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There must be a man in the moon…
October 12, 2012 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
The “Bellows Falls Intelligencer” newspaper from Vermont, issue of May 10, 1824 has an interesting article reporting evidence of life on the moon (see). It’s interesting that astrological science was so rudimentary in 1824 that this report was to be believed by those who read it, although providing some humor when read today.
Identifying newspaper reprints… a collector’s story…
October 5, 2012 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
We recently received an e-mail from a collector who informed us that she had used information from the Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers website which enable her to identify (unfortunately) that an issue she had obtained (Baltimore Patriot & Weekly Advertiser, September 20, 1814) was a reprint. While disappointed, she decided to post her experience on the web to help educate (and protect) others. Rather than us tell her story, please allow her to share her experience in her own words: OH MY GOSH…I FOUND A REAL TREASURE!
Concern for preserving newspapers in 1849…
September 11, 2012 by TimHughes · 1 Comment
Over 160 years ago the New York legislature had the foresight to be concerned about the future holdings of newspapers, and more importantly the loss of the unique perspective of history which can only be obtained through newspapers of the day. Their cause remains as relevant today as it was in 1849.
The photos show the entire editorial as found in the “Vermont Chronicle” of Windsor, May 2, 1849, but portions include: “…No historical monument that has ever been devised has half the value for future reference that belongs to a newspaper, & no record can be made of current events nearly as truthful, as minute, as systematic, or as accessible, as the ‘happy pages which no critics criticise’ of a periodical journal…” and “…De Tocqueville…has somewhere spoken of the difficulty to be anticipated at some future day of those who may wish to trace the history of our people for the want of durable monuments or records of their current life & achievements…that the newspaper was almost our only historical repository & that was usually destroyed as soon as its contents were glanced at…” and much more.
A fascinating article on the need to preserve newspapers; something which all of us in this hobby continue to do in some small way.
The entire text of this intriguing article may be viewed at: “Vermont Chronicle” of Windsor, May 2, 1849
Tired of fishing him out of the well…
August 3, 2012 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
This tidbit from the “Olive Branch“, Boston, Nov. 19, 1853, expresses one Californian’s frustration.
Constitution for the “Philadelphia Dueling Club”…
July 13, 2012 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
“The Courier” newspaper of Norwich, Connecticut has in its July 2, 1800 edition an apparently tongue-in-cheek report detailing the constitution for the “Philadelphia Dueling Club”. The fact that it was approved on May 32, 1800, and signed by “William Blood, President’ and “Charles Bullet, Secretary” seems to render this less than real, the content is nonetheless interesting reading.
Its preamble notes that dueling has become: “…the fashion to the infinite satisfaction of all men of true honor, & whereas the opinion that this practice is improper & Immoral being only held by old women, or men who ought to wear petticoats…” with more. See the photo for the full 1st article… and the link above for the full text.
Wyoming’s first newspapers…
July 9, 2012 by TimHughes · 1 Comment
Wyoming has the interesting distinction of having once been part of four principal annexations: the Louisiana Purchase, the Oregon Territory, the Mexican Cession and Texas Annexation. It became a territory in July, 1868 and gained statehood on July 10, 1890.
The “Leader” was the first newspaper in Wyoming, begun on September 19, 1867, the same year that the first settlement had been created at Cheyenne. The newspaper was begun by Nathan Baker and J.E. Gates. Baker gained his printing experience in Colorado, working at the “Rocky Mountain Herald” and the the “Rocky Mountain News”. He went one to establish two other newspapers in Wyoming, the Laramie “Sentinel” on May 1, 1869, and the South Pass “News“. See the hyperlink for the interesting history of this town.
Also begun in Cheyenne in 1867 were the “Daily Argus” in October, and the “Star” in December, but neither one lasted beyond two years. Other early newspapers in Wyoming were the “Sweetwater Miner” at Fort Bridge in February, 1868, a vehicle to promote immigration, and a few months later the “News” at South Pass, noted above.
One of the more interesting newspapers from the West was the “Frontier Index” which began at Fort Sanders and moved along with the Union Pacific railroad going to Benton then to Bryan and then to Bear River City where it was completely destroyed by a mob. And no mention of Wyoming’s newspaper history should fail to mention the “Boomerang” (named for the editor’s mule), founded at Laramie on March 11, 1881 by Bill Nye. Subscribers were found in every state and some foreign countries. When Nye retired from the paper he became one of America’s best known humorists.
