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Harper’s Monthly & The Self-Made Man – Still Learning…
October 12, 2020 by Stephanie Williams · Leave a Comment
By natural inclination, I spend a fair amount of my spare time delving into the “women’s publications” within the Rare & Early Newspapers collection. Consequently, the title of the Editor’s Table of an 19th century issue of Harper’s New Monthly dragged me in, and in the spirit of fair play I decided to dissect and disseminate the contents, using the writer’s three questions.
Who is the Self-Made Man? In the author’s view, this is not the man who achieved much because of education, as education is an outside influence that detracts credit from the man. However, a self-made man can be educated. The one who is not educated, but rises to success in spite of the lack, is not necessarily self-made, as success does not equal the morality required in a self-made man.
What is the Self-Made Man? Again, this is not the one who commits good deeds, although a self-made man will be characterized by them. “The difference between the two characters is a moral one. It springs from the presence or absence of the humanitarian spirit. It is all the difference between the pure love of truth and the love of opinion.”
What is his true position for good or for evil among the powers of the age? Finally, all the negatives are set aside and the author clearly promotes a man who is driven to find truth — not in new discoveries or insights, but in the wisdom of the ages that has been tested by time, and continues to be trustworthy. Ultimately, the author highly esteems the members of the Protestant Reformation, and the things they accomplished. “It was an age where old truths were brought to light and re-established as old truths. It was a most serious age; it was a modest age; and in all these respects, especially in the latter, it differed widely from our own.”
The final condemnation of the modern era, male and female, is contained in the author’s closing remarks:
All the writings of every kind during that remarkable period, and, we may even say, the century that followed it, would not present so much of this frothy self-laudation, as may be heard in one Hope Chapel meeting of ‘strong-minded women’ and ‘self made’ men.
Announcing: Catalog #299 (for October, 2020) is now available…
October 2, 2020 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
- Catalog 299 (in its entirety)
- Noteworthy Catalog 299 ($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.
The Gentleman’s Magazine & Poetry… Still learning…
September 28, 2020 by Stephanie Williams · Leave a Comment
Nestled among the prosaic commodity prices, legal decisions, and historical chronicles that regularly appear in an issue of Gentleman’s Magazine is a section that seems surprising to me — “Select Poetry, ancient and modern.” In some ways, this is a reminder that times certainly have changed, and things are not as they always were. A current publication for the leaders of our era, such as Forbes or Bloomberg or The Wall Street Journal would not contain poetry, unless a noteworthy personage deviated from business acquisition long enough to write, or possibly promote a struggling artist in the name of philanthropy, etc.
But, once upon a time, the well-educated person was learned in literary as well as economic matters. As the 
column title hints, the classical emphasis on education set a background that persisted into all arenas of life. With this in mind, I delved into the section and became even further struck by the subject matter of my sampling in meter and rhyme. The closing refrain to each stanza concludes that nothing in life matters without….love.
But weak is our vaunt
While something we want,
More sweet than the pleasure that Prospects can give.
Come, smile, damsels of Cardigan,
Love can alone make it blissful to live.
The author of this particular poem only provided his (presumably) initials to this listing of Prospects, Nectar, Odours, Music, Friendship, Learning, Riches and Honour. All, the poet asserts, are not sufficient to bring bliss to life — only love can do that. The musings that follow include “Ode to a Goldfinch”, “An Astronomical Thought” and “A Translation of the Epitaph”. Put together, they summarize the principle concerns of the time period — the natural and known world, the world yet to be discovered, happiness within all experiences, and the context provided by knowledge of eventual death.
That is, indeed, a selection of ancient and modern — even the modern of today.
