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FACT OR FICTION? St. Patrick Drives Snakes Out of Ireland…
March 17, 2025 by Laura Heilenman · Leave a Comment
Myth & lore are always fascinating and are usually some combination of fact & fiction. St. Patrick’s story certainly falls into this category. Did he in really drive all snakes out of Ireland? Were there even snakes in Ireland to be driven out? Were these metaphoric serpents? Did he instead drive out cults who worshiped snakes? So many questions with no tangible evidence for answers; however, as with most lore, the essence is often true: He was a bold man bravely standing against evil in an area of the World which desperately needed light. Whatever your thoughts of St. Patrick and his story might be, perhaps this St. Patrick’s Day we can all celebrate the themes of “good over evil” and bravely taking a stand. Now those are ideas I can raise a pint to. Enjoy the following full-page print which was found in a Chicago Sunday Tribune from 1935:
Announcing: Catalog #352 for March 2025 – Rare & Early Newspapers…
February 28, 2025 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.]
Setting the Mood – Music Content in Newspapers…
February 21, 2025 by Laura Heilenman · Leave a Comment
We often receive calls from collectors requesting an issue with content concerning an individual musician or group. Without a doubt, as the search of our data base begins, so does the artist’s/group’s “top 10 songs list” on my Spotify account… most definitely if the genre is Jazz. After all, who doesn’t want to be transported to a dimly lit scat club in the middle of the workday? Such was the case the afternoon a request came for a newspaper with coverage of the death of jazz pianist Oscar Peterson. As I type this post, his version of “Love is Here to Stay” is quietly playing in our Rare Newspapers office. While the LOS ANGELES TIMES, from Dec. 25, 2007 was quickly snapped up, we do have an additional copy for anyone interested in this master of “setting the mood”. If Jazz isn’t your thing, I am sure we have a newspaper with content from almost any artist and genre you can imagine. While you are pondering what your favorite might be, why not give Oscar Peterson a listen. You won’t be disappointed!
Celebrating Our History – Washington’s Birthday…
February 17, 2025 by Laura Heilenman · Leave a Comment
On a chilling February day during the Revolutionary War, the battle stopped long enough for Martha Washington and General Washington’s men to serenade him on his birthday. Although he would not become president for many years to come, no one can argue this was a (ok, an) historic celebration of Washington’s birthday. [Note: From this point on varying states did celebrate Washington’s birthday to honor our 1st Commander and Chief, however, Congress didn’t solidify this as a national holiday until 1879, and it wasn’t until 1885 the observance was extended to provide a day off for Federal workers (i.e., when it became a Federal Holiday). Many decades later Washington’s Birthday was combined with Lincoln’s to create what we now observe as President’s Day.
On February 20, 1885, THE NEW YORK TIMES had an interesting article noting that local Assemblymen had requested 3 1/2 days off to fully recover from the festivities. Perhaps it was this mindset which later caused the Federal Government to permanently link some holidays to a weekend, therefore allowing for plenty of time for all citizens to recover from the revelry and other raucous activities which are commonplace with such celebrations.
Confession: To-date I have yet to wake-up the morning after President’s Day with bloodshot eyes. It appears I need to up my celebratory game.
This Month in History – February…
February 3, 2025 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Today “This Month in History” turns the spotlight on the shortest month of the year – February. While searching through the available newspapers in order to select one to use as the representative photo, my initial short-list of possibilities included newspapers featuring coverage of the St. Valentine’s Day massacre in Chicago, the sinking of the Battleship Maine (which led to the Spanish-American War), the Death of Geronimo, the assassination of Malcolm X, and similar. As I pondered which to pick, it occurred to me all of my selections were focused on the reporting of “bad news”. Wishing to take a different approach, I searched again for reports of positive events and discovered coverage of the passage of the 15th Amendment, the founding of The Boy Scouts of America, Nelson Mandela’s release from prison, one with a mention of the opening of the first publicly funded school in the U.S., Abraham Lincoln’s famous “Cooper Union” speech, and more. Finally, after much consideration, I landed on the perfect choice – a newspaper announcing…
If you think this was a poor or inappropriate selection you probably haven’t seen the movie. While it may not be anywhere close to the most important, historic, or “collectible” newspaper published in the month of February, it nails the age-old proverb regarding a cure for much of what ails us: “A cheerful heart is good medicine…” (Proverbs 17:22).
So, as you take a gander at the list of newspapers published in the month of February, although a smidge belated, the Rare & Early Newspapers Family wishes you a cheerful and healthy New Year!
NEWSPAPERS PUBLISHED IN FEBRUARY
Announcing: Catalog #351 for February 2025 – Rare & Early Newspapers…
January 31, 2025 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.]
This Month in History – January…
January 10, 2025 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
When considering the month of January, what historical events come to mind? Perhaps Lincoln signing the final version of the Emancipation Proclamation, Fidel Castro seizing power in Cuba, the discovery of King Tut’s sarcophagus, Greenland becoming America’s 51st U.S. (joking, but Alaska did become the 49th state in the month of January), the first U.S. commercial bank’s opening in Philadelphia, the ratification of the 11th Amendment, and/or cigarettes finally declared to be hazardous to one’s health would be among your list. Whereas reading books about such events is common practice – and if well-written, informative, reading the actual newspaper accounts of these events within 24 hours of their occurrence within the context of other news of the day has the power to provide a breadth and depth of understanding which is hard to achieve through other primary sources.
The link below will take you to a chronological list (1600’s-20th century) of our currently available newspapers from the month of January. There’s no need to buy anything. Simply enjoy your trek through time via the eyes of those who were present.
NEWSPAPERS PUBLISHED IN JANAURY
Announcing: Catalog #350 for January, 2025 – Rare & Early Newspapers for collectors…
January 3, 2025 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
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January’s
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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.]
Snapshot 19xx – The Youngest Olympic Gold Medalist EVER!
December 9, 2024 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Without searching the internet (or scrolling to see the images below), who do you think is the youngest Olympic athlete to ever win a gold medal in an individual event (i.e., not a team sport or relay)? If you are unsure, would you guess the youngest to be a male or female? How about their country… or the event (sport) tin which they competed?
I purposely left out the year in the heading – otherwise some might have guessed Nadia Comaneci (she is actually ranked as the 7th youngest) or Klaus Zerta (who comes in at #2 and remains the youngest male). We found a newspaper with a report in a New York Times dated August 13, 1936 telling of 13-year-old Marjorie Gestring (13 years, 267 days) who still holds the top spot.
Note: There is a younger female (also 13, but 180 days younger), but she (Kim Yun-Mi) won her gold medal as a member of a relay team.
Details: Marjorie was a springboard diver from the United States who earned her Olympic gold in the 3-meter woman’s event in Berlin – the infamous games in where Jesse Owens (along with others) put a crimp in Hitler’s efforts to demonstrate the superiority of German genetics. To add to the check-back, the games were the first to be televised.
The following is a photo of the coverage of Marjorie’s accomplishment:
“Guess & Click” – 1920’s Edition…
December 6, 2024 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
“Guess & Click” – a little game where I pose a question, you make a guess without using any on-line resources, and then you click on “View Answer” to find out if you were correct. Note: I intentionally left out the word “trivia” since some of the subject matter covered in this or future similar posts may not be trivial.
Ready to play?
In the early 1920’s, who was the richest per capita people group in the entire world?
Once you have your answer, click on the following link: “VIEW ANSWER”
Were you surprised? I know I was.