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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47 years as both a collector and reseller of “Rare & Early” newspapers, you can imagine we have unearthed a ton of historical content.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.
Snapshot 1927 – An unexpected, dystopian gem…
February 3, 2022 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
What are the top ten most influential movies of all time? Depending upon the criteria used to define “most influential”, the lists could look quite different, but my guess is 1927’s Metropolis would fly under the radar of most people’s thinking. Yet, Wikipedia has the following to say about this (hidden?) gem: “Metropolis is now widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential films ever made, ranking 35th in Sight & Sound’s 2012 critics’ poll. In 2001, the film was inscribed on UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register, the first film thus distinguished.” Not bad.
We recently discovered an advertisement and review of this masterpiece in a New York Times dated March 6, 1927. At the time of this post it was listed on eBay, however, if it is no longer available for viewing through its eBay listing, you can read more about it on Wikipedia or our website. 
Under the Radar (June, 1921 Edition) – “Abe, The Newsboy”…
January 10, 2022 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Who in the world is “Abe, New Newsboy”?
While reading an original issue of The Day, New London, CT, for June 4, 1921, I came across an interesting article about someone I did not recognize: Abraham Hollandersky, who had just received a letter from Teddy Roosevelt – the text of which was included in the issue. Rather than spoil the fun, you can read more about this interesting individual here. Enjoy.
Fascinating Conspiracies (Episode 3)… Coup d’état
January 3, 2022 by LauraH · Leave a Comment
The following may feel a bit 3rd-Worldish, however, we have had our own attempted coup d’état right here in the USA … and not so long ago – as reported in the Omaha Bee, November 21, 1934.
“The Business Plot (also called the Wall Street Putsch and The White House Putsch) was a political conspiracy in 1933 in the United States to overthrow the government of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and install a dictator. Retired Marine Corps Major General Smedley Butler asserted that wealthy businessmen were plotting to create a fascist veterans’ organization with Butler as its leader and use it in a coup d’état to overthrow Roosevelt. In 1934, Butler testified under oath before the United States House of Representatives Special Committee on Un-American Activities (the “McCormack–Dickstein Committee”) on these revelations. Although no one was prosecuted, the Congressional committee final report said, “there is no question that these attempts were discussed, were planned, and might have been placed in execution when and if the financial backers deemed it expedient.”
Early in the committee’s gathering of testimony most major news media dismissed the plot, with a New York Times editorial falsely characterizing it as a “gigantic hoax”. Reporting changed when the final report was issued.
While historians have questioned whether or not a coup was actually close to execution, most agree that some sort of “wild scheme” was contemplated and discussed” (Wiki)
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+)
-
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.
The Village Voice, U2, Hitler – The sky is falling!
December 10, 2021 by Stephanie Williams · Leave a Comment
Many children of the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s grew up with the threat of nuclear war hanging over their heads. From “Dr. Strangelove” to “The Day After” – the annual death-march of dystopian movies capsulized the vague dread that everything could end at any moment; or worse still, that the end could begin at any moment — with all of the indeterminate, lingering fallout and devastation. Discussions took place about whether it would be better to live close to a big city that was bound to be a target and promised immediate annihilation, or further out where radiation sickness might destroy. It was a gruesome topic made more appalling by resigned acceptance.
The pop culture of that era seemed to feed one of two perspectives: distraction or depth. Such publications as The Village Voice articulated both positions. The May 24, 1983 review of U2’s album “Peace with Honor”, contains an editorial observation that has very little to do with the music.
“Though I was born one week after the atomic bomb was dropped on people, I have always expected to live out my appointed days. But recently it’s been evident that large numbers of teenagers, adolescents, even children now fully expect that their appointments will be cancelled by person or persons unknown, so a vast, anti-militarist ground swell isn’t much of a surprise.”
Note: To add to the uneasiness of the era, a few pages earlier The Voice included an article highlighting the life of Adolf Hitler.
Whether or not you agree with the distinct bias of The Voice, it certainly holds an important value as being an accurate representation of the angst of the generation — and it did so for a few generations.
Nostalgia inspired by a Great Storyteller…
December 6, 2021 by LauraH · Leave a Comment
The other day I read a quote by someone who asked, “Is it wrong to be nostalgic for a time before you were born?” I may have actually whispered “Hmmm” to myself as I pondered the question. The truth is, when you are surrounded daily by newspapers which tell of events from years long before you were born, one finds oneself bouncing back and forth between a sense of nostalgia and relief – pining after a day when life was a bit slower and less complicated, and moments later being thankful for not having lived through some of the greatest horrors humanity has endured.
Today the scale tipped to nostalgia as I was scanning an issue of The Christian Science Monitor for March 29, 1909 and came across an article featuring an author who’s children’s stories brought me as much delight as a child as they did children of his day. Joel Chandler Harris had the gift of story telling and teaching important lessons to his readers of all ages. Sometimes a sense of nostalgia can reach back decades or even centuries.
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.
The 1st Amendment – from 1789 to 1961 to…?
November 29, 2021 by LauraH · Leave a Comment
On January 8, 1789, Thomas Jefferson wrote a letter to Richard Price, a Welsh moral philosopher, Nonconformist minister and mathematician. In his letter he expressed the following, “Whenever the people are well informed, they can be trusted with their own government; that whenever things get so far wrong as to attract their notice, they may be relied on to set them to rights.” This belief that the American people, when well informed, were capable of identifying right and choosing it, sits as the core of the 1st Amendment foundation of free speech and freedom of the press.
Flash forward to a spring day in April 1961 when the current American president, John F Kennedy, spoke to The American Newspaper Publishers Association. Hear, in his closing words as printed in The New York Times for April 28, 1961, the same reverence for the right of the American people to know the facts as was voiced by his predecessor over a century and a half before:
“It is the unprecedented nature of this challenge that also gives rise to your second obligation–an obligation which I share. And that is our obligation to inform and alert the American people–to make certain that they possess all the facts that they need, and understand them as well–the perils, the prospects, the purposes of our program and the choices that we face.
No President should fear public scrutiny of his program. For from that scrutiny comes understanding; and from that understanding comes support or opposition. And both are necessary. I am not asking your newspapers to support the Administration, but I am asking your help in the tremendous task of informing and alerting the American people. For I have complete confidence in the response and dedication of our citizens whenever they are fully informed.”
As a lover of history, especially as it is chronicled within the pages of newspapers, I am always thankful our founders understood how necessary freedom of speech and a free press are to maintaining a free republic. It is encouraging to see our government voice a passion in support of this pillar of Democracy for nearly 200 years. Hopefully We The People will not be silenced and will not permit this inalienable right to be gutted.
Snapshot 1909… The American Spirit takes flight…
November 1, 2021 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
It is easy to assume the 1903 “first flight” in Kitty Hawk instantly made Wilbur and Orville Wright household names, but the truth is this momentous event was ignored by many newspapers, and even when it did appear the coverage was minimal and often buried on an inside page. Sadly, this trend continued for several years, with the newspapers in France being a notable exception. However, continued progress with their experiments in flight, coupled with the setting of one record after another, eventually led to them receiving the recognition they deserved. Although a hair more than 5 years after their historic flight in Kitty Hawk, the January 2, 1909 Scientific American, published shortly after the Wright brothers won the first-ever Michelin Cup, included one of the most eloquent tributes of the era – words which embody what was once meant by “The American Spirit”, and continue to stand tall as a recipe for meaningful achievement. 