They Put It In Print (1848)… “Lincoln that is, political gold, Illinois tea…”
September 25, 2020 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
A tremendous wag, hilarious, upright, a real gem… We recently uncovered the earliest “feature” article we’ve ever found regarding Abraham Lincoln – buried on the back page of the The Greensborough Patriot (NC) dated September 16, 1848. On the heels of gold having just been discovered in California, another golden-nugget was slowly becoming unearthed on the opposite side of the country – before the very eyes (and ears) of the nation. Although Lincoln was a relatively unknown senator from Illinois, a reporter heard him speak before The House and was impressed enough to take the time to record his observations. It appears this reporter, along with a host of others, would be drawn to the qualities which would set him apart from the pack, and would eventually propel him into the history books. How do we know? Back in 1848, they put it in print:
I can imagine, as articles such as this began to circulate, that the folks back in home in Illinois began to talk in Lincoln’s ear, and…
The first thing you know ol Abe’s politically extraordinaire,
Kinfolk said “Abe move away from there”.
Said “The Capitol” is the place you ought to be”
So they loaded him on a train and he moved to D.C.
The UNITED States would never be the same.
The Woman’s Journal & Literary Notices… I’m Still Learning…
September 11, 2020 by Stephanie Williams · Leave a Comment
The Woman’s Journal (1872 and more), out of Boston, is the publication I am happiest to pull for any reason. It is well-organized, with clear headings and a clean layout. If I have research to do, I save it for last as I am frequently inclined to ramble through the columns, and lose track of time. With that said, it’s a splendid thing to be assigned an opportunity to focus on this paper. Each instance of opening it brings me to a new regular feature, and this one brought me to the Literary Notices where I discovered a special treat.
In the first place, the professional tone and straightforward language convey an instant sense of intelligent discussion. This is serious scholarship being presented. The selections that follow only serve to deepen that impression, as listed here:
The Sphinx’s Children and Other People’s, Reason and Revelation Hand in Hand, A Study of Dante, A Tale of a Lonely Parish, Tokology, A Book for Every Woman, Evolution of To-Day
Each title precedes a 200-word thoughtful review, with summary and critique included. The style is witty and educated, and I was wondering which of these might still be available –as they were so very interesting– when I spotted a last review occupying five times as much space as any of the others. To my delight, it was headed as follows:
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: With Extracts from His Journals and Correspondence. Edited by Samuel Longfellow
It’s a great thing to be able to read someone else’s evaluation of a work with which you are yourself familiar, most particularly if their review was written 134 years ago. There is much to recognize and much to learn in the details of this piece. Interestingly, I looked up the author’s name and found it to be the only one of the editorial and contributor staff to be listed by initials, rather than first name. Further research showed that H.B. Blackwell was really “Henry Brown Blackwell” and the only male member of the staff. The entire review closes with the “last words he [Wordsworth] ever wrote were these:
O Bells of San Blas, in vain,
Ye call back the past again;
The past is deaf to your prayer;
Out of the shadows of night
The world rolls into the light;
It is daybreak everywhere.
The very last interesting bit in this excursion of mine is an item in the adjacent Gossip and Gleanings column which reads, “Rev. Samuel Longfellow has the gratification knowing that the 4,000 copies of his brother’s life composing the first edition, are all sold.”
Announcing: Catalog #298 (for September, 2020) is now available…
September 1, 2020 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
- Catalog 298 (in its entirety)
- Noteworthy Catalog 298 ($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.
Gentleman’s Magazine & Insanity…
August 10, 2020 by Stephanie Williams · Leave a Comment
Living in a time of health concerns brought on by a previously unknown viral threat brings me a heightened awareness of the historical mysteries recorded in these ledgers from the past. Advertisements give a clue to the extensive maladies that troubled mankind hundreds of years ago, many of which remain challenges even today. Liver ailments, gout, yellowed eyes, rashes, sleeplessness, and obesity are just a few things for which patented tonics and trusted treatments abound. Based on a sampling of papers such as Leslie’s Illustrated, Harper’s Weekly and any of the Wild West titles in 
the vast Rare & Early Newspapers collection, there is no doubt left that disease is a plague of the human condition.
Nothing, however, seems to baffle and burden society as a whole, and physicians in particular, as diseases of the mind. And The Gentleman’s Magazine that I pulled out from October of 1808 describes the tension brought about by the ignorance in a field so relevant to our existence.
