The reason I collected it: an “association piece” attached…

June 23, 2025 by · Leave a Comment 
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Occasionally there are items that accompany a newspaper that add a bit of “flavor” to the issue, like a subscription receipt to the newspaper, or a glued subscription label of the subscriber, and occasionally a newspaper that was sent through the postal system with the postage stamp still attached. “The Manchester Guardian” newspaper from England dated July 5, 1861, by itself is inconsequential to history (i.e., it does not appear to contain any historical reports), however, it has an attachment that is rarely found on the front page. In fact, this is the first of this sort we have seen.
Printed on orange paper is a large label headed: “Newspaper Despatch Only. From Liverpool Agency of New York Associated Press…” noting that this newspaper was sent by the steamship “Asia” and that it: “Sailed July 6, 1861” bound for the “HERALD NEW YORK”.
Given this was before the Atlantic telegraph was fully successful, the only way for news to be exchanged across the ocean was by ship. It is possible the Guardian and the Herald had a reciprocal exchange subscription operated by the Associated Press, which was founded 15 years earlier.
Rare to find such an associated attachment and a nice issue to hang on to when found.

Discovery: Under the theme “Golden Nuggets”… After all of the years this has been in-hand, it was just discovered that the back page contains a report on the death of the renowned poet, Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Fun!

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June 19, 1865 – The historical foundation of “Juneteenth”…

June 19, 2025 by · Leave a Comment 
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“Juneteenth”, also known as “Freedom Day”, traces its roots to June 19, 1865, when Union General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, and issued General Order No. 3, officially freeing the last enslaved people in the western Confederacy. Though President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation went into effect on January 1, 1863, its enforcement relied on Union military presence, leaving remote areas like Texas unaware of their liberty until Granger’s announcement more than two years later.

In the years that followed, formerly enslaved communities in Texas and beyond began marking June 19th with readings of the Emancipation Proclamation, songs like “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” and family gatherings. These early observances blended solemn reflection on the horrors of slavery with joyful celebration of resilience and community, laying the groundwork for a distinctly African American holiday honoring freedom and heritage.

Though Texas led the way by making Juneteenth an official state holiday in 1980, its recognition spread gradually until June 17, 2021, when it became a federal holiday—Juneteenth National Independence Day. Today, Juneteenth invites all Americans to reflect on our nation’s delayed promise of liberty, celebrate African American culture, and renew the commitment to racial equality and justice.

Since Juneteenth’s elevation to a federal holiday in 2021, collectors have eagerly hunted for contemporary newspaper accounts of those first celebrations following General Granger’s Order.  Yet, such early reports remain elusive—a notable exception being a brief item in the June 21, 1866 issue of The New York Times (shown below).

Although firsthand press coverage is scarce, that scarcity in no way diminishes the profound significance of American slavery’s end.  Our nation’s work to fulfill the promise enshrined in the Declaration of Independence—“that all men are created equal” and endowed with “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness”—remains unfinished.  We must press on with unwavering resolve, viewing one another through the lens of divine dignity birthed by our Creator and allowing that vision to guide how we honor and uplift each and every person.
For those who would like to explore additional related topics through the eyes of “rare & early” newspapers, feel free to peruse the issues found through the following links:

Slavery

Emancipation

Abolition

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Snapshot June, 1875 – Winslow Homer…

June 16, 2025 by · Leave a Comment 
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Just for fun, I searched through our listings (RareNewspapers.com) to see what interesting events made the news during the month of June from 150 years ago. Honestly, I was slightly underwhelmed. My next step was to search On This Day’s website to see if perhaps we had missed any significant events. Again, and with sincere apologies to anyone who might know of something “newsworthy” which occurred during this timeframe, I think I dosed off once or twice while reading through the list – and it was relatively short. Not prone to raising a white flag prematurely, I made one last attempt adding the key word “newspapers” to my inquiry, and there it was. While my “find” may not be interesting to most, it certainly was to our beloved collectible:

Winslow Homer’s last print for Harper’s Weekly appeared within the issue dated June 26, 1875 – 150 years ago this month. After such wonderful contributions as his “Beardless Lincoln”, “Gathering Berries”, “Snap the Whip”, “Waiting for a Bite” and more, what might he chose to illustrate for his final curtain call? A tribute to those who put their lives on the line for the sake of freedom. Shown below is his “Battle of Bunker Hill–Watching the Fight From Copp’s Hill, In Boston”.

Thanks Winslow. You certainly did your part to help immortalize key events and unique personalities from the mid/late 1800s.

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The June, 2025 Newsletter from Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers…

June 13, 2025 by · Leave a Comment 
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Welcome to the June, 2025 edition of our monthly newsletter. Thanks to everyone who responded to our question concerning the unrecorded issue of “The People“. While on-line information is still elusive, the likelihood of its connection to a publication of the same title which began several years later appears likely. Again… thanks.

As for this month’s newsletter is concerned, below please find links to: new posts on the History’s Newsstand blog, newly discounted items (at 50% off), “bonus items” which were added to this month’s catalog (#355), and our entire June catalog. There is also an invitation regarding the History’s Newsstand. Enjoy!

