Where can I buy (recently) past editions of newspapers from around the US/world?

August 3, 2012 10:08 AM

Any resources for purchasing newspapers from around the US and the world for a specific, fairly recent date? As many different editions as possible desirable; I'm making a time capsule for a friend's new baby!

A close friend had a baby a few months ago, and I'm trying to acquire as many different newspapers as possible for the date of her birth to seal away for her until she gets older. I tried doing this a bit on the actual day she was born, but had a hard time finding many (bookstores used to carry world editions of newspapers, didn't they? News-stands have sort of ceased to exist in my city) without much luck.

Are there shops online from whom you can buy editions of newspapers for specific past dates? Any help appreciated. Date needed is March 26th, in case that helps.

posted by penduluum to Media & Arts (4 answers total)

If you google the newspaper name and "back issues", you'll find something. For example: Boston Globe, Philadelphia Inquirer, San Francisco Chronicle, New York Times. (Nothing special about these, they're just the ones that came to mind quickly for me.) Unfortunately it seems like the industry standard might only be to hold back issues for ninety days, although the LA Times goes back 180 days.
posted by madcaptenor at 10:20 AM on August 3, 2012

Maybe try posting an ad yourself. I have seen people on fiverr for example offering to send local newspapers. It's a bit tricky because you want papers from March, but it might work for some international editions.
posted by travelwithcats at 11:02 AM on August 3, 2012

Often (if you have the time to make a few web searches/phone calls) you can get specific editions from the office of the newspaper in question, usually for something like the cover price plus a relatively modest shipping charge.
posted by Occula at 2:17 PM on August 3, 2012

I work at a smaller paper, and Occula is right. If you call the individual papers, they should still have copies of March issues available at cover price plus shipping.

Newspapers also will sell (for quite a bit more -- ours start around $15) prints of individual pages (e.g., the front page from that day). Newsprint ages extremely quickly, crumbles in months, especially if it's not kept away from air and light, so having a print on better quality paper might be worth it.

But if you stick with actual newsprint issues, Lifehacker has a roundup of strategies for preserving them.
posted by katieinshoes at 2:40 PM on August 3, 2012 [1 favorite]