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About This Era and its Newspapers
Give me but liberty of the press, and . . . I will shake down corruption from its height, and bury it amidst the ruins of the abuses it was meant to shelter. -Richard Sheridan, 1794.
I feature British journalism prominently in my catalogs due to its singular importance to understanding American history, and because it forms a fascinating study in its own right. The earliest newspapers appear in England long before the press became established in the Colonies. They are wonderful collectibles from an era that helped shape our own. Newspapers made an enormous change in the political and social life of the time and mirror their period faithfully. They provide a remarkable window in the past, like none other.
The American tradition of freedom of the press is firmly rooted in English soil. Many courageous Britons risked flogging, imprisonment, and even execution to publish the news in defiance of the Crown monopoly, an example widely imitated in the American colonies, where British periodicals circulated extensively. It is worthy of note that the stirring for freedom and justice that characterized the "Enlightenment" of the eighteenth century were largely spread to America in the newspapers imported from England when our native press was in its infancy.
British newspapers are also a treasury of early American news in the years before there was an American press. American news was generally sympathetically reported in all but the most conservative Tory newspapers, as Britons were waging the fight for liberty at home at the same time as the colonies were preparing for war with the motherland. The exaggerated claims of rebel propagandists -and there were many- were soundly corrected, however, in contemporary British journals; reading these articles today offers most interesting perspective on the Colonies' actual relations with Britain and how the ultimate separation was engineered.
About The Catalog Listings
All items in this catalog are unconditionally guaranteed to be genuine and accurately described. Any item may be returned within ten days of receipt for a full refund. No reason for return is ever required.They are in fine used condition and are complete with all pages as issued. All papers are free of damage or objectionable defects. I am are sure you will be delighted with their exceptional state of preservation. I purchase only the finest condition newspapers that can be found to offer to my valued friends and customers.
These are the finest quality original antique newspapers and magazines, that you might find elsewhere priced at much greater cost. It has always been my policy to present my catalog items at "wholesale to the public" prices. Therefore all catalog items and quoted prices are net, and are not subject to further discount, either for dealers or in consideration of quantity orders. It is our policy to price our items based on what we believe to be their fair market value. I do not set prices at absurdly inflated levels to take advantage of novices or "investors"; nor do employ the common ploy of starting with an unrealistically high price in order to "negotiate" a phony discount later. As over a third of our catalog orders are from dealers buying for resale, at our stated prices, we have every confidence that this policy maintains an ethical standard of integrity and fairness to all.
About These Newspapers and Magazines
The newspapers are full folio size unless described as quarto or octavo, which are respectively smaller in format, the latter being the standard size for most magazines. Most newspapers have been carefully removed from bound volumes and may exhibit characteristic minor spine weakness or separation without significant paper loss. Magazines are disbound from annual volumes and lack wraps and plates unless otherwise stated, as these were never preserved in the bound runs.
Each catalog entry is very briefly described for the general appearance, historical significance, and content of the title. Every issue contains hours of additional historic reading and insights into the world preserved on its pages, much more than I could find the space to describe here.
The peridocials offered here are what are called "atmosphere" or "type" issues. They were printed on those ninety-nine days in a hundred that nothing of great historic note occurred. They are still of great value (and quite modest price) for the intimate glimpse they provide into a long-vanished world. Their articles detail what was important to the people of those days, be it politics, wars, social values, or any ol the other enduring human concerns. Even the ads, so modest by our standards, speak to us of the never-changing human wish for novelty, status, comfort, and security. The exact dates that you will receive will be of my choice as stock allows, all from within the years listed. There is a good supply of different dates in stock of each title, so you may order multiples of each listing with confidence; all different dates will be provided. Catalog prices are per single issue.
I cannot accept requests for specific dates or special historic content at these low "type issue" prices but we will be pleased to receive your want lists for such items.
I pride myself on the quality and accuracy of my catalog descriptions, and strive to provide all the information needed to enable you to make an informed selection. Please consult my collector information pages and glossary of terms page linked below, if you are not sure of what any of the descriptive terms mean.
Pictures of Cataloged Items
Digital photos are available of some of the items in this catalog. More will be added soon.
Please note that the camera flash tends to exaggerate foxing and spotting, some degree of which is normal in old paper and which is not so dramatic in person!
