Search
The Rare & Early Newspapers Hobby
Receive the Newsletter
Buy Historic Newspapers
Strong Foundation … Liberty Takes Continual Work …
July 6, 2026 by Laura Heilenman · Leave a Comment
On October 4, 1862, the SOUTHERN RIGHTS out of Jacksonville, Florida had a fascinating issue with a story similar to that of the iconic Vicksburg Daily Citizen issue of July 4, 1863, when the Union troops found the newspaper still in the press, changed the final paragraph to report the Union takeover, and printed the issue.
The SOUTHERN RIGHTS newspaper’s story is found in a listing by the American Antiquarian Society and is as follows:
“Captain Valentine B. Chamberlain was in command of a company of the 7th Connecticut Volunteers who found the printing office and actually printed the issue for Oct. 4, 1862 from the standing type with Capt. Chamberlain’s addition in the first column on page 1 (see below). They then burnt the office and removed the press and types. The Oct. 4, 1862 issue was reissued in Hilton Head, South Carolina by Chamberlain, although retaining the Jacksonville imprint; and also reissued later in Jacksonville by the original printers once they had re-established their shop.
Printed at the bottom of this broadside issue is the following: Explanation–when the U.S. Forces under brigadier general J.M. Brannon visited Jacksonville, Fla., the form of the ‘Southern rights’ was found standing in this office just as it was left by the skedaddling rebels. The office was immediately ‘cleaned out,’ and–there being more ‘devils’ than printers present– the form was thrown into ‘pi’ in less time than it takes to write it. A proof sheet coming into our possession, we re-print the sheet as near like the original as possible, for the purpose of showing to our friends in the North, the ‘talent, vigor, heroism and military ardor’ that is not displayed in this trophy of Jacksonville.”–signed: Printers.
Captain Chamberlain’s addition mentioned above is headed: “Notice”, and reads, much tongue-in-cheek: “The Editor of this paper is absent from town for a few days on urgent business in the interior. It is therefore announced that the publication of this paper will hereafter be weekly suspended as it has been heretofore, weakly continued.
The taking of our battery after a loss of courage, but no blood, and the presence of the Yankee fleet, and the fearful proximity of Gen. Brannan and his forces, render the ‘Southern Rights’ precarious.”
“Broken hearts cannot be photographed”… Matthew Brady…
June 26, 2026 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
War has always inflicted its pains and sorrows upon a nation. But the brutality and reality of war never fully struck home until the Civil War. It was different.
Many lives were lost in the French & Indian War, the Revolutionary War, and the 19th century events of the War of 1812 and Mexican War, but until the invention of photography, there was a certain amount of callousness to what war was really about.
The Civil War changed all that, and perhaps one person, Matthew Brady, did more to make that change than anyone.
The Civil War was the first war to be photographed. In 1862, famed photographer Mathew Brady exhibited a series of pictures taken by protégés Alexander Gardner and James Gibson immediately after the Battle of Antietam. Gardner and Gibson, two of the many photographers Brady hired to document the war, produced at least 95 images at Antietam. Their images were the first to show dead bodies on the field.
The October 20, 1862 issue of the “New York Times” contains one of the more moving articles on the horrors of war, brought home to the residents of New York through an exhibition of “Pictures of the Dead at Antietam” in Matthew Brady’s Manhattan Gallery.
The article is headed: “‘Brady’s Photographs” and it reports on the exhibition by comparing the brutality & reality of war, to the callousness of New York’s residents who read the daily papers but did not relate to the horrors they reported.
The article is extremely well-written, taking most of a column. The full text can be seen in the attached photos, however a few bits are worthy of noting here: “The living that throng Broadway care little perhaps for the dead at Antietam, but…they would jostle less carelessly down the great thoroughfare, saunter less at their ease, were a few dripping bodies, fresh from the field, laid along the payment…We see the list in the morning papers…but dismiss its recollection with the coffee. There is a confused mass of names, but they are all strangers…We recognize the battle-field as a reality, but it stands as a remote one…” with more.