The History’s Newsstand Blog (new posts)

New Items Added to Catalog 355

Since Catalog 355 went to print we’ve added more than 50 additional issues (including 30+ within the past few days). A few of the highlights include: Adolph Eichmann found guilty (one of the best), Reconciliation rejected (1776), a dramatic issue on the bombing of Pearl Harbor, “First Fleet” about to sail for Botany Bay, trial of Lincoln Conspirators in a racist newspaper, a rare newspaper from Deadwood (Dakota Territory), the Lewis & Clark Expedition, Microsoft reveals “Windows” to the world, and more. The entire list of new items are viewable at:

Catalog 355’s “Newly Listed Items”

This Month’s Set of Discounted Newspapers – 50% Off

Some of the content found within this month’s set of discounted newspapers includes: pre-release color ad for “12 Years a Slave”, review & premiere for “The Color Purple” & “Out of Africa”, review & premiere of “The Help”, creation of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa is found, Adolf Hitler opens the 1936 Summer Olympics, Omaha wins Belmont Stakes for the Triple Crown, mob boss Vito Genovese’s death in 1969, the “opening” of Red China (1978), Bible reading is banned in public schools, etc.. The entire group may be viewed at:

Discounted Newspapers – 50% Off

Catalog 355 (in case you missed it):

The entire Catalog

Key Issues from Catalog 355

Catalog 355 (in “quick scan” format)

Catalog 355 – Priced under $50

INVITATION (revisited)

One of the regular series found on our blog is “SNAPSHOT – YYYY”, where the “Y’s” represent a specific year. The concept is to highlight unusual, unknown, or highly significant events from a particular year. If after perusing the already posted entries you are inspired to share one or more of your own newspapers which you believe would fit in this series, please send a photo and a brief description to me at guy@rarenewspapers.com. Also include whether you would like to be identified (we include your initials, town, and state). Thanks.
As always, thanks for collecting with us!
Sincerely,
Guy Heilenman & The Rare & Early Newspapers Team
570-326-1045

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Where game history, moral philosophy, and educational theory collide…

June 9, 2025 by · 1 Comment 
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Ben Franklin’s contributions to The Gentleman’s Magazine of the 18th century are well documented, and in multiple instances, quite collectible. A handful of the his more noteworthy appearances include several regarding electricity, the “Magic Square of Squares”, “On the Increase in Mankind”, “Albany Union Plan”, and “The Speech of Miss Poly Baker”. One of the more interesting is his desirable (from a collecting standpoint) “The Morals of Chess”, which appeared in the July, 1787 issue. A bit of research regarding its significance is as follows:

Benjamin Franklin’s essay The Morals of Chess, written in the late 18th century, is a groundbreaking work that presents chess as more than a game, but as a tool for building moral character. Franklin highlights virtues like courtesy, patience, humility, and attentiveness, which he saw as essential to fair play. This focus on etiquette not only pioneered the concept of sportsmanship in chess but also influenced the formal codes of conduct later embraced by chess clubs and federations, establishing the game as a model for civil behavior.

Beyond etiquette, Franklin uses chess as a metaphor for life, reflecting virtues such as prudence and generosity against vices like rashness and envy. He positions the game as a didactic instrument, capable of teaching both strategic thinking and ethical decision-making. This perspective helped cement the idea that games can mirror real-world challenges, offering lessons in intellect and morality—a notion that resonated with later educators and writers who championed “learning through play.”

Finally, the essay embodies Franklin’s Enlightenment ideals of rationality, self-improvement, and social responsibility. By promoting chess as an accessible activity for all, not just the elite, he democratized it, framing it as a means of personal and civic growth. The Morals of Chess thus transformed the game from a courtly pastime into a lasting symbol of strategic thought and ethical conduct, shaping its role in education and society to this day.

Additional details can be viewed on our website at: Franklin’s Morals of Chess

 

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Does anyone know about this obscure Thomas Nast print from 1877?

June 6, 2025 by · 3 Comments 
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Amongst our holdings is an obscure newspaper called “The People” from New York City, dated November 3, 1877. A closer look notes this is the volume 1, number 1 issue, and more curiously, we can find nothing about this newspaper online. This may be the only issue published, and with no mention of it in Gregory’s “Union List of American Newspapers” one wonders whether any institution is aware it even exists.

Compounding this obscurity is the large comic illustration (shown below) of John Morrissey, done by the famed artist Thomas Nast, verified by a small front page article headed: “Our Cartoon”. It verifies: “The accompanying admirable portrait of Our Great Municipal Reformer is one of the earliest made by Nast, and cost $100. It was engraved by a peculiar process which reversed the artist’s signature; but by holding it before the glass the Nast’s familiar handwriting will be recognized.”

Nothing can be found online of the existence of a Thomas Nast print captioned as noted above, let alone being in a newspaper titled: “The People”. With as much academic research that has been on this famed political artist, I find it interesting that nothing seems to be known of it.

So I reach out to all the Thomas Nast scholars, collectors, and admirers. Is anything out there that we are missing as to the existence of this print? Photos accompany this post. It exists; we just want to know more, and hopefully someone can be of help.

