Inherited 26 1865 New York Herald Lincoln Assassination Newspapers

[historybuff22]

Yes, people are still looking for originals of these newspapers. In my 40 years experience with historical newspapers I have personally bought, sold or brokered in excess of ONE MILLION historic newspapers. 80% of the value in this archive are both 4/15 and 4/28 editions. Depending on which editions the 4/15/1865 are, the value for the 2 ranges from $1,500 to $4,500. The 4/28 (capture of Booth) ranges from $150-$250.

Yes, I have read most of my Lincoln assassination and aftermath newspapers. I also have about 1,000 photocopies of documents from various institutions are the country. I am also lucky enough to have photographs of the original handwritten depositions given by people present at the Booth barn to lawyers. At this point I have put together a presentation "Little-Known Facts About the Lincolns and the Civil War." I can fill a full 2 1/2 hours with this information. I've given a 2-hour version to Civil War buffs and they advised me that about 80% of the facts they had not known before.

As to preservation of the newspapers, two key factors are exposure to sunlight and moisture. Remove these 2 facets and the collector does not need to worry much about deterioration. Newspaper pre-Custer Massacre were printed on the SAME paper that currency was printed on. Thus, they do not have any acid in them and do not turn yellow or become brittle. Thus they can be handled extensively without wearing the paper down. White gloves are not necessary.

Rick Brown
HistoryBuff.com
A Nonprofit Organization

[Eva Elisabeth]

Fascinating collection! Forgive my ignorance - what book is that in the last two pictures?
Do you know how large the print run for those Herald issues was?

[Eagleeye1965]

Eva that's what appears to be the old hand made covering for the newspapers, like what's on a hard cover book or something but very large without the binding there
Here are some other photographs
[img]Eva that's what appears to be the old hand made covering to protect the newspapers, like what's on a hard cover book or something but very large without the binding there[/img]





Quick Question? How did they put the letters on the paper back then?? They didn't have a typewriter did they..I see letterheads coming through the paper almost in most every edition here and was really wondering how exactly they did the papers back then?

[BettyO]

Quote:Quick Question? How did they put the letters on the paper back then?? They didn't have a typewriter did they..I see letterheads coming through the paper almost in most every edition here and was really wondering how exactly they did the papers back then?

They used movable type printing press - which was inked and then printed on rag (paper) - i.e. "The rotary printing press was invented by Richard March Hoe in 1843. It uses impressions curved around a cylinder to print on long continuous rolls of paper or other substrates. Rotary drum printing was later significantly improved by William Bullock." - Wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotary_printing_press)

[L Verge]

Rick - I heard a lot of museum professionals groan when I read some of your preservation comments. I agree that newspapers of the CW era were largely rag content vs. the more modern wood pulp content and thus longer lasting. However, all things deteriorate if not properly cared for.

Here's what the Smithsonian Institution's archivists have to say:

Newspapers are ephemeral objects, not meant to last past their immediate daily or weekly service lifetime. They are not usually made of high-grade materials and most have “inherent vice” or decay built into them from the very start, which is one reason for the microfilming and digitization of newspapers before the industry’s move to digital publishing.

The best thing to do is to protect the newspapers from damaging environmental influences such as continuous exposure to light, extremes of heat and moisture, and direct handling of the objects. Damage from light is cumulative and irreversible, and can cause not only fading of inks but yellowing, bleaching or darkening of paper. This is especially true for newspapers, which darken considerably under exposure to light. Newspapers are best stored in buffered materials and there are boxes sized specifically for large newspapers to allow them to be stored unfolded (the original spine crease may remain folded). Store the full original in buffered acid-free and lignin-free paper folders, or if making a clipping, mounted to an acid-free and lignin-free album page with acid-free and lignin-free photo corners of paper or Mylar.(Some people may wish to save only the front page or section, but consider saving the whole paper as it was published, because the whole paper--yes, even the shopping inserts with food prices--provides valuable context for future readers.) In this way the original is supported, surrounded by good materials and protected from light, and the object might not need to be flattened or damaged during use when opening it many years from now. Specialty papers and enclosures can be purchased from archival and library conservation suppliers, art or photo supply stores. Even a 24 x 36 sheet of uncolored buffered paper or mat board wrapped around the newspaper is helpful, and is available for under $10. Our colleagues at Duke University Libraries even made a really sweet video on how to do just this. There is also a special paper called Microchamber paper (see a description of it in this Glossary) that absorbs and traps more acid than other papers. It is available from a variety of archival suppliers in folder and box sizes made for newspapers and other formats.

