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The University of Pennsylvania makes an interesting discovery…
October 12, 2017 by GuyHeilenman · 2 Comments
As we search old newspapers for specific historic content, we often find unrelated items which catch our interest. In this particular case, as we were scanning an August 4, 1913 issue of the Commercial Appeal (Memphis, Tennessee) looking for coverage of the Leo Frank trial/investigation (which we found), we also discovered an article out of the University of Pennsylvania which announced the finding of hieroglyphics in Nippur which they believe confirmed many of the details of the Biblical account of a Great Flood (see below).
The Traveler… Sox it to them…
October 9, 2017 by The Traveler · Leave a Comment
Last week I traveled today to Boston, Massachusetts by the way of The Boston Globe, October 2, 1967, where the city was celebrating as the “RED SOX Take Pennant As Historic Season Ends”!! “First Title in 21 Years, Face Cardinals Again” “It started out to be a rebuilding year, but it grew faster than a castle in the sky. the Red Sox, with all their youth, are in the World Series after beating the Twins, 5-3, Sunday at Fenway Park…” Unfortunately they did not win the series — not until 2004 when they faced each other again for the title.
~The Traveler
An October, 2017 stroll back thru time – 50, 100, 150, 200, & 250 years ago…
October 5, 2017 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
What news was reported in the month of October – 50, 100, 150, 200, and 250 years ago (1967, 1917, 1867, 1817, 1767)? Such a walk back through time via the eyes of those who read the daily and weekly newspapers of the period can be quite revealing. This is why we often say, “History is never more fascinating than when it’s read from the day it was first reported.” The following links will take you back in time to show the available newspapers from the Rare & Early newspapers website. There’s no need to buy a thing. Simply enjoy the stroll.
Announcing: Catalog #263 (for October, 2017) is now available…
October 2, 2017 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Rare Newspapers’ monthly offering of collectible newspapers, Catalog 263, is now available. This latest collection of authentic newspapers is comprised of nearly 350 new items. Some of the noteworthy content includes:
• Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address…
• The Declaration of Independence…
• 1776 “Boston Gazette” with the Paul Revere engraving…
• Terrific issue on the death of Marilyn Monroe…
• Print of the slave ship, with slaves…
• The Civil War begins…
To view the above key issues and a whole lot more, go to: Catalog 263
(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.)
An absolutely bizarre death report from 1911…
September 21, 2017 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Mark Twain is credited with posing: ““Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn’t.” If a report our staff discovered on the back page of a Fitchburg Sentinel for October 28, 1911 is any indication… score one for Mr. Twain. View the photo below to see if you agree.
A September, 2017 stroll back thru time – 50, 100, 150, 200, & 250 years ago…
September 4, 2017 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
What news was reported in the month of September – 50, 100, 150, 200, and 250 years ago (1967, 1917, 1867, 1817, 1767)? Such a walk back through time via the eyes of those who read the daily and weekly newspapers of the period can be quite revealing. This is why we often say, “History is never more fascinating than when it’s read from the day it was first reported.” The following links will take you back in time to show the available newspapers from the Rare & Early newspapers website. There’s no need to buy a thing. Simply enjoy the stroll.
Announcing: Catalog #262 (for September, 2017) is now available…
September 1, 2017 by GuyHeilenman · 2 Comments
Rare Newspapers’ monthly offering of collectible newspapers, Catalog 262, is now available. This latest collection of authentic newspapers is comprised of nearly 350 new items. Some of the noteworthy content includes:
• Newsbook dated 1548
• Boston newspaper with a report on the Battle of Bunker Hill
• A more rare edition of the Herald on Lincoln’s assassination
• Washington’s inaugural address
• Illustration shows the Lincoln assassination
• Confederate newspaper from Houston, Texas
To view the above key issues and a whole lot more, go to: Catalog 262
(The catalog links shown above will redirect to the latest catalog in approximately 30 days.)
The Day the Music Died? Mother Theresa dies… Princess Diana is laid to rest…
August 24, 2017 by GuyHeilenman · 3 Comments
On February 3, 1959, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper died in a plane crash shortly after takeoff, and inspired one of the most recognizable tunes of all time: American Pie (Bye, bye Miss American Pie), by Don Mclean – a song he says was inspired by his reaction to reading the account of the crash in the morning paper. Fast forward nearly 20 years to the morning paper for September 6, 1997, and one can only imagine the emotions evoked by the duel headlines: “The World Mourns Diana” and “Revered Mother Teresa Dies”. Two people – one young, one old… one living in abundance, one living in squalor… one with the soft skin of a new-born babe, one with wrinkles upon wrinkles… one incredibly rich, one overwhelmingly poor – yet both committed to making a difference in the lives of the needy… the infirm… the neglected… the destitute. In the blink of an eye, both passed into eternity, leaving a mantle just begging to be picked up by those whose lives they had touched.