In particular, the writer addresses Mr. Urban on the unfairness of the societal and ecclesiastical condemnation of suicide, without considering the mitigating circumstances of mental illness.
In consequence of an unusual conflux of suicidal cases occurring nearly together a few months ago, the feelings of Humanity appeared to be much outraged; many calumnious and violent opinions, mingled with false censure, were inserted in our daily prints; the conduct of Juries was the subject of much unqualified condemnation; and al almost entire ignorance of the true state of the awful cases brought under their cognizance, laid the foundation of much unmerited reproach.
His pointed statement halfway through the piece provides an explanation for suicide with the following question and answer: “Why does it appear that Suicide is more general than formerly? The answer is at hand: Insanity is an increasing disease. A few of the bulky catalogue of human ailments have evidently decreased; unfortunately, this is not of the number.”
There’s so much more in this article that speaks to the same subject today. While I don’t know concerning the correlation between the two, I do applaud the perspective towards those who suffer in this way. It was a lofty goal then and is, in my humble opinion, still.
It is an absolutely demonstrable fact, that in nine cases out of twelve of self-destruction which our daily papers record, the previous situation of the subject is known, and the fatal crisis might be prevented were this knowledge acted upon with firmness, promptitude, and that just method which honour, humanity, and justice demand.
Announcing: Catalog #297 (for August, 2020) is now available…
August 3, 2020 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
- Catalog 297 (in its entirety)
- Noteworthy Catalog 297 ($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.
The Woman’s Tribune & Frederick Douglass…
July 27, 2020 by Stephanie Williams · Leave a Comment
Many people who have faced difficult challenges in their personal lives become, in turn, sensitive to the struggles of others. It might be a similar difficulty, but it isn’t always. In the history of discrimination, a less-than-equal status has been designated to individuals or groups for reasons of socioeconomic status, color of skin, or gender. Specific 
publications sprang up to give a voice to the unrepresented, and, at the very least, the power of the pen documented the demand to be heard. Within the newspapers of early America are the abolitionist papers and the working men’s papers and the women’s papers. The writers and editors called for equal status under the law, the right to own property (starting with the freedom of an individual over his or her own life) and the right to vote.
It’s this last one that has me looking intently at the front page of The Woman’s Tribune from March 2, 1895. In the first place, I noticed that the paper is much better quality than, say, the New York Times from this era. It seems the publishing board of this newspaper did not make the downgrade from rag paper. But mostly I noticed that the masthead “EQUALITY BEFORE THE LAW” is followed by the column heading “Frederick Douglass“. There is a poem written by Mary Lowe Dicks in honor of the great abolitionist, followed by a tribute/obituary that fills two columns delineating his impact for the cause of freedom. The ending portion is particularly poignant:
In him the hopes of his race were realized; in him humanity was dignified. The world is poorer because he is gone; humanity is richer because he came. The legacy of his life and service attests the truth that God keepeth watch above His own, that He shall turn and overturn until injustice dies and the right eternally triumphs.
I like this honoring of another who had a different set of obstacles to overcome, but was admired for the battle he fought and the way he waged it. I picture the huddled masses of abolitionists, suffragists, laborers — not pitted against one another, but rooting for the common goal of “liberty and justice for all.”
They Put It In Print (1862)… Slavery At The Capital…
July 10, 2020 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
We all have a tendency to view things through a lens of our own creation – and the internet and social media – both which customize our “news” to our liking, only help refine our “news” into that which reinforces our worldview. In the end, honest, open dialogue – once the fabric of our public discourse, is reduced to mere noise falling upon deadened ears. Truth is, all Republicans… all Democrats… all Libertarians… all those who disagree with our point of view are not uneducated, haters, bigots and/or evil. Republicans do not “own” patriotism, and Democrats do not possess the mantle of black-American advocacy. How do we know? Back in 1862, The New York Tribune dated March 14, 1862 put it in print: