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A Collector Information Web Page Provided by Phil Barber, Cambridge, Mass. 02139 Telephone (617) 492-4653 |
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How do I know they're real?
I have studied old books and imprints for over twenty years and unconditionally guarantee everything I sell to be genuine, so you know you will be starting on the right foot. Once you have become accustomed to the appearance and unique "feel" of genuine old printed items, you'll find it easy to spot the few fakes that exist. The distinguishing features to look for are always the kind of paper and the method of printing. It is essentially impossible to produce an exact replica of an old newspaper. The costs of faking the paper and printing would be extremely high and the result could not pass the inspection of a knowledgeable collector.
Few Fakes Exist
Novices can be sometimes overly concerned about the possibility of being fooled by a fake newspaper. Fortunately for the collector, very few reproductions of antiquarian newspapers (that is, before 1900) have been made. Prepared generally for educational or advertising purposes, they are easily discernible from the original article. None was originally produced with the specific intent of cheating collectors, though they sometimes have ended up in the hands of the unscrupulous. The two most abundant fakes are worth particular mention here, as so many have been produced that I find many of them every month. They are the purported ULSTER COUNTY GAZETTE of Jan. 4, 1800, and the NEW YORK HERALD of April 15, 1865. A detailed web page on each can be had by clicking on their names.
First Issues
In my experience any newspaper encountered in the non-specialized collector marketplace which is numbered "Volume I Number 1" [first issue] should be considered a later reproduction until competently authenticated. Virtually every successful newspaper in the country has printed an anniversary facsimile of its first issue. In the case of some of our older newspapers these anniversary reproductions were made a hundred or more years ago, so they do look and feel "old" when they turn up in estates and the like.
Recent Reprints
Newspapers with famous headlines have been reproduced as historical souvenirs and are abundant at flea markets and general antique shops. All should be considered suprious until authenticated. The originals are quite uncommon and almost never come to light at such locations. Since the recent movie, the most abundandant Titanic sinking reproduction newspaper is the Boston Daily Globe of April 16, 1912, followed the New York Times, New York Tribune, and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, all with the April 16 date and all made in the middle 1980's by a newspaper replica company in Missouri called "Historic Reissues" or one in Washington named "M.C. Associates". There are numerous reprints of major newspapers issued on VE and VJ Days, ending World War II in 1945. The commonest bearing the May 8, 1945 date are the purported Chicago Daily Tribune, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, New York Times and Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph. Other popular replica newspaper headlines include the death of Rudolph Valention, killing of Bonnie and Clyde, explosion of the Hindenberg, Dillinger's killing, and so forth.
The Classic Reproductions
The Library of Congress has produced a series of information circulars listing the seventeen most common reprints of old newspapers. The titles of these papers, in addition those cited above are as follows, with the estimated of known varieties and printing dates. Specimens of the following newspapers that appear in the general non-specialist market are reproductions; yours, alas, is not that one in a million that's genuine.
You can get full information on the specific details of these reproductions and how they differ from the originals at the Library of Congress website. See Information Circular No.'s 1 - 17, viewable on the Library's Newspaper Reprint Circulars Page.
We are engaged in a project of verifying and listing all known reproductions of U.S. and world newspapers. The first part of our work, identifying common reprints of 18th century American newspapers, is accessible here. Your comments and contributions are solicited.
