This one is hard to stomach…

May 19, 2016 by · Leave a Comment 
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I confess, until recently I would never have thought to pick up a copy of a druggist’s publication – unless of course I was looking for an alternative to taking Benadryl as a sleep aid…err, I mean, because of my allergies. However, after perusing a March, 1887 issue of The Druggists Circular, I may need to revise my list of genres of preferred reading. An inside page has an article which is now on my agenda of things to share with my grandchildren the next time we’re on a long hike – preferably on a hot summer day. The article in its entirety is shown below. Please enjoy. Blog-5-19-2016-Snake-Tale

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The Traveler… spreading the word… named director…

May 16, 2016 by · 2 Comments 
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Blog-5-16-2016-American-Bible-SocietyToday I journeyed to New York City by the way of the New-York Spectator of May 15, 1816. There I found the announcement of the formation of “The American Bible Society” which still exist today. Some of the founding/early members include Elias Boudinot, who had been President of the Continental Congress from 1782 to 1783, John Jay, the first Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, Frederick Theodore Frelinghuysen, Daniel Coit Gilman, Edwin Francis Hyde, and Francis Scott Key. The front page report announced the formation of the organization and the third page report contained their resolutions. “… The leading feature of the constitution limits the operations… to the distribution of the bible without note or comment…”.

Also in the issue is an article “Bank of the United States” in which “The President and Senate have appointed the following named, Directors of the Bank of the United States… John Jacob Astor, of the city of New-York…”. Mr. Astor was known as the first prominent member of the Astor family, the first multi-millionaire in the United States and the fifth-richest man in American history.

~The Traveler

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Obtaining the Value of a Newspaper or Collection…

May 12, 2016 by · Leave a Comment 
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We do not monitor requests concerning the value of newspapers through this venue – but we would be glad to assist. If you have a newspaper or a collection for which you are seeking an appraisal, please contact us directly at info@rarenewspapers.com. Please include as many details as possible. Thanks.

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Filed under: Collecting Newspapers, Common Questions, Newspaper Collecting Ideas, Noteworthy Issues, The Collectible Community, The Hobby, The Rare Newspapers Community, Valuation of Issues
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The horrors of Billiards and Baseball… Those were the days…

May 12, 2016 by · Leave a Comment 
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Blog-5-12-2016-1860-baseballA few days ago we posted a blog concerning one of the most shocking events of the 20th century: The 1969 Tate Murders by Charles Manson and his followers. As we reflect back on the turbulent 1960’s, the tragic and bizarre murders seem to have been a somewhat appropriate ending to a very troubled era in American history. Perhaps ironically, nearly 100 years prior and on the opposite coast, the New York Times (October 26, 1860) was reporting about two other societal stressors: billiards and baseball. While we all can appreciate the horrors of billiards (who doesn’t identify with “Ya got trouble, right here in River City”), the article on baseball is what catches our attention. Apparently, young boys playing baseball in the park were creating a high degree of angst among the strollers of the day. Who among us would not trade the distractions and temptations of today’s youth for the youthful pastime activities of yesteryear?

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Great Headlines Speak For Themselves… Yet others… The Manson Murders…

May 9, 2016 by · Leave a Comment 
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Over the past few years we have listed a series of posts titled: “Great Headlines Speak For Themselves,” with the first line being: “The best headlines need no commentary.” However, in some instances history would prove other headlines to be grossly understated. Such is the case of the headline on one of the most desirable newspapers reporting the horrific murders which would eventually be attributed to Charles Manson and some of his followers. While still dramatic, the initial (false) implication of the house pool boy, relative to the actual truth regarding the murders, deflates the historical impact of many “1st-report” headlines as illustrated in The Herald Examiner, Los Angeles, August 10, 1969.Blog-5-9-2016-Charles-Manson

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A May, 2016 stroll back thru time – 50, 100, 150, 200, & 250 years ago…

May 6, 2016 by · Leave a Comment 
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Blog-5-5-2016-Negro-AsylumWhat news was reported in the month of May – 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.
      May
1966 – 50 years ago
1916 – 100 years ago
1866 – 150 years ago
1816 – 200 years ago
1766 – 250 years ago

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The Traveler… the Irish uprising ends… Is Villa dead or alive?

