Prices realized… 18th century…

September 13, 2010 by · 2 Comments 
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We continue with our series on “Prices Realized”.  Below are a examples of actual prices paid for a few scattered issues from the 18th century.  While not the highest valued from the period, they certainly are “premium” issues.  Our hope is to provide a more-comprehensive listing in the not-too-distant future.  In the meantime, for what it is worth…

The Constitution of the United States… CONNECTICUT COURANT, Hartford, Oct. 1, 1787 ($17,500, 2007)

The Boston Massacre…  THE ESSEX GAZETTE, Salem, Massachusetts, March 20, 1770 ($9,250, 2006)

America proclaims independence…  THE AMERICAN GAZETTE OR, THE CONSTITUTIONAL JOURNAL, Salem, Massachusetts, July 23, 1776 ($9,750, 2007)

The premiere (British) issue of the war…  The Declaration of Independence…  THE LONDON CHRONICLE, August 17, 1776 ($9,750, 2009)

The following is a link to our previous post in this series:

Prices realized… 16th & 17th centuries…

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Filed under: Collecting Newspapers, Colonial, Common Questions, Noteworthy Issues, Revolutionary War, The 1500's - 1700's, The 1700's, The Hobby, Valuation of Issues
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Presumably not a chamber of commerce sponsored event…

September 11, 2010 by · Leave a Comment 
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This appeared in the “New York Clipper” newspaper of December 6, 1856 issue. Hopefully this “expedition” in Bridgeport, Vermont, was so successful that the town is a nice place in which to live today:

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The Traveler… oh rats…

September 9, 2010 by · Leave a Comment 
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This week I have selected tomorrow’s date for our travel advantage. The Connecticut Mirror issue dated September 10, 1810 which on the front page carried an article entitled “Character of Bonaparte”. Mr. S. T. Coleridge had instituted a political paper in which the character of Bonaparte was handled with great severity of reprehension, and assailed with great vehemence of indignant feeling, for which Mr. Coleridge was attacked and vindicated through another newspaper. The article on Bonaparte’s character was introduced for the purpose of shewing the propriety of the epithets which he has applied to it and to be perused with interest. Inside the issue is the reporting of the “End of the Dutch Nation” with the annexing of Holland to the French Empire.

The story from Baltimore, Sept. 1 began as “Was set on fire, on Friday morning, between 2 and 3 o’clock … “ This proceeded to tell of a fire at the home of Jacob Hoffman, “the fire originated from a Rat, which conveyed a lighted candle from the fire hearth, to a closet where the hole was, the fire originated at the hole and made its progress thro the ceiling; but was happily discovered before any material damage was done… It is hoped the above will be a caution to those who are in the habit of letting lighted candles stand in low places after retiring.” By the way, it was noted that the “singular rat” was found dead after the fire was extinguished.

~The Traveler

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Prices realized… 16th & 17th centuries…

September 6, 2010 by · 5 Comments 
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While we’ve written several posts identifying some of the factors which impact the value of a rare and/or historic newspaper, a “price guide” showing prices realized is as of  yet unavailable.  Our hope would be to have such a resource accessible within the not-too-distant future.  In the meantime, we’ll be taking the next few Mondays to provide some information in this regard which we hope you will find helpful.

16th & 17th Centuries:

One of the earliest issues you will find…  ZEITUNGEN, AUS WELSCHLANDEN, 1546 ($1,752, 2007)

THE KINGDOMES WEEKLY INTELLIGENCER, London, January 23-30, 1648 – King Charles I – Trial and Execution ($3,450 – 2008)

The Great London Fire report in a London newspaper… THE LONDON GAZETTE, September 3, 1666 ($6,350 – 2007)

Extremely rare 1665 Oxford Gazette…  THE OXFORD GAZETTE, England, January 4, 1665… 1666 by today’s calendar ($1,999 – 2010)

Finding authentic newspapers from this period (16th and 17th centuries) is becoming exceedingly difficult.  As a result, what would these same issues be valued at today?  What impact did the condition, displayability, content, proximity (date and location to the content), rarity, etc. have on each?  While these factors, and more, impact the valuation of an issue, the above examples are what they are – prices realized.