How can they be so old and so cheap? Age has little to do with the value of a collectible, since the price of just about everything is decided by supply and demand, with the latter being the far more significant factor. If, let us say, just four issues survive of a certain newspaper, but there is only one collector who wants one, then the demand is satisfied and remaining specimens are of low value in spite of their great rarity. If however a hundred people want the same item, then its value grows as these collectors seek to outbid one another for its possession. And if a thousand specialists simply must have one for their collection, then the piece can grow to be of substantial value. This helps to explain why, for example, I can offer a two hundred year old British newspaper for $10.00, while an original edition of the famous "Dewey Defeats Truman" headline issue of the 1948 CHICAGO TRIBUNE has a value today of over $500.00. Because of the publicity surrounding that newspaper -we have all seen the famous AP photo of a beaming Harry Truman holding aloft a copy- the few that were not immediately recalled by the paper are very much in demand, while there are relatively few American collectors interested at present in the "atmosphere" content of the much older newspaper. What makes one old newspaper more valuable than another? The collector values old newspapers and other periodical publications based on
A most collectible newspaper is one which reports a major event, for example, a Presidential assassination, in the city where it occurred, and on the same date it happened; or, if such a paper does not exist, the first newspaper to contain a report of the event. The power of such reporting is extraordinary, and the greatest appeal of the hobby. The news reports remain as dramatic as the day they first appeared; perhaps even more so, for the modern collector has the benefit of seeing how that event affected the future. Similarly a newspaper with a lengthy, detailed account or a striking graphic representation of an important news story on the front page will be far more valuable than one with a short account on the inside pages. The most attractive Page One layouts are considered the most suitable for framed display, which is a popular use of collectible newspapers today. Unfortunately it was the practice of many old time editors to fill their front pages with advertising or fiction until the Civil War era, making the earliest front page reports even more uncommon and valuable today. Rarity as a factor in demand, and consequently, in dollar value, is closely related to other considerations, chiefly geographical location. Nearly all old newspapers are rare, in terms of the very few of them that have survived to the present; yet a one of a kind newspaper from an obscure small town in New England, for example, will generate far less collector interest than, let us say, a newspaper of similar rarity printed in the Republic of Texas. Another factor is association with a famous individual; an 1880's issue of the STAR, from the small town of Marion, Ohio, would have great collector appeal - because its editor, Warren G. Harding, went on to become a President of the United States. Likewise a newspaper which was owned by a person of historical prominence is a highly collectible "collateral" item, when supplied with acceptable documentation.
"Rare" is a term that is so over-used in the collecting world, just as "best" is in the world of media advertising, that it has lost much of its meaning. In my opinion "rare" to the experienced collector is a four-letter word that means "there ain't none: no one's got one, no one's ever seen one, no one's even met anyone who's seen one". To the novice, on the other hand, it seems the term usually means "the one that I've got".
The final factor, condition, is significant for assessing the value of the more commonly encountered titles, chiefly those of the big eastern cities, but it is not necessarily as important as in other collectible fields. Because newspapers were planned to be read once or twice and then simply thrown away, the survival of any periodical is a triumph against very long odds. Having a paper in poor condition is definitely preferable to having no specimen at all. While I recommend acquiring items in the best possible shape, it is a good policy not to turn down a rarity because of poor condition. Another specimen of the date and title may simply not exist, or survive only in a public collection, never to be available to collectors. A damaged specimen will, of course, always be of lesser value than a perfect one, other factors being equal. In the case of the popular illustrated weeklies such as Harper's and Leslie's, the condition of the individual woodcuts is what defines the value of the piece and consequently missing or damaged pages do not destroy the paper's value as a collector's item but rather reduce it to the value of the prints that are present in undamaged condition. It should be noted that the price record for a single rare American newspaper stands at $110,000.00, the price realized at auction for a 1787 Philadelphia newspaper, THE PENNSYLVANIA PACKET, which contains the first public printing of the U.S. Constitution. Are They A Good Investment?
