The Wright Brothers… from a friend…

September 21, 2012 by · 2 Comments 
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The following note and corresponding image was sent to us by a friend of the hobby.  Please enjoy.

Hi to the good folks at Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers.

This article (see image below) is from the bottom of the front page of The Evening Herald of Fairhaven and Whatcom, Washington state, Dec. 18, 1903. It is a rare front-pager. I don’t believe the Wright Brothers wanted the publicity being in a race to get the air machine patent, and I don’t think many editors believed the first reports of powered flight.

This paper came from a bound volume. It is in excellent condition and I’m glad the editor had the sense to put it on the front page, even at the bottom. The newspaper is now called The Bellingham Herald.

I’ve been collecting newspapers since 1969 and really enjoy your website, blog and catalog.

Mick Boroughs

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Filed under: Guest Posts, Newspaper Collecting Ideas, Noteworthy Issues, The 20th & 21st Centuries, The Hobby
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MyAuctionFinds’ Interview of Tim…

September 17, 2012 by · 1 Comment 
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MyAuctionFinds recently interviewed Tim (Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers) to obtain his thoughts on the value of Kennedy Assassination and Obama Election newspapers.  Please enjoy:

Next year will be the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President Kennedy. On that fateful day, newspapers around the country – some of them still afternoon papers– blared the story in big bold headlines.

Millions of newspapers were printed and sold, and families scooped them up to read every morsel about a shooting that was unbelievable. Many saved those papers as a reminder of that day and time, likely not thinking that someday they may be worth more than the few coins they paid for them…

Read The Entire Interview At:  The value of your JFK and Obama newspapers…

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Filed under: Collecting Newspapers, Common Questions, Featured Websites, Newspaper Collecting Ideas, Noteworthy Issues, The 20th & 21st Centuries, Valuation of Issues
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“The United States of America”… humble beginnings?

September 14, 2012 by · 2 Comments 
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One of our rare newspaper friends recently discovered an interesting news item regarding the (potential) first use of “The United States of America” as referring to the American colonies.  If true, the first use appeared in a newspaper – a Revolutionary War Era issue of The Virginia Gazette.  To add to the intrigue, the origin of the phrase still retains an element of mystery as the article in which it appears was merely signed, A Planter.  Thanks to the Byron DeLear of The Christian Science Monitor, and to NBCNEWS.com for bringing this to light.  To view the entire article, please see:  Who coined ‘United States of America’? New twist to mystery…

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Filed under: Featured Websites, Food for Thought, Noteworthy Issues, Revolutionary War, The 1700's, The Hobby, Unusual, Fun & Bizarre
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Concern for preserving newspapers in 1849…

September 11, 2012 by · 1 Comment 
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Over 160 years ago the New York legislature had the foresight to be concerned about the future holdings of newspapers, and more importantly the loss of the unique perspective of history which can only be obtained through newspapers of the day. Their cause remains as relevant today as it was in 1849.

The photos show the entire editorial as found in the “Vermont Chronicle” of Windsor, May 2, 1849, but portions include: “…No historical monument that has ever been devised has half the value for future reference that belongs to a newspaper, & no record can be made of current events nearly as truthful, as minute, as systematic, or as accessible, as the ‘happy pages which no critics criticise’ of a periodical journal…” and “…De Tocqueville…has somewhere spoken of the difficulty to be anticipated at some future day of those who may wish to trace the history of our people for the want of durable monuments or records of their current life & achievements…that the newspaper was almost our only historical repository & that was usually destroyed as soon as its contents were glanced at…” and much more.

A fascinating article on the need to preserve newspapers; something which all of us in this hobby continue to do in some small way.

The entire text of this intriguing article may be viewed at:  “Vermont Chronicle” of Windsor, May 2, 1849

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Filed under: Common Questions, Food for Thought, Newspaper Collecting Ideas, Pre Civil War, The Hobby, The Rare Newspapers Community
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The Traveler… Pope Pius V canonized… man serves his country well…

September 8, 2012 by · Leave a Comment 
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Today I journeyed to England through The Post Boy of September 9, 1712. There I found that Rome had been celebrating the canonization of Pope Pius V. They had festivities including “very curious artificial Fireworks”, windows illuminated with candles and tapestries, “abundance of Wine and Meat to be distributed to the Common People”, and more with “the Festival was concluded with the Discharge of the Cannon of the Castle St. Angelo, ringing of Bells, and an agreeable Consort of Vocal and Instrumental Music.”

