“Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus”…

December 13, 2023 by · 1 Comment 
Email This Post Email This Post | Print This Post Print This Post

The world-famous article shown below appeared in THE (New York) SUN on September 21, 1897. It is certainly one of the most challenging issues to collect as few are known to exist. It has been said this may very well be the most recognized editorial of all time. Found on page 6 and headed: “Is There a Santa Claus?”, this is the famous “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus” editorial written by Francis Pharcellus Church, a sardonic Columbia College graduate & veteran Sun writer, he produced a masterpiece in fewer than 500 words.

Although the letter from Virginia and the famous response by Church have become well known (translated into 20 languages), few would know the prefacing paragraph which immediately precedes Virginia’s letter: “We take pleasure in answering at once and thus prominently the communication below, expressing at the same time our great gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the friends of The Sun:…” and then Virginia’s letter and Church’s response.

The famous phrase “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus…” begins the second paragraph, and the letter closes with: “…No Santa Claus!  Thank God! he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.”

The press tracked Virginia until her retirement as a 70-year-old school teacher, while Church remained anonymous as the author until his death in 1906.

As for Church, he was a hardened cynic and an atheist who had little patience for superstitious beliefs, did not want to write the editorial, and refused to allow his name to be attached to the piece. More than a century later, it is the most reprinted editorial in any newspaper in the English language. This reality is a great reminder to all of us to always give our best effort, even when we don’t necessarily agree with those whom are in authority over us – moral conflicts accepted.

So, for a few brief moments let’s set aside the weight of “enlightenment” which is pressed upon us by virtue of adulthood and attempt to appreciate the sweet exchange between a “cynical” journalist and a curious, yet innocent, young girl. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to ALL!

If you liked this post, you may also enjoy...

Filed under: Noteworthy Issues, Post Civil War, The Collectible Community
Tagged: , , , , ,

“Collecting Newspapers – The Basics” (Part III) – Newspaper Care…

December 11, 2023 by · Leave a Comment 
Email This Post Email This Post | Print This Post Print This Post

We, (Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers), have been collecting and offering old and historic newspapers to the collecting community since 1976 (Tim’s first purchase was in 1975). For those who are either unfamiliar with or new to this amazing hobby, today we are kicking off a series of posts, “Collecting Newspapers – The Basics”, to serve en masse as a Primer for those interested in learning more about the collectible. This is the 3rd installment. Enjoy.

Additional information about the hobby can be found through this Blog and on the Rare Newspapers’ website.

If you liked this post, you may also enjoy...

Filed under: Collecting Newspapers, Common Questions, Newspaper Collecting Ideas, The Hobby
Tagged: , , , ,

Capturing the Vibe… Christmas 1903…

December 8, 2023 by · Leave a Comment 
Email This Post Email This Post | Print This Post Print This Post

Welcome to the 2nd post in our ongoing series “Capturing the Vibe” where we try to imagine what the world felt like to a newspaper reader from the past by immersing ourselves in their … “vibe of the day”. This month I was drawn to Illustrated Magazines as Christmas is right around the corner, and they usually offer a plethora of wintery images. 1903 was on a low shelf and so it called my name.

So, on we go with this month’s issue…

 

Sometimes the December 1900’s colored covers are Christmas related and sometimes they are just beautiful!

 

Even though the color cover wasn’t Christmassy, the inside cover was full of Winter spirit.

 

On a somber note, I found a fascinating article comparing Feast-days with Fast-days …  not something you hear in conversations of our days.

 

 

On a somewhat lighter note, I saw a multiple cell comic strip on “Pledges of Purity for the New Year”.

 

 

 

There was an article and intricate image of the New Williamsburg Bridge Christening in New York City…

 

 

 

A story by Robert Chambers…

 

and finally, a political Santa cartoon by W.A. Rogers who took over for Thomas Nast when he left Harper’s Weekly.

 

 

I count this find as an issue full of Christmas gifts!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you liked this post, you may also enjoy...

Filed under: Harper's Weekly, The Collectible Community
Tagged: ,

“Black Friday” goes viral…

November 24, 2023 by · Leave a Comment 
Email This Post Email This Post | Print This Post Print This Post

Have you ever been in a room and said something funny and no one seemed to hear or if they did, they didn’t respond until someone else repeated your witty remark and then the room burst into laughter? My youngest daughter (youngest of 6) voices her frustration with this sibling scenario regularly. Apparently, “the louder (and older?) speaker gets the laugh” phenomenon is not my witty daughter’s alone to bear. On November 24, 1975, The New York Times carried an article describing the Friday after Thanksgiving as “Black Friday”. From this “appearance” forward the name took hold and across the country Black Friday became a recognizable label for the day after Thanksgiving. Ironically, other city papers had used this jargon before, however, it wasn’t until the New York Times took up the banner that the term was seared in people’s vocabulary. I have to wonder, was there some reporter from Philadelphia out there feeling the same frustration my daughter feels on a regular basis?

