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Finding those unexpected historical nuggets.
October 13, 2008 by TimHughes · 5 Comments
Few thrills are greater in the rare newspaper collecting hobby than finding the unexpected historic gem. Those moments of serendipity are the treasures we all hope for at some point in our quest for new additions to our collection.
I have come across many in my years of collecting with two among the more interesting.
Long before the days of the internet I subscribed to the catalogs of the prestigious Sotheby’s auction house in New York City as they occasionally ran Americana sales which included newspapers. One sale offered an 
issue of the SOUTH CAROLINA GAZETTE from August of 1776. Trying to assemble one newspaper of all thirteen colonies from the Revolutionary War, this would be a new addition to that set. The lengthy catalog description noted some war skirmishes but nothing significant. But that was not a concern to me as I was only seeking a title from that colony from during the war, and the date of 1776 made it that much better. I placed my bid and was excited to learn I won the issue.
Several weeks later the issue arrived. In preparing it for my collection I casually looked over the content, and you can imagine my shock upon finding on page 2 a complete printing of the Declaration of Independence! I couldn’t imagine the incompetence of the cataloger–employed by Sotheby’s no less–who missed this report.
Not many years ago we purchased the newspaper holding of a public library in Massachusetts which includes a lengthy run of a Springfield newspaper, in fact two truckloads of volumes ranging from the mid-1800’s thru the latter part of the 20th century. Knowing the wealth of historical material which could be culled from this collection we put our attention to those events for several months upon its return to our
office & warehouse in Williamsport. Some time later we realized that the sport of basketball was founded in Springfield. Could we be so fortunate to to find a report off the very first game every played? Did the local newspaper even report what is now an extremely significant event in the history of basketball?
Indeed they did. The Springfield Republican, March 12, 1892 issue reported somewhat inconspicuously on page 6 an event headed “Basket Football Game” played the day before (which we now recognize as the first public basketball game), with mention of James Naismith who is recognized as the founder of the sport. It was a thrill to find the report which languished for over 100 years, unbeknown to anyone, in the back shelves of a library. Curiously the curator of the Basketball Hall of Fame didn’t appreciate its significance, however the Smithsonian Institution did as it now is part of their collection.
What historical gems have you discovered serendipitously in issues purchased for another reason, or as part of a collection where nothing special was expected? Feel free to share your stories with other collectors!
Old news is good news for collectors…
October 8, 2008 by GuyHeilenman · 2 Comments
David Chesanow recently posted an interview with Tim on his informative website americollector.com. With comments like “…newspapers, like books, extend into every collecting field…” and “Newspapers… are original historical evidence…”, David seems to get it right. The interview included such topics as:
- What newspapers do you (Tim) yourself collect specifically – by region, era, subject – or is the field your area and you just like the rarest, most historic items?
- What are the collecting areas within the hobby?
- What are some of the interesting collecting areas of some of your (Rare Newspapers) customers?
- What are the “Holy Grails” of newspaper collecting?
- Are newspapers ever forged? For example, aren’t there a lot of professionally done reprints in England?
- What have newspapers been made of over the years, and how perishable are they?
- Are the high-acid papers necessarily hard to preserve?
- When was the transition from rag content to high-acid paper in the U.S. and abroad?
- What’s the best way to store newspapers?
- Now that the Internet is killing printed papers, do you think the latter will become increasingly collectible?
To access the full text of the interview, go to “Old news is good news for collectors“. Thanks David for your fine contribution to the community and for your outstanding website!
Questions… Questions? Questions!
September 25, 2008 by TimHughes · 22 Comments
Given that collecting early and rare newspapers is a relatively unknown hobby, there is certainly a wealth of questions which continually come our way by those intrigued by what we offer.
“Don’t the old ones just fall apart?” “Are your issues genuine?” “Do you just sell clippings?” “How big are the headlines?” “Why is the newspaper so white–it can’t be genuine!” “Why are the prices so low?” “Where do you get these newspapers?” “What determines a newspaper’s value?”. etc., etc.
A prime purpose of this blog is to create an atmosphere where we can encourage an on-going discourse about the hobby, and allow everyone to pose questions and topics for discussion, which we will be happy to address in future posts.
Do be in touch with your questions, thoughts, or observations on the hobby. We encourage all to participate and to respond to one another’s thoughts to foster an interesting and meaningful exchange on this fascinating hobby. The easiest way to suggest topics and/or offer questions for future discussion is by responding to this post. Thanks in advance for joining the discussion!