We do not recommend display of newsprint in non-museum conditions. The paper will darken and become brittle and the inks may fade. Should you wish to display any of the pages permanently, consider making display copies of the objects using a large format color copier or scanner without pressing on the document heavily or have a professional reprographics specialist image the items. Under no circumstances should the original be fed automatically through a copier or scanner, as damage could occur. Light exposure from copiers or scanners is strong, but generally the exposure is brief. A reprographics specialist can image the item through a Mylar envelope using a polarizing lens or oversize scanner/plotter so as to avoid damage through handling. Alternately, a library can help you track down a microfilm or digital image of the original to print a reproduction.

If you think you have a historic and rare American newspaper, it is worth looking up to see if has been microfilmed or digitized through the Historic American Newspapers collection 1836-1922 at the Library of Congress, or look to see if it is listed in the 1690-1922 American Newspapers Directory, available through your local library.

Other preservation tips have been published by our colleagues at the National Archives, and also at the Library of Congress.

Another site says much the same thing - http://www.mnhs.org/preserve/conservatio...nytimes...

[J. Beckert]

The oil from your hands can't be good, either. I have a two playbills from the era and one is encased in mylar. It does nothing to take away from the display and keeps it from air and moisture. The other I have mounted behind UV resistant glass. Better safe than sorry.

[L Verge]

The oils and dirt on people's hands are very detrimental to anything - not just newspapers. Take a look around your own house at pieces of furniture that people might touch frequently as they walk by. My mother lived with me for seventeen years before her death four years ago at age 94. She needed certain tables, chairs, sections of walls to steady herself with while walking from room to room. It would be a day-to-day chore to keep those things clean - even with modern protective coatings.

Mylar is a great way to conserve and display at the same time, Joe. Thanks for mentioning that and the UV resistant glass.

[BettyO]

I own a great many old assassination newspapers which I have collected over the years and mine are stored in archival paper folders.

[historybuff22]

There are two types of newspaper collectors: Those that want them for research purposes and those who want the originals. For the person conducting research they would NOT pay, say for instance, even $100 for it. For those that want the originals they would likely pay much more.

Almost all newspapers in the 19th century were bound into volumes - e.g. oversize book. Various institutions that subscribed to newspapers at some point would send them out to be bound. At another point the institutions would have the originals digitized (microfilm, etc.) and sell off the original bound volumes to make room for new newspapers. In this case, however, it is likely that the original owner had them professionally bound to better preserve them.

As far as preservation goes, the first historic newspaper I purchased was a Booth captured issue of the Philadelphia Inquirer dated April 28, 1865. I made the purchase in April 1965 - 48 years ago. In that time I have let hundreds of people handle and read it - without gloves!!! Today, it still looks the same as when I first saw it 48 years ago as well as close to how it appeared 100 years ago when it came off the press.

Another aspect to consider: How long will a dollar bill last before it becomes "destroyed?" It is likely that thousands of people will have handled it before it becomes destroyed enough to be withdrawn from circulation. NONE of the handlers wore white gloves when touching the dollar bill. Newspapers in this era, I repeat, were printed on the SAME paper that currency was printed on. However, in most cases, other items of the era were printed on paper of lower grade - such as wood pulp. For these items,not on rag linen, yes, it is recommended to wear white gloves.

Rick Brown
HistoryBuff.com
A Nonprofit Organization

[Gene C]

Good points Rick, interesting info about old newspapers. Years ago my father purchased an old oak dresser. Behind the mirror were a couple of old newspapers from the 1890's. Unfortunately they didn't last long, they were very brittle and eventually crumbled.

[L Verge]

(12-04-2013 04:02 PM)historybuff22 Wrote:  There are two types of newspaper collectors: Those that want them for research purposes and those who want the originals. For the person conducting research they would NOT pay, say for instance, even $100 for it. For those that want the originals they would likely pay much more.

Almost all newspapers in the 19th century were bound into volumes - e.g. oversize book. Various institutions that subscribed to newspapers at some point would send them out to be bound. At another point the institutions would have the originals digitized (microfilm, etc.) and sell off the original bound volumes to make room for new newspapers. In this case, however, it is likely that the original owner had them professionally bound to better preserve them.

