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Insight into the mind of Tesla…
April 4, 2022 by LauraH · Leave a Comment
I am always dumfounded by the breadth of brilliance some well-known inventors of the past possessed. Leonardo da Vinci, who is credited with the invention of the parachute, the barreled cannon, the Helical aerial screw, the winged flying machine, diving equipment & the self-propelled cart, also painted the Mona Lisa. How can one not stand in awe? Let’s face it, inventors are often trend setters who give the world around them inspiration as well as practical solutions for common problems.
On Oct. 14, 1893, SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN featured an article by Nikola Tesla which caught my attention. We think of Tesla as one of the 2-3 most famous “explorers” who contributed to our current-day electrically powered world. However, in this article, he is using his study of the eye to further his insight into electrical currents. Below is a fitting quote from the article by this genius from the late 19th and early 20th centuries:
“The day when we shall know what ‘electricity’ is, will chronicle an event probably greater and more important than any other in the history of the human race.” Much ground has been covered in this regard since he made this statement, but most would agree we have yet to arrive.
Scientific American & The Columbian Exposition… A novice’s discovery…
March 3, 2022 by Stephanie Williams · 2 Comments
As a new staff member and a novice
to the hobby, until I started looking closely at an 1893 volume of the Scientific American Supplement, I had no idea that the Chicago World’s Fair was also called The World’s Columbian Exposition in honor of the 400-year anniversary of Columbus’ voyage. I did some digging and found that it ran from May 1st through October 30th, which made the June 3, 1893 issue even more promising in terms of content. The publication does not disappoint.
The front page displays The Exhibit of Windmills & The Palace of Agriculture in grand imagery. Page 3 has: “Notes from the World’s Columbian Exposition” detailing each building and display followed by intricate pen and ink illustrations of new inventions from engines and locomotives to potato planters.
How fitting for an expo honoring the man who jumpstarted America to also honor those who continued to move her along.
Newspaper Curiosities in 1867 from the Harper’s New Monthly Magazine…
February 28, 2022 by Stephanie Williams · Leave a Comment
In a strange twist within this unique collecting niche, I came across a nine-page essay within the Harper’s Monthly of September 1867. Imagine my interest in uncovering the following opening:
The history of newspapers has been frequently, but perhaps never yet fully, written. However, that may be, the history of the press of this country is very far from being complete. Many important facts are wrapped in obscurity, requiring incredible industry to bring them to light; and he would be a benefactor to literature who should reveal them in naked simplicity.
The author (whose name I cannot discern recorded within the volume) begins with the first press, “established in Cambridge, Massachusetts, eighteen years after the landing of the Pilgrims, where it was operated for forty years without a rival in America.” He goes on to say that 1644 marked the appointment of “censors of the press”, and that Boston saw its first press thirty years later, and that the Boston News-Letter reported the news from Europe — thirteen months after the fact. There are many interesting details quoted concerning the earliest days of colonization, followed by the appearance of the New England Courant, the American Weekly Mercury, the Pennsylvania Gazette, the Boston Evening Post and the Pennsylvania Journal and Weekly Advertiser, all of which preceded the dailies begun with the Pennsylvania Packet in 1794.
One appealing aspect of this article, beyond the timeline which includes excerpts from most of the earliest papers, is the outside perspective. The writer acknowledges that all we can know is limited to the information reported, subject to a selection process influenced by the motivation/perspective/experience of the editor. Thus it has always been, and likely will always be.
Announcing: Catalog #316 (for March, 2022) – Rare & Early Newspapers (for purchase)
February 25, 2022 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
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The links above will redirect to the latest catalog in approx. 30 days,
upon which time it will update to the most recent catalog.
