ISI recently completed publication of 10,000 copies of a reprint of the original 1889 Alleghany Star Newspaper. We scanned a copy of the newspaper supplied by Sparta Mayor John Miller. The original paper was only 4 pages with few ads.
ISI added 4 more pages of county news stories and 78 period style ads. Advertisers were encouraged to submit ads in the same style as the original 1889 Star pages, without logos. Any logos we received, we regenerated to line illustrations. Though not entirely historically accurate (some clip art was from the 1920’s) the paper contained no photos, colors, or screens. All illustrations were line shot style in black and white.
Publishing the entire paper, from inception to delivery was approximately 2 months. ISI sold all ads, built or rebuilt all (but 3) and got 100% advertiser approval before the print date.
This first fundraiser for the Alleghany County Sesquicentennial put the finance committee in the black before the kickoff at the Mountain Heritage Festival from ad sales alone, as all but one ad was paid for by deadline. Copies are available at 50-cents per copy all around Sparta.
Here are examples of ads we generated:
