New Papers from New York, South Carolina, and Florida!

47 thoughts on “New Papers from New York, South Carolina, and Florida!”

1. Any plans to digitize the last 10 years of the The New York World (which ceased publication in 1931)? Many libraries apparently have original issues/ microfilm but no-one has digitized them—as of yet.

   Thanks!

   1. Newspapers.com should know that I found the first citation of “America the Beautiful,” with this title (not “America”) and with revised words, in the Buffalo Illustrated Times on November 9, 1902. I contacted the Buffalo History Museum, and BHM explained its relationship with you. Ten years ago, almost nothing from Buffalo was digitized. Now, a great deal is. Newspapers.com and the Buffalo History Museum get my thanks, and the thanks of this nation.

      However, why can’t Newspapers.com make the same arrangement with the New York Public Library? Yes, of course, the New York World. But why not also the World-Telegram, where the term “Murder, Inc”. was coined?

      Why not William Randolph Hearst’s New York Evening Journal and New York American, and the Journal-American? The baseball team name “New York Yankees” was coined in the NYEJ in April 1904. It’s been in the public domain for many years, and it’s (a newspaper from1904) is still not digitized! The Journal-American was known for its sports coverage.

      There are many other great New York City newspapers, just gathering dust on New York Public Library shelves. The New York Mail is in the public domain. The New York Globe is in the public domain. Ever hear of Rube Goldberg? Ever hear of Robert Ripley and Ripley’s Believe It Or Not? They wrote for these two newspapers, but we can’t see the original columns because–why?

      The New York Daily Mirror was a rival of the New York Daily News, and gossip great Walter Winchell wrote for it. The Mirror is gathering dust, virtually unsearchable.

      Thirty years ago, Gerald Cohen and I found that New York City’s nickname. “the Big Apple,” comes from the track columns of John J. Fitz Gerald in the New York Morning Telegraph in the 1920s, especially in 1924 an 1926, when he explained “Big Apple” twice. That’s in the public domain, but it’s still not digitized, because–why? The Morning Telegraph was the Broadway Bible, and the years 1900-1940 are absolutely essential for Broadway, vaudeville, Tin Pan Alley (coined here in 1902), and early movies, as well as horse racing. Djuna Barnes, an important LGBT author, wrote for the Morning Telegraph. Bat Masterston died at a Morning Telegraph desk.

      Let us not forget the New York Post, the fourth largest circulation newspaper in America. Newspapers.com did the Daily News, but why not also add the NY Post?

      It’s an absolute crime that these great American newspapers in New York City are still not digitized. How is it that you can do all this with the Buffalo History Museum and not with the New York Public Library? I’ve written to both of you MANY TIMES. If you write to the NYPL, you can mention my name and “the Big Apple,” and ask if anyone there can maybe do ANYTHING?

      1. I want to add my strongest approval to Zach’s suggestion and Barry Popik’s excellent list, which significantly overlaps a list of New York City titles I have long wanted to see digitized. Please see my list below. To my knowledge, none of these titles have been digitized covering the date ranges specified here, despite most of them being significant New York City dailies. They mostly encompass the heyday of dailies in the largest city in the US between the late 19th century and the early 20th centuries. Digitizing these titles would cover a gaping hole in major metropolitan titles accessible online. Please consider a digitization partnership with the New York Public Library as proposed by Mr. Popik. If I can be of help, please advise.

         The New York Commercial Advertiser (after 1876 until it became the Globe and Commercial Advertiser in 1904, and then the Globe and Commercial Advertiser through 1923)

         The New York Daily News (1st version) (1856-1906)

         The Daily Star (1870-1891)

         The New York Journal, Evening Journal and successor title, The New York Journal American (1896-1966)

         The New York Mail and Express (1881-1904) and successor title, New York Evening Mail (1904-1924)

         The New York Daily Mirror (1924-1963)

         The New York World (1922-1931)

         The New York Evening Telegram (1925-1931)

         The New York World Telegram and Sun (1931-1966)

         1. An excellent list! I can tell you the many wonderful things that can be found in each New York City newspaper. All are unsearchable!

