaper printed in the Dakota Territory, preceded only by a paper of the same title issued at Fort Union the previous summer. Located in south central North Dakota, Fort Rice was a 500-foot square wooden stockade erected in the summer of 1864 to protect vital transportation routes from increasingly frequent Lakota attacks. Initially it was manned by “galvanized Yankees” — former Confederate prisoners of war who had enlisted in the Union Army rather than wait indefinitely in prison camps for parole or exchange.
In order to ward off the stress of isolated frontier living, the soldiers engaged in various diversions, including theatrical performances and the publication of their own newspaper printed on a portable press. Captain E. G. Adams and Lieutenant C. H. Champney of the First United States Volunteer Infantry Regiment served as editor and publisher respectively. In this inaugural issue, Adams encouraged the troops to contribute poems, stories, and adventures. “When this is done our paper is formed, a living, speaking, embodiment of the society in which we dwell.” The last of the fifteen weekly issues appeared on October 12, 1865, shortly before Adams and Champney left the fort. Most issues were printed on sheets of ruled blue ledger paper.
What got the juices flowing for Thomas Paine…
June 30, 2014 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
“The Pennsylvania Magazine” was one of only two American magazines which published during the years of the Revolutionary War, including a June, 1775 issue containing a great coverage of Battle of Bunker Hill and Washington’s appointment as Commander-In-Chief, and ending with the July, 1776 issue which included the Declaration of Independence.
The Pennsylvania Magazine
For most of its 19 month life, which began in January, 1775, it was edited by the famed Thomas Paine, employed by the publisher Robert Aitken. Aitken was often frustrated by Paine’s procrastination in providing material, as mentioned in Isaiah Thomas’ “History of Printing in America”:
“…Aitken contracted with Paine to furnish, monthly, for this work, a certain quantity of original matter; but he often found it difficult to prevail on Paine to comply with his engagement…Aitken went to his lodgings & complained of his neglecting to fulfill his contract…insisted on Paine’s accompanying him & proceeding immediately to business & as the workmen were waiting for copy. He accordingly went home with Aitken & was soon seated at the table with the necessary apparatus, which always included a glass, and a decanter of brandy. Aitken observed, ‘he would never write without that.’ The first glass of brandy set him thinking; Aitken feared the second would disqualify him, or render him intractable; but it only illuminated his intellectual system; and when he had swallowed the third glass, he wrote with great rapidity, intelligence and precision; and his ideas appeared to flow faster than he could commit them to paper. What he penned from the inspiration of the brandy was perfectly fit for the press without any alternation or correction.”
Remember these names from the “golden era”?
June 23, 2014 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
One of our more recent purchases was a sizable collection of newspapers from the West Coast which included many 20th century issues covering the deaths of famous movie stars or 
entertainers. Not surprisingly, Los Angeles newspaper gave much coverage to the passing of some of the more iconic names of stardom from the “golden era”. Those of a certain age well remember many of famous names of the 1930’s-1950’s (totally unknown to the millennial generation) and I count myself among them, so it was with a certain amount of nostalgia that I read the reports as I was writing up the newspapers for future catalogs.
If I had any common reaction to the reports I read it was to the age of many when they died. When I think of such stars I always presumed they were in their late 60’s or late 70’s when they were still acting & much older when they died. But that was when I was in my teens and 20’s, and anyone who had been “around for awhile” seemed like they were much older than they actually were. I was struck by the ages of many when they died, and perhaps you might be as well. Here is a sampling:
Tyrone Power 45
Humphrey Bogart 57
Rudolph Valentino 31
George Gershwin 38
Nat “King” Cole 45
Clark Gable 59
Jean Harlow 26
Cary Cooper 60
Mario Lanza 38
Jayne Mansfield 34
Steve McQueen 50
Judy Garland 47
An unexpected avalanche in Italy…
June 20, 2014 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
What started off as a series of basic questions concerning one of our newspaper listings quickly turned into considerably more. Someone from a small-town near Naples, Italy was seeking coverage of an 1883 earthquake which had devastated the region. Thankfully, the issue we had contained the coverage he needed, and we sent it on to him. Typically, this would have been the end of the story. 
However, he soon informed us the newspaper and associated interactions with Doreen Mileto, our office manager, had turned into quite the human interest story at his end – appearing in one local Italian newspaper… and then another… and yet another – creating an avalanche of interest. While you may need a translator to read the articles (the one shown above is not available on-line), please enjoy:
Terremoto di Casamicciola: Copia storica del New York Times presto a Ischia
RACCONTO’ TERREMOTO DEL 1883, COPIA STORICA DEL NEW YORK TIMES ACQUISTATA DA ISCHITANO
“Wrongway” Corrigan is honored with a backwards headline…
June 9, 2014 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
The Los Angeles “Herald Express” newspaper of August 5, 1938 honored the interesting exploits of Douglas Corrigan with a rarity in the newspaper world: a headline printed backwards.
This was one of the fascinating tidbits of aviation history. Corrigan flew from Long Beach, California to New York & wanted to fly to Ireland but was denied. So he filed his flight plan to return to Long Beach but flew instead to Ireland, stating “navigational errors” due to heavy cloud cover, etc. (see hyperlink for details). He was given a ticker tape parade in New York City with the banner headline reporting: “N.Y. Millions In Bedlam of Noise and Tons of Confetti Greet L.A. Air Hero” with subheads and a large photo of the parade.But the fascinating part of this item is the banner headline at the very top of the ftpg: ” ! NAGIRROC YAW GNORW OT LIAH” and with a small note below it stating: “If You Don’t Know, Read this the Way Corrigan Flew–Backwards!“
Interesting comments on Jesse James…
June 6, 2014 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
The April 27, 1881 issue of the rare “Elk Mountain Pilot” from the ghost town of Irwin, Colorado, has 3 interesting and unusual tidbits concerning the recent death of the noted outlaw, Jesse James: “Jesse James has climbed the golden stairs, (?) to interview those he has sent before.” and: “The papers throughout the country are publishing the picture of Jesse James and no two of them are alike.” as well as: “We have not heard of any one taking up a subscription to erect a monument to the memory of Jesse James.” Yet another tidbit mentions the death of Charles Darwin – making these mentions an interesting tandem.