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The Traveler… senseless tragedy…
August 1, 2016 by The Traveler · Leave a Comment
Today I traveled to New York City by the way of The New York Times dated August 2, 1966. There I found tragedy had stuck the campus of University of Texas. “An architectural honor student who had been undergoing psychiatric care carried an arsenal of rifles and pistols to the top of the 27-story University of Texas tower today and shot 12 persons to death before the police killed him. The student’s wife and mother were later found dead in their homes… The police identified the man as Charles J. Whitman…”. In all, he had shot an additional 34 people.
~The Traveler
The Holocaust… Truth be told…
July 28, 2016 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
TRUE: The Nazis inflicted unspeakable atrocities on millions upon millions of people.
TRUE: Most of the world was shocked as details of the horrors were revealed after the war.
FALSE: The Nazis’ agenda was a deep-kept secret.
FALSE: Remaining silent and/or turning a blind eye to evil makes it go away.
How could the Hitler-orchestrated holocaust have happened without the world’s knowledge? Since the end of WWII many have distanced themselves from complicity due to inaction. Nations and individuals both often declare they had no idea such atrocities were taking place – stating evidence of Adolph Hitler’s extreme intentions were kept under wraps. However, truth be told, the entire world was not unaware of Hitler’s desire and willingness to do whatever it took to create a so-called “pure” race. Articles regarding his agenda reached American newspapers as far back as the early 1930’s. 
This point was recently brought to our attention as we were perusing the New York Times for December 8, 1931. There we found a front page report with the two-column heading: “Nazis’ Would Assure Nordic Dominance, Sterilize Some Races, Ban Miscegenation”, with considerable details to follow. Perhaps the world didn’t realize the extent of the horrors that were occurring, but this article, as well as a score of others, certainly should not have gone unnoticed.
This certainly begs the question: “Are similar atrocities happening today? Are other mass-forms of oppression, brutality, or worse taking place within our reach? We can look away, but a verse from the Bible reminds us: “Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it (James 4:17).” We may put our head in the sand, but we are not without excuse. Hopefully the truth regarding our past mistakes will spur us to proper action today.
The Traveler… born to raise !%@#…
July 18, 2016 by The Traveler · Leave a Comment
Today I traveled to New York City through The New York Times dated July 18, 1966. The headline was announcing “Suspect in 8 Killings to Get Hearing Today”. “Richard Franklin Speck, the suspect in the slaying of eight women in a nurses’ dormitory last Thursday, was under heavy guard today. Speck was taken into custody early this morning after he had been raced from a skid row hotel to Cook County Hospital for treatment of self-inflicted arm wounds in an attempted suicide… The police were guarding against a possible assassination attempt…”
The surgeon caring for Speck’s wounds is the person that positively identified him and had the police called. Shortly before he saw Speck, he had read the newspaper article and saw his photo. “…I picked up his head and looked at the nurse to see if she had noticed. I said to her, ‘Get the paper.’ I remembered the tattoo… Born to Raise Hell… Then he moistened his finger tips and began rubbing the patient’s left arm and disclosed the tell-tale marking…”. Later Speck asked the doctor what he was going to do with the $10,000 reward.
~The Traveler
Don’t believe everything you read… Hitler rise to power unlikely!
July 14, 2016 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
One of my favorite quotes regarding the internet, but whose founding warning-principle is rooted in print media is:
“The problem with internet quotes is that you can’t always depend on their accuracy.” -Abraham Lincoln, 1864
You simply cannot believe everything you read, hear, and in some cases, see. In most instances the misinformation is at least somewhat unintentional. However, sometimes even the well-intended get it wrong – including the so-called experts. Such is the case with a report in the August 16, 1932 edition of the New York Times. The heading in question reads: “Hitler Dictatorship In Reich Held Unlikely“. Just to be sure the heading would not be misinterpreted, a segment of the corresponding text states: “…the probability of Adolph Hitler and the National Socialists gaining power in Germany was not strong…” Let’s just say Frederick J. E. Woodbridge, an esteemed professor of American History at the University of Berlin, was a bit off the mark.
