Black History Month… looking back…

February 22, 2013 by · Leave a Comment 

Slavery. The word itself stirs intense emotions for nearly all who hear it… even for those who have not been directly confronted with the institution. For some it brings feelings of guilt… “How could my forefathers have engaged in such activity?” For others it brings feelings of oppression… anger… and more.  While many people groups have been subjected to this burdensome yoke of man through time, for Americans, none is quite as impacting as the enslavement of African Americans. In honor of Black History Month, Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers has created a Pinterest Board which takes a look back at a time in U.S. history when slavery was alive and (not so) well:

Pinterest… Slave Ads & Related Woodcuts Prints

Additionally, we’ve arranged our available authentic newspapers related to Black Americana in chronological order (recent first) to provide a snapshot into the past for those interest in reviewing how slavery in general, and Black History more specifically, has been depicted in newspapers over the past few centuries. They may be viewed at:

African-American / Black Americana / Slavery…

Additional kudos for, “Reporting the Revolutionary War”…

February 15, 2013 by · 2 Comments 

Additional recognition has been received forReporting the Revolutionary War“, by Todd Andrlik:
“Best American Revolution Book of 2012”
(February 5, 2013) NAPERVILLE, IL—Reporting the Revolutionary War claimed victory—as the best book of 2012 on the American Revolution!

Reporting the Revolutionary War: Before It Was History, It Was News
(ISBN: 9781402269677; November 1, 2012; $39.99 U.S.; History; Hard Cover) by Todd Andrlik is being awarded the annual prize of best American Revolution book by The New York Revolutionary War Round Table.
This great honor puts Andrlik in the prestigious company of previous winners, including Maya Jasanoff, professor of history at Harvard’s Center for European Studies, for her book, Liberty’s Exiles: American Loyalists in the Revolutionary World; Benjamin L. Carp, professor of history at Tufts University, for Defiance of the Patriots: The Boston Tea Party and the Making of America; Mary Beth Norton of Cornell University; Charles Bracelen Flood; and Thomas Fleming.
“I’m grateful to the New York Revolutionary War Round Table and thrilled to join such an impressive list of past recipients,” said Andrlik. “I had the privilege of speaking at the Round Table in December and learned from its members just how much this book transcends normal history circles, appealing to both amateur and professional historians as well as casual history enthusiasts.”
The New York Revolutionary War Round Table was founded in 1958 and is now in its fifty-fifth year. It meets five times a year to hear a talk by an author of a new book on the Revolutionary War.
“Seldom, if ever, have we welcomed a book with more power to carry us back to the days of 1776 with such compelling authenticity,” said The New York Revolutionary War Round Table in its February 2013 newsletter announcing the honor
By the way, this Best American Revolution Book of 2012 comes on the heels of Barnes & Noble naming it one of the Best Books of 2012. Good stuff.
To read more, go to:  Award: Reporting the Revolutionary War
Congratulations Todd… we’re very proud of your accomplishment!

Guy
Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers… History’s Newsstand

A gem in the American Antiquarian Society… “The Royal Danish American Gazette”…

February 11, 2013 by · 3 Comments 

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.).

104. “The Royal Danish American Gazette“, Christiansted, St. Croix, September 11, 1776

The Waldo Lincoln collection of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century West Indian newspapers numbers several thousand issues — many being the only known copies — and is one of the most important to be found anywhere.

The Royal Danish American Gazette was the first newspaper published in what is now the Virgin Islands. It was founded in 1770, when publisher Daniel Thibou relocated from St. Kitts to establish the first press on St. Croix. Portions were printed in Danish for the benefit of St. Croix’s sizable Danish population. We know that it had a fairly wide circulation, for a number of its articles were reprinted in contemporary American newspapers. Scholars have recently taken renewed interest in the significance of the West indies for early American history; but given the tropical climate, relatively few primary sources survive in West Indian libraries.

A gem in the American Antiquarian Society… Charleston Mercury Extra…

January 14, 2013 by · 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 Rare & Early Newspapers’ collectors (with permission from the A.A.S.).

Charleston Mercury Extra“, December 20, 1860

The divisive political events of the 1850s had pitted North against South on numerous issues, including the expansion of slavery into the western territories, tariffs on goods such as cotton, and broader concepts of states’ rights vs. federal law. Political compromises made throughout the decade in an attempt to keep the nation together effectively collapsed with the election of Abraham Lincoln in November 1860. South Carolina, heir to the legacy of states’ rights lion John C. Calhoun, was the first to address the possibility of leaving the Union. On November 10, 1860, four days after the presidential election, South Carolina brought the issue to a head by calling a secession convention for the following month.

