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Sedentary? Perhaps all you need is a little Jolt to get you going…
March 15, 2021 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment 
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When we think of life in the 19th century (and prior), many adjectives come to mind but “sedentary” isn’t one of them. However, couch potatoes (minus the couch since few could afford them) must have been somewhat prevalent as to inspire an entrepreneur to come up with a solution: The JOLT! Whereas advertisements for such “inventions” were quite common in Scientific American, we recently discovered this one on the back page of a May 9, 1885 Harper’s Weekly. Although the contraption may not have been much of a financial (or health-generating) success, the mantra, “if at first you don’t succeed…”, merged with humanity’s proclivity for rest and relaxation, has served manufacturers and designers of exercise equipment for quite some time.
It’s interesting to note this ad occurred in May – long past the expiration date of most New Year’s resolutions. Perhaps making and then breaking annual promises to one-self is more of a recent pastime.
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- The Peace of Christmas… An image reminiscent of my own experience…
- They put it in print… The floating soap surfaces…
A Fly on the Wall at Lincoln’s Cooper Union Speech…
March 11, 2021 by LauraH · Leave a Comment Email This Post
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How often have we all said, “I wish I could have been a fly on the wall.”? This week, as I helped a customer with an order, I was struck again with how often that statement is uttered here in our RareNewspapers office. This gentleman was beside himself over an issue we had obtained covering Abraham Lincoln’s Cooper Speech (see image below). Hearing him excitedly describe the content soon grabbed my imagination as well. As I finished his order and set the phone back into the cradle, I dug in to find any additional issues we may might still have highlighting this historic speech. Reading aloud (yet quietly to myself), I was transported to the scene. Follow me for a few moments to this history defining moment in time, picking up at the end of William Cullen Bryant’s (American poet & editor of the NEW YORK EVENING POST) introduction of this great American Hero…
“‘I have only to pronounce his name to secure your profoundest attention’ [Prolonged applause, and cheers for Lincoln]. Mr. Lincoln advanced to the desk, and smiling graciously upon his audience, complacently awaited the termination of the cheering and then proceeded with his address as follows…”. What followed was the speech that triggered Lincoln’s famous quote: “Another Republican Orator on the Stump.”
So many current phrases could be used to describe this moment in time: “A Star is Born”, “For Such a Time as This”… but for me, all I could think of was, “I wish I could have been a fly on the wall”, and I’m so grateful to the THE NEW YORK TIMES reporter who helped me to be one on February 28, 1860.
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- A Fly on the Wall at the Lincoln-Douglas Debates…
- For United We Stand…
- John Brown, 1859… What would you be willing to die for?
- History’s Hidden Gems… President Lincoln, July 4th, 1861…
- A Fly on the Wall… Ben Franklin at the Printing Press…
Lincoln & Whitman … it’s all in the perspective…
March 8, 2021 by LauraH · Leave a Comment Email This Post
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“It was the best of times; it was the worst of times”… The concept of polar opposites has always been fascinating to me and as I perused issues we have dated March 8 across the decades, the following two contrasting events caught my eye:
On March 8, 1865, Abraham Lincoln gave his 2nd Inaugural address. The country had spent the last several years in despair as brother killed brother, parents grieved and wives desperately tried to determine how they would survive without their husbands. The Civil War was the darkest period in our young countries history, arguably, even to this day. President Lincoln bore this heavy mantle with grace and dignity when it may have killed a man of lesser conviction.
Simultaneously, Walt Whitman was taking the epic that was the American Story and transforming even it’s dark and ugly pieces into a more palatable and poetic form.
On March 8, 1888 the New York Herald printed another of Whitman’s works titled, My Canary Bird. Publishing his works in the newspaper put Whitman’s perspective of America in the hands of the common man which is exactly where he would have wanted it. Beauty from Ashes, the American Story had a devotee in Walt Whitman. He had a way of making “The worst of times” into “The best of times”.