Note:  Many price guides (in other collectible areas) show highly inflated prices.  This enables resellers to offer items at slightly under “established” prices, giving buyers the illusion that they are getting a bargain.  However, the truth is, the value of an item is really the price that others are actually willing to pay – not what a catalog/price guide lists.  In the field of Rare Newspapers, our approach will always be to base prices on hard data – the track record of previous sales.  Additionally, at Rare Newspapers, we try to set prices at a point where both resellers and individual collectors are comfortable.  As a result, we do not have a two-tier system (one price for resellers, and another for collectors).  We believe this policy provides a degree of integrity within the collectible community.  We hope you agree.

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Filed under: Collecting Newspapers, Common Questions, Noteworthy Issues, The 1500's, The 1500's - 1700's, The 1600's, Valuation of Issues
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How the Newspaper Changed the Press: Providing Contextual History…

September 2, 2010 by · Leave a Comment 
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Imagine the newspaper in pre-revolutionary Virginia. It’s the only one in the state, so the governor has complete control over everything that’s published in it. His is the only opinion expressed, and if anything about a newspaper page fails to agree with him, it’s discarded and replaced. Thomas Jefferson sums it up by saying that it’s “no competitor for public favor.” One of the most attractive elements of a newspaper for the public is its variety of opinions, which ensures that everyone can find something to agree and disagree with when they read it. What is a newspaper without multiple viewpoints, opinions, and descriptions of events?

Creating Context for History

Context is one important characteristic that distinguishes the pre-revolutionary newspaper from the modern one. Now, newspapers allow us to define context using not only the circumstances and facts surrounding an event, but also the wide variety of public opinions and perspectives. This additional facet of contextual history provides a wealth of detail, dimension, and complexity to the texture of events and situations covered in newspapers.

The Turning Point of the Newspaper

Roger Mellen of George Mason University has researched the origins of newspaper competition, working to contradict the assumption that Thomas Jefferson was responsible for bringing it to Virginia. Mellen contends that it was the Stamp Act, not Jefferson, which influenced a second newspaper printer to relocate in Virginia, instigating competition against the governor’s newspaper. Because printers had to pay extra taxes on their products, they were motivated to sell more newspapers by allowing for civic discourse, taking sides on issues, and becoming more opinionated. Printers realized that the “public favor” mentioned by Jefferson was best courted by publishing dramatic political writing, a phenomenon that grew and changed with the public both during and after the revolution. With the public steering the direction of newspapers, the government no longer had the sole influence on what was published, and the scope of contextual history was broadened significantly.

Collecting Context

The way newspapers capture contextual history is just one of many characteristics that influence collectors to continuously search out and buy them. Finding contrasting opinions on a significant political issue, reading different accounts of the same important situation, and even locating various photos depicting the same event can be exhilarating. Tracking the changes in leading public opinion across an extended time period, comparing historical events to modern ones, and finding historical patterns are also hobbies that are enabled by newspapers’ contextual history. No matter what their interests, everyone can learn something from and enjoy the process of collecting newspapers.

Mellen, Roger P. “Thomas Jefferson and the Origins of Newspaper Competition in Pre-Revolutionary Virginia.” June 2007.

Bio: Alexis Bonari is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She is currently a resident blogger at First in Education, researching areas of online education. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.

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Same concern over 100 years ago…

August 30, 2010 by · Leave a Comment 
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While listing an issue of “Judge” magazine, the political satire publication popular for the three color political cartoons in each issue, I noted the back page of an 1888 issue has a caption: “Goods Will Be So Much Cheaper–But what will become of all the American Industries?” The print (see below) shows the opening of the “Protection” flood gates with “European Pauper Manufactures” pouring upon American industries, shown in disrepair.

