The title in the original is of well-formed Roman capital and lower case letters.The letters must not slant (italic) but be totally upright.

 

The period after the title must be perfectly round. (Examine yours with a magnifying glass, as most reprints have this period oval shaped.)

 

The original has the catchword "of" below column two on the font page and against the right margin.

New-England Courant -- February 11, 1723

Page 1, Column 1, line 1 should read: "The late Publisher of this Paper, finding so many".

 

Page 1, Column 1, last line should read: "his Face, which splits it from his Forehead in a".

 

Page 1, Column 2, last line should read: "Body of Forces in readiness to embark on the first No."

New-England Weekly Journal -- April 8, 1728

Originals are on watermarked rag linen. Hold your specimen up to a bright light to see if the watermark is present.

 

The type of "The New England" in the title should measure exactly 1/4 inches high. Reprints are slightly smaller.

New-Hampshire Gazette -- October 7, 1756

Page 1, paragraph 4, line 3 should contain the word "Knowledge" and spelled correctly. (The reprints spell it without the "d" -- "Knowlege".)

 

Page 1, last line should read: "Complaint on that Score."

 

Page 2, line 5, should read: "gence provided they be sent from Charge".

 

Page 2, column 1, paragraph 4, last line should read: "French between 4 & 5000". Page 2, column 2, paragraph 6, last line should read: "ries eight Guns, besides Swivels, and is a good Sailer".

Boston Gazette and Country Journal -- March 12, 1770

Page 1, column 1, in the two-line quotation from Shakespeare the first line should be indented further than the second.

 

Page 1, column 1, paragraph 2, line 3 the first word should be "production" and not "publication" like many reprints.

 

Page 1, column 2, paragraph 8 (third from bottom) line 3, the word "Lillie" should be all on one line. Some reprints hyphenate the word and place the "lie" syllable on the next line.

 

Page 2, column 2, the last line should read: "of this horrid Massacre, the Bells were set a Ringing and".

 

Page 2, column 3, the last line should read: "Meeting was Dissolved".

 

Page 3, column 1 paragraph 1, the last line should read: "in the Commander's Assurances have happily prevented".

 

Page 3, column 1, paragraph 2, the last line should read: "the bloody Massacre of the Monday Evening proceeding!".

 

Page 3, column 1, paragraph 3, the last line should read: "surpass description".

Maryland Journal and the Baltimore Advertiser -- August 20, 1773

All reprints have the announcement by William Goddard "To The Public" filling the first column of page 1 and the heading of "My Lord" at the top of the second column. In the original, the Goddard article runs over two inches into the second column.

Massachusetts Spy or American Oracle of Liberty -- May 3, 1775

In the original the title is quite readable. In the reprints, extra flourishes are added so that without close examination, the title reads "Sun" instead of "Spy".

 

 

New York Morning Post -- November 7, 1783

• The rules (lines) immediately above and below the date line should have small breaks near the right hand end. (Reprints have no gaps in the lines.)

 
 
• The index hand at the left of the printer's notice in the heading should be in outline format. That is, the fingers not filled in.

• Page 1, column 4, Samuel Loudon's "To the Public" should be comprised of six paragraphs. (Most reprints have it as five paragraphs.)

• Page 3, "George Washington's Farewell Orders to the Armies of the United States" should fill all but three lines of column 2. (Most reprints carry it over to column 3.)

• Should not have ad on back page announcing "For Sale at Back Number Budd's, 1280 Broadway, M. A. Burr's, Allan Street, and all Newsdealers".

Ulster Country Gazette -- January 4, 1800

There should not be a comma after the word "County" in the title. The paper should have watermarks throughout and laid lines 1 1/16 to 1 3/16 inches apart.

 

The title should be in italics and measure 6 15/16 inches in length The second column on page 1 should measure 2 7/8 inches wide between the rules (lines)

 

The old style "s" (the one that looks like an "f") should appear frequently as in the words "Publisher" and "Ulster" in the heading as well as in the words "President", "House", and "Representatives" and many others.

 

The first line on page one, column 4 should read: "command the town; and not withstanding".

 

In the "Last Notice" on page 3, column 2, the word deceased is misspelled "deccased".

 

In the "Last Notice" on page 3, column 2, the name should include the middle initial, i.e. "Johannis I. Jansen".

 

Times (London, England) -- June 22, 1815

An original has 4 pages of five columns each.

 

Measurement front the left edge of type to the far right edge of type should be 20 5/8 inches by 14 5/8 inches.

Sun (New York) -- September 3, 1833

Page 1, column 1, the last line should read: ñThree Dollarsî with the "T" and "D" capitalized.

