The southern sentinel. (Winnfield, La.) 1883-1910, 1885-04-17
OLD NEWSPAPERS.
- Curious Business Of = lGetropolttaa
Negro.

-. Curious Business Of . Hetropolttaa
Negro.
Having occasion the other day to
search for some copies Of daily news
papers of certain date in 1875, was
not surprised to find that ct the Offices
Of the newspapers could buy no cop
les. Not one of the great dail.es could
furnish copy of the date which I
needed, but was referred in every case
to man named Robert Budd, formerly
bootblack, who makes q business of
dealing in back numbers of newspapers.
/ found him, and in half an hour I had
the papers.
Budd's history. or rather that of his
business. ispeculiar. Heis coal-black
negro, with an intelligent face and a
remarkable faculty for estimating the
value of his wares. Although he has q
regular price LIST, his prices vary ac-
c0rding to what he thinks may be the
value of the paper to the would-be
buyer. Some months ago there was a
Law case which required the present.
ment in court either of a certain news
paper or of certified copy of an arti-
Gle covering several pages in small
type. Budd was the only man in the
city who could furnish the paper; he
asked 500 for it, although it was not
ten years old, and had originally cost
him but two cents. and the sum was
paid. for the certified copy would have
cost still more.
Five years ago Budd had a boot
backing stand on Broadway, near Thir-
tieth street, and at the same me sold
newspapers. He was struck with
the number of demands made upon
him for copes of newspapers two
or three days, or week, or even =
month old, and he had the idea of add
ing to his business that of old news
papers. That there is demand for
old newspapers is amply shown by the
business he has built up. At present he
occupies large cellar, the walls of
which are lined with newspapers tied
up in bundles, each bundle containing
the copies of one month of each paper.
There is tag attached to each bundle
giving the months of the year.
As he still keeps up his newspaper
stand he of course gets his papers at
cost price. and when a person really
wants paper there is a fine chance for
profit. Every day Budd puts away
twenty copies of the Tho Herald, twenty
copies of The San, ten of the World,
Times, and Tribune each, and five
copies of each of the evening news
papers. His schedule of prices is sup
posed to be as follows: For papers
three days old. double the price; for pa
pers week old, ten cents; for papers
month old, twenty-five cents; for pa
pers year old. 81; for papers more
than a year old, $l.25 add tional for
every year. But, as said before, this
schedule is no guide in case Budd dis
covers that the paper is of great i'm
portance. Soon after he began bust
ness, he bought up complete files of
several newspapers running back in
some cases to 1850. That he finds the
business . profitable one may be in
ferred from his ability to keep two as
siStants at work.
The ssnumber of persons who wish to
buy back copies of newspapers is larger
than most people might suppose: in the
course of half an hour, during which
searched through an old file, five per-
sons came into Budd place and bought
papers varying in age from two days to
six years.-N y Cor. Nes0 HAGEN