Haverhill, MA – From May 8 to 29, the Museum of Printing in Haverhill, Massachusetts will display a sampling of its extensive collection of vintage newspapers.

The exhibition is called “From Rags to News” because printers would ask for old rags to make the paper needed for printing. The exhibition features issues from 1781 to 1981.

It is said that newspapers are the first draft of history and many of those selected for this exhibition report the first news of historic events. See how the deaths of Washington and Franklin were first reported. See the ads in the early versions of the Lawrence Eagle Tribune. See “The Transcontinental,” the first daily newspaper printed on the first train that went from Boston to San Francisco.

Every newspaper not only reports the news of the day, but tells us something about their times and the people who lived in them. The exhibition is curated by Christine Elizabeth Mistretta, whose “Below the Masthead” blog appears on Facebook.

The Museum of Printing is located at 15 Thornton Avenue, Haverhill, Massachusetts. It is open to the public every Saturday from 10am to 4pm or other days by appointment. Covid precautions in place and masks required.