Most old newspapers are genuinely rare. They were intended to be read once or twice and then discarded; the great majority were immediately converted into new paper. During the Civil War, for example, paper was valued at over $400.00 per ton, a powerful incentive for recycling in a nation whose per capita annual income averaged only $300.00. Newspapers were systematically collected only by libraries and newspapers offices, for their "morgue" files. They were usually bound into book-like volumes for safekeeping. (Today, most newspapers that survive in collectible condition were once bound in these volumes. Therefore the minor marks of careful "disbinding" do not adversely affect their collector value or desirability, and they are in fact prima facie evidence of the authenticity of the newspapers.) Over the years, many of these saved papers were lost, due to improper storage conditions, and to natural and manmade disasters. The ratio of the most common titles still in existence is thought to be no more than one of every two hundred originally printed. There are numerous cases in which the rate of survival approximates one in a thousand, or less, and there are many newspapers known to have been printed of which no issues appear to have survived at all. It is accurate to say that the rarity of newspapers is not generally reflected in their prices at the present. The hobby of newspaper collecting is a recent one, gaining in popularity chiefly in the past two decades. Because of the law of supply and demand, prices remain quite modest. The idea of collectibles as viable alternatives for everyone to the stock market, for example, is one whose validity has not generally been borne out by experience. The periodic booms and busts in the stamp and coin collecting field are good indicators that there are pitfalls as well as profits, no different or less risky a situation than in the stock market itself. I am not one to recommend that any collectible should be acquired only for investment purposes. It is my personal belief that the hobbyist's enduring reward is the pursuit of knowledge that collectibles encourage. Successful collecting for investment requires a thorough, ongoing knowledge of the material and of the retail market for it. Generally, investment quality items are those which have already demonstrated a high demand-to-supply ratio by achieving the highest values in the present; from an investment standpoint it is always advisable to acquire one choice item valued at a thousand dollars than to buy a hundred ten-dollar items. A collection of high quality items, when gathered around a central unifying theme may be expected in the passage of time to become a valuable historical resource. It is reasonable to think that such a well-selected holding has a better than average chance of increasing in material value commensurate with its unique historical importance. The market for old newspapers and other ephemeral items is wholly collector-driven. Regardless of what price guides may say, the bottom line on the value of a collectible is the price a knowledgeable collector is willing to pay. There can be no guarantees of a profitable resale of any collector's item, no more than you can be assured a profit in a stock market transaction; as in most of life's endeavors, there is no substitute for knowledge and prudence.
What's the best way to collect? There is no one "best way" to collect historic newspapers and other paper collectibles. Generally the way to start is with whatever pleases you most. The new collector might begin obtaining a few with representative items from any place or time that strikes his or her fancy. One might walk the foggy streets of the Victorian England of Sherlock Holmes, by reading original 1880s issues of the Times, Illustrated London News, or the Strand Magazine. Relive the uncertainty and the heroism of the American Civil War as you read the New York Times, Herald, or Tribune, the "big three' of American journalism, or papers from Confederate Richmond or Charleston, as they bring that bloody conflict into every American parlor.
You can witness the early years of our nation's history in newspapers printed in Boston, New York, or Philadelphia, when they were still provinces of King George, or issued during the struggle for liberty, when the outcome of the farmers' war against the world's mightiest superpower was far from hopeful. A coin collector may wish to purchase papers with articles about the U.S. Mint - how about a 1792 paper with a Page One printing of the new Act of Congress authorizing "A Mint for the United States" or reports of the excitement when America's first coins began to enter circulation.
Contemporary newspapers can bring these periods and places to life vividly for you, especially if you already have some background in the history of those times. Or try a few illustrated newspapers of a century ago, and see for yourself the moment of history preserved on the pages of Harper's Weekly, and Frank Leslie's Illustrated, to name the most popular weekly rivals. Do you have an interest in specialty publications, about industry, technology, religion, science, education, politics, the opposition parties? There are many to choose from in ll these categories. The only limits on the theme for your collecting activities are your interests and your imagination. Eventually you may discover the specialized area that will make the hobby most enjoyable and meaningful to you. To get the most out of it will require some effort on your part, yet the satisfaction, in my opinion, more than justifies the expenditure of time. Among other things you just may discover that every previous generation has been absolutely convinced that its brief moment on center stage was surely the worst /best /wickedest /most enlightened time that ever was. A good part of the reason for this belief is simple ignorance of what life was really like in the past. In every nation and culture, the real flesh and blood people who went before become replaced by mythic folk heroes and nostalgic dreams of "the good old days" that never really existed.
Some Popular Collecting Categories
What's the best way to preserve old newspapers? Paper is an organic, fibrous, plant-based material that is interactive with its environment. The old papers that that survive today in our collections are still around because they were specially cared for. I believe that we present-day collectors are but temporary custodians, rather than permanent owners, of these old papers which have somehow beaten the odds and have come down to us. It is apparent that we as responsible collectors of material that truly represents our history and heritage should take proper care of the material while it is in our possession, so it can be passed on to those who will come after us.