            Please write to the New York Public Library Board of Trustees (boardoftrustees@nypl.org) and also its local history department (history@nypl.org). Tell the NYPL that a partnership with Newspapers.com (or anyone else) is needed. New York City history should not continue to gather dust.

            I emailed the Board of Trustees stating that Gerald Cohen and I have been waiting THIRTY YEARS for “Big Apple” in The Morning Telegraph to be digitized, but there was no reply. The local history department did reply, stating they will digitize The Morning Telegraph sometime, whenever. That ain’t good enough. The Buffalo History Museum showed that!

            1. Thanks for that reply, Barry. I totally agree! A travesty that none of these newspapers are searchable. I can only imagine what both title lists would yield if they were more accessible. It is extremely frustrating that digitization efforts for these major titles have stalled, and there is no sense of urgency to move them along. I will be emailing the NYPL Board of Trustees as you recommended. Hopefully these repeated contacts will light a fire under the “powers that be” to do something. I think the New York Public Library has previously partnered with Chronicling America to digitize some of their titles. More recently, an agreement was struck between the New York Public Library and the National Library of Israel to digitize some of the Jewish newspapers in the former’s microfilm collection. Some of those titles have already been uploaded to the Historical Jewish Press website. It would be interesting to know the genesis of the Chronicling America and National Library of Israel projects with the New York Public Library. That could hold the key to figuring out the approvals process and whatever hurdles need to be overcome. According to the Historical Jewish Press website, the titles from the New York Public Library were digitized in part courtesy of something called the Manhattan Research Library Initiative, which includes partnerships with Columbia and NYU in addition to the NYPL. That might be another lead.

         2. Right on with the big city newspapers. In fact, all newspapers are important so keep on digitizing them as fast as possible. I agree wholeheartedly re the NY Public Library. I went once and it took so long to figure out how to access the information, the time was up. I live on the West Coast.

            1. Thanks for that, Barbara. Great points. It just isn’t feasible for many researchers to make effective use of these unparalleled newspaper microfilm resources at the New York Public Library unless they are brought online. Even for me, living in the Northeast (but not in New York), it is not easy to make it into the city. When I do make it there my time is very limited by transportation issues. Anyone digitizing these titles would be doing a tremendous service to a wide range of researchers given the high level of interest in the largest city in the US.

               In my list of Manhattan dailies from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, I realize I left out the New York Evening Mail/New York Mail (1st version) (1867-1881) and the New York Evening Mail (2nd version) (1904-1924), which were published before and after the New York Mail and Express (which I did note). These titles and date ranges combined with my list from yesterday and Barry’s list I believe would give researchers full coverage of major Manhattan dailies for the last quarter of the 19th century through the first half of the 20th century.

         3. The Daily Mirror is of real interest to the people of Sound Beach NY as that paper had a subscription drive and sold land lots back in 1929. It was how the town started. They were acquired by the NY Times at some point.

      2. There is a number of libraries and institutions, for a better word, do not want to share. The University of Kentucky library has over 60,000 rolls of newspaper microfilm. They have stopped their digitalization efforts. But, at the same time, they don’t want to work with any of the commercial companies to get that film digitized.

2. Please add the Long Island Press. Thank you.

   1. The Levittown Public Library has it all on microfilm. They won’t share with other libraries in Nassau & Suffolk counties. You want to look at it, you have to go to Levittown.
      I’d like to see the Suffolk Sun & The Brookhaven Town Review added to that list.

      1. Queens Public Library (the Long Island Press was published in Queens) ‘s website claims to have issues of the LI Press from Feb. 7, 1963 to its demise in 1977 available in “The Archives at Queens Library” (seemingly paper issues and in “Microform”) ; earlier issues of the “Long Island Daily Press” (1926-63) and “Long Island Daily Press and Daily Long Island Farmer” (1921-26) are supposed to also be available on “Microform” at the “Archives at Queens Library”.

