This week we continue our curators' acquisitions stories with curator of newspapers Vince Golden. His story combines elements of both of the previous posts (I and II), making for quite an interesting turn of events! There are various phrases in the English language that mean act immediately. Strike while the iron is hot. He who hesitates ...
Peoria Daily Transcript (IL) Sept. 27, 1858. June 9, 1859. Those who research the history of printing love mistakes. It is the little “oops” that give us clues into the methods of production. A piece of type might work loose and fall on top of the bed and get printed that way, showing us the shape of ...
The Franklin, or, A Political, Agricultural, and Mechanical Gazette (Washington, DC) Oct. 31, 1801. No. 1. The Franklin was published by James Lyon. Inside the front wrapper is a note from Lyon about his difficulties publishing the Friend of the People (Richmond, VA) and having to move to Washington before subscribers received “the full worth of ...
On the evening of June 26, 1799, a major summer thunderstorm passed through Worcester. One result was that a warehouse that Isaiah Thomas used to store printing materials was struck by lightning, causing damage. Of course something like that was newsworthy and a detailed report appeared in the next issue of Thomas’s paper, the Massachusetts ...
The Past is Present posting for April 8th about timing told of a volume of a periodical that got away from AAS despite the urging of Marcus McCorison. This was the National Magazine published in Richmond, Virginia and Washington D.C. in 1799-1800 by James Lyon. He was a Vermont printer who fled the state. Mr. ...
The American Antiquarian Society has a large number of periodicals and newspapers of which only a single issue was printed before they folded. There are a variety of reasons for why this might be. Sometimes issue no. 1 is really a prospectus trying to generate interest and subscribers, but failing in this mission. Often it ...
In show business timing is everything. It is the same at the American Antiquarian Society. Sometimes you acquire a piece when a researcher is here and it is just what he or she needs. Other times you acquire an item and you think it would have been perfect for that person that was here the ...
Aspinwall Courier. Aspinwall, Panama. In the 1850s, Aspinwall (today known as Cólon) was founded as one of the end points of the Panama Railroad, which spanned the isthmus for and provided part of the route to and from the California gold rush regions. This paper was edited by Frederic E. Foster and printed in English for ...
On Friday, April 5th from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., the American Antiquarian Society will be hosting our 6th Annual Adopt-A-Book event. This event is an important fundraiser for the curatorial team at the Society, and monies raised will go towards future acquisitions of books, prints, newspapers, manuscripts, and children’s literature. Below are examples of two ...
The National Pathfinder (Nashville, Tennessee). Mar. 5, 1860. This appears to be mainly an advertising paper with small bits of news and poetry. Even some of the news items are really puff pieces for local businesses. According to a Nashville directory from 1860 it was published in the office of the Nashville Patriot which had a ...
The Clay Tribune (New York). May 4 – Nov. 2, 1844. 23 issues. This file combined with the issues already owned by AAS gives us one of three known complete files of this campaign newspaper. It was published by Horace Greeley as a separate political issue of the daily and weekly Tribune. Greeley greatly admired Henry ...
Plea for the Oppressed and Enslaved (Austinburg, OH). Feb. 3, 1847. Vol. 1, no. 3. This title was mentioned in a county history in 1878, but no copy could be located in any library or historical society. The content was mostly written by Betsey Mix Cowles and Abby Kelley Foster and was published by Jane Elizabeth ...
The Iris, or Orleans Evening Post (New Orleans, LA). June 27, 1823. Vol. 1, no. 57. This is an unrecorded daily New Orleans newspaper that appeared on eBay. It was started by the New Orleans Typographical Association in May 1823. According to an article in the Salem Gazette (MA) of June 3, 1823, this paper was ...
Each year, the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) honors a person or an organization with the Isaiah Thomas Award in Publishing in recognition of their outstanding contributions to the industry. This year’s award honors AAS, in honor of the 200th anniversary of our founding by none other than Isaiah Thomas himself. The award ceremony will take place ...
Southern Rights (Jacksonville, FL). Oct. 4, 1862. When Brigadier General J.M. Brannan took over Jacksonville, FL, his troops found standing type in the newspaper office and pied it. Later some of them took a proof sheet of the Oct. 4, 1862 copy and added an extra paragraph at the end and printed up some copies “for ...