The put it in print… Killing them with kindness?
July 11, 2016 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
The August 15, 1945 “Evening Standard” newspaper from London, on the day they reported the surrender of Japan to end World War II, included an extract from a Reuter’s message quoting Admiral Halsey on the end of the war: “…Looks like the war is over. Cease firing, but if you see any enemy planes in the air shoot them down in a friendly fashion.”
A July, 2016 stroll back thru time – 50, 100, 150, 200, & 250 years ago…
July 1, 2016 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
What news was reported in the month of July – 50, 100, 150, 200, and 250 years ago (1966, 1916, 1866, 1816, 1766)? 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.
Movie Prop Newspaper… Can you identify the movie (round 1)?
June 23, 2016 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Movie prop newspapers are exactly that – newspapers which have been created for the purpose of being used within a specific movie. In some instances they are created using an authentic (actual) newspaper from the period in question, and splice-in content that meets the movie’s needs. In other instances a newspaper if created from scratch. Both are collectible and are typically hard to come by since only a handful were originally printed. We’ve had the privilege of having a few to offer over the years, but a new set of movie-prop issues has us (Rare & Early Newspapers) perplexed. We simply do not know from which movies they came. How do we know they are actually movie-prop issues?
- The actual titles do not exist.
- The paper upon which they are printed does not quite match the era from which they supposedly came.
- They were included as part of the Richard Robinson Collection (see https://blog.rarenewspapers.com/?p=7359), which included several properly identified movie prop issues.
So now the fun begins. Can anyone definitively state the movie from which the movie prop newspaper shown below (The Record Herald) came from? 
Note: Since this post was initially published, we’ve posted several additional movie prop issues. These posts may be viewed at: Unidentified Movie Prop Newspapers
The Traveler… getting benched…
June 6, 2016 by The Traveler · Leave a Comment
Today I traveled to New York City by the way of The New York Times dated June 6, 1916. I found that history took place in Washington, D.C. “Every available seat in the courtroom of the United States Supreme Court was occupied at noon today when Louis D. Brandeis of Boston took his seat on the bench as an Associate Justice of that august tribunal… Chief Justice White, rising announced the appointment of Mr. Brandeis,… then announce the readiness of Mr. Brandeis to take the judicial oath, which was administered,… Justice Brandeis was then escorted by Frank Key Green, the Marshal of the court, to his seat on the extreme left of the bench. Members of the court bowed as he passed…. Mr. Brandeis took his seat…”.
Mr. Brandeis was the first Jewish Supreme Court Justice, which was bitterly contested as he “…was a militant crusader for social justice whoever his opponent might be. He was dangerous not only because of his brilliance, his arithmetic, his courage. He was dangerous because he was incorruptible . . . [and] the fears of the Establishment were greater because Brandeis was the first Jew to be named to the Court.” He was eventually confirmed by the Senate by a vote of 47 to 22 in 1916, to become one of the most famous and influential figures ever to serve on the high court. His opinions were, according to legal scholars, some of the “greatest defenses” of freedom of speech and the right to privacy ever written by a member of the Supreme Court…” per wikipedia.
~The Traveler
A June, 2016 stroll back thru time – 50, 100, 150, 200, & 250 years ago…
June 2, 2016 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
What news was reported in the month of June – 50, 100, 150, 200, and 250 years ago (1966, 1916, 1866, 1816, 1766)? 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.
Great Headlines Speak For Themselves… Yet others… The Manson Murders…
May 9, 2016 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Over the past few years we have listed a series of posts titled: “Great Headlines Speak For Themselves,” with the first line being: “The best headlines need no commentary.” However, in some instances history would prove other headlines to be grossly understated. Such is the case of the headline on one of the most desirable newspapers reporting the horrific murders which would eventually be attributed to Charles Manson and some of his followers. While still dramatic, the initial (false) implication of the house pool boy, relative to the actual truth regarding the murders, deflates the historical impact of many “1st-report” headlines as illustrated in The Herald Examiner, Los Angeles, August 10, 1969.