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Early printing in the New World…
September 10, 2009 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
Another book I find very useful, although out of print, is “Printing In The Americas” by John Clyde Oswald, 1937. From time to time I will print excerpts from it which hopefully will be of interest to collectors, including the following which touches upon the very earliest years of printing in the “new world”.
“Printing in the English colonies began during the first half of the 17th century, at which time the art was at a low ebb in Europe, and it is therefore not surprising that the printers who came to the western shore of the Atlantic Ocean were not of outstanding ability; they were but representative of the class from which they sprang.
The first person to print in what is now the United States was a boy 18 years of age, upon whose immature shoulders had unexpectedly been thrown a heavy burden of responsibility. This boy, Matthew Daye (later in life he dropped the final ‘e’), began to print in a newly built house on the bleak shore of New England, on the edge of the forbidding wilderness that surrounded it on all sides but that which faced the sea. The year was 1638, just 18 years after the Pilgrims landed.
A new nation was in the making, in which life eventually came to embrace everything worth while, but in which in the beginning, as was to be expected, artistic accomplishment & progress were almost wholly absent. The settlers were too much occupied with the immediate necessity of clearing away the forests, harnessing the water power, building homes, founding towns and setting up local governments, to be able to find time to devote to the refinements of daily living. The primal wants had first to be satisfied. Then came the Revolutionary War, with its strain upon their resources, and later the need of facing and solving the world problems that accompanied the birth of the new nation.
The scarcity of great printers in Europe during the 17th century is to be ascribed to the fact that printing, controlled by Church and State, had ceased to be a means of art expression and had become merely a vehicle for the transmission of information (and misinformation). In England the number of printers and type founders was limited, and they were licensed and operated under strict surveillance. Restrictive measures of a somewhat similar nature were enforced in other countries.
The ruling powers endeavored to stretch a restraining army across the Atlantic to the colonies newly planted there, and they were at first partly successful because they were represented by governors subservient to their whims. the oft-quoted remark of Sir William Berkeley, governor of Virginia, will be recalled:
But, I thank God, there are no free schools nor printing, and I hope we shall not have these hundreds years; for learning has brought disobedience, and heresy, and sects into the world, and printing has divulged them, and libels against the best government. God keep us from both.”
King James II, on ascending the English throne in 1685, sent this instruction to Governor Dongan, in New York:
“And for as much as great inconvenience may arise by the liberty of printing within our province of New York; you are to provide by all necessary Orders that noe person keep any press for printing, nor that any book pamphlet or other matters whatsoever bee printed without your special leave & license first obtained.”
For 40 years thereafter this paragraph appeared in the instructions to colonial governors. Great was the respect paid by the common people of Europe to constituted authority. The bowed head and bended knee were therefore attitude familiar to the colonists; but contact with this constituted authority came to them only through the local governors and their minions, and often the closeness of the contact disclosed the fact that the supposed gods were in reality made of clay. Respect, reverence even, might for a time be publicly shown for a governor in gold lace, who proved on acquaintance to be vain, shallow, and incompetent, but it could not be privately felt, and under such circumstances the public showing was certain in time to come to an end.”
“New Series” of a newspaper…
September 7, 2009 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
A recent inquiry by a concerned customer about the words “fifth series” printed in the dateline of his “Niles’ National Register” prompted me to share my comments with our blog readers should you have similar concerns of such notes atop this and other titles held in your collection.
Through the life of any newspaper which lasted beyond ten years it would not be uncommon for the title to change, either slightly or dramatically. This could happen for a number of reasons, such as the merging with another newspaper, the purchase of the paper by a new publisher, new city of publication, an altering in the size, theme, or format of the newspaper, etc. While some titles made no note of such changes in their volume and issue numbering, some chose to create a “new series” and start anew with the volume & issue numbering.
“The Weekly Register“, which began in Baltimore, chose the latter. The photos show five of the title or location changes in a 38 year time spread, not to mention size and type font changes as well. Note that its location moved from Baltimore to “Washington City” to Philadelphia.
Fortunately Niles chose to also retain the original volume numbering as well (right side of the dateline) as well as the “whole number”, or the number since the very first issue was published. Other titles did not choose to do so, making it more difficult to determine the newspaper’s age.