 

Page 1, column 1, second advertisement, line 2 should have the word "steamboats" plural. (Not "steamboat".)

 

Page 1, column 1, second advertisement, line 7 should have the word "Captains" plural and not singular.

 

Page 1, third advertisement, line 5 the word should be "Catharine" and not "Catherine". (Not "a" instead of "e".)

 

Page 1, column 1, third advertisement, line 10 should have the word "hour" singular.

 

Page 1, column 1, fourth advertisement, line 2 the word "master" should not be capitalized.

 

Page 1, column 1, fourth advertisement, line 4 should not have the word "captain" capitalized.

 

Page 1, column 1, fifth advertisement, line 2, the word "Tallahassee" should have 2 ñsî and not one.

 

Page 1, column 1, sixth column, line 1, the word "Packet" should be capitalized. Page 1, column 2, next to last line should read: "trible the sum". (Reprints spell it with an "e" -- "treble".)

 

Page 1, column 3, second article, line 2 should have the word spelled "charriot" and not misspelled.

 

Page 2, column 1, paragraph 3, line 1 should not have the word "almshouse" capitalized.

 

Page 3, column 3, third advertisement, should be "J. Bleeker & Sons" and not "J. Bleecker & Sons" -- note the added "c" in latter version.

Public Ledger -- March 25, 1836

Closely examine the engraving of the steam engine on page 1 and page 3:
 
 

The front of the engine forms a vertical line with the front of the smokestack. (In reprints, the front of the engine projects beyond the smokestack.)

 

In the original the rear wheel is larger than the front wheel.

 

In the bell-like top on the back of the locomotive, there should be 2 slanting lines projecting from the base towards the rear.

 

 

Sun (Baltimore) -- May 17, 1837

The last paragraph in the second column should begin with "The Public Hotels in New York..."

 

The last paragraph in the third column should begin with: "The Mayor of New York..."

 

 

Daily Citizen -- July 2 or July 4, 1863

The title should be in all capital letters ("DAILY CITIZEN" or "DAILY CTIZEN" -- latter misspelled) and not capital and lower case letters (Daily Citizen).

 

Column 1, at top "J. M. Swords,......" should have a comma (or imperfect dot) after the name and six periods. Most reprints have more periods and no comma.

 

Column 1, last line should read: "them as they would the portals of hell itself".

 

Column 3, line 1 should read: "Yankee News From All Points".

 

Column 4, paragraph 3, line 7, the first word should be misspelled "Secossion".

 

Column 4, article 2, line 2, word 4 should have the word misspelled "whisttle".

 

Column 4, Note, line 1, there should be a comma after the word "changes" and not a period.

 

 

New York Herald -- April 15, 1865

There should not be a portrait (engraving) of Abe Lincoln on the front page.

If there are 8 pages present it is likely an original.

On the front page, column 4, about 6 inches down from the top there should not be the words in larger type: "EXTRA 8:10 A.M." (One reprint version has this phrase in column 3 instead of column 4. That one is titled "New York Special" rather than "New York Herald".)

Pages 2 and 3 should not have any engravings or ads for "Grain--O-Coffee", "Kitchel's Liniment", "Smith's Buchu Lythia Pills", "MA-LE-NA", or "Dr. Archambault Co. Paris Vital Sparks".

Honolulu Star-Bulletin -- December 7, 1941

At least 3 reprint versions exist of this edition. They are described as follows:
 

First several days' front pages reprinted as an insert to the Bulletin probably one week after the bombing. It is this version that most soldiers who were in Pearl Harbor at the time or shortly thereafter bought. The front page at the upper right hand corner has a large "1st Extra"; page 2 in same location has "2nd Extra"; page 3 in same location has "3rd Extra".

 

8 pages: Front page "1st Extra"; page 2 contains war news, page 3 bears "3rd Extra"; pages 4, 5 and 6 contain war news and photos. Tag in bottom margin of page 6 reads: "Printed and Distributed in Hawaii by PACIFIC FILM CORPORATION, 1649 Kalakaua Avenue, Honolulu". Page 7 is actually the font page of the December 8, 1941 edition with the headline "SABOTEURS LAND HERE". Page 8 is filled mostly with "FLASH BULLETINS".

 

10 pages: Front page: "1st Extra"; page 2 contains war news; page 3 is "3rd Extra"; pages 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 devoted to compilation of news stories and photos. Tag at bottom margin on page 6 reads: "Copies Available Thru Fleet Reserve Assn. Branch 46, P. O. Box 6067, Honolulu, Hawaii 96818". Having a ZIP code dates this reprint version to post 1962.