#21 – Pricing newspapers over 30 years ago… (*revisited)

March 7, 2014 by · Leave a Comment 
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pricing_issues_iiIn conversations with people about how I started this business, a common question is, “How did you know how to prices newspapers back then?” Well, the short answer is I didn’t.

This venture started as a hobby with no thought of it turning into a business. But when I started getting too many of a similar title or date, selling off the “unwanteds” became a more common occurrence. My simple thought was, if I had $3 for it, try to sell it for $5. If I did, the price stuck for future issues; if it didn’t, the price dropped to $4.

But this became trickier years later when I was buying for resale but didn’t have enough experience to know what to pay, nor what to price them at. Nor did anyone for that matter, as there were no price guides, nor sufficient auction records to offer a clue.

I was flying by the seat of my pants. If I thought an event was historic, say a major Civil War battle, I would pay the $5 price and increase it by 50% or so. If it sold, then the next time I inched it up a bit more. If it didn’t, I reduced the price a bit. Never knowing how high customers might go for an event, I might have “inched up” the price of an event 15 times over the coarse of 4 or 5 years until there was some resistance. I was careful to keep records of sales through the years–even in the pre-computer days–which was a tremendous assistance in assigning values to the myriad of historical events covering 300 years of history.

pricing_issues_iDid I sell some great material too cheaply in the early years? I sure did. Looking at some of my earlier catalogs I gladly pay five times the selling price of many items I sold. But it was part of the process. I remember nce having a volume of a Las Vegas, New Mexico newspaper from 1881. There must have been 30 or 40 issues with a small “Reward” ad for the capture of Billy the Kid. I think I sold those issues for less than $20 each. If I had 40 of them how rare could they be? Certainly I’ve learned through the years, and became smarter as well.

But we are still challenged today with some items. As we continue to find truly rare, almost unique issues it becomes difficult to assign values with no history or prior sales. But these are the fun challenges. As much as you may enjoy finding interesting items in our catalogs, I enjoy finding the unusual to offer.

Although this is a business, I have always gotten more joy from buying newspapers than selling them.

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*The Fall of 2013 marked the 5th anniversary of the History’s Newsstand Blog by Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers. We are grateful to have the opportunity to contribute to the newspaper collecting community, and appreciate those who have participated through guest posts, comments, and readership. This year (2014) we are revisiting the top 25 posts (measured by activity), with the number 1 post being re-posted during the first week of 2015. Please enjoy. If you would like to contribute a post for consideration of inclusion on the blog, please contact Guy Heilenman at guy@rarenewspapers.com.

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Filed under: Collecting Newspapers, Common Questions, Noteworthy Issues, Valuation of Issues
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The Traveler… victory over Indians… horrible finding…

March 3, 2014 by · Leave a Comment 
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Today I traveled through Boston, Massachusetts, by the way of The Yankee (March 4, 1814). There I found a lengthy report on the Indian battle taking place, known as the Battles of Emuckfaw and Enotachopo Creek. The battles were under the leadership of Maj. Gen. Andrew Jackson, General Coffee and Captain Hamilton. This battle included “friendly Indians” fighting against the Creek Indians. This report was submitted by Andrew Jackson.

“A Tale of Horror” report from Rutland, Vermont, was of a merchant, Joseph Green, who suddenly went missing. The town people thought he may have gone out of town, but when he did re-appear, they investigated his business and found his mangled remains behind a large woodpile under the stairs. “A person by the name of James Anthony, a hatter by trade, was strongly suspected of being accessory to his secretion, if not murder, in consequence of marks of violence which appeared on his face, and the manner in which he accounted for the same.” He was found guilty  and commitment to prison until the sitting of the supreme court in the town the following Monday.

