The Traveler… the nation mourns…

November 22, 2013 by · Leave a Comment 
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This week I traveled to Dallas, Texas, via The Dallas Morning News (November 23, 1963). There I found the headline that saddened this great nation, “Kennedy Slain On Dallas Street”. One article headline reads “Gray clouds went away – Day Began as Auspiciously As Any in Kennedy’s Career” but at half past noon, lives would be forever changed when the first shot from the book depository rang out.

I was in first grade when this occurred, and still remember our custodian, Ralph, knocking on our window and telling my teacher, Miss Snyder, that the President had just been shot. He was on the way to the flagpole to lower it to half mast. Some events will stay vividly with you for a lifetime.

~The Traveler
AS a sidebar… Over the years various lists have circulated comparing Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy. The response to the uncanny similarities provided by Snopes is worth reading:  Snopes on Lincoln/Kennedy Comparison

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The Gettysburg Address… What did he actually say?

November 19, 2013 by · 1 Comment 
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“Four score and seven years ago…”

150 years ago this month, President Abraham Lincoln delivered what we now consider to be one of the greatest speeches of all time. Interestingly enough, since 5 different manuscripts exist, there is some disagreement amongst historians concerning what he actually said. Might original newspapers of the day with eye witness accounts provide the answer? If the speech had been long we probably wouldn’t have a high degree of confidence in the newspaper reporters’ accounts, but the brevity of the speech certainly increases the probability of an accurate transcription. Original reports may not have the definitive answer to this question, but they certainly provide reasonable evidence regarding what was actually spoken. Once again, “History is never more fascinating than when it is read from the day it was first reported.“

View Authentic Newspapers with Gettysburg Address Coverage

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Filed under: Civil War, Collecting Newspapers, Common Questions, Confederate, Harper's Weekly, Newspaper Collecting Ideas, Noteworthy Issues, The Hobby, Yankee
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Where has all the time gone?

November 18, 2013 by · Leave a Comment 
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Fifty years ago this week my older sister and I came in from carving Matchbox-car-sized roads through the previously well-manicured turf of our backyard to find our mother staring at the semi-snowy, partially visible screen of our black and white television with tears streaming down her face.  Not being prone to such outward displays of emotion, her anguish screamed to us that something tragic had happened.  This moment was emblazoned in our minds for life… and was reinforced days later when she took us by the hand to lead us on the long trek to the railroad overpass a few miles from our home to peer over the edge to watch a train draped with a flag pass under our feet. President John F. Kennedy was dead!  While at the time my sister and I had no idea whether or not he was a good president (for to a child, all presidents are good), one thing we knew for sure, something vanished from people’s eyes which has yet to return – American innocence.

As we reflect on this snap-shot of innocence lost, we wonder where it all began – that is, the overwhelming common-man devotion which inspired many to “Ask not what your country can do for you…”.  When did the admiration of the crowd begin? Was it when he was proclaimed a WWII hero as the Captain of PT-109, or did it spring-forth from his impact as a Massachusetts Representative with his first political election victory? While it may be hard to sort out how he had become so beloved, one thing is certain: a split-second in time along a Dallas street changed everything.

Feel free to share your “memory” of November 22, 1963.

To commemorate this historic moment (November 22, 1963), we’ve assembled a host of “assassination-report” newspapers from all over the country. They are viewable at: JFK Assassination.

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Filed under: Announcements, Newspaper Collecting Ideas, Noteworthy Issues, The 20th & 21st Centuries, The Collectible Community, The Hobby, The Rare Newspapers Community
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Perhaps the most dramatic to be had?

November 15, 2013 by · Leave a Comment 
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Always in the search for the most dramatic front page on the John F. Kennedy assassination, this issue of: “The Michigan Daily–Extra” of  Ann Arbor, Nov. 22, 1963 (see below) just might “take the cake”.  Have you seen a better front page? Feel free to share.

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Filed under: Noteworthy Issues, The 20th & 21st Centuries, The Collectible Community, The Hobby, Unusual, Fun & Bizarre
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The newspaper rarely saved…

November 11, 2013 by · 1 Comment 
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Although newspapers reporting JFK’s assassination were saved by many, one issue which would have no reason to be saved, yet offers some interesting content relating to the assassination, is the “Dallas Morning News” of November 22, 1963. Although it was the day he was assassinated, being a morning newspaper it obviously has no mention of the horrible event, but rather is focused on Kennedy’s visit to the city.