Meet the Staff – Timothy J. Hughes – Founder
September 17, 2008 by GuyHeilenman · 17 Comments
Much can be read and said about Tim Hughes, the collector:
- He began collecting coins as a child and quickly became disgruntled with the exuberant prices, which led him to search for an unexploited but interesting collectible. It was this search which helped launch his interest in and love for rare newspapers.
“I wanted to find a hobby that dealt with old things that hadn’t been exploited, that people really didn’t know much about. My thinking was that if it was a hobby that hadn’t been exploited, the prices would be fairly right.”
- He began Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers in 1976, working part-time from his home. By 1989, the business had grown such that he left his job with Little League Baseball to devote his efforts full-time to the collecting and selling of historic newspapers.
“Whatever money I made selling newspapers, I bought more. It just started snowballing. Eventually I needed to find another location and was able to secure the site of my father’s former saw-sharpening business. It brings me great pleasure to have built the business on the same spot which solicits fond memories of my childhood. My father, who contributes to the business on a part-time basis, still has the opportunity to see the reward of his labor.”
- During the next 20 years the business continued to grow – staff were added, warehouses were annexed to the existing facility, the private collection grew, and rare newspaper friends were made. Eventually Tim decided to sell a majority interest in the company to a group of investors from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Guy Heilenman was brought in as a part-owner and president, and received 9 months of intensive training from Tim. Although Tim’s intention was to retire, his love for the hobby proved to be too great. As a result, Tim continues to retain part ownership and works as a full-time consultant and part-time contributor to the daily activities of the business. His input is invaluable.
“I’ve always loved this. It’s something that I started from scratch on my own and because I loved it, it’s just been fun. I’ve been very fortunate. I consider myself one of the few people who really loves their work.”
But what about Tim Hughes, the person? He is a family man who dearly loves his wife (Chris) and son (Ben). He is a man of faith who pours himself regularly into the lives of the young people at his church. He continually looks for ways to give back to the community as evidenced by his current and past board appointments to Little League Baseball and North Central Sight Services (a non-profit association helping to meet the needs of the visually impaired). He is also a man of integrity and a loyal friend. Although his knowledge of the hobby is recognized around the world, his humility and love for the collectible continues to fuel ways to enhance the rare newspaper community.
His expertise, sincerity, loyalty and love of the hobby will all be reflected in his blog post contributions. We are both honored and privileged to have him.
Welcome to the History’s Newsstand Blog!
September 17, 2008 by GuyHeilenman · Leave a Comment
Welcome to the History’s Newsstand Blog published by Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers. The heart behind the blog is to provide an environment where the love and knowledge of the hobby will be advanced. Over the years many of our fellow collectors have requested such a forum where they can both present their thoughts regarding the collectible and solicit advice from Tim, all with an intention of increasing the awareness of this wonderful, yet relatively unknown collectible. Our hope is that through ongoing discussion focused on early newspapers, novices and experienced collectors alike will benefit from the dialog. We are honored and excited about the opportunity to help guide such discourse.
Future posts will cover topics related to noteworthy headlines, contemporary reporting of major historic events, the pricing & valuation of old newspapers, preservation & storage, what makes collecting rare newspapers different (and we believe more interesting) than other collectibles (finding golden nuggets, viewing history intimately through the eyes of those whom were there, etc.), the impact of historic newspapers on revisionist history, how to build a collection, and much more. There will also be an opportunity for our collector friends to share their experiences. It is a journey we will take together. Hopefully we will have fun, grow in knowledge, and develop a sense of community.
We welcome and encourage relevant comments and discussion, but fully expect participants to be respectful and considerate of the authors and our business. Since our core values are firmly planted upon the solid foundation of the Judeo-Christian ethic, we ask that all discussion be family friendly. We reserve the right to moderate, delete or edit comments that are vulgar, disrespectful, spam, clearly off topic, or that promote other services and products. Thank you for your understanding.
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Welcome again to the launch of the History’s Newsstand’s Blog – a home for those interested in fostering the breadth and depth of the rare newspapers hobby. Spread the word!
Timothy Hughes Rare & Early Newspapers . . .
. . . History’s Newsstand
“…desiring to conduct ourselves honorably in all things.” Hebrews 13:18