 

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The reason I collected it: the perfect logo for the company…

June 2, 2025 by · Leave a Comment 
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When I began this company back in 1975, my offerings were simply typed lists of newspapers I had recently purchased. When an issue sold, I cut it out, added new ones to the bottom of the list, made photocopies of the 8 1/2 by 14 sheets, and mailed them to those expressing interest.

I later evolved my offerings into a small catalog, essentially 8 1/2 by 11 sheets folded in half resulting in 16 pages of 5 1/2 by 8 1/2 inches. I wanted a logo for the cover that would represent what I was selling. Not finding anything magical, I opted for a print of a colonial printing press. Perhaps some of you still have some of those old catalogs featuring the printing press.

But a printing press was too generic. It was not specific to newspapers; books, pamphlets, broadsides–anything with ink–were printed on a printing press. So my quest for a more perfect image continued.

Back in the late 1900’s I was doing research on a collection of the “Illustrated London News“, the model that would be followed by Leslie’s Illustrated, Harper’s Weekly, and a host of other illustrated newspapers. On the back page of an issue from 1862 there was a brief article titled: “The Newsboy“ and it was accompanied by a great print of a young newsboy offering a newspaper (shown below). It was the perfect find. It had an old-time look (it was from 1862 after all), it was specific to newspapers, and it had a generally pleasant appearance that I thought would work well as a logo.

And so it became the framework for our logo (shown to the right above). You will find it front & center on our website and on any number of printed pieces we produce each year. So if you’ve ever wanted how it was created, perhaps appropriately, it came from an old newspaper.

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Announcing: Catalog #355 for June, 2025 – Rare & Early Newspapers…

May 30, 2025 by · Leave a Comment 
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The June catalog (#355) 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 #355 – This latest offering of authentic newspapers is comprised of more than 300 new items, a selection which includes the following noteworthy issues: The Northwest Ordinance, a Paul Revere engraving (Royal American Magazine), Washington’s Farewell Address, Lincoln’s assassination (in his hometown newspaper), the first newspaper printed in North Dakota, Thomas Paine’s “American Crisis” essay, 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.]

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Our History Unites Us – Celebrating Paul Revere with Henry Wadsworth Longfellow…

May 26, 2025 by · Leave a Comment 
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I must admit, a buzz is in the air as we approach America’s 250th anniversary (dare I say … Semiquincentennial). Our family is already starting to make plans on how we will celebrate this tremendous mile mark for our country, and we are relishing the thought of sharing our enthusiasm with others who are equally stirred. So, you can understand my excitement today when I was looking through this month’s catalog and noticed THE ESSEX JOURNAL & NEW HAMPSHIRE PACKET, Newburyport, Massachusetts, Feb. 9, 1776 with a Paul Revere Masthead. Almost instantly, the words of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem popped into my head…

“LISTEN, my children, and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,”

A moment later, after a quick online search, I identified the 1st printing of Longfellow’s poem contained within THE ATLANTIC MONTHLY , Jan. 1, 1861. Heading into the Archives, I was hoping to find a copy and soon returned to my desk with this new treasure in hand. Below, you will find listed interesting insights from an article by… Historic Boston Incorporated:

“What is perhaps more interesting, is that Longfellow’s poem and its story are actually rooted in the bubbling national unrest unfolding in April 1860, when Longfellow began writing it and more than 85 years after Revere’s now famous ride. By the time Longfellow’s most well-known poem was published in The Atlantic Monthly out of the Old Corner Bookstore in January 1861, numerous states had seceded from the Union and by April the nation was at war.

With war on the horizon, Longfellow reflected on the nation’s past as much as its future. A staunch abolitionist, Longfellow wrote “Paul Revere’s Ride” to unify a nation at odds, to remind America of its sacred oath to uphold liberty as the Civil War beckoned. The final stanza has largely been interpreted as a call to action for his fellow Americans to wake up “in the hour of darkness and peril and need” and recall those sacred ideals the United States was founded upon”

So many memorable events to commemorate this next year… so many happenings to celebrate. Here is hoping (and praying) that by focusing on our history we may unify our nation as Longfellow hoped his poem would over 160 years ago.

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Yesterday & Today… Memorial Day & Tariffs…

May 23, 2025 by · Leave a Comment 
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Without a doubt, when Memorial Day arrives, the feel of summer settles in and Patriotism seems to fill the air as the Red, White & Blue flaps gracefully on the warm breezes. Life seems to take a few steps back intime as we gather with family and friends over plates full of deviled eggs and Grandma’s potato salad. On May 29, 1913, Life Magazine featured a beautiful print by Norman Price showing the passing of our heritage of Decoration Day (now Memorial Day) from one generation to the next. In an odd turn of congruency, this issue also has a political cartoon which could not be more in line with today’s headlines on Tariffs and the possible pluses and minuses they may bring to our country. How fitting for both of images to be contained in one publication as America is so much defined by push and pull, delight and difficulty, light and dark. May your Memorial Day Weekend be both lighthearted in celebration and heavy in remembrance of those who gave so much for our Freedom…  and may we figure out an answer to that political cartoon.

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