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A collector sells bound volumes in 1878…
December 11, 2010 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment 
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This advertisement appeared in the “Scientific American” issue of June 22, 1878, noting a collector who has various bound volumes of the title, selling for $1 each. How prices have changed.
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What could happen to a rumor…
December 9, 2010 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment Email This Post
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“The Daily Journal” newspaper of August 20, 1861 from Wilmington, North Carolina, a Confederate publication, printed an interesting series of dispatches of a fictitious assassination attempt upon President Lincoln (see below). They provide an interesting perspective on how a dramatic event could be much less so once more trustworthy news reports found their way to the press.
The reliability of news reports was a big problem in the 18th & 19th centuries during the pre-telegraph, pre-wire service days when word of mouth was often the source of what made it into the newspaper. This somewhat comical piece illustrates a quandary likely dealt with by most newspaper publishers of the day.
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First use of the term “Columbia”…
December 6, 2010 by TimHughes · 2 Comments Email This Post
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Finding “first” mentions of significant, people, places and terms is always a delight for the rare newspaper collector, and with the internet–and the time required–many fascinating items can be found.
The term “Columbia” as a reference to America, very commonly used through the 19th century in both print & image, was first used in the London publication “Gentleman’s Magazine” in 1738. Because the printing of Parliamentary debates was illegal in England, they appeared under the thinly veiled heading of “Debates in the Senate of Lilliput” or similar heading, with names & places often fictitious or taken from Johnathan Swift’s famous work, which was the literary sensation at that time. The term Columbia was coined by the famed Samuel Johnson, a regular contributor to the “parliamentary” reports found in “The Gentleman’s Magazine“.
In the June issue of 1738, the debates from Parliament note: “…It is observable that their conquests and acquisitions in Columbia (which is the Lilliputian name for the country that answers our America,) have very little contributed to the power of those nations…”.
A significant “first use” of a very popular poetic name for the United States of America.
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- 18th century American magazines: one to share…
Lamenting the handwritten word…
December 4, 2010 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment Email This Post
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In today’s world of email, instant messaging, and twitter, there are many who lament the “old days” when people took the time to type out a letter, sign it, and use a stamp & envelope to get it to its destination. This item, found in “The Townsend Messenger” of Montana, issue date of March 18, 1892, takes that “lament” back one step further when the typewriter replaced the handwritten note.
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- The Traveler… Conferedate president issues a proclamation… new establishments……
The Traveler… up the canal… ready to sign on the dotted line…
December 2, 2010 by The Traveler · Leave a Comment Email This Post
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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 TimHughes · Leave a Comment Email This Post
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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 GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment Email This Post
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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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- Here’s to good health…
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Amazing Stories… The Loch Ness Monster…
November 29, 2010 by GuyHeilenman · 2 Comments Email This Post
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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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Don’t tell the kids…
November 27, 2010 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment Email This Post
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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!
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- Patrick Henry bio in the Citizen Soldier… 1840…
- Don’t try this at home. . . or ANYWHERE for that matter!
With the holiday season upon us… thanks Bing!
November 25, 2010 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment Email This Post
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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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