Briefly, the enemies of old paper are heat, humidity, and sunlight. To maintain their fine condition, a stable storage environment that is free of excess fluctuation in temperature and humidity is the basic consideration. Always choose a relatively dry, cool location in your home to store your collection. Any room suitable for habitation will generally be satisfactory for your paper collection. Keep your paper collectibles away from radiators or pipes that could one day be responsible for catastrophe by heat or water. Never leave old papers in the basement or attic, where change of temperature and humidity occur regularly and can cause accelerated deterioration. The second consideration is to provide an environment for your collection that limits contact with air and strong light. Long term direct exposure to atmospheric oxygen can cause that volatile element to react with chemicals naturally present in all paper, which can have unfortunate results. The high sulfur bleach used in modern newsprint, for example, readily combines with oxygen to produce sulfur dioxide, a corrosive compound that destroys woodpulp paper by dissolving the molecular bonding of the cellulose fibers of which it is composed. Light speeds up the process. Leave yesterday’s newspaper outdoors in the afternoon sun for an example of this process.
Select only archival quality acid free containers for permanent storage. “Archival quality” means that the materials are chemically inert and will not leak any chemicals into the items stored in them. Mylar and polypropylene are the leading inert clear plastics used for archival purposes. They can be expensive but are well worth the peace of mind that comes with knowing your valuable papers are safely preserved in them. You can also make your own custom holders with a little ingenuity, some Mylar, and double-sided adhesive tape. Never use vinyl containers of any kind anywhere near your collection. Its chemical components are very unstable and will readily destroy anything made of paper that is kept in them for any length of time. Polyethylene bags are not recommended for permanent storage but are acceptable for display, shipping containers, or short term storage (five years or less).
If you frame your papers, as many hobbyists do, be sure to specify the use of acid free materials (often described by framers as archival or museum quality materials) and to include an ultraviolet filtering screen between them and bright light.
Small repairs such as mending rips can be successfully undertaken with archival quality materials and a little practice on items of little value; never use cellophane tape! Newspapers printed on woodpulp newsprint, in general use after ca. 1885 are at risk of future deterioration due to the high acidic content of such paper. Deacidification, or neutralizing the dangerous acids present in many papers, is a remedy for this problem, and is particularly recommended for the more valuable papers. Some solutions are available for use at home, which can be sprayed on the paper, or others that release deacidifying agents into the air may be used. Most of these products have a level of toxicity, and so should be used with great care, following the manufacturer's instructions to the letter. Internet Preservation Resources
Conservation Information
Commercial Websites
You can also visit my information pages on collecting, collector terminology, how to read my general catalog descriptions, and more by selecting this link. For further reading I suggest Rickard's Collecting Printed Ephemera [Abbeville Press, 1988].
What about condition?
Very old newspapers tend to be found in surprisingly attractive condition. Because they are made of organic material interactive with its environment, those that survive have done so because they were specially cared for. All the issues in our catalogs, for example, are in fine or better condition, evidencing normal handling and storage, but not suffering any defects, damage, or losses. Many have old inked subscribers' names or address labels on the front page, which is not considered detracting and can provide valuable help in tracing their provenance. There may be some light "foxing," that is, brown spots created by natural impurities in the paper or by fungi. This is quite normal for ephemera, and does not detract from the total attractive appearance of the papers. Most items, as noted above, are "disbound," carefully removed from volumes in which they were once preserved, with no disfiguring damage. All these factors are quite representative of how you will find old newspapers that are still in collectible condition. Time, unfortunately, has not been so kind to all old newspapers; I have seen numerous rare old papers literally crumbling to dust because they were not properly preserved. Papers in this condition have no value to collectors and I do not stock or sell them. I use the following terminology to more fully describe the condition of the newspapers offered in our catalogs, in addition to the general comments above.
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