IHLC Collection of New York Herald Facsimiles

The IHLC Collection of New York Herald Facsimiles contains eighteen commemorative facsimile advertisements promoting companies and products for purchase. These advertisements are printed on the interior pages of facsimile reproductions of the April 15, 1865, edition of the New York Herald reporting the news of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination.

The New York Herald was a New York City-based newspaper which was in print from 1835 to 1924. Prior to the Civil War, the Herald adopted the pro-slavery stance of its founder and editor, James Gordon Bennett Sr. Throughout the Civil War, the Herald aligned itself with the Democratic Party through its reporting.

The use of commemorative newspaper reproductions as advertisements began around the United States centennial in 1876. To attract the attention of potential customers, companies would print their advertisements on the interior pages of commemorative facsimile reproductions of newspapers from notable days in American history. Among the most frequent advertisers were Grain-O-Coffee, Kitchel’s Liniment, and MA-LE-NA liver pills, which created new commemorative facsimile advertisements using the Lincoln assassination edition of the New York Herald for their products annually. The marketing tactic of using commemorative facsimile advertisements continued until roughly 1908. In the time since, at least 32 facsimile versions of the Lincoln assassination edition of the Herald have been identified. These have been frequently misidentified for original New York Herald editions announcing Lincoln’s assassination.

This collection contains eighteen commemorative facsimile advertisements for products sold by Grain-O-Coffee, Kitchel’s Liniment, and MA-LE-NA liver pills. The advertisements for these companies are printed on the interior pages of reproductions of the New York Herald announcing Lincoln’s assassination on April 15, 1865.

The Library acquired these commemorative facsimile advertisements sometime prior to 2015.