One never knows… Merry Christmas!

December 24, 2011 by · Leave a Comment 
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The Christmas Season is a wonderful time of reflection for many… of love…  of giving… of sacrifice.  A few weeks ago a man came to us with a story involving rare newspapers (indirectly) which reminded us of the importance of caring for others.  The icing on the cake is the involvement of a soldier who had given much… and received so little, until…

Richard Storrs was in the military in 1950 and had the unfortunate fate of being on a train as it traveled through Ohio when it was rammed by another. “221 Guardsman Dead” was the headline of the “Detroit News” of  Sept. 11, 1950. Richard Storrs was among the survivors, but he injured his leg causing a disability.

He never received pension benefits from the incident, perhaps not believing it was possible as the years passed. But a prompt from others to pursue let to the need to prove the incident happened. Searching online in 2010  the Storrs’ found our website, which by good fortune happened to have the mentioned newspaper with details of the report on the front page. With this evidence his proof was secured and he was not only able to get pension benefits, but payments missed over the previous 60 years.

One never knows how our newspapers are actually used. We assume only collectors treasure them for historical information related to their interests, but obviously they can provide to be the missing link to family events, solve historical conundrums, and evidence needed to right a wrong from many years past.

The heros of this story are the “others” who will likely forever remain nameless, who saw a friend in need and prompted him to take action.  Who can we be an “other” to during this wonderful season?  We may never know the results of our kindnesses, but there is Someone who certainly will… and regardless, a child of God will be blessed.

Merry Christmas (Luke 10:25-37)!

The Staff of Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers

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The Civil War… December 21, 1861…

December 21, 2011 by · Leave a Comment 
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This week we return to our reflection upon the Civil War events of 150 years ago… as seen through the eyes of the original readers of the Harper’s Weekly issue printed for December 21, 1861.

Note:  The following commentary was written by Dr. James Robertson* as part of a weekly review for the reprint edition of the “Harper’s Weekly” which was done at the 100th anniversary of the Civil War.  It provides much insight into the events of the day and scholarly commentary on both the illustrations and reporting found in the original 1861 newspaper.

* The Virginia Tech website provides the credentials of Dr. James Roberson:

“One of the most distinguished names in Civil War history, Dr. Robertson was Executive Director of the U.S. Civil War Centennial Commission and worked with Presidents Truman, Kennedy, and Johnson in marking the war’s 100th anniversary.  Today his Civil War Era course at Virginia Tech, which attracts 300 students per semester, is the largest of its kind in the nation.
The Danville, Va., native is the author or editor of more than 20 books that include such award-winning studies as “Civil War! America Becomes One Nation”, “General A.P. Hill”, and “Soldiers Blue and Gray”. His massive biography of Gen. “Stonewall” Jackson won eight national awards and was used as the base for the Ted Turner/Warner Bros. mega-movie, “Gods and Generals”. Robertson was chief historical consultant for the film.”

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Filed under: Harper's Weekly, Newspaper Collecting Ideas, The Hobby, The Rare Newspapers Community, Winslow Homer
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The Traveler… promise to pay…

December 19, 2011 by · Leave a Comment 
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Today I found myself in London, England with the Post-Boy dated December 20, 1711.  I also found that even with traveling back three hundred years, a portion of this paper would fit right into today’s newsstands.  An article on the front page of this issue was the reporting “…to Bribe an honest member of the Church of England, to vote against the interest of that church, and his own conscience…”. The text of the “promise to pay” note is included in the article as well.

On the back page of this issue also contains a notice posted by a husband, stating that he would no longer be responsible for his wife’s debts. The description of his wife is very interesting!!

Until next year, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

~The Traveler

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Must have sounded better than gunshots…

December 17, 2011 by · Leave a Comment 
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The “Norwich Gazette” of England had this notice (see below) in their August 23, 1729 newspaper.  There must have been a heated rivalry between the bell ringers of Norwich and those of Eye in the county of Suffolk. Too bad YouTube wasn’t around then….would have liked to have seen the video.

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December 14, 2011 by · Leave a Comment 
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This week we return to our reflection upon the Civil War events of 150 years ago… as seen through the eyes of the original readers of the Harper’s Weekly issue printed for December 14, 1861.

Note:  The following commentary was written by Dr. James Robertson* as part of a weekly review for the reprint edition of the “Harper’s Weekly” which was done at the 100th anniversary of the Civil War.  It provides much insight into the events of the day and scholarly commentary on both the illustrations and reporting found in the original 1861 newspaper.