If you liked this post, you may also enjoy...

Filed under: The Collectible Community
Tagged: ,

November/Thanksgiving Newsletter – Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers…

November 20, 2023 by · Leave a Comment 
Email This Post Email This Post | Print This Post Print This Post

Welcome to the November/Thanksgiving (2023) edition of our monthly newsletter. Understanding the busyness of the season as Thanksgiving (U.S.) rapidly approaches, I’ll make every effort to be brief. However, please do not miss out on this month’s highlights:

A new Thanksgiving-themed Post on the History’s Newsstand Blog

(don’t forget to explore newspapers with Thanksgiving-related content)

Newly Added Catalog Items (full view or quick scan view)

(40+ just added inc. a handful of top-tier/rare issues such as Lincoln attends performance of John Wilkes Booth at Ford’s Theater in 1863 and a rare 1st issue of Disneyland News)

Three “Special Items” Listed on eBay

Deaths of the Big Three: Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, & Jim Morrison

The 1969 Stonewall Riot (from where it happened – extremely rare)

The Wizard of Oz – pre-release 1939 coverage w/ photo

Newly Discounted Newspapers – 50% Off (as priced)

Thank you for collecting with us.

We hope you have a happy and blessed Thanksgiving,

Guy & The Rare Newspapers Family

570-326-1045

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

The Original Catalog-Release Notice…

November’s Catalog (#336) is now available. This latest offering of authentic newspapers is comprised of over 300 new items – a selection which includes the following noteworthy issues: Lincoln’s assassination (in a Washington, D.C. newspaper), the famous ‘Dewey Defeats Truman’ newspaper, Bunker Hill & Washington becomes commander-in-chief, a rare newsbook dated 1647, Paul Revere engraved the masthead, John Wilkes Booth’s final performance at Ford’s Theatre, and more.

The following links are designed to help you explore all available items from this latest edition of our catalog:

         1500-1799 (full view OR quick-scan/compact view)

         1800-1899 (full view OR quick-scan/compact” view)

         1900-Present (full view OR quick-scan/compact” view)

————–

Top Available Items from the Past 12 Months (by Era)
1600’s – 1769 (Colonial Era) 1860 – 1865 (+/- Civil War)
1770 – 1779 (+/- Revolutionary War) 1866 – 1899 (post-Civil War)
1800 – 1859 (pre-Civil War) 1900 – 2000+ (20th & 21st Centuries)

————–

DISCOUNTED ISSUES – What remains of last month’s discounted issues may be viewed at: Discount (select items at 50% off)

————–

HISTORY’S NEWSSTAND – Recent Posts on the History’s Newsstand Blog may be accessed at: History’s Newsstand

If you liked this post, you may also enjoy...

Filed under: Newspaper Collecting Ideas, The Collectible Community, The Rare Newspapers Community
Tagged: ,

Happy Thanksgiving, 2023…

November 17, 2023 by · Leave a Comment 
Email This Post Email This Post | Print This Post Print This Post

Each year as Thanksgiving approaches my thoughts (rightfully) bend a knee in the direction of gratitude which I try to express, for better or worse, in a simple post. In so-doing, while the feedback has been generally positive, on occasion I have been accused of being rather verbose, loquacious, over-talkative, etc., when what I tried to communicate could have been delivered with a higher degree of eloquence with considerably less long-windedness (i.e., I can be a bit wordy). In an effort to reign in this default behavior, in expressing this year’s thoughts I’ve elected to let a series of photos taken from a single issue of Harper’s Weekly from 1900 do the talking. I hope you find them thought-provoking.

Happy Thanksgiving!

By the way, if pictures really do say a thousand words, success! My verbose, loquacious, over-talkative streak lives on!!!

If you liked this post, you may also enjoy...

Filed under: Food for Thought, Harper's Weekly, The 20th & 21st Centuries, The Collectible Community
Tagged: ,

Some comic relief should be found in every collection… Early parachute attempt in 1785…

November 13, 2023 by · Leave a Comment 
Email This Post Email This Post | Print This Post Print This Post

There seems to be a preponderance of tragic, dismal events that dominate our collections. After all, they tend to be very historic and life-altering. Think of all the “great” wars, various assassinations, the Titanic, Lusitania, & Hindenburg, and so much more.
So the occasional report with comic overtones can be refreshing. I recently wrote up an issue of the London Chronicle, July 14, 1785, with American content, but it also contains on the back page a very early parachute demonstration that went awry.
The report concerning a man who scheduled a parachute demonstration at the Blanchard Aerostatic Academy in England, planning to: “…let himself down from a prodigious altitude, and to manifest his composure by playing on a violin during his descent. To fulfill these promises, the ingenious operator had provided machinery, by which he might have been raised about 45 feet!
When the time arrived, he, with his Cremona [high-quality violin], entered the vehicle, and was raised with infinite precaution…”.
Okay, read the article to see how it plays out.