The back page has an interesting article from Brussels “The 30th of last Month, dy’d at the Duke of Holstein’s Palace, while he was at Breakfast, a Man nam’d Anthony, 106 Years and 7 Months old: Head had been employ’d 84 Years in the Service of Spain in one Regiment only, in which there had been 26 Colonels, but never rose to any higher Post himself than a Sergeant… he was also a Foot-Sergeant, in the 100th Year of his Age, and the Duke of Holstein was his Colonel…” And we look forward to retirement at 65?? To view images of this content and more:  The Post Boy of September 9, 1712

~The Traveler

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The Hatfields & McCoys… on Pinterest…

September 3, 2012 by · Leave a Comment 
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There are few conflicts which have been romanticized as much as the quarter-century battle between two extended families from the boarder mountains of West Virginia and Kentucky.  Wikipedia describes the ongoing struggle as follows:

The Hatfield–McCoy feud (1863–91) involved two families of the West Virginia–Kentucky area along the Tug Fork, off the Big Sandy River. The Hatfields of West Virginia were led by William Anderson “Devil Anse” Hatfield while the McCoys of Kentucky were under the leadership of Randolph “Ole Ran’l” McCoy. Those involved in the feud were descended from Ephraim Hatfield (born c. 1765) and William McCoy (born c. 1750). The feud has entered the American folklore lexicon as a metaphor for any bitterly feuding rival parties. More than a century later, the story of the feud has become a modern symbol of the perils of family honor, justice, and vengeance… (view more via Wikipedia)

At Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers we’ve created a Pinterest Board so that those interested in seeing how these events were reported in the newspapers of the day can enjoy contemporary reports.  As we often say, “History is never more fascinating than when it is read from the day it was first reported”.

Please enjoy:  Hatfields & McCoys – The Famous Feud… on Pinterest

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Filed under: Collecting Newspapers, Newspaper Collecting Ideas, Noteworthy Issues, Post Civil War, The Hobby, Unusual, Fun & Bizarre
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A Labor Day Weekend Tribute through rare newspapers…

August 31, 2012 by · Leave a Comment 
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What was originally intended as a means for honoring the hard-working common laborers who helped build the United States into a prosperous nation (please, no “You didn’t build that!” comments), is now more closely associated with the end of summer.  Families and friends join together in one final effort to squeeze the last drop of relaxation from their laborious efforts exerted through the Fall, Winter, and Spring seasons.  Perhaps in the end this transition is well-suited to the intentions of the original proponents of the holiday… and much more has been gained than lost.

With appreciation for both the original and morphed sentiments of the holiday, the following links are intended to take you on a small trip back through the 19th and early 20th centuries, to view Labor Day through the eyes of those who have toiled before us.  Please enjoy…

Labor Day as seen through:

Harper’s Weekly Labor Day issue of 1913

Labor Day themed issues

Scientific American

And a number of categories available via the History’s Newsstand eBay Store:

Thanks again to all those who have given so much to help make the world a better place.  🙂

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Filed under: Harper's Weekly, Illustrated Newspapers, Newspaper Collecting Ideas, The 1500's - 1700's, The 19th Century, The 20th & 21st Centuries
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Newspaper error editions… by Rick Brown

August 27, 2012 by · 1 Comment 
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An Authentic Issue

Rick Brown at Historybuff.com provides some interesting information regarding a couple of known error editions, including the highly collectible “Dewey Defeats Truman” issue of the Chicago Daily Tribune:

The Eleven Editions of the November 3, 1948 Chicago Daily Tribune
You’ve heard of the famous error paper “Dewey Defeats Truman”. Well, they produced ten more error headlines that day.

The Story Behind the “Dewey Defeats Truman” error issue
You’ve heard of the edition, but how did it happen? You’ll find the answer here.

The Tilden-Hayes Election of 1876
“Dewey Defeats Truman” was not the only presidential election error headline. Here’s another one.

Thanks, Rick, for your ongoing contributions to the hobby.

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Before the Jane Fonda video…

August 24, 2012 by · Leave a Comment 
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The “Scientific American” issue of Nov. 18, 1911 offers this interesting solution for “…reducing abdominal weight”. I don’t think this one caught on…

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Filed under: Illustrated Newspapers, The 20th & 21st Centuries, Unusual, Fun & Bizarre
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The Traveler… The Olympic champion, Jim Thorpe…

August 20, 2012 by · Leave a Comment 
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In today’s journey I traveled to Carlisle, Pennsylvania through the Valley Sentinel dated August 20, 1912, wherein I found: “Olympic Reception a Gratifying Success”, being the home-town (college) celebration for the Olympic two-time gold medalist Jim Thorpe. His performance was amazing as he destroyed the world’s best in the decathlon and pentathlon. There is a lot of coverage in this paper on the celebration, including mention of Coach “Pop” Warner.

One hundred years later, Olympians are still breaking records in many ways, not only by performance and speed… Michael Phelps retires as the most decorated Olympian of all time with 22 medals; Gabby Douglas, the first African-American to win gold in all-around gymnastics; the first ‘blade-runner’ Oscar Pistorius, and many more yet to come. Congratulations to all of the Olympians!

~The Traveler

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