* The Virginia Tech website provides the credentials of Dr. James Roberson:

“One of the most distinguished names in Civil War history, Dr. Robertson was Executive Director of the U.S. Civil War Centennial Commission and worked with Presidents Truman, Kennedy, and Johnson in marking the war’s 100th anniversary.  Today his Civil War Era course at Virginia Tech, which attracts 300 students per semester, is the largest of its kind in the nation.
The Danville, Va., native is the author or editor of more than 20 books that include such award-winning studies as “Civil War! America Becomes One Nation”, “General A.P. Hill”, and “Soldiers Blue and Gray”. His massive biography of Gen. “Stonewall” Jackson won eight national awards and was used as the base for the Ted Turner/Warner Bros. mega-movie, “Gods and Generals”. Robertson was chief historical consultant for the film.”

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Pennsylvania’s first newspapers…

December 12, 2011 by · Leave a Comment 
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It was only in Boston where a newspaper came off a printing press prior to any in Pennsylvania.  It was 15 years after the “Boston News-Letter” of 1704 (not counting the one-issue run of Boston’s “Publick Occurrences Both Foreign & Domestick” in 1690) when, on December 22, 1719, Andrew Bradford began his “American Weekly Mercury” (see image) in Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania’s first newspaper. This weekly would last until 1746.

But certainly the most successful newspaper in the colony, if not in all of colonial America, was the “Pennsylvania Gazette” begun in December, 1728 by Samuel Keimer. Within a year it was purchased by Benjamin Franklin. As Oswald notes: “…Under Franklin’s guidance, there appeared for the first time a colonial newspaper produced by a man of education who was in addition a capable printer, a versatile writer, and energetic news gatherer and an enterprising & resourceful businessman. This combination had the inevitable result of placing the “Pennsylvania Gazette” in the lead, and it thereby established a model for others to follow.” The “Gazette” would make Franklin a wealthy man and his name appeared on the imprint through 1765.

Pennsylvania has the distinction of having America’s first daily newspaper, the “Pennsylvania Evening Post & Daily Advertiser“, which started publication in 1775 as a tri-weekly and became a daily on May 30, 1783.

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For sale: an army, and more…

December 10, 2011 by · Leave a Comment 
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This tongue-in-cheek “For Sale By Auction…A Warlike Nation” advertisement appeared in “The Connecticut Courant” newspaper of Hartford, August 19, 1783, shortly after the end of the Revolutionary War.  It offers some biting commentary on thoughts of the politicians of England and the military leadership after losing the Revolutionary War.  Enjoy…

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The Civil War… December 7, 1861…

December 7, 2011 by · Leave a Comment 
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This week we return to our reflection upon the Civil War events of 150 years ago… as seen through the eyes of the original readers of the Harper’s Weekly issue printed for December 7, 1861.

Note:  The following commentary was written by Dr. James Robertson* as part of a weekly review for the reprint edition of the “Harper’s Weekly” which was done at the 100th anniversary of the Civil War.  It provides much insight into the events of the day and scholarly commentary on both the illustrations and reporting found in the original 1861 newspaper.

* The Virginia Tech website provides the credentials of Dr. James Roberson:

“One of the most distinguished names in Civil War history, Dr. Robertson was Executive Director of the U.S. Civil War Centennial Commission and worked with Presidents Truman, Kennedy, and Johnson in marking the war’s 100th anniversary.  Today his Civil War Era course at Virginia Tech, which attracts 300 students per semester, is the largest of its kind in the nation.
The Danville, Va., native is the author or editor of more than 20 books that include such award-winning studies as “Civil War! America Becomes One Nation”, “General A.P. Hill”, and “Soldiers Blue and Gray”. His massive biography of Gen. “Stonewall” Jackson won eight national awards and was used as the base for the Ted Turner/Warner Bros. mega-movie, “Gods and Generals”. Robertson was chief historical consultant for the film.”

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The Traveler… Battle of Tippecanoe…

December 5, 2011 by · Leave a Comment 
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Today I traveled to December 5, 1811 where I found the Middlesex Gazette from Middletown, Connecticut carried an extract of a letter sent to a Member of Congress. This was reporting on “an action between the troops under Gov. Harrison and the Indians under the Prophet… There were 170 whites killed and wounded, and as many Indians… The battle was fought in sight of the Prophet’s Town…. There has been dreadful slaughter…”, being a report on the famous Battle of Tippecanoe.

Governor William Harrison later became our ninth President of the United States which had the campaign slogan “Tippecanoe and Tyler, too”. He also the shortest serving president and the first president to die in office.

A little tidbit of history for this day… 200 years past!

~The Traveler

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A cynical view on the Constitutional Convention…

December 3, 2011 by · Leave a Comment 
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Perhaps it would not be a surprise that a British report on the beginning of the American Constitutional Convention would have a cynical slant, but this report seems to stretch the point. This observation appeared in the London “Gentleman’s Magazine” issue of July, 1787.

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