Glossary of Terms Page | Collector Information Page | Want List Page | Home Page
How to Order from This Catalog
My catalogs use a "shopping cart" system, which will take you from each catalog to a confirmation page and when you are ready, to the order checkout page. To use it, please be sure the "javascript" and "accept cookies" functions are enabled in your browser.
To order a catalog item, please enter the quantity of issues you want in the box in each item's description, then press the "Add to Cart" button. You will then see your "shopping basket" and its contents and total. You may remove selected items at any time, and use your browser's "Forward" button to view the cart page whenever you wish, and your "Back" button to return to the catalogs.
When you are ready to place your order, simply click "submit" on the completed shopping cart checkout page, and it will be e-mailed to me. As soon as I receive your order, I will confirm the availability of your selections via return e-mail, with your invoice for the total amount due, and I will reserve your confirmed selections for receipt of payment.
I accept checks, money orders, and all credit cards through PayPal, the free, safest Internet payment service. If you choose this payment option on your order form, I will request PayPal to send you a bill for the amount of your confirmed order. As soon as your payment is received, I will ship your order to you.
Postage per order addressed within the United States is just $3.85. Postage will be added to overseas orders at my actual cost. There is a ten day return privilege on all items.
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Your comments are always welcome, as are your inquiries, if you have questions about these historic collectibles. We value our customers, and appreciate the confidence you place in us when ordering from our online catalogs. We strive to merit your patronage and to enrich your collecting experience through accurate, knowledgeable descriptions, honest pricing, courteous service, and timely order filling. Enjoy your browsing!
THE THUNDERER SPEAKS
THE TIMES, London. Founded in 1785 as the Daily Universal Register, the Times was far and away the world's greatest newspaper in the 19th century, the pinnacle of the journalist's art and craft, filled with the latest-breaking news, Parliamentary reports, and advertising. It was one of the earliest papers to rely on advertising as its main source of revenue and its far-sighted management embraced every new development in news gathering and printing technology. Every collection needs examples of this great daily, which I offer as follows. Extra postage for these large heavy newspapers is 0.55 per paper.
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| Select here to go to our full British Journalism catalog, which offers newspapers individually described and catalogued for their historic significance, and selected ephemera.
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Select here to go to our catalog of sheepskin Indentures of 1507 - 1895.
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British Journalism Reference Books
Some references consulted in the preparation of this catalogue and suggested for further reading include the following
- Andrews, Alexander, The History of British Journalism, London, 1859. Reprinted Scholarly Press, 1968
- Crane & Kaye, A Census of British Newspapers and Periodicals, 1620 - 1800. University of North Carolina, 1927
- Graham, Walter. English Literary Periodicals,. 1930. Reprinted Octagon Books, 1966, 1980.
- Grant, James, The Newspaper Press, Its Origin, Progress, and Present Position. London, Tinsley Brothers, 1871.
- Jackson, Mason, The Pictorial Press. London, 1885. Reprinted Burt Franklin, 1969
- Lake, Brian. British Newspapers, A History and Guide for Collectors. London, Sheppard Press, 1984.
- Morison, Stanley. The English Newspaper. Cambridge, 1932
- Stewart, British Union Catalog of Periodicals (1955 and supplements)
- Sulllivan, Alvin. British Literary Magazines, 1689 - 1914. Greenwood Press, 1983
A journalist! That means a grumbler, a censurer, a giver of advice, a regent of sovereigns, a tutor of Nations! Four hostile editors are more to be dreaded than a hundred thousand bayonets! -Napoleon Bonaparte, quoted in Journalism in the United States, 1873.
Collecting non-English language items can be a vast field of study, limited only by the collector's interests. Some of the earliest forerunners of the newspaper originated in Europe; indeed some of these ephemeral imprints are thought to antedate the Gutenberg Bible itself. The earliest proto-newspapers flourished in 16th century Germany and Holland, and in 17th century France and Italy. Many issues of the 19th century and later can be obtained quite inexpensively, when they can be found. The contrasts of the generally heavily-censored foreign press with the free products of the Anglo-American world of journalism can be quite striking.
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Select here to go to our full Miscellany Catalog, for more "atmosphere" titles and individual listings of world newspapers of all periods.
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I hope you have enjoyed this catalog, and have found its contents useful and informative. Please feel free to e-mail your questions and comments to our address below. We look forward to hearing from you!
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Contents ©2008 Phil Barber.
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