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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.”
Announcing: Catalog #296 (for July, 2020) is now available…
July 3, 2020 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
- Catalog 296 (in its entirety)
- Noteworthy Catalog 296 ($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.
Announcing: Catalog #295 (for June, 2020) is now available…
May 29, 2020 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
- Catalog 295 (in its entirety)
- Noteworthy Catalog 295 ($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.
Announcing: Catalog #294 (for May, 2020) is now available…
May 1, 2020 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
- Catalog 294 (in its entirety)
- Noteworthy Catalog 294 ($250+)
- Combined Catalogs (current, w/ remnants of previous)
Don’t forget about this month’s DISCOUNTED ISSUES.
Note: after approximately 30 days the links above will redirect to the latest catalog.
March through the years via the lens of Rare & Early Newspapers…
March 6, 2020 by GuyHeilenman · 4 Comments
Walk with us back through time to see what noteworthy, historic and collectible events occurred during the month of February. In so doing, we hope you’ll agree: “History is never more fascinating than when it’s read from the day it was first reported.”
March Through Time
Announcing: Catalog #292 (for March, 2020) is now available…
March 2, 2020 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
- Catalog 292 (in its entirety)
- Noteworthy Catalog 292 ($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.)
February through the years via the lens of Rare & Early Newspapers…
February 10, 2020 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Walk with us back through time to see what noteworthy, historic and collectible events occurred during the month of February. In so doing, we hope you’ll agree: “History is never more fascinating than when it’s read from the day it was first reported.”
February Through Time
I’m New Here: Still Learning… Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper
February 7, 2020 by Stephanie Williams · Leave a Comment
I am always ready to learn although I do not always like being taught. Winston S. Churchill
This is an appropriate enough quote to summarize my perspective at the close of a year of many new lessons – and not all of them pleasant at the time of learning. It’s tough to be new, but it feels great to be not-new. Since I find myself in a “next stage” here at Rare Newspapers, as of this week I am transitioning the title(s) of my blog. Once a month I will continue to pass along something new I have learned, under the heading “Still Learning.” In the other three weeks I will focus on different aspects of this wonderful place.
My most recent orientation was a byproduct of searching the wide world of Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper. It seems these treasures, similar in size to Harper’s Weekly, are located in a completely different collection of Civil War Era papers. Although our titles are meticulously indexed and cataloged, the facilities could not possibly be rearranged with each new collection acquired. Consequently, the front warehouse has its own area of 1861-1865 issues, while the annex has a separate one. It’s so funny to still be discovering a nook packed full of Historical Relevance (in capital letters).
Within a publication from 1862, I located a four-panel, tipped-in centerfold. It’s a beautiful illustration that measures 20″ high by 32″ wide, folded inside the magazine, with no binding holes or glue lines within the image margins. The top half is titled “The Second Day of the Second Battle of Bunker Hill”, and depicts a lovely landscape in which lines of marching men wind along hilltops and alongside lanes of trees. Even the award winning photography of later wars doesn’t compete with the impact of this intricate rendering.
Note that this is not a double-page centerfold, as I originally described it to Guy, but a more extravagantly sized and highly desirable four-panel, tipped-in centerfold. I have recently been taught the difference.
Anyway, I have much more to learn, but in case you were wondering, I am ready for more Leslie’s requests — particularly Civil War issues.
Announcing: Catalog #291 (for February, 2020) is now available…
February 3, 2020 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
- Catalog 291 (in its entirety)
- Noteworthy Catalog 291 ($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.)
I’m New Here: A Few Changes…
January 31, 2020 by Stephanie Williams · Leave a Comment
This week has gone by in a blur. The (exciting) new catalog ships out tomorrow, and all the attendant hoopla has filled our schedules. It’s always a juggling act to maintain regular work around special projects, because there is plenty of the latter to pack our days.
A seasoned collector was filling gaps prior to an approaching exhibit, and he called to have me check a New York Times obituary in 1898. 
We didn’t have the date it ran, and I exhausted all the other major papers. However, the deceased was an abolitionist who also contributed to the effort to gain the vote for women. As a last ditch effort I pulled a volume of the Woman’s Journal from Washington DC, and found a lengthy tribute to Robert Purvis. Mr. G was quite pleased, and I felt triumphant with my find, particularly as it led me to delve into my favorite category – publications in which women played an important role. Although much content pertains to suffrage, there seems to have been an effort to provide a platform for intelligent discussion that encompassed many other aspects of life in the 1800’s. These journals are a valuable resource for a look into the 19th Century, and I am always glad to fulfill an order with one of these gems.
As I begin this second year here at Rare & Early Newspapers, I am planning to dedicate my last post each month to a look at our titles, beginning with the Woman’s Journal. Hopefully, I can unearth enough nuggets that you will all start to consider that a collection cannot possibly be complete without containing at least an issue or two from the Woman’s Tribune, The Woman’s Journal, The North Shore Review, the Ladies Magazine or Womankind.
Thank you for the kind comments and encouragement in this first year. I beg your continued forbearance as I wade more deeply into the water.
Cheers!