The best of the best from the mouth and/or hand of Abraham Lincoln…

September 25, 2017 by · Leave a Comment 

What is Abraham Lincoln’s most noteworthy speech, proclamation, letter, etc.? The Emancipation Proclamation? His Thanksgiving Proclamation or proclamation for a National Fast Day? Perhaps it was his 1862 Annual Message to Congress, his 2nd Inaugural Address, or his last public address in 1865? Of course the “go to” answer is often what we now refer to as The Gettysburg Address. The choices are almost endless. However, below is a candidate which appeared in an issue of The Crisis (Columbus, Ohio, May 4, 1864) I’d like to throw into the mix. Why it flies under the radar of notoriety and has never received more recognition is rather perplexing. What are your thoughts? Note: I’d like to thank a friend of Rare & Early Newspapers for suggesting I take a 2nd look.

The Traveler… a man of determination…

September 18, 2017 by · Leave a Comment 

I traveled to Boston, Massachusetts today via the Columbian Centinel of September 17, 1817, where I found the obituary for Paul Cuffee. “…He was a descendant of Africa [African Ashanti]: But combated and overcame by the native strength of mind, and a steady adherence to principles which would have done honor to any white man, the prejudices with which the ill-starred inhabitants of the Land of his Fathers, all too generally viewed…”. Upon reading more about Mr. Cuffee on Wikipedia, I found that he was self-taught, a Quaker businessman, sea captain, patriot, and abolitionist, built a lucrative shipping empire and established the first racially integrated school in Westport, Massachusetts.

~The Traveler

A September, 2017 stroll back thru time – 50, 100, 150, 200, & 250 years ago…

September 4, 2017 by · Leave a Comment 

What news was reported in the month of September – 50, 100, 150, 200, and 250 years ago (1967, 1917, 1867, 1817, 1767)? Such a walk back through time via the eyes of those who read the daily and weekly newspapers of the period can be quite revealing. This is why we often say, “History is never more fascinating than when it’s read from the day it was first reported.” The following links will take you back in time to show the available newspapers from the Rare & Early newspapers website. There’s no need to buy a thing. Simply enjoy the stroll.
September:
1967 – 50 years ago
1917 – 100 years ago
1867 – 150 years ago
1817 – 200 years ago
1767 – 250 years ago
Wanting for more? Why not take a year-long gander at 1667, 1717, 1767, 1817, 1867, 1917, and/or 1967?

Announcing: Catalog #262 (for September, 2017) is now available…

September 1, 2017 by · 2 Comments 

Rare Newspapers’ monthly offering of collectible newspapers, Catalog 262, is now available. This latest collection of authentic newspapers is comprised of nearly 350 new items. Some of the noteworthy content includes:

• Newsbook dated 1548
• Boston newspaper with a report on the Battle of Bunker Hill
• A more rare edition of the Herald on Lincoln’s assassination
• Washington’s inaugural address
• Illustration shows the Lincoln assassination
• Confederate newspaper from Houston, Texas

To view the above key issues and a whole lot more, go to: Catalog 262

(The catalog links shown above will redirect to the latest catalog in approximately 30 days.)

The (now) controversial Robert E. Lee monument unveiled in Richmond (1890)…

August 28, 2017 by · 1 Comment 

Whether or not the Robert E. Lee monument will remain in Richmond has yet to be determined, but considering the controversy, we thought it might be interesting to post the original Harper’s Weekly report from June 14, 1890 concerning the unveiling of the monument. The link provides the full text related to the image. The text reads, in part:

“The occasion of the unveiling of the Lee statue at Richmond, Virginia, on the 29th of May, possessed features that render it unique in history. It was a mighty tribute to the central figure of a lost-cause, attended by an undercurrent of satisfaction even that the cause was lost… The Confederate flag was everywhere conspicuously displayed…  The military companies affectionately bore it in the line of march, but with it they bore the Stars and Stripes, and bore them loyally. The paradox is explainable only by the fact that the former no longer meant disunion… The opinion has with much reason been expressed that the occasion of such magnitude as the one described, with reference to the late Confederacy, is not likely ever to be repeated. General Lee personified what was best in a bad cause. His individual virtues gave the Southern people, who craved a demonstration commemorative of an indelible epoch in their lives, some substantial and unquestioningly credible to rally around. The honor to the hero of their vain struggle has been paid, and the full conditions for another gathering are wanting. It may therefore by surmised that in the great outpouring of the ex-Confederates at Richmond the final obsequies of the war of session have taken place, and the circumstances attending it show how completely the wounds of conflict have been healed, and a mist important chapter of American history closed. AMOS W. WRIGHT

