Tag: newspapers

The Watseka Wonder

Posted on by Monica Otoide

“The case of Lurancy Vennum, a bright young girl of fourteen years, has been the subject of much discussion in Watseka during the past year, and there is a good deal in it beyond human comprehension.” – “Mesmeric Mysteries,” Cincinnati Enquirer (Cincinnati, OH), Jun. 22, 1878 [1]

            Ever since Regan MacNeil crawled backwards down the stairs in The Exorcist, possession has been a cornerstone of American horror movies. The very idea of losing control of ourselves to something otherworldly fills us with fear. The fear of possession, of course, has been around since long before the 1970s. Cases of possession have featured on the pages of newspapers across the country since the Salem witch trials in the 1690s. We don’t have to look far to find one such case.

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What can a Czech-American newspaper teach us about the American union?

Posted on by Nadia Hoppe

In August 2016 HPNL and Preservation Services received a fourth round of grant funding for the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP), a project supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the Library of Congress. The grant supports the funding for the digitization of 100,000 pages of newspapers. For this cycle UIUC focused on immigrant Chicagoland-based newspapers from the late 19th century and early 20th century. As part of this project, I was tasked with producing short essays summarizing the history of two related Czech-American newspapers: Denní hlasatel (Daily Herald) and its weekly counterpart, Týdenní hlasatel (Weekly Herald). The essays were to appear in the Library of Congress powered site, Chronicling America, as well as UIUC’s newspaper portal, the Illinois Digital Newspaper Collections (IDNC).

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New Online Resource: American Antiquarian Society Historical Periodicals Collection, 1684-1912

Posted on by Geoffrey Ross

Library patrons now have access to EBSCO’s digital collection American Antiquarian Society Historical Periodicals Collection, 1684-1912. Originally released in five series, this collection has long been on our “wish-list”, and we have finally acquired the entire collection, which complements several existing digital collections (American Periodical Series Online, America’s Historical Newspapers, 19th Century American Newspapers, and Early American Imprints), and makes pre-1900 American print culture among the best covered source bases for online historical research here at the University of Illinois Library. Continue reading “New Online Resource: American Antiquarian Society Historical Periodicals Collection, 1684-1912“ →

New Digitized Newspaper: The Rand Daily Mail, 1902-1985

Posted on by Geoffrey Ross

The Rand Daily Mail was a South African, English language newspaper that became famous in the 1960s for its editorial opposition to apartheid.

It began publication in 1902 as a conservative sheet serving English-speaking whites in “the Rand”—local parlance for the Witwatersrand goldfields near Johannesburg (“rand” is a geological term for an escarpment, so its metonymic use here is similar to the way southern Californians often refer to the San Fernando Valley as simply “the Valley”). South Africa was a country sliced to shreds by conflict: racial, class, and white ethnic conflict. Over five different languages were spoken throughout the nation. Within the Rand, the paper was reliably establishment, though it did occasionally break ranks to support white miners. Continue reading “New Digitized Newspaper: The Rand Daily Mail, 1902-1985″ →

‘Tis Time! Sharpen the knives and carve the pumpkins!

Posted on by Bonnie Thornton

Halloween 2016 netted retail industries approximately $8.6 billion (CNN). Millions more may be factored into the season when cafes and grocers market many items labeled as “pumpkin spice.” It’s impossible to mention Halloween without invoking images of costumes, trick-or-treating, pumpkin carving, pumpkin smashing, witches, black cats, etc. Halloween is such a symbolic and long-standing holiday in American culture that it is worth serious consideration by historians, anthropologists, and students of folk-lore. It is the product of the migration of Western Europeans and a fusion of their traditional practices on this continent. Although it is such a historically rich festival, how is it that one of the longest-standing crafts affiliated with All Hallows Eve is that of pumpkin carving? When all is said and done, it seems a tad silly to carve a scary face into a vegetable. Patterns range from happy to scary, from eccentric to mainstream, the patterns reflecting both the skill and the whims of the carver. Why and how did this tradition of pumpkin carving emerge? That annual pilgrimage to a country-side pumpkin patch in order to select the perfect squash canvas? The answer lies with the development of Halloween as an American holiday.

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Daily Mail Historical Archive, 1896-2004

Posted on by Geoffrey Ross

One of the most popular, “middle market” tabloid newspapers in Britain, the Daily Mail is now available in a digitized historical archive of searchable, facsimile reproductions. The Daily Mail Historical Archive also includes issues from the Atlantic Edition (1923-1931), which was published for cruise ship passengers.


Go to the Daily Mail Historical Archive now.

The Old Soldier Digitized

Posted on by Geoffrey Ross

Now available online: every issue, reproduced in full color, of the Old Soldier, an 1840 Springfield campaign newspaper that promoted William Henry Harrison’s successful run for president. The Old Soldier is notable among campaign newspapers for the fact that it was co-edited by Abraham Lincoln.


Go to the Digitized Old Soldier now.

African American Newspapers, 1827-1998

Posted on by Geoffrey Ross

A wide-ranging collection, African American Newspapers, 1827-1998 complements our largest collection of digitized African American newspapers, ProQuest Historical Black Newspapers. While ProQuest Historical Black Newspapers covers the major, metropolitan black newspapers of the 20th century, African American Newspapers, 1827-1998 provides access to a broader range of publications, especially the black press of America’s smaller cities, and the few extant issues of the earliest black newspapers, most of which were previously available only on microfilm or in smaller digital collections scattered around the Internet. Highlights of the collection include the Huntsville, Alabama Gazette (1881-1894); the Indianapolis Freeman (1888-1916); the Savannah, Georgia Tribune (1875-1922); the Kansas City Advocate (1916-1926); the Topeka Plaindealer (1899-1931); the Cleveland Gazette (1883-1945); the Wichita Negro Star (1920-1952); the Kansas City Plaindealer (1932-1958); the Arkansas State Press (1941-1959); the Mississippi Free Press (1961-1964); the Rockford, Illinois Crusader (1952-1971), the Wichita Times and Kansas Weekly Journal (1972-1981); the Milwaukee Star (1967-1977); the Chicago Metro News (1973-1990); the Racine, Wisconsin Courier (1976-1992); and the Grand Rapids, Michigan Afro-American Gazette (1991-1995). Click here to see a complete list of titles.


Go to African American Newspapers, 1827-1998 now.

New Illinois Digital Newspaper Collection

Posted on by Geoffrey Ross

The History, Philosophy, and Newspaper Library introduces the new Illinois Digital Newspaper Collection, powered by Veridian. The Illinois Digital Newspaper Collection combines 1.2 million pages of digitized newspapers in one freely accessible location. Using Veridian Digital Library software, the IDNC offers a modern and user-friendly way to access unique research tools and engage with the past. The site includes interactive features allowing users to tag articles, correct OCR text, and share on social media. A text correction contest will be announced next month.


The Illinois Digital Newspaper Collection is available online at idnc.library.illinois.edu