         Ethan.

         1. Yes, the Queensboro Public Library has the archives of the Long Island Press, but you can only access them if you are a Queens resident and go to the main library.
            Joan Raleigh

            1. Hi, Ms. Raleigh.

               I grew up in Nassau County on Long Island (NY) myself, and I have lived in New York City for over 35 years now.

               {One of my friends in high school in the late 1979s (now a resident of Nebraska) was the son of a sportswriter for the Long Island Press — who died of a heart attack in 1976 — before his newspaper did. : ( )

               I understand that the newspaper’s being available in the Borough of Queens doesn’t mean that the material is digitized, or available around the US or around the world — but it does mean that Long Island Press material is *not only* available in Levittown in Nassau County, as Edward H. Derby seemed to firmly state earlier in this thread (although he may have meant “for those who live in Nassau and Suffolk Counties on Long Island” when he said
               “You want to look at it, you have to go to Levittown”).

               I haven’t been to the Central Queens library in years (so I *do not know* if you need to be a Queens resident to have access to the “Archives” in the Central library (I would hope that residents of other New York City Boroughs — and preferably all New York State residents (and even-more-preferably, persons interested in the history of the Borough of Queens who don’t live in New York State too) — would be allowed to do research in the Queens Library’s “Archives” now) — but my reply was to indicate that Levittown, New York *is not* the only place where the Long Island Press can be found (if I can trust the Queens Library’s website) — and *perhaps* the issues from February 7, 1963 to the last issue in 1977 are available in a form which is *not* as difficult to consult as “Microform” or microfilm. (Mr. Derby declared that the material in Levittown is (only) on microfilm.)

               I stand only partly “corrected”, I think, Ms. Raleigh — but Thanks for the stipulation.

               Ethan Kent.

               (PS: I was never a reader of the Long Island Press when I grew up in Nassau County: my family subscribed to Newsday — and from time to time obtained issues of the New York Times and the New York Daily News.

               So I don’t know how available the “Long Island Press” actually was between 1965 and 1977 in Nassau or Suffolk Counties.

               E. K.)

3. Our older newspapers will show you the truth of past events. Woke historians cam’t twist their truths. I read newspaper articles down to 1828. You can too. Do it.

   1. Wouldn’t earlier writers have their own points of view/prejudices (including about the desirability of advertising black persons for sale as slaves)?

      1. Ethan,
         Yes, you’re correct because many newspapers choose to write on behalf of the owner’s specifications and agendas rather than exposing misconceptions and falsehoods.

         1. Thanks, Craig.

            Ethan.

      2. I think Julie Ann is talking about editing / revising history through a CURRENT lens or agenda. You are talking about people of a past time writing through the lens or agenda OF that time, which is understandable and unavoidable. And that makes it acceptable, as historically you will know that reading a Charleston paper from 1858 will hold different values than a Boston paper of the same date. One value of old papers is that current attitudes can’t be shoehorned in to redefine or pass judgement on past understandings. For me, these old papers show a greater scope of thought and independence than what is available in today’s near-monolithic corporate media. They also show how much editorializing has always been a part of media. What’s different between then and now is the lack of pretense: back then, everyone knew what they were getting when reading a Hamiltonian newspaper vs a Jeffersonian – there was none of the modern puffed-up idea of the “sanctity” of journalism.

         1. “DMitchell”: Thank you for your well-phrased reply to my reply to Julie Ann Them’s post maintaining that “older newspapers” hold “truths” that can’t be “twist”-ed by “woke historians”.

            I am not a professional historian (although I am someone who is very interested in the American past), and I do not consider myself entirely “woke”, but Ms. Them’s post seemed to me to be a political attack on those historians of today whom she thinks of as “woke” (perhaps for saying — today — that (in my example) the early 19th century was NOT (as some “anti-woke” Americans might think today) a good time for both black and white Americans (including the enslaved ones), because — heck — the Founding Fathers founded the best darn country that ever, EVER existed on Earth).

