Rare Newspapers… What to collect?

March 31, 2011 by · 1 Comment 

There are an infinite number of ways to approach collecting rare newspapers.  The History’s Newsstand Blog is pregnant with suggestions.  Over the course of the next several months we will begin to explore the topic in earnest.  For those who are new to the hobby, and are anxious to explore what has been written to-date, the following links are to help bring you up to speed:

Feel free to share your thoughts on ideas for collecting rare and early newspapers: themes, eras, topics, etc.

20th century newspapers… revisited…

January 4, 2010 by · Leave a Comment 

Over the past month, Timothy Hughes has explored his thoughts concerning what he believes to be the top ten newspapers from each of the pre-18th, 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries (see below), the most recent being the latter. Some of his thoughts concerning historic newspapers from the 1900’s were captured in the following video:

Collecting authentic rare and historic newspapers from the 1900’s can be exciting, rewarding and surprisingly affordable. From the Wright brothers inaugural flight in 1903…to today’s routine shuttle hops to the orbiting space station, no other period in history bore greater witness to man’s capacity for brilliance, innovation, depravity, strife, compassion and technological ingenuity…than the 20th Century. And with this ingenuity came remarkable visibility into the daily lives of our parents and grandparents, through newspapers.

Each single page from the vast 20th Century archive of Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers brings this amazing century to life: from World War I, Prohibition, the Great Depression, World War II, onward… newspapers of the 20th century bring it all to daily account, from those who lived it!

Of course, many original newspapers documenting this century’s “turning-points” command premium prices (Titanic, Crash of 29, P. Harbor, V-E/V-J Day, Dewey Def Truman, Oil Strike, San Franc Earthquake, etc.)… but most other original and historical 20th century newspapers remain available for much less than you might think. At Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers, you can still own original editions recounting key events of the gangster era of the 20’s and 30’s, World War II, the industrial revolution, Korean War, the automobile, the golden age of Hollywood and beyond.

We also offer obscure original editions that are perfect gifts to commemorate a friend or loved-one’s birthday, marriage, graduation, or other event. They’ll love reading about what else was in the news back on their special day!

Whether your interest is in World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the golden age of Hollywood, the gangster era, a view of how life looked on the day you were born, etc., original newspapers provide an excellent view of history in context. History is never more fascinating than when when it’s read from the day it was first reported. If you love history… you deserve to have it in your hands. Rare newspapers make this possible. Please enjoy.

Top ten newspapers: “20th century”…

Top ten newspapers: 19th century…

Top ten newspapers: 18th century…

Top ten newspapers: 16th and 17th centuries…

19th century newspapers… revisited…

December 26, 2009 by · 1 Comment 

Over the past three weeks Timothy Hughes has explored his thoughts concerning what he believes to be the top ten newspapers from each of the pre-18th, 18th, and 19 centuries (see below), the most recent being the latter.  Some of his thoughts concerning the 1800’s historic newspapers were captured in the following video:

Collecting authentic rare and historic newspapers from the 1800’s can be exciting, rewarding and surprisingly affordable. Daily newspaper reports of America’s tumultuous 19th Century included first hand accounts of historic turning-points like….. the Louisiana Purchase…the Civil War…and Spanish-American conflict. As cries of “manifest destiny” signaled America’s unbridled expansion west, newspapers became a crucial link for a people suddenly united in a common quest that would set their young nation on a course of unprecedented and historic prosperity.

There are many sought after “holy grails” from the 19th century, including: o President Abraham Lincoln’s Assassination o Battle of Gettysburg and the Gettysburg Address o Battle of the Alamo o Deaths of Jessie James and Billy the Kid o Issue from Tombstone Arizona (Tombstone Epitaph) o Winslow Homer’s “Snap the Whip”

Of course, select accounts of the most historic & desired events of 19th century America are available for premium prices.

However, a wealth of fascinating original newspapers from the vast inventory of Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers are available for much less…often as little as $30 – $50. These include first-hand news from the War of 1812, Yankee & Confederate Civil War battle reports, slave ads from the South, the California Gold Rush with outlaw & Indian battle accounts, the Mormon migration to Utah and fascinating reports of when baseball was in its infancy.

The “Old West” and America’s westward expansion are represented in genuine newspapers from California, Utah, Nevada, Montana, and Arizona. You’ll also find affordable issues from the illustrated press which graphically documented every aspect of 19th century America in the pages of Harper’s Weekly, Frank Leslie’s Illustrated, Gleason’s, Ballou’s, and The London Illustrated News.

Whether your interest is in the War of 1812, westward expansion and the gold rush, the Civil War, and/or the Wild West, original newspapers provide an excellent view of history in context. History is never more fascinating than when when it’s read from the day it was first reported. If you love history… you deserve to have it in your hands. Rare newspapers make this possible. Please enjoy the hobby.

Top ten newspapers: 16th and 17th centuries…

Top ten newspapers: 18th century…

Top ten newspapers: 19th century…

18th century & pre-18th century newspapers… revisited…

December 17, 2009 by · Leave a Comment 

Over the past two weeks Timothy Hughes has explored his thoughts on what he believes to be the top ten pre-18th century and the top ten 18th century newspapers (see below).  Some of these thoughts were captured in the following video:

Collecting authentic rare and historic newspapers from the 1500’s – 1700’s can be exciting, rewarding and surprisingly affordable. British titles such as the London Gazette, London Chronicle, Gentleman’s Magazine and more, are all available for much less than you would expect, as are their American counterparts, the Columbian Centinel, Dunlap’s Daily American Advertiser, Concord Herald, and more.

Whether your interest is in the Colonial Era or the Revolutionary War Era, or extends to the 1500’s and/or 1600’s, original newspapers provide an excellent view of history in context. History is never more fascinating than when when it’s read from the day it was first reported. If you love history… you deserve to have it in your hands. Rare and early historic newspapers make this possible.  Please enjoy the hobby!

Top ten newspapers: 16th and 17th centuries…

Top ten newspapers: 18th century…

Top 10 lists…

December 3, 2009 by · Leave a Comment 

Top 10 lists are always fun to consider.  Their strength is in their ability to generate thought, reflection, and opinion.  We all acknowledge that no two top ten lists are the same, and whereas going to experts in the field may add a certain level of credibility to a list, even an amateur/novice can bring food for thought to the discussion.  Everyone has an opinion, and each and every opinion has some some value.  In the end, the greatest benefit may well be in the journey traveled as we formulate and consider both our own views as well as the views of others.

It is with this in mind we plan to offer 4 top ten lists over the course of the next four Mondays.  The focus will be on giving thought to the top ten most historic newspapers from each of the following eras:  17th century and earlier (12/7/2009), 18th century (12/14/2009), 19th century (12/21/2009), and 20th century & beyond (12/28/2009).  In some cases we may choose a specific newspaper title (any date), realizing that having any issue of the title is of note.  In other instances we may focus on a specific title and date of a newspaper – these being the “holy grails” of the hobby.  Yet in other cases we’ll include a more general top ten entry, focusing on the event itself, acknowledging that finding any newspaper coverage of the event is noteworthy.

As we proceed through the month, we invite both reactions to our lists and the submission of your own “top tens”.

OnLine-SchoolIn an effort to help kick-start your walk into the past, we invite you to enjoy a recent post which appeared on OnLineSchool.net titled, “100 Great Moments in American History You Can Catch on YouTube”, by Amber Johnson:  (http://onlineschool.net/2009/11/18/100-great-moments-in-american-history-you-can-catch-on-youtube/).

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