The Traveler… USS Constitution defeats HMS Java… River Raisin…

February 18, 2013 by · Leave a Comment 
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This week I traveled to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by way of the Aurora dated February 19, 1813. Here I found the report of “Another Naval Victory!” being reported “… On the 29th of December, off St. Salvadore, the Constitution, capt. Bainbridge, fell in with the British frigate Java, of 38 guns (mounting 49) and 400 men. After an action of one hour and forty-five minutes, the Java struck, with the loss of 60 killed and 170 wounded. The Constitution had 9 killed and 25 wounded… The Java was so much damaged in action, that it was deemed impossible to fetch her in, and by order of captain Bainbridge she was burnt…”.

Also in this issue was the report of the battle at river Raisin, including the killing (scalping) of General Winchester and the further mutilation of his body. It is so hard to imagine what they went through in those battles. So much for nostalgia.

~The Traveler

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Additional kudos for, “Reporting the Revolutionary War”…

February 15, 2013 by · 2 Comments 
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Additional recognition has been received for “Reporting the Revolutionary War“, by Todd Andrlik:
“Best American Revolution Book of 2012”
(February 5, 2013) NAPERVILLE, IL—Reporting the Revolutionary War claimed victory—as the best book of 2012 on the American Revolution!

Reporting the Revolutionary War: Before It Was History, It Was News (ISBN: 9781402269677; November 1, 2012; $39.99 U.S.; History; Hard Cover) by Todd Andrlik is being awarded the annual prize of best American Revolution book by The New York Revolutionary War Round Table.
This great honor puts Andrlik in the prestigious company of previous winners, including Maya Jasanoff, professor of history at Harvard’s Center for European Studies, for her book, Liberty’s Exiles: American Loyalists in the Revolutionary World; Benjamin L. Carp, professor of history at Tufts University, for Defiance of the Patriots: The Boston Tea Party and the Making of America; Mary Beth Norton of Cornell University; Charles Bracelen Flood; and Thomas Fleming.
“I’m grateful to the New York Revolutionary War Round Table and thrilled to join such an impressive list of past recipients,” said Andrlik. “I had the privilege of speaking at the Round Table in December and learned from its members just how much this book transcends normal history circles, appealing to both amateur and professional historians as well as casual history enthusiasts.”
The New York Revolutionary War Round Table was founded in 1958 and is now in its fifty-fifth year. It meets five times a year to hear a talk by an author of a new book on the Revolutionary War.
“Seldom, if ever, have we welcomed a book with more power to carry us back to the days of 1776 with such compelling authenticity,” said The New York Revolutionary War Round Table in its February 2013 newsletter announcing the honor…
By the way, this Best American Revolution Book of 2012 comes on the heels of Barnes & Noble naming it one of the Best Books of 2012. Good stuff.
To read more, go to:  Award: Reporting the Revolutionary War
Congratulations Todd… we’re very proud of your accomplishment!

Guy
Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers… History’s Newsstand

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A gem in the American Antiquarian Society… “The Royal Danish American Gazette”…

February 11, 2013 by · 3 Comments 
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In celebration of its 20oth anniversary the American Antiquarian Society published a beautiful  exhibition catalog titled “In Pursuit Of A Vision – Two Centuries of Collecting at the American Antiquarian Society”. Featured are a fascinating array of books, documents, maps & other paper ephemera, as well as several very rare & unusual newspapers we felt worthy of sharing with our collectors (with permission from the A.A.S.).

104. “The Royal Danish American Gazette“, Christiansted, St. Croix, September 11, 1776

The Waldo Lincoln collection of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century West Indian newspapers numbers several thousand issues — many being the only known copies — and is one of the most important to be found anywhere.

The Royal Danish American Gazette was the first newspaper published in what is now the Virgin Islands. It was founded in 1770, when publisher Daniel Thibou relocated from St. Kitts to establish the first press on St. Croix. Portions were printed in Danish for the benefit of St. Croix’s sizable Danish population. We know that it had a fairly wide circulation, for a number of its articles were reprinted in contemporary American newspapers. Scholars have recently taken renewed interest in the significance of the West indies for early American history; but given the tropical climate, relatively few primary sources survive in West Indian libraries.

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News worthy of the headline… Which would you choose?

February 8, 2013 by · 1 Comment 
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Selecting the news for a newspaper’s headline must be quite challenging at times, especially when there are multiple significant events clamoring for top billing. We recently came across a Leominster Daily Enterprise, MA, April 16, 1947, which had 5 noteworthy events to choose from:

*  Execution of Rudolf Hoess, Nazi commandant of Auschwitz… oversaw massacre of 2,000,000 Jews

*  Milton Reynolds breaks Howard Hughes around-the-world aviation record in his “Bombshell”

* Jackie Robinson breaks racial barrier… 1st regular season MLB game played by an African American

* Texas City disaster (350 killed)

* Princess Elizabeth and Philip Mountbatten (from Greece) become engaged, with photo

Which do you think grabbed the headline back in 1947?To find out if you made the right choice, go to:

1947 Headline

(see the 4th image)

What if the same events occurred today?  Would the editors make the same choice for tomorrow’s headline? We’d love to know your thoughts… and reasons.