Considered by virtue of timing to be the first Confederate imprint, this broadside announced to the public the convention’s declaration, on December 20, 1860, that South Carolina would secede from the United States. This sheet was removed from a wall in Charleston by the Boston-born author Caroline Howard Gilman (1794-1888), who had moved permanently to Charleston following her marriage to the Rev. Samuel Gilman. Gilman mailed the broadside to her daughter Eliza in Salem, Massachusetts. Eliza in turn presented the document to AAS member Nathaniel Paine who, heeding the Society’s call to preserve all printed material relating to the unsettling national events, passed the broadside along to AAS.

A high-resolution image of this issue is viewable at: American Antiquarian Society, #47

A New Year’s Retrospective thru Historic Newspapers…

December 31, 2012 by · Leave a Comment 

A New Year’s-themed Pinterest pin-board has just been created through Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers… History’s Newsstand which we think you will enjoy. Happy New Year!

Pinterest: A New Year’s Retrospective thru Historic Newspapers…

Merry Christmas… looking back…

December 24, 2012 by · Leave a Comment 

A few year’s ago we posted an article which is worthy of a revisit. It regards the interaction of enemy troops on Christmas Eve from during WWI. Some stories are worth repeating (see link below). We’ve also created a Christmas-themed Pinterest pinboard we believe will be worth your time to view.  Please have a wonderful Christmas.  As for our Jewish friends, thanks for providing us with the reason for our season. Happy Chanukah to you as well.

Pinterest:  Viewing Christmas thru Historic Newspapers…

Christmas Eve – WWI: A Christmas thought… loving our enemies…

The Traveler… the monolopy is ended… hoping for better sailing ahead…

December 17, 2012 by · Leave a Comment 

Today I traveled to San Francisco, California, by way of The Call dated December 17, 1912.  There I found that the Federal Supreme Court had ruled to destroy the monopoly that was created by six railroad owned coal companies in the Pennsylvania anthracite fields which had purchased the output for all time of “independent” mines. They were shown to be in “undisputed control”.  This was the first time the Supreme Court successfully used the “Essential Facility Doctrine”, and resulted in significant restraint on monopolies.

The sports page had boxer Frank Moran preparing for upcoming matches, against Gunboat Smith, Luther McCarty and Al Palzer. Frank Moran retired ten years later after 66 bouts and then entered the career of acting in which he played many roles of gangsters, bartenders, guards, cops, bouncers, etc.. He retired from that in 1957 at the age of 70 and died ten years later from a heart attack.

Did you ever read a novel about all the mysterious and unusual murders on a ship at sea? This issue has a report of “Death Stalks On The Korea’s Trip” which would read right out of a novel. This would be one cruise that this traveler would not wish to participate in! Check it out!! (see report)

~The Traveler

Historic newspapers make current headlines… an interview on CNN…

December 14, 2012 by · Leave a Comment 

A little more than a month ago we introduced Reporting the Revolutionary War: Before It Was History, It Was News, a new book by a collector friend Todd Andrlik. His endeavor, which tells the story of the American Revolution through the eyes of Rare Newspapers, received national recognition through a recent interview on CNN.  Please enjoy:  History As It Happened

Alister & Paine Magazine visits Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers…

December 10, 2012 by · 1 Comment 

A few weeks ago the staff of Alister & Paine Magazine came to South Williamsport, PA to visit our historic newspapers archives and to interview Tim for the purpose of introducing their readership to the world of Rare & Early Newspapers.   It was fun getting to know such well-traveled individuals – introducing them to the hobby and hearing of their varied experiences. Sharing the love for collecting historic newspapers is always a pleasure… and based upon their reactions, “History continues to never be more fascinating than when read from the day it was first reported. The feature story may be viewed at:

Alister & Paine Magazine

Thanks Jenna, Brian, and Kaitlin

Reflecting on a Day of Thanksgiving & Prayer from 1776…

November 22, 2012 by · Leave a Comment 

On this (American) day of thanksgiving, it seems appropriate to reflect on such a day from the past through the eyes of those who were embarking on what may have been the most historic event in U.S. history – July 4, 1776.  A special thanks is in order for our friends in Scotland who captured this significant moment on the pages of the Edinburgh Evening Courant, dated September 2, 1776. Please enjoy:Declaration of Independence

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