Old Newspapers – Music to My Ears…
February 21, 2022 by LauraH · Leave a Comment
From my earliest memories I can picture an original (
“improved”) Edison Phonograph gracing my family home. My parents loved antiques, and at some point, along their collecting journey, they had stumbled upon this gem. Recently, while downsizing, this vintage treasure was sold to a collector in Australia who was beyond excited. As you can imagine, my parents’ “investment in history” did quite well. While I am sorry to see it go, I’m glad it found a home with someone who will delight in its presence as much as I did.
This walk down childhood lane was triggered while I was viewing one of our old listings of a SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN for Feb. 27, 1909. It sure made me smile as it warmed my heart. These old newspapers are wonderful storytellers and memory joggers, never ceasing to delight.
Scientific American & the Harlem River… 1890…
February 11, 2022 by Stephanie Williams · Leave a Comment
Growing up less than 50 miles from NYC, it was a regular occurrence for “us kids” to reach as far forward in the car as we could to be the first of the family to pass the paint mark on the Lincoln Tunnel walls delineating the New York/New Jersey boundary. Along with the iconic skyline and the Statue of Liberty, tunnels and bridges defined the vista of any excursion to Manhattan.
Today’s jaunt into the Scientific American reminded me of those childhood outings and had me scouring old maps to discern the changes wrought in the waterway systems for the development of metropolitan New York. This publication, filled with inventions and botanical discoveries, also chronicles the many arenas of civil engineering foresight and ingenuity. Those examples of “aging infrastructure” so hotly debated in the political arena of today, were the marvels of yesterday. Without computer models, before construction vehicles, absent the communication methods of today, great changes were made to the natural landscape in order to accommodate the iconic center of commerce.
An article in the March 22, 1890, Supplement to Scientific American describes “The Harlem River Improvement and Ship Canal” — a project that lasted thirteen years and cost over $200,000. Many political, geological, and legal difficulties are described, along with evaluation of decisions made, as well as alternate proposed solutions. The detail is fascinating, even to someone who has no understanding of the impact rivers and railroads have on commerce and industry. In fact, it never occurred to me that rivers are moved, straightened or even deepened in order to make them more useful. And I wonder what today’s civil engineers think of the building strictures from over one hundred years ago.
The laws of May 20, 1879, provides that all bridges hereafter to be constructed over this channel shall be at right angles to its courses, and that the bridges at the draws shall not be less than 24 feet above high water of spring tide, and that no tunnel shall be constructed under it which will not permit the excavation of a 20-foot channel.
Sometimes We Miss It – Isidor Louis… 1870’s San Diego…
February 7, 2022 by LauraH · Leave a Comment
After 47 years as both a collector and reseller of “Rare & Early” newspapers, you can imagine we have unearthed a ton of historical content. However, Every now and then we are reminded that, “Sometimes we miss it”. Today a customer called after purchasing an issue of The San Diego Union to let us know he found a fascinating ad on the front page of his issue. For those who love 19th century California history, there was an early citizen of Jewish descent who had an enormous entrepreneur’s spirit. Isidor Louis had many irons in the fire and was advertising one of his first ventures on the frontpage of the newspaper. Interestingly, his son later became the city editor for the San Diego Sun. Have we piqued your interest? Do a little investigating of Isidor for yourself. Are you wondering how we had an image of the ad after we had already sold the paper? Perhaps we have uncovered others. As a lesson learned, it always pays to read the fine print … in case we missed it.
They put it in print – an 1877 opinion of The Press…
January 6, 2022 by LauraH · Leave a Comment
Sometimes a picture says it all. The illustration below was printed in a Harper’s Weekly dated June 2, 1877, but left undated some might think it is a recent print. Do these “1000 words” from the 19th century, in fact, have staying power? You decide.
Announcing: Catalog #314 (for January, 2022) is now available…
December 31, 2021 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
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Catalog 314 (in its entirety)
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Noteworthy Catalog 314 ($250+)
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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 #313 (for December, 2021) is now available…
December 3, 2021 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
-
Catalog 313 (in its entirety)
-
Noteworthy Catalog 313 ($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.