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Recalling Paul Revere’s ‘midnight ride’…
March 4, 2021 by TimHughes · 2 Comments Email This Post
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As newspaper collectors we relish the opportunity to find newspaper accounts of the intriguing moments in American–if not world–history.
But many events simply did not make it to print.
An account of the pealing of the Liberty Bell in 1776, a detailed account of Washington’s crossing of the Delaware, Nathan Hale’s boast ‘I only regret I have but one life to lose for my country’, and Patrick Henry’s bold pronouncement ‘Give me liberty or give me death!’ are but a few.
Accounts of Paul Revere’s midnight ride rank among them. In our 45 years in the hobby we can recall only two newspapers having but a very brief reference to the ride. It was not until Longfellow’s poem ‘Paul Revere’s Ride’, written in 1860, did the world become familiar with the daring and patriotic mission.
We recently discovered a fascinating nugget on Revere’s ride.
A 1795 issue of the Boston newspaper Columbian Centinel (December 5, 1795) has a supportive letter from when Paul Revere was running for the vacated post of Town Treasurer. The writer makes rather derailed reference to the event in 1775, far more detailed than any account previously found despite being 20 years after it happened. See the photo for the full report.
Such little gems, typically buried inconspicuously among the political reports, advertisements, and varied notices of the day, are what thrill those in the search of notable events in history.
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- The Stuff of Legends… Paul Revere and his ride into near-mythical status…
- How Paul Revere’s Ride Was Published And Censored IN 1775…
- Our History Unites Us – Celebrating Paul Revere with Henry Wadsworth Longfellow…
- Time capsule dating to 1795 included coins, newspapers…
- Lead-up to a Nation… as reported in the newspapers of the day (February, 1776)…
Announcing: Catalog #304 (for March, 2021) is now available…
March 1, 2021 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment Email This Post
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- Catalog 304 (in its entirety)
- Noteworthy Catalog 304 ($250+)
- Combined Catalogs (current, w/ remnants of previous)
Don’t forget about this month’s DISCOUNTED ISSUES.
The links above will redirect to the latest catalog in approx. 30 days,
upon which time it will update to the most recent catalog.
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- Announcing: Catalog #280 (for March, 2019) is now available…
- Announcing: Catalog #298 (for September, 2020) is now available…
- Announcing: Catalog #292 (for March, 2020) is now available…
- Announcing: Catalog #297 (for August, 2020) is now available…
- Announcing: Catalog #282 (for May, 2019) is now available…
William Cowper speaks out against slavery (1791)… They put it in print…
February 25, 2021 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment Email This Post
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Thank goodness “cancel culture” did not exist (at least in [Wilbur]force) back in 18th century.
Flashback to the late 17oo’s… Although slavery had been part and parcel of many cultures for thousands of years, and was certainly woven throughout all aspects of life and commerce in Great Britain, some were staunchly against the practice and had the courage to fight for those whose skin color did not match their own. One such person who was particularly outspoken in this regard was the popular and well-respected poet/hymnologist William Cowper. Although taking such a stand was both an affront and a danger to the political and social mores of the day, he (and others with similar convictions) were permitted to speak, and in the long-run, the world’s view was eventually transformed. How do we know? They (actually) put it in print!
The following excerpt from one of his anti-slavery poems was printed in the Columbian Centinel dated June 16, 1791:
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- Snapshot 1807… William Cowper and the Slave Trade…
- Mike Drop from 1886… Frederick Douglass Leaves Us All Stunned…
- Snapshot 1866 – Slavery: A Wound on the Soul of a Nation…
- They Put It In Print… FDR “packs” Supreme Court… In his own words…
- More than just another anti-slavery newspaper… A recent find…
They put it in print… the R.M.S. Carpathia…
February 22, 2021 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment Email This Post
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On April 15, 1912, the R.M.S. Carpathia became the hero of the day by coming to the rescue of many of the survivors of the Titanic. For the next several stops it went is was met with cheering crowds of adoration. However, a mere half-dozen years later it met a German U-55 submarine, and it was not well-received. Three torpedoes later it joined the Titanic at the bottom of the sea. Sadly, unlike the Titanic, there were no survivors. How do we know? The July 20, 1918 Springfield Republican put it in print.
