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The Traveler… the wanderer…
January 13, 2011 by The Traveler · Leave a Comment
Today’s journey has landed me in the Connecticut Mirror, dated January 14, 1811, with discussion on West-Florida and a bill before Congress pertaining to the welfare of seamen. The front page of the issue carries important documents between the United States and France, with a message to the House of Representatives signed in type: JAMES MADISON.
There is also an intriguing advertisement, “A Female Wanderer” (see below), which is of a young lady who came into a village about three months prior and was “of mental derangement”. She since has recalled her name (Mary Stevens) and those of her family and past information… but could not recall how she arrived at the village. This ad was being published in hopes “that her friends will lose no time in relieving those individuals, who are protecting and supporting her.”
~ The Traveler
So, what’s a “humhum”?
January 8, 2011 by TimHughes · 2 Comments
This advertisement appeared in the “Middlesex Gazette” of Middletown, Connecticut, on June 13, 1803. I have no idea what a “humhum” is. Do any of you?
Patrick Henry… A mid-19th century view…
November 30, 2010 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Although much has been written about Patrick Henry, a December 18, 1840 issue of the Citizen Soldier, Vermont, gives us a glimpse as to how he was viewed within less than 50 years of his death. The end of the biography has a few extra treats as well. Although quite lengthy… please enjoy:
Don’t tell the kids…
November 27, 2010 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
An article in the August 14, 1840 issue of The Citizen Soldier, Vermont, yields at least one perspective on how to be a successful student. Kids, please don’t try this at home. What does the phrase “having cold feet” mean anyway?
With the holiday season upon us… thanks Bing!
November 25, 2010 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
With the holiday season upon us it is time to dig out and dust off our collections of holiday-themed videos (movies??? Dvd’s???) for their annual viewing. One of our family favorites is Holiday Inn. Who can forget Bing Crosby’s vision:
Lazy
I want to be lazy
I want to be out in the sun
With no work to be done
Under that awning
They call the sky
Stretching and yawning
And let the world go drifting by…
However, before we sell all we have in our quest for the easy life running a New England Inn, or simply immobilize ourselves with longings for the lazy hazy days of Summer, an article we found in the September 4, 1840 issue of The Citizen Soldier (oddly enough – from Vermont) has a different perspective on laziness – providing ample food for thought:
Here’s to good health…
November 20, 2010 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
An article the the September 4, 1840 issue of The Citizen Soldier, Vermont, provides a mid-19th century perspective (advice) for how to acquire good health. Try to imagine the follow-up letters to the editor in response had this appeared within this morning’s paper. Please enjoy:
Old age is relative…
October 23, 2010 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
Enjoy the following, which appeared in an 1857 newspaper:
The Traveler… a hatchet and… a slap in the face…
October 9, 2010 by The Traveler · Leave a Comment
This week I ventured off the date just a bit, but staying within the current week. I began reading through the October 3, 1810 issue of Thomas’s Massachusetts Spy, or Worcester Gazette when a lengthy front page article entitled “An Island of Savage Cannibals” caught my eye. This was from The Fejee Islands, and after reading the article, I have decided that this would definitely not have been on my vacation agenda! For some reason, a part of ransom requested by these people was twelve hatchets??!!
Inside the issue was a small article entitled “Real Bravery” which read “Little Algiers has declared war against France. The independent States of America dare not.“ Now, talk about a slap in the face…
~ The Traveler
A great rarity comes into our inventory…
October 7, 2010 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
One of the more rare items in the world of early newspaper collecting has come into our inventory: a collection of the very first newspaper in Hawaii, including the volume one, number one issue.
Hawaii’s first newspaper was essentially a student newspaper, titled “Ka Lama Hawaii” (The Hawaiian Luminary), done by Protestant missionaries at their school at Lahainaluna on the island of Maui. The missionaries transported a printing press some 18,000 miles around Cape Horn to Hawaii, setting up what would become the very first newspaper building west of the Rocky Mountains. The newspaper was printed in the Hawaiian language on the manually operated flatbed press which could turn out 100 sheets per hour. Content included articles on government, Christian teachings, and in keeping with the educational element, illustrations of exotic animals like the lion, elephant and zebra. The very first issue, dated Feb. 14, 1834, was dominated by an essay on the habits & habitats of the lion.
This newspaper lasted for just these 25 issues printed in 1834, then did not print for several years only to resurrect itself to print just two final issues in January, 1841. Not only is it the first newspaper in Hawaii, but it also predates any newspaper in North America west of the Rocky Mountains.
We felt these rare issues were worth sharing with fellow collectors.
“Keeping” the Commandments…
September 25, 2010 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
The following is an interesting item printed in “The Floridian” newspaper from Tallahassee, August 12, 1848. The “Temperance Aphorisms” which follows it is worth a look as well: