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The Traveler… being “turn’d off”…
September 19, 2016 by The Traveler · Leave a Comment 
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Today my journey took me to London, England, by the means of The Post Boy dated September 20, 1716. There I found the Ottoman-Venetian War was going strong with little relief for the Turks. Even their truce request of a couple hours in order to bury dead had been denied. Then only to be faced with coming into 
battle with nails and iron and iron spikes being hidden in the sand and planks at the Communication Bridge which lamed their horses and then to be fired upon by cannon and small shot, killing more men.
I found an interesting article on the back page. “…Last Wednesday night, a Man being at the Gallows, about to be hang’d, was pardon’d; and the Friday following, another being just ready to be turn’d off, the Duchess of Berry pass’d by that Place to the Opera, and ask’d what was the Matter. Being told, she order’d the Lieutenant-Criminal to deferr Execution, while she went back, and interceded for him to the Duke-Regent. Having obtain’d his Pardon, she sent one of her Pages with it; whereupon, the Cord was cut from about his Neck, and he with much ado brought down the ladder…”
~The Traveler
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Introducing: RareNewspapers.com – The 1600’s and 1700’s…
September 15, 2016 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment Email This Post
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Collectible 1600s & 1700s Newspapers
“History is never more fascinating than when it’s read from the day it was first reported.”
It might not be your first thought, but newspapers from the 1600s and 1700s are very similar content-wise to modern newspapers. Early newspapers contained reports on wars, natural disasters, listed items for sale, and published death notices. Sound familiar? Newspaper content hasn’t changed drastically in 300-plus years. It is interesting to read accounts from this era and realize how similar we modern folk are to our ancestors. It seems that people at their core are mostly the same, and to this day, want to read news covering similar topics. That being said, some aspects of newspapers definitely have changed.
What has changed are the dimensions (smaller then, larger now), the number of pages (fewer then), paper quality (higher quality rag linen then), and the format. Newspapers of this period typically had an inflexible format, meaning that if page three was dedicated to foreign news, even if the most amazing foreign event occurred, it would appear on page three, not page one—period.
Due to the time it would take to typeset and print an issue, breaking news of major events would often be printed on a separate sheet called an “Extra” or an “Extraordinary” that was delivered with the daily issue or sometimes was not distributed until the following day.
Much more can be said regarding newspapers from the 1600’s and 1700’s, but for now, please enjoy the Rare Newspapers dedicated page dedicated to original and historic issues from this era:
The 1600’s and 1700’s
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For whom the Baby Ruth candy bar was named…
September 12, 2016 by TimHughes · 2 Comments Email This Post
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The history of the origin of the name of the “Baby Ruth” candy bar by the Curtis Candy Company is interesting, brought to light recently with our finding the “Frank Leslie’s Illustrated” issue of Jan. 5, 1893. The full front page is an illustration captioned: “Baby Ruth and Her Mother” being the child of President Grover Cleveland. This is the person for whom the “Baby Ruth” candy bar was named, not Babe Ruth the famous baseball star as was popularly though. And the story behind the name is interesting.
In Chicago in 1921 Otto Schnering had a turnaround plan for his Curtis Candy Company. He reformulated his “Kandy Kake” brand confection—a conglomeration of milk chocolate, peanuts and a pudding center “richer than marshmallow, fluffier than nougat, better than either of them”—into a chocolate-covered candy bar with peanuts, caramel and nougat. Along with the new recipe came a new name—Baby Ruth. At first glance, it seemed clear that Schnering had taken advantage of the home run king’s well-known name and tweaked it by one letter in order to avoid paying the “Sultan of Swat” any royalties.
Perhaps because of its perceived connection to the Yankee slugger, Baby Ruth was a big success. By 1926, sales of the candy bar totaled $1 million a month, and the company’s candy-making facilities were the largest of their kind in the world.
In 1926, Ruth decided to enter the candy business himself and licensed his name to the George H. Ruth Candy Company, which sought to register “Ruth’s Home Run Candy” with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Wrappers showed a head shot of a smiling Ruth in his uniform along with the note “Babe Ruth’s Own Candy.” The Curtiss Candy Company sued for copyright infringement and claimed that the candy bar had not been named after the baseball star, but Ruth Cleveland, eldest daughter of President Grover Cleveland. The explanation seemed odd given that the girl nicknamed “Baby Ruth” by the press had been born in 1891, three decades before the introduction of the candy bar. By 1921, not only was she not a baby, she wasn’t even alive, having died of diphtheria in 1904. Newspapers and the American public paid close attention to “Baby Ruth” after her father returned to the White House in 1893 for his second presidential term, but the Clevelands fiercely protected their daughter’s privacy and refused repeated requests by American newspapers to take her photograph. Few Americans ever knew what “Baby Ruth” looked like. By 1921, Babe Ruth was a household name while “Baby Ruth,” who died 17 years beforehand, was an historical footnote. (credit www.history.com)
Given the above, it is curious that this image of Baby Ruth Cleveland appeared on the front page of this very popular illustrated newspaper. Perhaps it is the only image of her in a newspaper.
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Announcing: The 250th Catalog from Rare Newspapers…
September 8, 2016 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment Email This Post
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Catalog 250 is now available. This latest offering of authentic newspapers is comprised of nearly 350 new items. Some of the noteworthy content includes: a printing of the Constitution of the United States, an issue of The Royal Gazette from Charleston (1782), a 1659 newsbook we’ve never offered before, Winslow Homer’s famous “Snap The Ship”, an issue with the British response to the Declaration of Independence, coverage of Cornwallis surrenders at Yorktown, and more. Key items which include the remaining items from the above may be viewed at: Noteworthy Catalog 250
Whereas the entire catalog is shown at Catalog 250, the following links are intended to aid in quickly finding items from the catalog based on era:
• 1500-1799 (full view OR quick-scan “compact” view)
• 1800-1899 (full view OR quick-scan “compact” view)
• 1900-2015 (full view OR quick-scan “compact” view)
To view items from both the current and the previous catalog, go to: Combined Catalogs
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The Traveler… a woman “controlling” the way…
September 5, 2016 by The Traveler · Leave a Comment Email This Post
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Today I traveled to New York City by the way of The New York Times dated September 7, 1966. I found the announcement “Margaret Sanger Is Dead at 82; Led Campaign for Birth Control.” “…As the originator of the phrase ‘birth control’ and its best-known advocate, Margaret Sanger survived Federal indictments, a brief jail term, numerous lawsuits, hundreds of street-corner rallies and raids on her clinics to live to see much of the world accept her view that family planning is a basic human right…”
As per Wikipedia… “She founded the American Birth Control League (ABCL) in 1921 to enlarge her base of supporters to include the middle class. The founding principles of the ABCL were as follows: We hold that children should be (1) Conceived in love; (2) Born of the mother’s conscious desire; (3) And only begotten under conditions which render possible the heritage of health. Therefore we hold that every woman must possess the power and freedom to prevent conception except when these conditions can be satisfied.”
~The Traveler
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A September, 2016 stroll back thru time – 50, 100, 150, 200, & 250 years ago…
September 1, 2016 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment Email This Post
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What news was reported in the month of September – 50, 100, 150, 200, and 250 years ago (1966, 1916, 1866, 1816, 1766)? Such a walk back through time via the eyes of those who read the daily and weekly newspapers of the period can be quite revealing. This is why we often say, “History is never more fascinating than when it’s read from the day it was first reported.” The following links will take you back in time to show the available newspapers from the Rare & Early newspapers website. There’s no need to buy a thing. Simply enjoy the stroll.If you liked this post, you may also enjoy...
- An October, 2016 stroll back thru time – 50, 100, 150, 200, & 250 years ago…
- An August, 2016 stroll back thru time – 50, 100, 150, 200, & 250 years ago…
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- A December, 2016 stroll back thru time – 50, 100, 150, 200, & 250 years ago…
- A May, 2016 stroll back thru time – 50, 100, 150, 200, & 250 years ago…
The Articles of Confederation formally united the 13 colonies (revisited)…
August 29, 2016 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment Email This Post
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An oldie, but a goodie…
The following post was originally published in 2008:
For a collector of historic American documents as printed in period newspapers a printing of the “Articles of Confederation” would be a very significant issue. With much credit to Wikipedia, the creation & importance of this document provides some fascinating reading:
The Articles of Confederation was the governing constitution of the alliance of thirteen independent and sovereign states known as the “United States of America.” The Articles’ ratification, proposed in 1777, was completed in 1781, legally uniting the states by agreement into the “United States of America” as a union with a confederation government. Under the Articles (and the succeeding Constitution) the states retained sovereignty over all governmental functions not specifically deputed to the central government.