As far as preservation goes, the first historic newspaper I purchased was a Booth captured issue of the Philadelphia Inquirer dated April 28, 1865. I made the purchase in April 1965 - 48 years ago. In that time I have let hundreds of people handle and read it - without gloves!!! Today, it still looks the same as when I first saw it 48 years ago as well as close to how it appeared 100 years ago when it came off the press.

Another aspect to consider: How long will a dollar bill last before it becomes "destroyed?" It is likely that thousands of people will have handled it before it becomes destroyed enough to be withdrawn from circulation. NONE of the handlers wore white gloves when touching the dollar bill. Newspapers in this era, I repeat, were printed on the SAME paper that currency was printed on. However, in most cases, other items of the era were printed on paper of lower grade - such as wood pulp. For these items,not on rag linen, yes, it is recommended to wear white gloves.

Rick Brown
HistoryBuff.com
A Nonprofit Organization

Obviously you and I will disagree on conservation standards -- museum studies vs. personal collections. I will just add that I, too, once collected Lincoln assassination newspapers, and several that I purchased had distinct finger smudges of brown (foxing) in certain areas as well as browning around edges, etc.

You did touch on one thing above, however, that I was suspecting. When I viewed the photos that Dave has supplied of what appears to be a large, ledger-type book containing these newspapers, I immediately thought that they had been commercially bound at some point - and to me the label on the front was a dead give-away.

Does this increase or decrease (or even change) the value of the collection to have them thusly bound?

[historybuff22]

The value does not decrease or increase because it was bound. The only difference is that newspapers in a bound volume tend to be better preserved because they have not been exposed to lengthy periods of sunlight and being bound helps keep the moisture out.

One last aspect of preserving pre-Custer Masacre newspapers is to keep them in climate controlled buildings. That is to say, NOT in an unheated garage or attic.

Rick Brown
HistoryBuff.com
A Nonprofit Organization

[L Verge]

(12-04-2013 06:11 PM)historybuff22 Wrote:  The value does not decrease or increase because it was bound. The only difference is that newspapers in a bound volume tend to be better preserved because they have not been exposed to lengthy periods of sunlight and being bound helps keep the moisture out.

One last aspect of preserving pre-Custer Masacre newspapers is to keep them in climate controlled buildings. That is to say, NOT in an unheated garage or attic.

Rick Brown
HistoryBuff.com
A Nonprofit Organization

Agreed on the climate control issue, and the temperature has to remain constant between prescribed upper and lower degrees. This holds true for antiques also.

Moisture levels have to be monitored also. In historic house settings, we often use hygrometers in various rooms to assure the proper humidity levels. My HVAC engineers are used to dealing with community centers, office buildings, etc. through our government agency. I have finally "trained" the head guy on how to treat historic structures. I actually found that the best way to break through to them is to teach them the history of Surratt House. For some reason, that makes them feel protective of it. It might also have something to do with the appreciation luncheon that we hold each January for all maintenance people who have helped us through the preceding year.

When we were first opening the museum and selecting furnishings, I was able to raid my family home of things that had been stored in the attic for over one hundred years (my family moved in in 1862, and I swear they never threw anything out!). I would start discussing climate control at Surratt House with my mother, and she would start laughing. There was no such thing in our attic, but the things were in good condition anyhow. Our attic would fluctuate in temperatures as high as 100+ in the summer and below freezing in the winter. Mom swore they would probably fall apart now that they were being taken care of (so far, she's been wrong).

[Eagleeye1965]

You can best believe I thought of the same thing about touching the papers before I went ahead and took my photographs of them so I washed my hands with dawn dish soap before and also several times throughout ..I used to work on things where oil on hands was a major factor due to the fact the coating would not adhere to the product if you did have oil on your hands while working on it..denatured alcohol is what I used all of the time at work and wiped hands clean many many times each day..its become a habit of mine from that alone
Now its great to hear that we do not need to worry about it anyhow but out of habit I'll do it anyways, especially in touching something so incredibly historic
When I first opened that wood box and then realized what they were I instantly shouted out "oh my god it's the holy grail".. I truly do love and respect history and I don't think my adrenaline level has come down in the slightest yet either!