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The Traveler… finally ratified… income tax a reality…

February 4, 2013 by · Leave a Comment 
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Today I traveled to Salt Lake City, Utah, by the way of the Deseret Semi-Weekly News, February 3, 1913. There I found that on this very same date, the Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution had just been ratified by the voted received from the Wyoming legislature. This amendment now established Income Tax as a provision of the Constitution.

This passing, which required a three-quarter of the Union approval, took a long time to occur as Alabama was the first state to ratify the amendment and that was on August 10, 1909!

Now with this information, enjoy your remaining seventy (70) days of the tax season. April 15th will be here before we all know it!

~The Traveler

“A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy…”

– Alexander Tytler 1787 (disputed origin)

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A shocking cure for what ails you…

February 1, 2013 by · Leave a Comment 
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Here’s an interesting medical devise which never seemed to catch on, as reported in the “Scientific American” issue of March 14, 1891. I wonder how many investors in this product were shocked when this one went belly-up?

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West Virginia’s first newspapers…

January 28, 2013 by · Leave a Comment 
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The history of West Virginia newspapers dates some 70 years before West Virginia became a state. Statehood came late to West Virginia, carved from Virginia in the midst of the Civil War, happening officially on June 20, 1863. But its first newspaper began in 1790 when Nathaniel Willis began his “Potowmac Guardian & Berkeley Advertiser” at Shepherd’s-Town, near Harper’s Ferry.  Less than two years later Willis moved the newspaper to Martinsburg.

The second newspaper was the “Shepherd’s Town, Charles-Town and County Advertiser” begun by Philip Rootes and Charles Blagrove on June 28, 1797. No copies beyond October 11, 1797 have been located. The third newspaper was the “Berkeley Intelligencer” done at Martinsburg on April 3, 1799 by John Alburtis.  Many followed, including what is shown in the image, “The Observer, and Western Advertiser”, Lewisburg, [West] Virgina, 1884.

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Pictures… Is a thousand words always enough?

January 27, 2013 by · Leave a Comment 
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The New York Times of October 20, 1862 includes a wonderful article which eloquently combats any romanticized view of the Civil War. Sometimes, far from the realities of the slaughter (in time and distance), we fail to properly connect with the tragedy and horror experienced by so many. The article includes, in part, “There is one side of the picture that the sun did not catch, one phase that has escaped photographic skill it is the background of widows and orphans, torn from the bosom of their natural protectors by the red remorseless hand of Battle, and thrown upon the brotherhood of God. Homes have been made desolate, and the light of life in thousands of hearts has been quenched forever. All of this desolation imagination must paint — broken hearts cannot be photographed.” Rather than say more, we’ll let the article speak for itself. The actual original article itself may be viewed in full at:

Brady’s Photographs; Pictures of the Dead at Antietam

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Summing up the Revolutionary War through 1779…

January 25, 2013 by · Leave a Comment 
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The front page of “The Edinburgh Advertiser“, July 23, 1779, has a great letter (see below) signed by “An Englishman” which pretty much sums up the Revolutionary War through the mid-point of 1779. Never before have I seen a more accurate appraisal of the situation in so few words.

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The Traveler… The Emancipation… the last look… and today…

January 21, 2013 by · Leave a Comment 
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This week I traveled 150 years back in time and through the activities of the Civil War via the Harper’s Weekly dated January 24, 1863. This issue contains a double-page illustration by Thomas Nast entitled “The Emancipation of the Negroes, January, 1863 – The Past and The Future.” Mr. Nast shows their present life in the center circle, of a happy home including a picture of President Lincoln hanging on the wall. The illustrations to the left show obstacles they had to endure — being sold at auctions and separated from loved ones, beatings, and being chased (if running away). The illustrations to the right show what they are looking to in the future with the implementation of the Emancipation Proclamation — owning a home, children going to public school, being treated fairly by the employer and being paid for working.

This illustration has an accompanying article that describes the illustration and also includes text from the Tribune of March 11, 1859, which dealt with the largest single sale of humans (slaves) in the United States. Mr. Pierce M. Butler of a city near Savannah, Georgia, sold 486 slaves — men, women and children — to pay his debts. This gives a prospective of what the slaves had to endure as they were being separated from each other as family members and long term friends.

As a contrast , this issue also presents a look into the past with an illustration and small article, “A Slave-Pen at New Orleans – Before the Auction. A Sketch of the Past.”

Today we also celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. day. Let us all remember his famous words… “Free at last. Free at last. Thank God Almighty we are free at last.“

~The Traveler

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