            (I am an American born and raised, myself, but one who sees how Canadians and British persons and French persons and other persons may see their own countries as “the best ever”, and one who seems to disagree politically with “exceptionalists” who think that “America” has always been “best”; perhaps learning history both in the 1960s (reading a chapter about how Robert E. Lee was a great American who fought for the Confederacy only because he loved his State of Virginia so) and in the 1970s (when the point of view of historians was less what it was generally earlier in the 20th century) and being a Jewish American makes me have a different point of view than some other Americans of today.)

            You (“DMitchell”) are correct that we all speak with our own minds (which tend to be molded by the times in which we live, our own backgrounds, and our own experiences) — so there is no truly “objective” journalism or history; reading an 1858 Charleston, South Carolina newspaper might be a different experience today for a black American (“woke” or not) than for a white one (perhaps especially some of the advertising columns) — as reading a translation of a newspaper from the Russian Empire from 1903 which backed the Government would be different for me (3/4 of whose immigrant ancestors were Jews who emigrated from that Empire) than for someone whose ancestors were among the Russian aristocracy of that time.

            One value of old newspapers is finding information and facts about the past (Newspapers.com’s connection with Ancestry.com indicates that much of what today’s readers want to find in the old newspapers is information about their own ancestors/family); another (much in evidence in this “thread” of comments) is being reminded of a place that one once called “home” (or where one lived), and a third is being in touch with what was later regarded as a “Golden Age” of American “journalism” (notably, one which wasn’t as self-consciously aiming to be “objective” as journalism (at least the news reporting) was when I was growing up in the 1960s and 1970s).

            I’ll just conclude by saying that I (myself) hope that I do not read old texts with the hope of finding an “antidote” to someone else’s rhetoric of today (although I may well be as “guilty” as the next person of mentally “fitting” what I read into the way in which I already seen the world); I do hope that Ms. Them may possibly notice that there were good and bad “truths” and circumstances in all eras of American history (as well as phenomena which may seem “silly” and/or “absurd” today).

            Ethan (in New York City).

   2. Unfortunately a lot of truth has been left out of published history.

   3. Julie,
      I disagree with your viewpoint because newspapers only show you a minimal history of the event but not the whole truth behind the article. There’s so much to the nation’s history that has never been recorded and a lot of that has to do with who wants to control what may be written.

   4. Newspapers rarely print the “truth”… read with a grain of salt!

      1. Your comment should also be taken with salt big boatload of it!

      2. Then where do YOU get “the truth”? Printed material is the greatest reflection of our history: books, magazines, and newspapers. Newspapers have opinion columns, etc. , but for the most part print researched facts. There is liability when you print vs. social media where you can say anything in an instant and where the writers are not able to justify what they write with facts/sources.

         1. Alison,
            Again there’s a gray area in reporting “the truth” because it’s biased and based upon how you define “truth.” For example, slaves were culturally acceptable to the times in Charleston, S.C. in the early 1800s because it was normal to have slaves tending to the crops or resources of that time. But, at the same time, The Liberator newspaper (Boston) or the American Anti-Slavery Society (AASS) was an abolitionist media that wrote against human beings as slaves. This paper was posted in Charleston but pulled down because the people of that area and time refused to accept this notion as credible. Thus, the South’s ‘truth’ was not aligned with the ‘truths’ of the North. If that makes any sense at all. So, the ‘truth’ of today is biased as it was during that time. Consider how slavery was not fully written about in secondary school education. An example is the Tulsa Race Riot in the 1920s. I received grades in Oklahoma History (the 1970s-1980s) for information I didn’t know about and the race riot portion of the state’s era was not even included in the state’s history books. Figure that one out.
            Pontius Pilate said it best; “What is truth?”

