The Traveler… up the canal… ready to sign on the dotted line…

December 2, 2010 by · Leave a Comment 
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It is so hard to believe that I am now traveling into the journals for December already. I found The Christian Science Monitor of December 2, 1910 to be very interesting, but I’ll highlight only two articles. The front page reports the sailing of the first vessel up the Panama Canal. This was a three-masted steam 17-foot yacht, Visitor II, owned by Commodore W. Harry Brown of Pittsburgh, which sailed to the Gatun lock and returned.

The other article is found on the sports page, “Soon to Sign Contracts for New N.Y. Stadium”. This was to be a $500,000 stadium which President Frank J. Farrell of the New York Americans plans to build at Kingsbridge. After doing quite a bit of internet researching, it isn’t quite certain if this may have been a stadium that existed prior to the earlier Yankee Stadium or not. It is noted that Mr. Farrell and William S. Devery were the first owners of the New York Highlanders, now the New York Yankees.

~The Traveler

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General Butler… “The Beast”…

December 2, 2010 by · Leave a Comment 
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Editorials in Confederate newspapers are always interesting reading–as are many of those from the North–as there is much bias skewed in favor of those reading the newspaper. The Jan. 12, 1865 issue of the “Richmond Examiner” contains a rabidly anti-Butler editorial, even managing to interject his nickname in the South: “The Beast”. This one is worth sharing for all to read:

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Patrick Henry… A mid-19th century view…

November 30, 2010 by · Leave a Comment 
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Although much has been written about Patrick Henry, a December 18, 1840 issue of the Citizen Soldier, Vermont, gives us a glimpse as to how he was viewed within less than 50 years of his death.  The end of the biography has a few extra treats as well.  Although quite lengthy…  please enjoy:

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Filed under: Food for Thought, Pre Civil War, The Hobby, Unusual, Fun & Bizarre
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Amazing Stories… The Loch Ness Monster…

November 29, 2010 by · 2 Comments 
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Today we begin a series of “Amazing Stories” found within original newspapers.  We’ve always stated, and newspaper collectors agree, “History is never more fascinating than when it is read from the day it was 1st reported”.  Over the course of the next several months we are going to highlight some of the more interesting and/or amazing stories/reports to be found within historic newspapers.  Today’s installment:  the printing of the photograph and the corresponding report of… The Loch Ness Monster (see below).  The article and photograph shown appeared in The New York Times dated April 22, 1934.  Additional images are available at:  Loch Ness Monster.  Enjoy.

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Filed under: Noteworthy Issues, The 20th & 21st Centuries, The Hobby, Unusual, Fun & Bizarre
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Don’t tell the kids…

November 27, 2010 by · Leave a Comment 
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An article in the August 14, 1840 issue of The Citizen Soldier, Vermont, yields at least one perspective on how to be a successful student.  Kids, please don’t try this at home.  What does the phrase “having cold feet” mean anyway?

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With the holiday season upon us… thanks Bing!

November 25, 2010 by · Leave a Comment 
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With the holiday season upon us it is time to dig out and dust off our collections of holiday-themed videos (movies???  Dvd’s???) for their annual viewing.  One of our family favorites is Holiday Inn.  Who can forget Bing Crosby’s vision:

Lazy
I want to be lazy
I want to be out in the sun
With no work to be done
Under that awning
They call the sky
Stretching and yawning
And let the world go drifting by…

However, before we sell all we have in our quest for the easy life running a New England Inn, or simply immobilize ourselves with longings for the lazy hazy days of Summer, an article we found in the September 4, 1840 issue of The Citizen Soldier (oddly enough – from Vermont) has a different perspective on laziness – providing ample food for thought:

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A rare report… Wild Bill Hickok…

November 22, 2010 by · 3 Comments 
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Some reports have gained greater notoriety long after the event happened, particularly those of the Old West which have been romanticized by television, movies and countless books on the era. The gunfight at the O.K. Corral is one, and the report of the killing of Wild Bill Hickok is another. Neither are commonly found in newspapers of the day with the Hickok report being one of the more difficult to find, and typically on a brief report when found.

We recently came across the  “New York Herald” of August 13, 1876 with the report & thought it worth sharing:

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Here’s to good health…

November 20, 2010 by · Leave a Comment 
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An article the the September 4, 1840 issue of The Citizen Soldier, Vermont, provides a mid-19th century perspective (advice) for how to acquire good health.  Try to imagine the follow-up letters to the editor in response had this appeared within this morning’s paper.  Please enjoy:

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The Traveler… Tolstoy and Johnstone… smile please!

November 18, 2010 by · Leave a Comment 
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In today’s travels, “The Call” from San Francisco dated November 18, 1910, carried articles on two interesting men in history. The first is well known to most, that being Count Leo Tolstoy in which the reporting of his life was wavering with the doctors believing he was fighting his last battle.  It would be only a couple more days when the papers would be reporting of his death. The other may be one that is less know, Ralph Johnstone. He became a Wright Brothers exhibition pilot, set flight altitude records and the first pilot of the Wright team to die.  Johnstone fell 500 feet to his death during a flight in Denver which is reported in this issue.

I also found that the Post Office was facing problems at that time as well. Be careful of how much time you spend at the  post office as you just may be asked to say “cheese”!

~The Traveler

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My collecting story… Graham Dukes…

November 15, 2010 by · Leave a Comment 
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I have been collecting newspapers longer than most fellow enthusiasts, beginning when I was at school in England in 1943. My father went into a small second-hand shop and noticed that the owner, who sold candlesticks, old dinner plates and suchlike, was wrapping up the items in copies of the London evening “Star” for 1818, that he was tearing out of a bound volume. There were about 150 papers left and my father, who was well aware of my budding historical interest, bought the whole volume for threepence (10c).
From there I continued myself, often picking up items from shopkeepers who had no idea what they were. Nearly 70 years later, with several thousand items in store, (particularly London national papers, but also items from many other countries) some of my prize items, going back to the earlier sixteenth century, are still those that I found in the English back streets during my time as a schoolboy and later as a university student!
Graham Dukes

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