Evidence from the William Reese Company

Item 15 is an unusually classy piece of newsprint, one that would make you think the printers were rolling in money. In reality, it was just the opposite. As the Civil War dragged on, the South experienced numerous shortages. One was paper. There was no paper to print the daily news. Publishers had to become creative, and one of the alternatives they employed was wallpaper. That was certainly a more expensive grade of paper, and could only be printed on one side, the other being decorative. Nonetheless, they had to make do. Item 15 is the last issue of The Daily Citizen of Vicksburg, Mississippi, created before the Union took control of the city. We say "created" rather than "printed" because Union soldiers moved in before the daily paper, already set, was printed. The Union troops allowed the printing to go forward, but added a note at the bottom: "This is the last wall-paper edition, and is, excepting this note, from the types as we found them. It will be valuable hereafter as a curiosity." They were right. Dated July 2, 1863. $7,500.

Here is an absolutely amazing collection of photographs for those interested in the exploration of the American Southwest. It is an album of 539 photographs taken on John Wesley Powell's Second Expedition along the Colorado River during 1871-73. Most of the photographs were taken by the mission's chief photographer, John Hillers, one of the most important photographers of Indians and the American West in the late 19th century. Two years earlier, Powell had led a small group of men down the Green and Colorado Rivers from Green River, Wyoming, to the Grand Canyon. It was the first organized exploration of the great canyon. The second expedition, rather than one of initial discovery, was designed to bring back scientific data, survey and map the territory, and take photographs (none were taken during the first). It was on this second expedition that Powell developed his beliefs about water use and farming in the arid West (he didn't believe large-scale farming there was advisable). Many of the photographs in the album show the explorers interacting with the Pauite Indians, who were friendly and cooperative. Item 24. $75,000.

The William Reese Company may be reached at 203-789-8081 or amorder@reeseco.com. Their website is www.reeseco.com.