April 15, 1865 New York Herald's

[historybuff22]

So far I have been offered "original' April 15, 1865 New York Herald's at least 10,000 times in the past 30 years. Only ONCE was it truly an original.

I classified 2 different categories of reprints:

1) Advertising - These were put out by mostly patent medicine companies.Pages 2 and 3 are filled with large ads for their product. ALL of these claim to be an 8:10 AM EXTRA. There was no original 8:10 AM EXTRA edition. Most have a portrait of a beardless Abe Lincoln on the front page - but not all.

2) News - These do not have the large patent medicine ads and look more like a traditional newspaper. Only a few of these have a portrait of a beardless Abe Lincoln on the front page.

As to seeing the inside pages, go ahead and remove it from the frame and examine the inside pages. Even if it is an original, it WILL NOT do harm to handle it. Originals were printed on high-quality paper made from fabric that contains NO acid and thus does not deteriorate or become brittle. Upon opening the pages, they are brittle IT IS A REPRINT.

If your specimen has turned yellow, IT IS A REPRINT!!! If near white or very light tan, it could be an original.

Good luck on your quest.

Rick Brown