4. What’s the cost to add to my Ancestry.com subscription?

   1. Your entire collage funds.

5. Please see about including the Flint Journal from Flint, Michigan!

6. Please add the Milwaukee Journal, the Milwaukee Sentinel, and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Those of us in the Midwest especially would appreciate it.

7. Julie,
   I disagree with your viewpoint because newspapers only show you a minimal history of the event but not the whole truth behind the article. There’s so much to the nation’s history that has never been recorded and a lot of that has to do with who wants to control what may be written.

8. Can you add the Irvington Herald from Irvington, NJ? This paper served a large town which was a suburb of Newark, NJ. It is not found ANYWHERE except at the Irvington Public Library. If something should happen to their microfilm this newspaper would be forever lost. And, it technically is anyway as the library told me ALL their microfilm readers are broken and you cannot make copies of anything you might find in this paper unless you take a photo with your cell phone of the reader’s screen. They also told me there were no plans to fix their machines. I grew up in this town and have tried the State Library, Rutgers University, Library of Congress and various online newspaper sites such as chroniclingamerica, GenealogyBank, etc. This newspaper needs to be saved!

   1. I hope that you could get the Library of Congress interested (or some newspaper-preservation-interested organization in New Jersey; the local public library in my hometown on Long Island in New York State got the local weekly newspaper that I grew up with in my hometown digitized, and I am glad that that was done — through something called “New York State [or “NYS” Historic Newspapers”}.

   2. Check with the New Jersey State Archives, rather than the State Library. They were/are a huge part of the New Jersey Newspaper Project. They have some information about it on their website. But they don’t seem to have a list available on the website. I know they have thousands of reels of newspapers from around the state. Many of them seemingly not available elsewhere.

9. To add to the New York City papers, I will ask again that you consider the Staten Island Advance and its forerunners. Those papers would complete coverage of NYC.

10. Any chance of accessing newspapers from Chester County, S.C. from the 1800s?

11. I think you need to add the Olyphant, PA Gazette! I know…slim or no chance, and slim left the room! Seriously, old small town papers are a great source of history albeit it on a local level. Great for genealogy researchers though.

12. Many county seat & rural town newspapers for counties in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota & Wisconsin are not being digitalized by anyone. Sad. They are on microfilm at their states state historical society or state library microfilm rooms etc….

    1. The early and mid 00s were the last true innovatin period of the web. Smartphones immediately dumbed it down and I predicted it would. Companies catered to the dumbest levels and now are ran by such people to them and everyone else it’s now normal so people think I live in an alt world but I know what things were like before your stupid phones!!!

13. What about the oldest European city in the United States, St. Augustine, Florida? Seems like that would be an obvious choice. The newspaper has had different names through the centuries. Its current name is The St. Augustine Record.

14. Why no newspaper covering the capital of New York? My maternal grandmother’s paternal grandparents were neighbors on Lark St and Clinton Ave in Albany when it was a neighborhood with lots of immigrants from Ireland.

15. Any chance of getting the Augusta Chronicle and Augusta Herald into your lineup? Asking for a friend.

16. The Daily Mirror is of real interest to the people of Sound Beach NY as that paper had a subscription drive and sold land lots back in 1929. It was how the town started. They were acquired by the NY Times at some point.

17. The Waltham Tribrune also needs digitizing!

18. New Jersey.
    Star Ledger, Newark. Elizabeth Daily Journal. Any chance to ultimately be part of Newspapers?

19. Hello, I wonder if we can see newspapers from The Staten Island Advance. I live there in the late 80s to about 2015. I love Staten Island; many New Yorkers live there and Travel to Manhattan for work via the Staten Island Ferry. so much history there.

20. I would guess the overall plan is to have a digital version of EVERY newspaper from all 50 states that survive on microfilm. Of course, some achieves do not want to share their microfilm (looking at you University of Kentucky) and this I am afraid will prevent some papers from ever being digitized and shared.

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