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- Snapshot 1969… Teddy Kennedy in hot water…
- Snapshot 1969… Teddy Kennedy (was) in cold water…
- They Never Saw it Coming… The Sinking of the Titanic.
- They Put It In Print – Everyone Aboard The Titanic Survived!!?
- Great Headlines Speak for Themselves… The Sinking of the Titanic!
Snapshot 1936… It’s time to help the Jews…
February 15, 2021 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment Email This Post
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In the midst of rampant anti-Semitism, and just a few years prior to the start of the Holocaust, David Lloyd George, the former Prime Minister of Great Britain, made an impassioned plea for the world to come to the rescue of the Jewish People by providing them with the homeland they had been promised decades earlier. In his speech he reminded the world of how the Jews had come to the aid of England… and the United States… and Russia, and were now in need of a response in kind. Unfortunately his call to action fell on deaf ears and the impact of heads buried in the sand now stands as a black mark on the timeline of history. The following account of his appeal to the House of Commons was found in The Scranton Times dated June 10, 1936:
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- Rare Judaica Collectibles Spanning Three Centuries – 1600’s, 1700’s, & 1800’s…
Announcing: Catalog #303 (for February, 2021) is now available…
February 11, 2021 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment Email This Post
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- Catalog 303 (in its entirety)
- Noteworthy Catalog 303 ($250+)
- Combined Catalogs (current, w/ remnants of previous)
Don’t forget about this month’s DISCOUNTED ISSUES.
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...
- Announcing: Catalog #292 (for March, 2020) is now available…
- Announcing: Catalog #314 (for January, 2022) is now available…
- Announcing: Catalog #296 (for July, 2020) is now available…
- Announcing: Catalog #300 (for November, 2020) is now available…
- Announcing: Catalog #299 (for October, 2020) is now available…
From Waco to Brooklyn…
February 8, 2021 by LauraH · Leave a Comment Email This Post
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Have you ever been thinking one thing and a moment later your mind has completely carried you down several rabbit holes and back up into a field far away? As you try to retrace your steps, you are utterly amazed at how you ever ended up where you did. I find history to be much the same. I may begin my historical trek in a tiny town in the mountains of Northern Pennsylvania, but before long I find I’ve meandered to the center of New York City. Such is the journey I took this snowy afternoon.
Every day I drive past an old industrial complex in my mountain town Of Williamsport, PA.. The signage says, “Williamsport Wire Rope Company” and the factory yard is filled with enormous spools stacked about … a photographer’s fantasy for possible black and white images. This picturesque scene is what originally caught my attention on those many drives home. This particular day a rabbit trail led me to an exploration of what the wire cable produced in this factory would have been used for which quickly lead me to an engineer named John Augustus Roebling (1806 – 1869). John had owned the very first wire cable company, similar to the one in my town. Not satisfied to just produce these cables, his mind dreamt of the many, yet be discovered, uses those wires might have … Voila ! … Suspension Bridges. As a suspension bridge designer and builder extraordinaire, he was instrumental in creating the beautiful city of Pittsburgh which became known as “The City of Bridges”. From Pittsburgh to the Niagara River … from Waco to Brooklyn NY, this man took spools of wire cable and transformed each area he touched into a practical work of art. My rabbit trail reminds me that my local history can be the start of the very best future road trips. Whether your interests lie with new scientific discoveries, historical biographies or works of art, much of history can satisfy almost any inquisitive mind. I see a historical bridge excursion coming this spring… perhaps even from Waco to Brooklyn.
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