The last draft of the Articles was written in the summer of 1777 and adopted by the Second Continental Congress on November 15, 1777 in York, Pennsylvania after a year of debate. The Articles set the rules for operations of the “United States” confederation. The confederation was capable of making war, negotiating diplomatic agreements, and resolving issues regarding the western territories; it could not mint coins (each state had its own currency) nor could it borrow money, whether inside or outside the United States. An important element of the Articles was that Article XIII stipulated that “their provisions shall be inviolably observed by every state” and “the Union shall be perpetual”.
The Articles were created by the chosen representatives of the states in the Second Continental Congress out of a perceived need to have “a plan of confederacy for securing the freedom, sovereignty, and independence of the United States.” Although serving a crucial role in the victory in the American Revolutionary War, a group of “federalists” felt that the Articles lacked provisions for a sufficiently effective government. The key criticism by those who favored a more powerful central state (the federalists) was that the government lacked taxing authority; it had to request funds from the states. Another criticism of the Articles was that they did not strike the right balance between large and small states in the legislative decision making process. Due to its one-state, one-vote structure, the larger states were expected to contribute more but had only one vote. The Articles were replaced by the United States Constitution when created in 1787.
Our issue of the Pennsylvania Ledger dated March 11, 1778 contains the complete printing of the Articles of Confederation. The many photos will allow you to enjoy the significance of the newspaper and to appreciate how those who held this actual edition some 230 years ago might have felt knowing the independent colonies were joining together for a common cause–to not only provide a foundation for a united country which might some day–hopefully–become a world player, but for more immediate purposes, to survive the incursions of the British during the ongoing Revolutionary War. In 1778 no one knew how either effort might turn out.
Enjoy the issue!
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Movie prop newspaper #3… Help needed…
August 25, 2016 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment Email This Post
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Movie prop newspapers are exactly that – newspapers which have been created for the purpose of being used within a specific movie. We wrote on this in detail at: https://blog.rarenewspapers.com/?p=8860.
Over the next few weeks we’ll continue to roll out a series of such issues for which we cannot determine the movie from which it came. Can anyone help? If so, please let us know.
Today’s issue is The San Francisco Daily Times, August 14, 1914, with the featured headline: “WAR DECLARED IN EUROPE!” (see image).
All issues we’ve listed to-date can be found at: Unidentified Movie Prop Newspapers
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Anyone know anything about this newspaper?
August 22, 2016 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment Email This Post
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If any of our collectors are looking for an interesting puzzle to solve, here is one. We’ve come across a single sheet newspaper from Dublin, Ireland, “THE FLYING NEWS-LETTER“, with “Monday October 11” in the dateline. This would seems to be an exceedingly rare title as an internet search resulted in nothing with this title from Dublin.
There is no issue number noted in the masthead as would be typical. There is also no year printed in the dateline, but a search notes that the only Mondays which fell on October 11 from the mid-18th century (my estimate based on paper, format, layout) in which the printer, Edward Exshaw, was working as a printer were 1736 and 1742 as he died in 1748. The years 1725, 1731 also had a Monday, October 11, but a website notes he was “active in Dublin from 1733-1748”. And 1756 and 1762 also had a Monday, October 11, but being after his death his name would not had been in the imprint at the bottom of the back page.
I would be curious to know which of these two years it was printed (no year is noted in any of the articles), and a bit more about how long the newspaper published. Is this issue unique?
Thanks for any help!
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Movie prop newspaper #2… Help needed…
August 18, 2016 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment Email This Post
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Movie prop newspapers are exactly that – newspapers which have been created for the purpose of being used within a specific movie. e wrote on this in detail at: https://blog.rarenewspapers.com/?p=8860. Over the next few weeks we’ll roll out a series of such issues for which we cannot determine the movie from which it came. Can anyone help? If so, please let us know.
Today’s issue is The New York Chronicle, undated, with the featured headline: “PROHIBITION REPEALED” (see image).
All issues we’ve listed to-date can be found at: Unidentified Movie Prop Newspapers
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