The Most Famous Newspaper Ever Issued
The “Dewey Defeats Truman” edition of the Chicago Daily Tribune – November 3, 1948 – is arguably the most famous newspaper ever issued. Only a few hundred copies have survived (often the front cover only), but most are shredded or heavily worn.
On election night – November 2, 1948 – Truman snuck away from reporters covering him in Kansas City and made his way to nearby Excelsior Springs, Missouri, a small resort town. He got a hotel room, took a bath, and went to sleep. Throughout the night, radio reports confidently predicted that, despite a Truman lead, the late returns would propel Dewey to victory. Around 4 a.m., Truman awoke and heard on the radio that his lead was nearly two million votes – a sure win. He rode back to Kansas City and later that day – now November 3 – he traveled to Washington, DC by train.
Throughout the night, returns were coming in slow and many of the regular Chicago Daily Tribune staff were out on strike, leaving inexperienced typesetters at the helm. With time running out before the printing deadline, the inexperienced Tribune staff ran the “Dewey Defeats Truman” headline. On top of that, they used a typewriter for the front page and portions of a few others. For the sake of time, instead of erasing typos or incorrect numbers, they “x”ed over them with the typewriter. And with the headline error being so dramatic, few folks know about the upside down type. That’s right, in the far right hand column, there are five lines of type upside down!
After delivery of the paper, it soon became apparent that Truman would win after all. Panic set in at the Tribune offices and staff was sent out with trucks and station wagons to gather the error papers from news stands and suburban homes.
Truman, on a short train stop in St. Louis, was presented with one of the “Dewey Defeats Truman” papers while on the back platform of the train. See famous photo above. When asked to comment, Truman said “this is for the books.” And, sure enough, the image of Truman holding the error “Dewey Defeats Truman” issue of the Chicago Daily Tribune is in practically every high school history book.
Thousands of the error papers were retrieved but many remained in the hands of customers. This original issue pictured at left (click to enlarge) has only been in the hands of two people and includes a great story. According to the second owner, the first owner and her brother operated a newspaper distribution company during the 1940s and 50s, and a bundle of these papers had been dropped off during the normal late night train delivery. Upon learning that the election was turning in favor of Truman, the Tribune Company instructed the distributors to stop delivery of this early edition. The brother and sister placed one of the bundles in a cedar chest where it stayed, unexposed to light or heat for 44 years. The issue has remained unexposed to light since then.
For collectors, a complete, pristine issue of the original Dewey Defeats Truman paper runs $1500 to $3000.