How shall we address the President?
August 31, 2009 by TimHughes · 2 Comments
Although we may think it odd today, back in 1789 when our federal government was just being formed and George Washington was inaugurated as America’s first President, there was little precedence as to how to address the new chief executive of the government. The only examples given by the European powers were royalty where “your highness” or “your excellency” were appropriate. But what about a democratically elected President?
The article shown is taken from the “Gazette of the United States” newspaper from New York, May 16, 1789, about two weeks after Washington was inaugurated. It provides some interesting insight in to the thoughts of the day when the government was truly in its infancy.
A novel way to keep the money coming…
August 29, 2009 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
The following is taken from the “Gentleman’s Magazine” issue of July, 1768, published in London. Perhaps a distant ancestor of Edgar Allan Poe?
The “Carrier’s Address”…
August 27, 2009 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
Credit for portions of the following must be given to Clarence Brigham & his work “Journals & Journeymen”, as well as to the Bentley Historical Library at the University of Michigan.
During the nineteenth century, newspaper carriers were often not paid by the publishers of the papers. They typically depended upon donations from patrons at the end of the year. To remind the public that the carriers depended on their donations, newspaper publishers issued poetic broadsides or booklets for New Years Day. These poems often recounted the major news stories of the previous year, but always closed with a plea to pay the carrier.
They were rarely saved since they contained no news reports and as a result are rather rare today. Although many Carriers’ Addresses were contained within the body of the first newspaper issue in the new year, the most sought after are the broadside editions, printed on one side of a sheet of paper typically with ornate lettering, decorative borders, etc. The more decorative the Address the more collectible. The “New York Weekly Museum” address for 1790 had an engraving of a boy delivering a paper at a doorway, one of just a few with such an illustration.
The earliest known examples were done for the “American Weekly Mercury” of Philadelphia in 1720, 1721 and 1723 although none have been found. The earliest located for the American Antiquarian Society is that of January 1, 1735. Benjamin Franklin included them in his “Pennsylvania Gazette” as early as 1739 (see photo).
The amount of the donation expected by the carrier was generally left to the customer. Many of the verses concluded with such a sentiment as “Remember the poor printer’s Devil” or “Be bounteous to the Printer’s boy”. Sometimes the sentiment was more definite, such as “I won’t Refuse a six pence” and “Please keep the cents and–give the silver”.
By the 1870’s the custom began to fall off, likely due to the beginning of more commercial & larger influential newspapers which considered such a custom undignified, also falling away in favor of the distribution of Christmas or New Year’s cards by the end of the 19th century. The latest located for the American Antiquarian Society is dated 1904.
What’s the best newspaper to have?
August 27, 2009 by TimHughes · 2 Comments
Most collectors of historic newspapers would agree that the best newspaper to have for an historic event is the city where it happened. Among the more notable would be the Boston Gazette reporting the Boston Massacre, the Honolulu issue on the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the Dallas newspapers on JFK’s assassination, and a Chicago newspaper covering the St. Valentine’s Day massacre. Stock market or finance related events are best in the Wall Street Journal, and when events happened in small towns which had no newspapers, the closest major city might be the next best thing.
But some events can’t be had—or can very rarely be had—from the city where “it” happened. What are the best issue in those situations? What’s the best issue for man landing on the moon? Or the atomic bomb dropping on Hiroshima & Nagasaki? Or the first manned flight around the earth? Or the discovery of the North Pole? Or Edison’s invention of the phonograph? What would be the best newspaper for the sinking of the Titanic?
There are many answers; perhaps as many as there are collectors. But I’ll offer a few thoughts. Actually what brought all of this to mind was an issue I recently wrote up for a future catalog. It announced the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and was from Knoxville, Tennessee. The headline reads: “Power Of Oak Ridge Atomic Bomb Hits Japs”. Keeping in mind that Oak Ridge, Tenn., the home of the Manhattan Project which developed the bomb, is less than 20 miles from Knoxville, it is not surprising that they localized the headline with mention of the role Oak Ridge played. I suspect no other newspaper in the country mentioned Oak Ridge in their headline on the atomic bomb drop. Outside of finding a Japanese newspaper from the day after, I suspect this Knoxville newspaper could be the best issue on this event.
