Lincoln Assassination Newspapers

[historybuff22]

I have been collecting Lincoln assassination newspapers for over 50 years. I have also been a historic newspaper dealer and bought, sold, or brokered in excess of one million historic newspapers. Currently I have in excess of 200 original Lincoln assassination newspapers – Both Union and confederate. In that same time I have been setting aside reprints of the April 15, 1865 New York Herald as I came across them. In 1992 I self-published “An Atlas of Known April 15, 1865 New York Herald Reprints.” In that work, all pages of 17 different reprint versions were shown. With concentrated efforts in 2015 I contacted a few major institutions and have now discovered 48 different/variants of this edition. My online version of the current atlas that shows all pages of 45 different variants. Also included in this online atlas is background information about the reprints – who published, when, how many pages, etc. The URL for my online Atlas is: http://www.historyreference.org/newspape...ssination/

An average of three April 15, 1865 New York Herald's are listed on eBay EVERY WEEK – that's over 150 per year. Almost all of these listings claim there’s is an “authentic,” “original,” or “genuine” edition. In the 15 years I have been conducting weekly searches for “April 15, 1865 New York Herald.” There have been approximately 2,250 listings for this edition on eBay and ONLY TWICE the listings were actually original editions! Also, since I have been going to estate sales and auctions for over 20 years, I have seen a few hundred of these editions offered – NOT ONE OF THEM were originals!! Over 95% of these reprints were produced over 100 years ago so they LOOK OLD, Looking old does not necessarily mean it is an original. Buyer beware – Collector value for these reprint editions is $10-$20 depending on condition.

If you have a Lincoln-related Web site or know someone that does, please have them add a link to my online atlas.

Rick Brown'
http://www.historyreference.org
A Nonprofit Organization

“Not everything you read on the Internet is true.” Abraham Lincoln

[Gene C]

Rick, do you still buy and sell these old newspapers, and any other newspaper of famous events.

[historybuff22]

(01-08-2016 08:46 PM)Gene C Wrote:  Rick, do you still buy and sell these old newspapers, and any other newspaper of famous events.

I quit being a dealer in the mid-1990s. However, I do have a run of the Buffalo newspapers for the Garfield assassination. (Garfield was shot in Buffalo which makes these issues more desireable.) I also have a quantity of 20th century newspapers that are highly graphic for major events WWII. In addition, I have numerous "atmosphere" newspapers from the early 1800s to 1880s. Atmosphere newspapers contain no major events, but still quite interesting at a much lower cost. All of these I would sell.

Recently I discovered that one of my 200 Lincoln assassination newspapers is a duplicate. It is the April 28, 1865 Cleveland Morning Leader with front page coverage of the capture and death of John Wilkes Booth. What makes this edition so rare and unusual is that pages 2 and 3 are "broadside" memorials to Abraham Lincoln. (Broadsides are "posters" printed one side only. Technically, this edition does not qualify as a true broadside since the backs of both pages have printing. However NO OTHER NEWSPAPERS had any "broadsides" in any of their editions.) Image attached. Price is $425 postpaid and insured. Images attached. Condition is extra-fine. (Newspapers in that era were printed on paper made from cloth fibers instead of wood pulp. This is the same paper that currency was printed on. Thus, they do not become brittle or excessibely yellowed.)

Rick Brown
HistoryReference.com
A Nonprofit Organization