With one of the concerns of the American economy today being the flood of manufactured goods from foreign plants and the flight of American industries to off-shore sites, I find it curious that an identical concern was a focus 122 years ago. This political cartoon could well appear in a newspaper today.

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Filed under: Illustrated Newspapers, Post Civil War, Unusual, Fun & Bizarre
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Understated caption, or overstated print…

August 28, 2010 by · Leave a Comment 
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This illustration appears in “Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper” dated August 5, 1871. The caption notes: “Mount Washington Storm Signals–Use of the Anemometer under difficulties.” Either the print is overstated or the caption is understated. I’m guessing the former, but it makes for a fun image.

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The Traveler… who really invented “the talkies”?

August 26, 2010 by · Leave a Comment 
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Today’s journey, through The Christian Science Monitor dated August 26, 1910, took me on the train ride with Colonel Roosevelt as he was traveling across the states on his campaign tour. I found a segment a bit amusing… “At Erie the Colonel spoke to fully 5000 people. At Dunkirk a crowd nearly as large surrounded the train, and some one shouted, ‘Hello, Teddy!’ ‘I used to think it lowered my dignity to have them call me Teddy,’ the colonel said to his party in an undertone, ‘but do you know I am getting to like it now.'” A this point in time, one just somewhat “assumes” that he was always called Teddy.

While looking further into the issue, I found a one paragraph article with a headline “Mr. Edison Works On A New Device” and I just had to read it.  “Moving pictures that talk, reproducing not only the action, but the spoken words of actors shown on the canvas, promise to revolutionize the moving picture business and the announcement that a machine that will combine the perfected phonograph with the present motion picture camera is being constructed in the laboratory of Thomas A. Edison in West Orange, has created a stir among inventors.”

This made me wonder just when were “talkies” invented and who invented it? Was this ground-breaking news? I did some researching through google. In the late 1890’s, there were some sound to movies but each person had to wear a listening device — early headsets??  Mr. Edison is mentioned as to be working on creating a special machine to make the “talkies” but the first talk was not to be until 1927 with the release of The Jazz Singer.

~The Traveler

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Filed under: The 20th & 21st Centuries, The Hobby, Unusual, Fun & Bizarre
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First newspapers in Nebraska…

August 23, 2010 by · Leave a Comment 
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The Nebraska Territory came about as an important event in American history, repealing the Missouri Compromise of 1820 and allowing new territories to be slave or free as their citizens desired. It happened in 1854 and within the year three Nebraska newspapers were established, all in towns on the west bank of the Missouri River: Bellevue, Omaha City, and Nebraska City. Curiously, none of these towns had a printing office. Each newspaper was printed across the river in separate Iowa towns.

The first was in Bellevue, titled the “Nebraska Palladium” which began July 15, 1854 printed in St. Marys, Iowa. But in November of the same year a printing press was set up in town and on the 15th the first newspaper printed on Nebraska soil was issued.

The first newspaper in Omaha was the “Arrow“, printed in Council Bluffs, Iowa. It began just two weeks after the “Palladium” and only continued through the end of the year, succeeded by the “Nebraskian” which was printed in Omaha beginning January 17, 1855.

The Nebraska City “News” started in the fall of 1854 and was printed in Sidney, Iowa although the printing office would be moved to Nebraska City on Nov. 14.

The first daily newspaper in Nebraska was the “Telegraph” which began on Dec. 11, 1860.

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Filed under: Noteworthy Issues, Pre Civil War, Valuation of Issues
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A carefully worded conclusion…

August 21, 2010 by · Leave a Comment 
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This item was published in the June 6, 1771 issue of the “London Chronicle“, but was taken from the Boston Evening-Post. It’s a comical piece which could have come from a modern-day situation comedy. As always, its the style of writing which adds to the article’s appeal.

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