They carefully included the statistics of sunrise and sunset, recorded the inches of rain and gathered the statistics of harvest. These people liked, and still like, numbers. They co-existed under the newspaper's roof with the romantics who wrote the news that carried emotional content. The romantics owned the social pages and social events, wrote of crimes, fires and celebrations and battled the editor[s] for larger headlines and better placement on the front page for 'their' stories. Emotion sold papers, the bean counters paid the bills and the arguments never stopped.
Certain days and certain activities however belonged conclusively and irretrievably to the romantics. The 4th of July, Thanksgiving and Washington's birthday were theirs. They grudgingly gave the bean counters Ground Hog Day, Socrates' birthday and the anniversary of the invention of decimals while demanding Valentines Day, conceding Easter demanding April Fools and always acted [and it was acting] like all the events and occasions the bean counters received was much, much too much. Okay, you can have July 16th, the Battle of Baylen and June 13th, anniversary of the beheading of Anthony Widville at Pontefract. That left such holidays as New Year's the uncontested property and providence of the romantics, who when left unguarded, could wax poetic in ways that history has mostly and very mercifully decided to ignore.
For the newspapers and newspapermen [and it was mostly men then] that waxed poetic on New Year's Day, the Carrier Address was on the short annual list of opportunities to wax poetic without provoking a riot among the bean counters who were sure to calculate to the last sou, the cost and benefit of such printing. Given the investment to set the type, buy the paper, ink the form, roll the roller and later gather, organize, fold, count and distribute such productions, it's surprising that any newspaper survived the extravagance. What inevitably saved the newspaper from bankruptcy was the piece's diminutive size - a single sheet 9 x 12.5" quarter folded to a quite manageable 4.5 x 6.25 inches. The type selected was a tasteful if minute 4 point that employed the same spacing as the car-packers on the Tokyo Metro at rush hour. Space should not be wasted! To further reduce burden to the firm and avoid all need for punches, staples and threads the piece was folded but not cut. For the recipient to then take this eye test required flipping the sheet back and forth, over and back and side to side to continue reading in page order.
Alas, the example that accompanies this article, is one hundred and forty years old today, remains a virgin, no burrs, tears or marks of any kind to suggest it has been out into the world. It probably hasn't and one suspects that would surprise no long-gone editor, delivery boy or reader. The piece was simply a convenience for encouraging tips and an opportunity for us today to speculate upon some of the underlying assumptions afoot and at work on January 1st, 1869.
Whatever else this 'carrier call' does it suggests a bustling community of newspaper readers thus confirming the national statistics that showed literacy approaching 90% in 1870. The printed word was becoming the currency of information, the great newspapers beginning their extended runs.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("Martinus Luther") to His Friend the Theologian Gerhard Wiskamp ("Gerardo Xantho Lampadario"). $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: An Exceptionally Fine Copy of Austenís Emma: A Novel in Three Volumes. $40,000 - $60,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Presentation Copy of Ernest Hemmingwayís A Farewell to Arms for Edward Titus of the Black Mankin Press. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript Signed Integrally for "The Songs of Pooh," by Alan Alexander. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript of "Three Fragments from Gˆtterd‰mmerung" by Richard Wagner. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Preliminary Artwork, for the First Edition of Snow Crash. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("T.R. Malthus") to Economist Nassau Senior on Wealth, Labor and Adam Smith. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides Finely Bound by Michael Wilcox. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: First Edition of Lewis and Clark: Travels to the Source of the Missouri River and Across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Artwork for the First Edition of Neal Stephenson's Groundbreaking Novel Snow Crash. $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: A Complete Set Signed Deluxe Editions of King's The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("John Adams") to James Le Ray de Chaumont During the Crucial Years of the Revolutionary War. $8,000 - $12,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Francesco Colonna. Hypnerotomachie, Paris, 1546, Parisian calf by Wotton Binder C for Marcus Fugger. €200,000 to €300,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Nausea. De principiis dialectices Gorgias, and other works, Venice, 1523, morocco gilt for Cardinal Campeggio. €3,000 to €4,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Billon. Le fort inexpugnable de l'honneur, Paris, 1555, Parisian calf gilt for Peter Ernst, Graf von Mansfeld. €120,000 to €180,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: Salinger, J.D. The Graham Family archive, including autographed letters, an inscribed Catcher, a rare studio photograph of the author, and more. $120,000 to $180,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of Sense and Sensibility, the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: Massachusetts General Court. A powerful precursor to the Declaration of Independence: "every Act of Government … without the Consent of the People, is … Tyranny." $40,000 to $60,000.
Heritage Auctions Rare Books Signature Auction December 15, 2025
Heritage, Dec. 15: John Donne. Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death. London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
Heritage, Dec. 15: F. Scott Fitzgerald. Tender is the Night. A Romance.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Jerry Thomas. How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon-Vivant's Companion, Containing Clear and Reliable Directions for Mixing All the Beverages Used in the United States…
![<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 16:</b> [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of <i>Sense and Sensibility,</i> the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/9a74d9ff-42dd-46a1-8bb2-b636c4cec796.png "<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 16:</b> [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of <i>Sense and Sensibility,</i> the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.")
![<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/8caddaea-4c1f-47a7-9455-62f53af36e3f.jpg "<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.")
