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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Filed under: Noteworthy Issues, Old West Era, Post Civil War
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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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Filed under: Food for Thought, Pre Civil War, Unusual, Fun & Bizarre
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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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Filed under: The 20th & 21st Centuries, The Hobby, Unusual, Fun & Bizarre
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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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Filed under: Guest Posts, The Hobby, The Rare Newspapers Community
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Removing those annoying address labels…

November 11, 2010 by · 2 Comments 
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Fellow collector Morris Brill raises a question which others may have pondered as well: “Is there a safe way of removing the label without harming or staining the newspaper?”

Address labels come in various sizes. The earliest ones are generally from the post-Civil War years and those labels tend to be relatively narrow strips with just the subscriber’s name or an institution’s name. A city might be included as well. Those of the 20th century tend to be one-half to three-quarters of an inch tall and contain the full address of the subscriber.

If discretely placed above the masthead & not touching any text they can be quite harmless and add a certain “charm” and authenticity to the newspaper, but those which cover portions of the masthead or headline are annoying. And they can be removed.

In every case I’ve encountered the glue is water soluble, and once softened the label can be peeled off with  little trouble. Since the label is almost always of thicker paper stock than the newspaper, the quickest way to soften the glue is to moisten the reverse side, meaning the actual newspaper from page two. Once the outline of the label is felt (or hold up to the light & note the outline), I use a cotton swab and warm water (distilled would be best) to dampen the back side of the label. Patience and experimentation are important, as often two or three applications of water and up to ten minutes of waiting are required for the glue to soften such that the label can be removed by using an exacto-knife to peel it up from a corner.

Once removed and the dampness dries there may or may not be a minor water  stain which remains, but I always find this much less offensive than the label covering part of the headline. It is my opinion that the value of the newspaper is enhanced by having the label removed despite a minor stain.

If you have had success with other methods of removing address labels, feel free to share.

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Filed under: Common Questions, The Hobby
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New discovery… Who knows what one might find?

November 8, 2010 by · Leave a Comment 
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We’ve often mentioned that one of the pleasures of the Rare & Early newspaper collecting hobby is finding unforeseen historical nuggets buried deep within the pages of newspapers… just waiting to be unearthed.  This was recently brought to the surface again by a collector/history teacher who purchases 19th century wholesale lots (undescribed as to content) for his students and for personal use .  His note is as follows:

This paper (from a wholesale lot) had a reference to a house vote for the “relief” of Susan Decatur, wife of naval hero Stephen Decatur.  She had inherited $75,000 from her husband, who was killed in a duel in 1820.  This is the equivalent of $1.4 million today.  The bill was defeated.  One of the nays was cast by Congressman Crockett (David).  Minor, but priceless info.  Your company does more good than you know.

Feel free to share your own discoveries with the collecting community.

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Filed under: Common Questions, The 19th Century, The Collectible Community, The Hobby, Unusual, Fun & Bizarre
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Minister needed to be clever to say only nice things…

November 6, 2010 by · Leave a Comment 
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This interesting report In the “Richmond Examiner” issue of August 27, 1864 shows some creativity by the preacher:

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Mission to Mars… Climb aboard…

November 6, 2010 by · Leave a Comment 
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As China, Russia, and the U.S. (among others) begin to enter a new space race – a manned mission to the Red Planet, we are reminded of the early days of flight when dreams were high and understanding was… perhaps a bit lacking.  While early film fueled the excitement, it wasn’t until knowledge of Robert Goddard’s work became widespread that the thought of space travel made the leap from dream to real possibility.  These dreams took a hit on January 13, 1920 when the NY Times printed an editorial (unsigned) which scoffed at the proposal.  However, on February 4, 1920, the President of the Aviator’s Club of Pennsylvania, Captain Claude R. Collins, restored the public’s hopes of space travel when he volunteered to be a passenger on a Mars bound rocket, if ever developed.  Ironically, this “offer” was published on the front page of the of the February 5, 1920 NY Times (see image), alongside of the announcement from the Smithsonian Institution stating Goddard had invented and tested a rocket that might have the potential to reach the moon.  This battle between nay-sayers and dreamers continues to this day.  I wonder how we will be looked upon 100 years from now?

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Filed under: Noteworthy Issues, The 20th & 21st Centuries, Unusual, Fun & Bizarre
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The Traveler… election time… one horse tail…

November 4, 2010 by · Leave a Comment 
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Our elections have been over for a couple of days, however I found that not the case 100 years ago. In the November 4, 1910 issue of “The Call” from San Francisco, the governor race was heated with the report of a rally of 7,000 people.  “Johnson Hurls Lie Direct in Teeth of Detractors and Lays Bare True Meaning of Battle” is one of the sub-headlines. It seems that politics has not changed…

But the deceit and lies does not stop in the political arena. A man traded a mule under the guise of a “shaved tail” horse. Afterward he began to laugh about it, to the point he could not stop laughing. This continued for hours to which a physician was called in. Finally after 12 hours of laughing, they resorted to electric shock therapy which did stop the laughter. This may truly be a case of who really got the last laugh in this deal!!           ~The Traveler

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Filed under: The 20th & 21st Centuries, The Hobby, Unusual, Fun & Bizarre
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April 15, 1865 New York Herald reprints… revisited…

November 1, 2010 by · 10 Comments 
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A previous post by guest contributor Rick Brown  detailed how one can identify whether or not their April 15, 1865 New York Herald is authentic.  One of the most notable differences between an authentic issue (which is quite rare) and one of the reprints (which are rather common) is that the common reprint has an image of President Lincoln on the front page, whereas, the original does not.  We recently came across a photo of the Lincoln image (as shown to the right).  If your issue has it… unfortunately, your’s is not an original.

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Filed under: Common Questions, Noteworthy Issues, The Hobby, Valuation of Issues, Yankee
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