May 2, 2016 by · Leave a Comment 
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Today I traveled to Atlanta, Georgia, by the way of The Atlanta Constitution dated May 2, 1916. I found that Easter had been anything but a time of peace and reflection in Ireland as the news of the surrender of the Sinn Fein rebels was being reported on the front page. “All the rebels in Blog-5-2-2016-Irish-IndependenceDublin have surrendered… There were 1,000 prisoners in Dublin yesterday, of whom, 489 were sent to England last night… They were informed that the only terms that could be entertained were unconditional surrender. These terms were accepted by them at 6 o’clock this morning. It was reported later that the rebels were surrendering today on these terms…”

Also being reported was “Villa Is Eliminated, According to Mexicans”. “‘We are satisfied that Villa bandits are no longer to be looked upon as a menace to the peace of the country,’ he said. ‘The American troops should be withdrawn to restore tranquility among the people. It is believed that Villa has either been killed or driven to refuge where he will no longer molest either Americans of Mexicans’…”. The report of Pancho Villa’s death was false as he did not die until 1923.

~The Traveler

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What would it cost today?

April 28, 2016 by · Leave a Comment 
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I recently came across a large advertisement for a newly built home in a Helena, Montana newspaper from 1892 (see below). After viewing the sketch of the home and reading the details of the listing, I immediately wondered what it might cost in today’s dollars. Thanks to the internet I found an easy-to-use inflation calendar, entered the needed data, and voila! I couldn’t have been more wrong. Just for fun, respond to this post with your guess, and then give it a try. I hope you have a better sense of the impact of inflation on the value of the almighty dollar-over-time than I.Blog-4-28-2016

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Presumed guilty… Lizzie given the ax by some before the end of the trial…

April 25, 2016 by · Leave a Comment 
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Blog-4-25-2016-Lizzie-BordenIt can be interesting to read headlines in newspapers of past centuries and note quickly how politically incorrect publishers were, and how there was little concern to presume a defendant guilty in the press before a trial even began.

The renowned case of Lizzie Borden, accused of murdering her parents, found coverage in “The Memphis Appeal-Avalanche” issue of August 30, 1892. Even during the inquest the newspaper was quick to include column heads, almost poetically presented: “About Miss Lizzie Borden” “Nearer and Nearer Looms the Gallows-Tree Before Her” “Clearer and Clearer It Appears She’s a Murderess” and more (see). In today’s world publishers are quick to use words such as “alleged”, or “accused of” which make no inference of guilt of innocence. Not so in the 19th century.

 

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Don’t believe everything you read…

April 21, 2016 by · Leave a Comment 
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Blog-4-25-2016-TimThe Pennsylvania Packet issue of November 22, 1785 contains a curious report which puzzled me, for although admitting my knowledge of American history is far from where it should be, I do not recall reading of Ben Franklin being captured by Barbary pirates upon his return from France as Ambassador.

Page 2 of this newspaper has a letter from Captain Thomas Truxtun, later of Constellation fame, dated August 20, 1785 from Algiers–with Ben Franklin as a passenger no less–mentions an encounter with Barbary pirates: “…Our being entirely unprepared for such an attack, put it out of our power to make resistance, & after sending sufficient men on board to navigate the ship they put the whole of the crew and myself in heavy irons & bore away for this place…to suffer the cruel infliction of slavery, and God only know whether I shall ever have an opportunity of seeing or writing to you again. Poor Doctor Franklin bears this reverse of fortune with more magnanimity than I could have imagined.”

Ben Franklin taken away in irons? Really??

I turned to our friend/long-term customer/naval expert George Emery for some explanation of this report. He relates that in Eugene Ferguson’s biography of Trustun, “Truxtun of the Constellation” (1956) he mentions this rumor while explaining Truxtun’s decision to arm the London Packet (to be renamed the Canton) for a forthcoming voyage to China. And the source of this rumor was this very newspaper: the Pa. Packet of Nov. 22, 1785. Apparently some enterprising reporter, “confusing ” Truxtun’s reasoning for arming the Canton to rewrite the “future” as a scary & perilous event of the past, all–perhaps–to sell more copies of the newspaper. Or perhaps Truxtun himself was responsible for this letter’s presence in the Pennsylvania Packet to bolster support for arming American merchant vessels then sailing to Europe, and particularly the Mediterranean.

Ferguson goes on to mention in his book: “…while he was yet bringing Franklin home during the last voyage, it was rumored in London that Captain Truxtun’s ship had been captured by the Barbary corsairs and that all aboard, including the great Franklin, were consigned to slavery in Algiers…”.

The capture never happened.

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