The headline reads: “Storm of Political Controversy Swirls Around Kennedy on Visit“.  At the bottom of the front page is a map of the: “Presidential Motorcade Route”. It also includes the controversial full page notice by the: “The American Fact-Finding Committee” which is very critical of President Kennedy (see photos). This has become a rather well-know–and much desired–report in a period newspaper.
Also of curious interest–and only to be found in a Dallas newspaper–are two inconspicuous advertisements to be found on facing pages inside. One is for the ‘Texas” movie theater where Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested (trivia: he was watching the movie “War Is Hell”: see photo) and the facing page has an advertisement for the “Carousel”, the night club owned & operated by Jack Ruby (see).

Because this issue had no reason to be saved, it is very rare today despite offering some great content relating to John F. Kennedy.

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Unfortunate juxtaposition of headline & photo…

November 8, 2013 by · 1 Comment 
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The “New York Journal American” newspaper of Nov. 22, 1963 did this “Extra” edition reporting Kennedy’s assassination. Making this issue a bit of a curiosity is the photo which accompanies the headline, as it shows a smiling Lyndon B. Johnson, a laughing Mrs. Johnson, and a smiling Jackie Kennedy. The photo was almost assuredly planned to accompany another story about their visit to Dallas but that edition was interrupted to quickly produce this “Extra” with the breaking news of the assassination. The photo was not replaced in the haste of getting the edition on the streets, producing this rather bizarre photo/headline combination which gives the appearance of a joyful reaction to the news that JFK had been assassinated.

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Filed under: The 20th & 21st Centuries, The Collectible Community, The Hobby, Unusual, Fun & Bizarre
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The Traveler… at the theatre…

November 4, 2013 by · 1 Comment 
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Today’s journey took me to Washington, D.C. via the Daily National Intelligencer (November 4, 1863). There I found an article advertising a new theatre tragedy at Ford’s Theatre entitled “The Robbers” written by a German author. What is most intriguing is find that a cast member that they are applauding is the son of Junius Brutus Booth, John Wilkes Booth “…probably as good an interpreter of its interpreter of its many intricate and difficult portions as could be desired…  Mr. Booth will, as a matter of course, appear as Claude Melnotte, a character which he is admirably suited to sustain, both by personal and mental gifts… those desirous of witnessing the honest and sincere efforts of an aspiring young actor in all of the best acting tragedies should make their arrangements accordingly.”

It is hard to image his following appearance on April 14, 1865…

~The Traveler

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Long live the dead… a zombie love affair?

October 31, 2013 by · Leave a Comment 
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The New-York Observer (August 14, 1856) has a report which seems right out of a Hollywood Halloween-Thriller script (or crypt?). Was this a bogus story? Perhaps the blockbuster “Ghost” (1990) wasn’t fiction after all. I’ll save the “being married to a dead-beat” jokes for another post.

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Lincoln’s famous letter to Lydia Bixby…

October 28, 2013 by · Leave a Comment 
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The photo shows the report in the December 2, 1864 issue of “The Liberator” of Lincoln’s very famous & heart-felt letter to a woman who lost five sons in the Civil War. A very sobering report which gives one a small sense of the horror of war not just on the battlefield, but at home as well. This letter has been praised by many as among Lincoln’s best works of writing, along with the Gettysburg Address and second inaugural address.

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Do Old and Antique Newspapers Have Any Collectible Value?

October 25, 2013 by · 808 Comments 
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It is not often I travel to Yahoo for answers to some of the more meaningful questions of life: Where did we come from? What is the purpose of Life? Do old newspapers have value? However, I recently came upon a post on Yahoo Voices which did a decent job of handling this last question.  It begins:

You’ve Happened Upon a Stack of Old Newspapers…Some Have Historic Headlines! Are They Worth Anything?

Let face it, old newspapers don’t get much respect. In today’s world, they’re generally seen as material for the recycler. And years ago, many libraries simply tossed them out after converting them to micro or digital files. But do old or antique newspapers have any collectible value? The answer is a definite…maybe!

Newspapers have been around almost as long as the Gutenberg Press. And in general they’ve been seen as expendable–meant to be read a time or two and then thrown away, or used for fish wrap or some other convenient purpose. But newspapers also have tremendous historic value… (read more)

 (Unfortunately, the Yahoo article has since expired. If anyone has discovered great articles regarding the value of newspapers, please let us know and we’ll consider adding it. In the meantime, feel free to use the www.RareNewspapers.com website for comparables.)

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