I’m New Here, Weeks Five & Six…
March 22, 2019 by Stephanie Williams · Leave a Comment
It’s a great day when you locate an issue that someone is wanting, particularly when they really want it. Usually the request begins with, “There’s probably no chance you have this title, but…” Because of our significant database I can now ascertain the general direction a new search will go, and have learned to further diminish expectations with words like, “Well, you are correct — that is a highly desirable date…” Occasionally, my computer will display little notes or other indicators that this is possibly something I (with assistance) can find. Without raising hopes I mention that it doesn’t look promising but there is something I want to double-check before I give a definitive “no”.
This morning’s call from one of our cheery customers delivered a query for a Harper’s Weekly from 1863. He was looking for Emancipation Proclamation content, although many collectors want that particular issue for the full page Winslow Homer print or the double-page Thomas Nast “The War in the Border States”. I reverently turned the pages to investigate the text in question, and found it free of foxing or damp stains or tears. And then I found something else.
Just beside the historical, monumental words, the Harper’s editor placed or approved a first installment of Wilkie Collins’ No Name. Although I have read his fifth book, I didn’t know that Collins was another contemporary of Dickens and Whitman. I didn’t even know that “Wilkie” was a man. And these little rabbit trails clamored for my attention and had me skimming the assertion by William Makepeace Thackeray on The Woman in White: that it had him “transfixed” – a book that I’d found lengthy and melodramatic upon personal encounter.
I particularly enjoy this multi-layered discovery aspect of collecting/perusing early newspapers, and I grin over the notes back from purchasers describing the bonus treasures. One that came this week included an exclamation over a Gentleman’s Magazine: “R is over the moon as we discovered a paragraph about an intercepted letter from Alexander Hamilton complaining about congress and money! It’s just stunning to read these things as contemporary accounts.”
So, feel free to join the conversation and comment about the amazing things you unexpectedly have in your collection that you never intended to purchase. My own W.C. search is ongoing, as all the commentary I can find is that Collins was serialized in Dicken’s “All The Year Round”, with nary a mention of the great Harper’s. Incidentally, if you are new to this world it might either interest or frustrate you to know the brand encompasses “Harper’s Weekly”,” Harper’s Monthly” (which is also sometimes called “Harper’s New Monthly”), and then the non-newspaper titles of “Harper’s Bazaar” and the various Harper’s books. The Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspaper inventory contains the first two titles and it is there I will be searching for Chapter Two.
At least, that is how it will begin.
Announcing: Catalog #280 (for March, 2019) is now available…
March 4, 2019 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment

- Catalog 280 (in its entirety)
- Noteworthy Catalog 280 ($250+)
- Combined Catalogs (current, w/ remnants of previous)
Don’t forget about this month’s DISCOUNTED ISSUES.
(The catalog 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 #277 (for December, 2018) is now available…
December 1, 2018 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment

- Catalog 277 (in its entirety)
- Noteworthy Catalog 277 ($250+)
- Combined Catalogs (current, w/ remnants of previous)
Don’t forget about this month’s DISCOUNTED ISSUES.
(The catalog 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 #276 (for November, 2018) is now available…
November 1, 2018 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment

- Catalog 276 (in its entirety)
- Noteworthy Catalog 276 ($250+)
- Combined Catalogs (current, w/ remnants of previous)
Don’t forget about this month’s DISCOUNTED ISSUES.
(The catalog 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 #275 (for October, 2018) is now available…
October 1, 2018 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment

- Catalog 275 (in its entirety)
1500-1799 (full view OR quick-scan/compact view)
1800-1899 (full view OR quick-scan/compact” view)
1900-2015 (full view OR quick-scan/compact” view)
- Noteworthy Catalog 275 ($250+)
- Combined Catalogs (current, w/ remnants of previous)
Don’t forget about this month’s DISCOUNTED ISSUES.
(The catalog 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 #274 (for September, 2018) is now available…
August 31, 2018 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment

- Catalog 274 (in its entirety)
1500-1799 (full view OR quick-scan/compact view)
1800-1899 (full view OR quick-scan/compact” view)
1900-2015 (full view OR quick-scan/compact” view)
- Noteworthy Catalog 274 ($250+)
- Combined Catalogs (current, w/ remnants of previous)
Don’t forget about this month’s DISCOUNTED ISSUES.
(The catalog 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 #273 (for August, 2018) is now available…
August 2, 2018 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment

- Catalog 273 (in its entirety)
- Noteworthy Catalog 273 ($250+)
- Combined Catalogs (current, w/ remnants of previous)
Don’t forget about this month’s DISCOUNTED ISSUES.
(The catalog 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 #272 (for July, 2018) is now available…
June 29, 2018 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Rare Newspapers’ monthly offering of collectible newspapers, Catalog 272, is now available. This latest collection of authentic newspapers is comprised of nearly 350 new items. Some of the noteworthy content includes: a great set from Washington on the Dred Scott Decision, a London newspaper on the coronation of the king and queen, the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, the first issue after printing the Declaration of Independence (from Philadelphia!), the Battle of Gettysburg (from close to the battlefield), a splendid map of America from 1763, and more.
To view the above key issues and a whole lot more, go to: Catalog 272
(The catalog 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 #271 (for June, 2018) is now available…
June 1, 2018 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Rare Newspapers’ monthly offering of collectible newspapers, Catalog 271, is now available. This latest collection of authentic newspapers is comprised of nearly 350 new items. Some of the noteworthy content includes: an issue of the American Weekly Mercury (1735), a first report of George Washington’s death, Lee surrenders to Grant at Appomattox, Battle of Bennington (1778), Babe Ruth is sold to the Yankees, the Hindenburg explodes, and more.
To view the above key issues and a whole lot more, go to: Catalog 271
(The catalog 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 #270 (for May, 2018) is now available…
May 2, 2018 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Rare Newspapers’ monthly offering of collectible newspapers, Catalog 270, is now available. This latest collection of authentic newspapers is comprised of nearly 350 new items. Some of the noteworthy content includes: a rare “Royal Gazette” from New York, Washington’s inauguration & inaugural address, a handwritten newspaper from a prison camp, the Battle of Lexington & Concord, a Paul Revere engraving in a Boston newspaper, the Death of Bonnie & Clyde, and more.
To view the above key issues and a whole lot more, go to: Catalog 270
(The catalog links shown above will redirect to the latest catalog in approximately 30 days, upon which time it will update to the most recent catalog.)