Then: “Mr. Brady has done something to bring home to us the terrible reality and earnestness of war. If he has not brought bodies and laid them in our dooryards and along the streets, he has done something very like it. At the door of his gallery hangs a little placard, ‘The Dead of Antietam’…There is one side of the picture that the sun did not catch…It is the background of widows and orphans, torn from the bosom of their natural protectors by the red remorseless hand of Battle, and thrown upon the fatherhood of God. Homes have been made desolate & the light of life in thousands of hearts has been quenched forever. All of this desolation imagination must paint–broken hearts cannot be photographed…” and much more.
In 50 years of selling early newspapers, this issue most powerfully brings home the grief, sorrows, tragedies, realities, and unanswered questions that war inflicts upon a nation. What a difference a photograph can make.
An intriguing irony of American history, only to be found in a newspaper…
June 1, 2026 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
There are times when we browse through a newspaper and, while looking for something else, come across an unexpected little gem of American history. And from what we are able to determine, this “little gem” has never been reported to this day.
The “Boston Daily Journal” of April 14, 1865 shares the date of the Lincoln assassination, he attending a performance
of “Our American Cousin” at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. Page 3 of this newspaper has an advertisement for the Boston Theatre, noting: “This (Friday) Evening Benefit and Positively Last Night of EDWIN BOOTH who will appear as Sir Edward Mortimer…To-Morrow (Saturday Afternoon, Farewell Appearance of EDWIN BOOTH, Who will sustain his Great Character of Hamlet…”.
So what did we find? The very evening that famed actor Edwin Booth was performing in a Boston theater, his younger brother was assassinating the President in a theater less than 400 miles away.
This advertisement, logically, would only be found in a Boston newspaper.
This is similar to another of our blog posts, concerning Lincoln attending a Washington, D.C. stage performance of John Wilkes Booth in 1863, the irony being Lincoln’s assumed applause at the conclusion of the performance for the person who would assassinate him less than 2 years later.
Such tidbits of history are fascinating finds, and could only be discovered in newspapers of the day. So look carefully at the issues you purchase. Will you discover a historical gem that the world knew nothing about?
Announcing: Catalog 367 – Released (early) for June, 2026 – Rare & Early Newspapers…
May 29, 2026 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
|
|
Reflections on Decoration Day: Honoring the Ultimate Sacrifice…
May 25, 2026 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Ten years ago today, we shared a reflection on the holiday originally known as Decoration Day. While the roots of this observance reach back to 1861 and beyond, keeping its true purpose at the forefront of our minds is a vital act of remembrance. It is the least we can do to demonstrate our gratitude for those who gave their all so we may continue to live in a nation that embraces life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
From the Archives: Our Original 2016 Post
Memorial Day is a time set aside in the United States to remember and give thanks for those who sacrificed life and limb to secure the freedoms we enjoy. These are the “self-evident, unalienable rights” bestowed upon us by the Creator, as envisioned by our Founding Fathers.
In times of peace and abundance, it is far too easy to forget the staggering cost paid by so many to ensure the freedom of others. With this in mind, I was recently struck by an article in the March 20, 1861, issue of the Western Christian Advocate out of Cincinnati, Ohio.
The piece provides moving details regarding General George Washington’s famous prayer – as well-depicted in the famous painting by Arnold Friberg: “Prayer at Valley Forge.” You can access the full text of that 1861 article via the “Western Christian Advocate” shown above.
Today, as we partake in various holiday activities, our hope is that we will all take a moment to enjoy—and truly appreciate—a blessed and meaningful Memorial Day.
This famous Confederate issue, with a contemporary explanation…
May 4, 2026 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
Over the last 50 years we have sold many genuine issues of the famous “Vicksburg Daily Citizen” issue of July 2 (4), 1863. Its desirability is in the curious background of its creation. If you have received our catalogs through the years, you have likely read of at least one of our offerings, with the details as to how the July 2 issue was left on the press when the Confederates left town when the Yankee forces moved in. As the story goes, Yankee printers found the July 2 issue still on the press, changed the last paragraph to reflect the historic changes that had happened over the previous two days, and printed the paper.
We were not aware until recently that a contemporary issue of the “New York Times” told the story quite well. Page 2 of the August 5, 1863 issue has over a column headed: “The Fall of Vicksburgh” “Last Words of the Vicksburgh Citizen” “A Curious Relic of the Siege”.
The report begins: “When Grant took possession of Vicksburgh, a detachment of the Fifteenth Illinois cavalry visited the office of the ‘Daily Citizen”. They found the number intended for July 2 in type, and the paper all ready for printing, but circumstances had prevented its issue…the paper was very poor wall-paper. The matter was wholly editorial, with the exception of a column and a half of: “Yankee News from all Points” copied from the Memphis Bulletin, a paper which the Citizen says is ‘edited by a pink-nosed, slab-sided, toad-eating Yankee, who is a lineal descendant of Judas Iscariot…” with much more.
Further on, it explains how the last paragraph of the Vicksburg issue came to be: “The Illinois men who visited the office of the ‘Citizen’ thought that this admirable number ought not to be withheld from the subscribers. They set to work at once to print it off, but as it was now the Fourth of July and some changes had taken place since the original editor made up his sheets for the 2d, they brought up the news to date in the following postscript…” , which is the famous paragraph at the bottom of the page that begins: “Two days bring about great changes…”.
The Times article notes in conclusion: “…The copy from which we print the foregoing extracts was furnished to us by Col. Jas. Grant Wilson, of the Fifteenth Illinois cavalry, according to whose request, we have presented to the New York Historical Society.”
Although there are many issues in the realm of rare newspapers that are curious, unusual, or perhaps exceedingly historic in a very unusual way, rarely are collectors treated to a contemporary account of how they came to be. This is one.
Announcing: Catalog 366 – Released (early) for May, 2026 – Rare & Early Newspapers…
May 1, 2026 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
|
|
Announcing: Catalog 365 – Released (early) for April, 2026 – Rare & Early Newspapers…
March 27, 2026 by Phineas Q. Wryte · Leave a Comment
|
|
Announcing: Catalog 364 – Released for March, 2026 – Rare & Early Newspapers…
February 27, 2026 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Catalog 364 (for March): This latest offering of authentic newspapers is comprised of over 300 new items, a selection which includes the following noteworthy issues: an issue re: the Olive Branch Petition, Hawaii’s first English language newspaper, “The Crisis” essay #9 by Thomas Paine, a first report of Lincoln’s assassination, a Civil War prison camp newspaper, an early newsbook from 1643, the historic “Funding Act”, and more.
The following links are designed to help you explore all available items from this latest edition of our catalog:
Abridged Catalog (EXCLUDES wholesale lots & titles sold only by year (not by a specific date)
A PDF Version of the Catalog (printable)
Entire Catalog grouped by Era:
1500-1799 (full view OR quick-scan/compact view)
1800-1899 (full view OR quick-scan/compact” view)
1900-Present (full view OR quick-scan/compact” view)
The following links focus on both this month’s and last months catalogs:
- Combined Catalogs (entirety of both)
Become a Premium Member to receive hard copy versions of our catalogs (U.S. residents only).
Announcing: Catalog 363 – Released for February, 2026 – Rare & Early Newspapers…
January 30, 2026 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Catalog 363 (for February): This latest offering of authentic newspapers is comprised of over 300 new items, a selection which includes the following noteworthy issues: a Massachusetts Spy with the desired “Join or Die” snake engraving, a Pennsylvania Ledger with the Olive Branch Petition, one of the rarest of early American magazines, The Jew Bill: striving for equal rights for Jews, a handsome colonial New York newspaper from 1745, a fine report on the death of George Washington, and more.
The following links are designed to help you explore all available items from this latest edition of our catalog:
- Abridged Catalog (EXCLUDES wholesale lots & titles sold only by year (not by a specific date)
- A PDF Version of the Catalog (printable)
- Entire Catalog grouped by Era:
1500-1799 (full view OR quick-scan/compact view)
1800-1899 (full view OR quick-scan/compact” view)
1900-Present (full view OR quick-scan/compact” view)
The following links focus on both this month’s and last months catalogs:
- Combined Catalogs (entirety of both)
Become a Premium Member to receive hard copy versions of our catalogs (U.S. residents only).