The International Herald Tribune Historical Archive 1887-2013 features the complete archive of the International Herald Tribune from its origins as the European Edition of The New York Herald and later the European Edition of the New York Herald Tribune. The archive ends with the last issue of the International Herald Tribune before its relaunch as the International New York Times. The International Herald Tribune Historical Archive 1887-2013 charts the history of the 20th century from luxury travel and opulent entertainment, to international conflicts, the spread of American culture abroad and globalization.
The paper was created by James Gordon Bennett Jr., the owner of The New York Herald which he inherited from his father James Gordon Bennett in 1866. A wealthy eccentric American established in Europe, Bennett launched the European Edition of The New York Herald on 4th October 1887 for an audience composed of fellow expatriates in France and of affluent American travellers in Europe. Hence, the paper—commonly referred to as The Paris Herald—focussed not only on international and American news but also on travel, holiday resorts, the weather, and people weherabouts. When World War I broke out The Paris Herald defiantly remained in Paris and continued publishing without interruption for the duration of the conflict. At times reduced to a single sheet and battling with censorship The Paris Herald provided essential news to Paris residents both American and French. At the end of the war, the paper's main audience was Americans troops in France seeking both news from home and local news. Progressively, rich Americans returned to Paris in the golden years of the 1920s and The Paris Herald reclaimed its original readership and vibrant journalism.
The Great Depression of the 1930s brought difficult times for the European Edition of The New York Herald as most Americans left Paris, often ruined. Faced with the ensuing financial difficulties, the paper sympathised with the growing fascist movement in Europe right up until the eve of World War II. In 1935 the paper became the European Edition of the New York Herald Tribune. (In 1924, the declining New York Herald in the United States had merged with the New York Tribune.)
The paper stopped publicaton on 12 June 1940 as the German army prepared to enter Paris and resumed publication on 22nd December 1944. The post-war period was characterized by continued financial troubles and unremarkable journalism but this changed in the 1960s. Under new ownership the European Edition of the New York Herald Tribune entered a phase of heightened global focus, changing from a newspaper for European Anglophones to a global enterprise. Meanwhile, in 1966 the New York Herald Tribune in the United States ceased publishing but the European Edition survived thanks to The Washington Post and The New York Times becoming part-owners in 1967. The new paper was renamed the International Herald Tribune characterized by an independent editorial spirit and providing a strong focus on objective reporting of international news.