Washington’s first newspaper…
June 11, 2012 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
Interest by historians in Washington’s first newspaper may well be eclipsed by the press upon which it was printed, as it had a fascinating history.
The “Ramage Press” was well traveled. It originated in Boston, was sold to a printer in Hawaii only to never be used as the printer purchased another press before its arrival, then was sold to California where it was transported to Monterey to Sonoma and then back to Monterey where it printed California’s first newspaper, the “Californian”, on Aug. 15, 1846. Both the press and the newspaper moved to Yerba Buena where the newspaper continued printing, moved then to Sacramento City where it printed the first issue of the “Placer Times” in 1849. It then moved to San Francisco, then to Stockton, then to Sonora, eventually becoming the first press on which printing was done in Oregon, and then the same for the state of Washington.
During the 1850’s Washington was part of the Oregon Territory. The old Ramage press made its way to Olympia and on September 11, 1852 the first issue of the “Columbian” was printed, Washington’s very first newspaper. Just six months later in 1853 the Washington Territory was created causing the printers, James Wiley and Thorton McElroy, to change the name of their newspaper to the “Washington Pioneer”. After another name change the paper continued until 1861.
The second newspaper in Washington was the “Puget Sound Courier” which began on May 19, 1855 at Steilacoom but the newspaper lasted for just a year. Steilacoom was the location of Washington’s third newspaper, done by Charles Prosch and titled the “Puget Sound Express”, which began on March 12, 1858.
The Traveler… a presidential nomination… a bit buggy…
May 21, 2012 by The Traveler · Leave a Comment
Today’s travels took me to Baltimore, Maryland, through The Weekly Register (Niles”) of May 23, 1812. There I found the “Presidential Nomination” had occurred “…For JAMES MADISON, 82 — No other person being voted for… On motion of Mr. Campbell of Ten. it was then Resolved, As the sense of this meeting, that JAMES MADISON, of the state of Virginia, be recommended as a proper person to fill the office of President, for four years from the third day of March next:…”. Additional information is within that article as well as additional articles pertaining to “The Nomination” and “Presidential Election”.
“The Locusts of Africa” article is interesting as it states that that “…when they visit a country it behooves every individual to lay in a provision against a famine; for they are said to stay three, five, or seven years…”. I can’t begin to image dealing with those bugs for a portion of a day let alone for years!
~The Traveler
Believe it or not…
May 4, 2012 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
While posting an October 31, 1804 issue of THOMAS’S MASSACHUSETTS SPY, OR WORCESTER GAZETTE, Massachusetts, onto the Rare Newspapers website due to the presence of two letters from George Washington (written before 1800) and another from Thomas Jefferson, another item caught our interest. Under “Deaths” we found an obituary which seems unbelievable. Which is harder to believe, that newspapers from 1804 containing 3 Presidential letters are still available, or, that the details within the shown obituary are true? Fact or fiction? You decide.
Period printing… Did you ever notice…?
April 30, 2012 by GuyHeilenman · 1 Comment
A few months ago we received an inquiry from one of our friends wondering why pre-1900 newspapers included a period after the newspaper’s title in the masthead. While I hold hundreds of such issues in my hands each week, I had never taken notice of this. Wondering if this was in fact the case, I quickly began searching through our 19th and 18th century archives, and low and behold, every title ended with a period. Searching through our 20th century inventory I discovered that none of the issues did. I asked Tim Hughes his thoughts on the matter, and his response was as follows:
Regarding the query about periods at the end of 19th century titles, I don’t believere there is a reason beyond it simply being the grammatical style of the 
period. In fact the practice goes back to the 17th and 18th centuries as well. It was just the way newspapers (and magazines) were laid out, perhaps following some sort of grammatical “rule” of the day. There was also–compared to today–an excessive use of commas within text, which again was just the style of the day.
Perhaps the more interesting question would be when & why was the period eliminated at some point in the 20th century? I would suspect one paper just made the decision and everyone else eventually followed, as there was much competition and copying among newspapers. Sorry I don’t have a more intriguing answer!
If any of our readers have additional information in regards to this, feel free to respond.