MUSEUM ACQUIRES RARE 19th CENTURY LOS ANGELES NEWSPAPERS
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Most people associate the International Printing Museum with antique printing equipment. The truth is, the Museum also has an extensive collection of antique books and ephemeral. And, during the recent California International Antiquarian Book Fair in Pasadena, California, we were able to add a few gems to our collection.
The Book Fair is recognized as one of the world’s pre-eminent exhibitions of antiquarian books. The bi-annual fair gives visitors the opportunity to see, learn about and purchase the fi nest in rare books, manuscripts, autographs, graphics, photographs and more. We are invited by the Book Fair to bring our portable colonial press and demonstrate printing for the guests.
While perusing the many offerings at the fair, Mark Barbour, the Museum’s curator, came across issues of the Evening Express and The Visitors Guide to Los Angeles and Vicinity. The Evening Express newspaper predates The Los Angeles Times by ten years. The Evening Express began publishing in 1871 and The L.A. Times started in 1881.
A trip through the online version of the Library of Congress reveals that William Randolph Hearst, who built the nation’s largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications, acquired the Evening Express in 1931. He merged the newspaper with another he owned, the Los Angeles Herald, and created the Los Angeles Herald-Express. In 1962, another merger, this time with the Los Angeles Examiner, leads to its final incarnation, one that many of our readers will recognize, the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner.
While looking through the four-page newspaper, Mark was drawn to the many notices and ads. One notice that he found particularly amusing came from the printer himself. His “Special Notice” reads, “No attention will be paid to orders for election printing or advertising at this office unless paid for in advance. There will be no deviation from this rule.” This has often been heard as an admonition today by printing association presidents to local printers. The truth is if the candidate fails to win, it may be very difficult to collect.
The Telegraph Stage ad promotes a trip from Los Angeles to San Francisco, Sacramento, and Stockton in just 48 hours. The ad’s engraving of six horses pulling the stagecoach is really wonderful.
There are also a number of interesting ads from The Visitors Guide to Los Angeles and Vicinity. There’s one in particular that I like. It’s for “McBride the Printer of To-day.” It seems McBride was a rather successful printer. A little research shows that McBride Printing had been a member of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce since 1892. In 1929, McBride Printing was the first to published Pioneer Notes from the Diaries of Judge Benjamin Hayes, 1849-1875, by Marjorie Wolcott. This book is often referenced in contemporary books about early life in California. The book continues to be published today.
It seems that before Disneyland and Knotts Berry Farm there was the South Pasadena Ostrich Farm. Their advertisement in The Visitors Guide encourages readers “Before buying see our immense stock of feather goods at producers’ prices.” You see, ostrich feathers on ladies hats and other garments were very fashionable at the time. In addition to the feathers, visitors were able to ride on the backs of ostriches or be taken for an ostrich drawn carriage ride. The farm became so popular that the Pacific Electric Railway built a Red Car trolley stop nearby to accommodate the flood of visitors headed up the Arroyo Seco to see the birds. Ostrich Farms were quite popular in Los Angeles around the turn of the last century. In fact, some historians feel that this may have been the impetus behind the creation of Griffith Park.
We did more than add to our printing collection at the Book Fair. Thanks to the help of our dedicated volunteers, visitors to the three-day event were able to print their own keepsake on our antique colonial style press.
This year the Book Fair had a special exhibit that celebrated the 200th anniversary of the publication of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. In keeping with that theme, we recreated the frontispiece from the first illustrated version of the book and encouraged visitors to our booth at the fair to imprint their own copy. As luck would have it, on display in a case in front of our printing press was an original copy of the book opened to the illustration. Visitors could see the original and then print their own copy on our press.
Visitors to the Printing Museum’s booth at the Book Fair were very engaging. We were able to promote the many events that we offer at the Museum including the Krazy Krafts Day. Many parents and grandparents took brochures about the event and promised to attend.
While waiting in line to pull an impression of the Frankenstein keepsake, many of the mature men and women reminisced about printing courses that used to be offered in Junior High and High School. They struck up conversations with others in line that remembered the classes. They also explained to younger visitors the fun they had.