What about you? What about me? Truth be told, we’re all just Candles in the Wind. What acts of kindness, goodness, and humble service are filling our days while our candles are still burning? Stirred emotions can be a salve for the soul if they lead to action. Have you picked up their mantel? Have I? Who among us is selflessly helping those who are unable to help themselves?
Yet another set of heart-challenging thoughts (questions) ran through my mind as my damp eyes leafed through the pages of The Arizona Republic (September 6, 1997), passed over the various images of Princess Di and Mother Teresa, absorbed the printed lyrics of The Candle in the Wind (by Elton John), and settled on the photo of the two, together, only months prior to their deaths:
What song does Mother Teresa get? Princess Di gets “A Candle in the Wind”, and the Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper get “American Pie”, but what about Mother Teresa? Who sings for her? And the 2nd question…
If February 3, 1959 is The Day The Music Died, then what is September 6th (or 5th), 1997? I’d love to know your thoughts.
“Texas Made A Nation” was the result of Operation Longhorn…
August 17, 2017 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
Occasionally an “odd-ball” newspaper comes into our inventory, and our “Lampasas Dispatch” is certainly one. With a dateline of “Juvember 33, 1969” (not a typo on our part) and a banner headline announcing: “TEXAS MADE A NATION” we knew this wasn’t a legitimate newspaper. The masthead also includes: “For Maneuver Purposes Only—This Publication Created for Operation Long Horn–Not Intended For General Distribution.” So with a bit of searching on the web we soon learned of the story behind this newspaper.
See this website for much more on “Operation Longhorn“. The site begins: “In the spring of 1952, as Cold War tensions heightened, Lampasas Countians’ worst fears seemingly materialized, as “enemy troops” stormed the area, “captured” Lampasas and declared martial law. The U.S. military simulation, dubbed “Operation Longhorn,” was just a test…One of the largest peacetime military exercises ever implemented in the United States, Operation Longhorn took place in March and April 1952, and cost an estimated $3.3 million“.
This is just a single sheet with the reverse being page 8 of the “Lampasas Dispatch” April 3, 1952, coinciding with the date of Operation Longhorn. A fascinating fictitious newspaper from a long-forgotten event in American history.
Ticktock, ticktock, ticktock, ticktock…
August 14, 2017 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
What do Grace Kelly, Gene Kelly, Lillian Gish, Ruby Keeler, Gergory Peck, Henry Fonda, Stanley Kubrick, Madeline Kahn, DeForest Kelley, Fay Wray, Michael Landon, Dalton Trumbo, Sal Mineo, Robert Mitchum, 
Anne Baxter, Rock Hudson, Orson Welles, Barbara Stanwyck, Ava Gardner, Greta Garbo, John Candy, Burt Lancaster, Anthony Perkins, Audrey Hepburn, Liberace, Cab Calloway, John Candy, Marlene Dietrich, Dean Martin, Orson Wells, Anne Baxter, Ava Gardner, William Holden, Ginger Rogers, Lana Turner, Gilda Radner, Fred Astaire, Rita Hayworth, Cary Grant, Mary Pickford, Bette Davis, Natalie Wood, Robert Shaw, Alfred Hitchcock, Andy Kaufman, Jackie Gleason, Charlie Chaplin, Joan Crawford, John Belushi, Jimmy Stewart, and Steve McQueen all have in common? Answer: There was a time when they were each on top of the world – adored by millions, and thanks to the silver screen’s ability to capture them in their prime, they seemed as if they would live forever. However, truth be told, the clock strikes midnight for everyone – regardless of their fame.
Over the past few months this reality was brought home to the staff at Rare & Early Newspapers as we discovered the death reports of some of the most famous Hollywood celebrities of all time – nearly all within Los Angeles newspapers. As Mark Twain not-so-subtly revealed through Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, and Frank Capra reinforced through the eyes of George Bailey (Jimmy Stewart – shown above) in It’s A Wonderful Life, sometimes a glimpse at the brevity of life can be a healing, re-purposing salve for the soul. With this in mind, please enjoy(?): Death Reports of the Hollywood Famous