If you liked this post, you may also enjoy...

Filed under: The 1700's, The Collectible Community, Unusual, Fun & Bizarre
Tagged: , , ,

Reprinted Newspapers – Identified as of 1931…

November 10, 2023 by · Leave a Comment 
Email This Post Email This Post | Print This Post Print This Post

In 1931, Joseph Gavit, the senior librarian at the New York Public Library, published a list of known newspaper reprints: “A List Of American Newspaper Reprints”. This well-known but seldom found 16 page booklet begins: “This is an attempt to bring together, in one list, notes on all the complete separate reproductions of early or historic issues of American newspapers…”, with more to follow. At the time the list included nearly 150 reprint editions. Although the list has grown to more than 500 editions, most of the more common reprints were identified by Gavit.

We’ve created a listing “For Information Purposes Only” on the Rare & Early Newspapers website which includes photos of his work. We hope you find it useful.

An expanded list of newspaper reprints can be explored at Common Reprints – several which can be explored through this Blog by searching for “reprint“.

If you liked this post, you may also enjoy...

Filed under: Collecting Newspapers, Common Questions, The Collectible Community, The Hobby
Tagged: , ,

Capturing the Vibe – January 3, 1938…

November 6, 2023 by · Leave a Comment 
Email This Post Email This Post | Print This Post Print This Post

A new year and a new edition of “Capturing the Vibe” where we try to imagine what the world felt like to a newspaper reader from the past by immersing ourselves in their … “vibe of the day”… perhaps with a cup of coffee in hand on a snowy day where you are.

So, on we go with this month’s issue…

January 3, 1938… the start of a new year… Roosevelt gives a message to Congress.

 

A Map Shows the “Black Plague of the Twentieth Century” which was defined as a WORLD-WIDE TREND OF GOVERNMANTAL DOMINATION OR LIBERTIES

 

On a more frivolous note … 35 long-wed couples make merry at party with dinner and dancing.

 

Nelson Eddy/Elanor Powell & Tyron Power/ Alice Fay had movies premier.

 

Coverage of The Sugar Bowl.

 

 

And last but by no means least … a Genuine RCA Victor Electric Tuning Radio was only $89.95!

If you liked this post, you may also enjoy...

Filed under: Newspaper Collecting Ideas, The 20th & 21st Centuries
Tagged: ,

Announcing: Catalog #336 for November, 2023 – Rare & Early Newspapers…

November 3, 2023 by · Leave a Comment 
Email This Post Email This Post | Print This Post Print This Post

 

The November catalog (#336) is now available. Shown below are links to various segments of the catalog, our currently discounted newspapers, and recent posts to the History’s Newsstand Blog. Please enjoy.

CATALOG #336 – This latest offering of authentic newspapers is comprised of more than 300 new items, a selection which includes the following noteworthy issues: Lincoln’s assassination (in a Washington, D.C. newspaper), the famous ‘Dewey Defeats Truman’ newspaper, Bunker Hill & Washington becomes commander-in-chief, a rare newsbook dated 1647, Paul Revere engraved the masthead, John Wilkes Booth’s final performance at Ford’s Theatre, and more.

 

 

Helpful Links to the Catalog:
————–
DISCOUNTED ISSUES – What remains of last month’s discounted issues may be viewed at: Discount (select items at 50% off)
————–
Thanks for collecting with us.

 

Sincerely,

 

Guy Heilenman & The Rare & Early Newspapers Team

570-326-1045

[The links above will redirect to the latest catalog in approx. 30 days

upon which time it will update to the most recent catalog.]

If you liked this post, you may also enjoy...

Filed under: Announcements, Catalog Release Announcements, Civil War, Collecting Newspapers, Colonial, Confederate, Death Reports, Great Headlines, Newspaper Collecting Ideas, Noteworthy Issues, Old West Era, Post Civil War, Pre Civil War, Revolutionary War, Sports, The 1500's, The 1500's - 1700's, The 1600's, The 1700's, The 19th Century, The 20th & 21st Centuries, The Hobby, The War of 1812, Yankee
Tagged: , ,

« Previous Page — Next Page »