~The Traveler

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Whatcha Got? Harry Rinker interviews Tim Hughes…

February 28, 2014 by · Leave a Comment 
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Many collectors are quite familiar with Harry Rinker’s nationally syndicated radio talk show, “Watcha Got?”. Harry recently interviewed Tim regarding the Rare Newspapers collectible. Please enjoy the interview at (click on the audio mp3 button):  Watcha Got?

Note: The interview lasts about 15 minutes and begins at the 28:50 time marker (just slide the bar to this point). Better yet, enjoy Harry’s entire broadcast. 🙂

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Filed under: Common Questions, Featured Websites, Guest Posts, Newspaper Collecting Ideas, The 1500's - 1700's, The 19th Century, The 20th & 21st Centuries, The Collectible Community, The Hobby, The Rare Newspapers Community
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The Frederick Douglass’ Paper… Solomon Northup…

February 24, 2014 by · Leave a Comment 
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I absolutely love this collectible!

We had in our possession for a number of years an original issue of the Frederick Douglass’ Paper, dated March 17, 1854. It certainly was a grand paper – it being a continuation of Douglass’ North Star. However, while the notoriety of the title was well-established and the angst of slavery oozed throughout, it was a 21st century movie which infused new life into it’s weary 150+ year-old raglinen pages.

A collector recently went to see the theatrical adaptation of “Twelve Years a Slave – The Memoir of Solomon Northup“, and was moved to visit the Rare & Early Newspapers‘ website to see if we had newspapers with his mention. Searches for his name were unsuccessful – but this collector was not to be deterred. Having previously viewed the Frederick Douglass’ Paper in question, he took the next step and began to go over the corresponding images with a fine-tooth comb. Success. The newspaper was not only noteworthy for its editor and rarity, but it also had an article on the front page with mention of Solomon Northrup (see below). Fantastic.

Like I said, I love this collectible!

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Filed under: Noteworthy Issues, Pre Civil War, The Collectible Community, The Hobby, The Rare Newspapers Community, Unusual, Fun & Bizarre
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The end of an era… Thank you Jerry…

February 21, 2014 by · 3 Comments 
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Today marks the end of an era – decades of dedication and love from one of the most cheerful and faithful members of our Rare & Early Newspapers team. At the ripe young age of 87, Gerald Hughes, the father of our founder, Timothy Hughes, will hang up his folder making tools to spend more time at home with his wife, Lois.

His history with our office/warehouse goes far beyond the founding of the company, as he literally built the office portion of our building back in 1960 when he owned a band saw filing business. And it was extra storage space in that building that allowed Tim to make his first sizable purchase in the 1970’s. With warehouse additions built  in later decades, all of the wood shelving which holds our considerable inventory was built by Jerry, and his mechanical ingenuity has been a blessing in solving the many unique challenges our business has encountered through the years.

Thank you Jerry! You will be greatly missed.

With All Our Love,

Guy, Doreen, Brian, Tim, Mike, Josh, Sarah, & Rebekah

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The Traveler… to catch a bear… He’s what?… No whites allowed?

February 17, 2014 by · Leave a Comment 
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Today I traveled back to London, England, by the way of The London Chronicle: or, Universal Evening Post dated February 18, 1764. There I found an interesting article on “The manner of catching Bears at Kamtschatka” (see photo below) which is a peninsula in Russia Far East. Although that article itself is quite interesting in the manner of how to catch these animals, the introduction is even more fascinating. “Bears and wolves are so numerous, that they fill the woods and fields like cattle; the bears in summer, and the wolves in winter. The bears of Kamtschatka are neither large nor fierce, and never fall upon people, unless they find them asleep; and then they seldom kill any outright, but most commonly tear the scalp from the back part of the head; and, when fiercer than ordinary, tear off some of the fleshy parts, but never eat them… It is remarked here that the bears never hurt women; but, in the summer, go about with them like tame animals, especially when they gather berries. Sometimes, indeed, the bears eat up the berries which the women have gathered, and this is the only injury they do them…”

Another article is of a death of a “…woman that went by the name of John Chivy. She dressed always in man’s apparel, and passed for a man; and notwithstanding she had been married upwards of 20 years, her sex never discovered till her death…”.

