Treasure Hunting Forum

Three weeks ago I noticed another eBay seller who had an 1863 Vicksburg Daily Citizen for sale. You see these papers on eBay all the time, all reprints of the famous July 4, 1863 edition. For those of you not familiar with the Daily Citizen, be it known that the July 4, 1863 issue - on wallpaper - is the most famous and most reprinted of all Civil War newspapers. Originals cannot be had, though I recall one dealer some years back who claimed he had one and wanted $5,000 for it. Regardless, the July 4 issue is famous because after the surrender Union soldiers raided the abandoned cave where J. M. Swords was printing his papers, and they found the old Franklin press set up to print the July 2 issue. So they added a few humorous words in one paragraph at the end, and ran off 50 copies on the wallpaper Swords was forced to use due to a shortage of print bond. It was an instant hit, and was reprinted hundreds of times over the next many years. But the July 4 issue was not the only issue printed on wallpaper. Beginning on June 16, Swords issued his paper printed on the backs of wallpaper torn from the walls of his/others homes. Back to eBay. The seller indicated he had what he thought was a reprint of the Citizen, only he was confused - the date was June 16, 1863, and the headline page was printed on the right side of the paper, not on the left as it should be. That really piqued my interest. From what I could see of his photographs, the paper looked like the genuine issue of June 16. So I bid, and I also contacted the New York Historical Society and requested a photocopy of their original June 16 issue. There were other bidders who apparently saw the same possibilities as I, but apparently were not the gambler I am. I bought the “reprint” for $288. The newspaper and the photocopy from the NYHS arrived two days apart. And bingo! I’m the proud owner of an original June 16, 1863 Vicksburg Daily Citizen. It gives me a strange sensation to hold this newspaper and think of the conditions under which it was printed, of the man, J. M. Swords, who wrote such stirring words of patriotism and sacrifice. This is one “antique” I will not part with.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 16th, 2007 @ 10:16 pm on the category Auctions/Sales/Ebay.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.