An August, 2017 stroll back thru time – 50, 100, 150, 200, & 250 years ago…

August 3, 2017 by · Leave a Comment 

What news was reported in the month of August – 50, 100, 150, 200, and 250 years ago (1967, 1917, 1867, 1817, 1767)? Such a walk back through time via the eyes of those who read the daily and weekly newspapers of the period can be quite revealing. This is why we often say, “History is never more fascinating than when it’s read from the day it was first reported.” The following links will take you back in time to show the available newspapers from the Rare & Early newspapers website. There’s no need to buy a thing. Simply enjoy the stroll.
August:
1967 – 50 years ago
1917 – 100 years ago
1867 – 150 years ago
1817 – 200 years ago
1767 – 250 years ago
Wanting for more? Why not take a year-long gander at 1667, 1717, 1767, 1817, 1867, 1917, and/or 1967?

Announcing: Catalog #261 (for August, 2017) is now available…

August 2, 2017 by · Leave a Comment 

Rare Newspapers’ monthly offering of collectible newspapers, Catalog 261, is now available. This latest collection of authentic newspapers is comprised of nearly 350 new items. Some of the noteworthy content includes:

• Phillis Wheatley letter in a 1774
• Deadwood newspaper with mention of Wild Bill Hickok
• New York Times reporting Lincoln’s assassination
• Newsbook dated 1609
• Quebec Gazette from 1775
• First “Confederate” newspaper to report Lincoln’s assassination

To view the above key issues and a whole lot more, go to: Catalog 261

(The catalog links shown above will redirect to the latest catalog in approximately 30 days.)

Fake Lincoln Proclamation… An attempt to profit in the gold market…

July 24, 2017 by · Leave a Comment 

The Boston Daily Courier” of May 19, 1864, contains a fascinating sidebar in American history, the printing of a “fake” Lincoln Proclamation which appeared in two New York newspapers but was ultimately determined to be bogus. The “proclamation” is prefaced with a cautioning statement: “The document which made its appearance yesterday, purporting to be a proclamation of President Lincoln, is copied for the information of our readers:”, then the full text (see below).
This was a scheme by Joseph Howard, a newspaper journalist and a bit of a prankster throughout his career. Howard and an acquaintance had hoped to make a profit on declining gold prices if news from the front was bad. They acquired the stationery and other items necessary to make it look as if a story had come in on the wires to the headquarters of the Associated Press of New York, the clearing house for official wire stories coming from Washington. They forged the Proclamation from the president, which called for the drafting of an additional 400,000 soldiers, obvious evidence the war wasn’t going well. It was delivered to the offices of various New Your newspapers. Only two actually published the story but it caused such that Howard was arrested two days after the story appeared and placed in Prison. He was released on Lincoln’s personal order on August 24, 1864.

The Traveler… O Canada!

July 6, 2017 by · 2 Comments 

blog-7-3-2017-o-canadaEarlier this week I traveled to New York City by the way of The New York Times dated July 2, 1867 where I found the headline “The Dominion of Canada” with the subhead “Inauguration of the Confederation — A General Holiday — Lord Monck Sworn in — Review of Troops”. “This day has given birth to the political infant, the Dominion of Canada…” This was the announcement of the birth of Canada.

Happy (belated) birthday Canada!

~The Traveler

Announcing: Catalog #260 (for July, 2017) is now available…

July 3, 2017 by · Leave a Comment 

Rare Newspapers’ monthly offering of collectible newspapers, Catalog 260, is now available. This latest collection of authentic newspapers is comprised of nearly 350 new items. Some of the noteworthy content includes:

• Period printing of the Declaration of Independence…
• Lincoln delivers his Gettysburg Address…
• Dealing with the hated tea tax…
• Washington’s Farewell Address…
• First report of Lincoln’s assassination…
• Displayable Battle of Gettysburg issue…

To view the above key issues and a whole lot more, go to: Catalog 260

(The catalog links shown above will redirect to the latest catalog in approximately 30 days.)

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