The following article caught my attention. “Among the sundry fashionable routs or clubs, that are held in town, that of the Blacks or Negro servants is not the least. On Wednesday night last, no less than fifty-seven of them, men and women, supped, drank, and entertained themselves… till four in the morning. No Whites were allowed to be present, for all the performers were Blacks.” The closing sentence made me ponder as to its meaning. I welcome your thoughts and explanations as well.

~ The Traveler

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Valentine’s Day flowers… chocolates… rare newspapers?

February 13, 2014 by · Leave a Comment 
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“I love you!” Why is this so hard to say to those whom we love? The old adage goes that when I seasoned relic from the mid-20th century school of cold-knocks  was asked why he never tells his wife he loves her, he replied, “I told her I loved her the day we married. If anything changes I’ll let her know.”  While a bit humorous, one can’t help but hear the sad sound of little-girl dreams gone unrealized. Valentine’s Day has certainly served its role in helping to remind us to say the things that often go unsaid. Chocolates, flowers, and cards are great tokens of our love, but they pale in comparison to the very words themselves: I love you!

The following historic newspapers, like the February 16, 1861 issue of Harper’s Weekly (shown to the right), provide a chronological look through time at how the holiday has been viewed:  Newspapers with Valentine’s Day coverage.

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Filed under: Civil War, Food for Thought, Harper's Weekly, Illustrated Newspapers, Newspaper Collecting Ideas, Post Civil War, Pre Civil War, The 1500's - 1700's, The 19th Century, The 20th & 21st Centuries, The Hobby
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#23 – Thoughts on the collecting of Obama inauguration newspapers… (*revisited)

February 7, 2014 by · Leave a Comment 
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It seems that with every election or inauguration I get asked about the collectability of such newspapers, so I thought I might share my thoughts with you, and encourage you to do the same.

USA Today - Obama Election & Inuguration

USA Today – Obama Election & Inuguration

As for pure collectability, sure, election and inauguration issues are collectible because they document a very important part of American history and the democratic process. The smooth transfer of power from one person or administration to another does not come easily to many countries today. And to be able to add such historic issues to a collection for 50 cents or a buck is a great opportunity.

But I suspect the real interest of many who inquire about the collectability (of Barrack Obama election and inauguration issues) is the potential for such issues to increase in value. My opinion is, in general, no. They will not increase much in value in years to come. Now I’m speaking of “recent” history, say the last 30 years or so. I feel the public has become very collector-focused the last several decades, and many, many “historic” newspapers have been set aside in attics and drawers only to be found by their children many years later.

For a newspaper to appreciate dramatically in value I believe it requires several things: 1) Historic content. Yes, elections and inaugurations are historic; 2) Rarity. No, elections and inaugurations of the past 30 years are not rare because they were hoarded in large quantities and will always be relatively common; and 3) Something unique or dramatic. A “screaming” headline in tall, bold letters, or a cleverly worded headline, or something else which makes the issue unusual.

Supposedly the New York Times printed an extra one million issues of its January 21 inauguration issue, and I suspect most of them will be hoarded in quantity. The Washington Post printed a much larger quantity than normal, but they didn’t comment on the exact quantity. I’m sure it was sizable, and many of those issues will be hoarded. All this means that 20 years from now issues will be showing up on eBay (or its equivalent at that time) and anywhere else people might try to sell collectibles. With millions of such newspapers in the marketplace will the values get higher and higher? I doubt it.

Issues which tend to increase in value are those which were NOT saved. Most major headlines pre-World War II have appreciated nicely in value because they were not hoarded in quantities. I just don’t think the American public was collector-conscience then, so consequently they are genuinely rare in additional to being historic. And add a huge headline or terrific graphic and you have the potential for a very desirable newspaper; one which has appreciated nicely in value.

As an interesting side note, I understand that the New York Post printed a special afternoon inauguration edition on January 20. Given that most major newspapers are morning publications, coverage of the inaugural proceedings would be in their September 21 issue. But the Post had coverage in their January 20 issue, the same day as the election. A friend, stopping by a newsstand in New York city bought several issues of the Times of January 21 and noted a stack of other issues in the back. Inquiring what they were he was told it was the Post of the 20th, “…but they came in too late to be sold on the newsstand, so they will be returned. We can’t sell a day old newspaper…” the friend promptly purchased them all. I’d be curious to hear how many of the January 20 afternoon edition were actually sold on the streets and not returned for destruction. Perhaps that edition will have a real rarity component.

But don’t let this deter you from collecting historic events of the last 30 years and events yet to come. One of the great aspects of this hobby is the ability to assemble a great collection of truly historic newspapers at a nominal cost–at the newsstand price if you are lucky.

What are your thoughts?

Note: The Times News (out of Lehighton, PA) interviewed Tim concerning this topic. The article may be accessed at: http://www.tnonline.com/about

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*The Fall of 2013 marked the 5th anniversary of the History’s Newsstand Blog by Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers. We are grateful to have the opportunity to contribute to the newspaper collecting community, and appreciate those who have participated through guest posts, comments, and readership. In 2014 we will revisit the top 25 posts (measured by activity), with the number 1 post being revisited during the first week of 2015. Please enjoy. If you would like to contribute a post for consideration of inclusion on the blog, please contact Guy Heilenman at guy@rarenewspapers.com.

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Filed under: Collecting Newspapers, Common Questions, Newspaper Collecting Ideas, The 20th & 21st Centuries, The Hobby, Valuation of Issues
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The Traveler… “spite” hermetically sealed… President Lincoln’s draft order…

February 3, 2014 by · Leave a Comment 
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I traveled today to New York City by way of The New York Times dated February 1, 1864. There I found that President Lincoln had just “Ordered, that a draft for five hundred thousand men, to serve for three years or during the war, be made on the 10th day of March next, for the military service of the Untied States, crediting and deducting therefrom so many as may have been enlisted or drafted into the service prior to the 1st day of March, and not heretofore credited.” This is signed in type: ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

Also in the issue is an article with the heading “The Death Bandage of Gen. Walker”. “…Lieutenant Drennon… brings with him, hermetically inclosed in glass, the bandage which covered the eye of Gen. William Walker, when he was shot at Truxillo, Honduras…. ‘Remnant of the bandage which encircled the brow of Gen. William Walker, who having honorably capitulated to Norvell Salmon, Commander of H.B.M. steamship of war Icarus, was treacherously surrendered to the Honduras authorities, and by the executed on the 12th September, 1860, in the town of Truxillo. Posterity will do justice to their memories. The victim will be deplored while the traitor will be execrated.’  The bandage is thick with gore, full of bullet holes, and is partially burned — the file of executioners standing so close that the discharges set fire to it…” This was to be presented to General Walker’s father who resided in Nashville, Tennessee. What an item to be presented with to remember your son…

~The Traveler

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Filed under: Civil War, The Hobby, Unusual, Fun & Bizarre, Yankee
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Where this governor ranks in the day’s news…

January 31, 2014 by · Leave a Comment 
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“The Merrick County Item” newspaper of Central City, Nebraska, has a very inconspicuous & brief page 2 report in its December 1, 1880 issue announcing, almost casually, “Gov. Robinson, of Colorado, was on last Monday morning accidentally shot and killed.” This placement did rank above: “The National Grange will again convene in Washington, Nov. 1, 1881.” but below: “Trickett beat Ross in the sculling match on the Thames, last Monday, by about four lengths.” (see below)

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Filed under: Old West Era, Post Civil War, The Collectible Community, Unusual, Fun & Bizarre
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