Any space flight issue might best be from the Cape Canaveral area. Or perhaps the hometown of one of the astronauts involved. We offer a Wapakoneta, Ohio, newspaper on man walking on the moon as it’s Neil Armstrong’s hometown, and their headline is localized by: “NEIL STEPS ON THE MOON” while most newspapers reported “MAN WALKS ON THE MOON”.
The graphic appeal of the front page is a major factor as well and in the eye of many is always the deciding factor in determining the “best” for that event. We price Titanic issues almost entirely on the “wow” effect of the front page, as the larger the headline and more dramatic the look the better, regardless of where the newspaper was printed. This holds true for many 20th century events, such as D-Day, V-E Day, V-J Day and and any other military event. Some might argue that the “Stars And Stripes” would be the best paper for a military event, or perhaps newspaper from Washington D.C., home of the Pentagon.
We’d like to hear what you think on the best issues for historic events which can’t be found from the city involved. I’m sure your thoughts will spark other collectors to refine their holdings with better or more appropriate newspapers for notable events. Let us here from you!
More on printing newspapers in the 1700’s…
August 24, 2009 by TimHughes · 3 Comments
This article is primarily taken from the April, 1996 edition of “Collectible Newspapers” edited by Rick Brown, whom we thank for this contribution. It offers some interesting insights into the printing & distributing of newspapers in the colonial and post-colonial era of the United States.
Newspapers from the latter half of the 18th century were relatively scarce. One factor was that early settlers were busy clearing the land & otherwise making the land habitable & sustaining. Plus only a small percentage of the population had reading skills beyond that of the basic rudiments. Although most towns of any size by 1715 had tracts of land set aside for schools, few actually had schools built & in operation.
Nearly all 18th century newspapers were edited & published by printers that had a general printing business and also printed pamphlets, books, broadsides, lottery tickets, etc. Many also sold merchandise, groceries, patent medicines, and a variety of other goods. Rags, which were used to make the paper , were scarce in the colonies so most of the paper was imported from England.
Newspapers were printed on wooden hand presses with each applicatoin of ink to paper requiring a pull of by lever and screw. It was not until around 1816 that the new iron Columbian press came into general use. Instead of a screw it used a series of compound levers that multiplied the pull of the operator. But still, all hand presses were slow & laborious. The forms had to be laid by hand and the ink was poor and of uneven quality. Types were frequently old and worn.
After the newspapers were printed, distribution difficulties were encountered. Circulation was confined, for the most part, to the towns in which they were published. They were distributed to the rural areas by postboys on horseback and by stagecoach drivers. The roads were bad & the postal system was slow. Subscribers were few & the cost of an issue relatively expensive so newspapers were typically handed around from one to another so that a single copy was ready by many. Even those who subscribed often failed to pay for their subscriptions.
It has been estimated that the largest circulation of a single newspaper during the earlier colonial period was about 350 and that only a few reached this high of a number of circulation. By the 1750’s circulation for larger city newspapers reached upwards of 600 of each issue printed and during the Revolutionary War some newspapers boasted circulations in excess of 2000. By 1790 most newspapers were printing less than 1000 copies but the very popular “Columbian Centinel” from Boston was printing over 4000 copies of each printing date.
Despite poor equipment, limited circulation, nonpaying subscribers, poor distribution facilities & the general unprofitability of publishing a newspaper, the number of newspapers being published continued to increase as the years went by. There were numerous failures, but new newspapers were established to replace them. From 1704 to 1820 about 1634 newspapers came to life and died. Of that number only two-thirds of them lived beyond three years.
Beware of the pony…
August 22, 2009 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
I suspect this little item printed in “The Sag Harbor Express” newspaper from Long Island, New York on February 23, 1871 is fictitious, but it gives a sense of 19th century humor nonetheless.
Number of titles, and where held…
August 17, 2009 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
A four page promotional piece announcing the completion of a 30 year project titled: “History and Bibliography of American Newspapers 1690 – 1820”, now commonly referred to simply as “Brigham”, its creator, includes some statistical information which might be of interest.
Brigham notes that from 1690 to 1820, there were 2120 different newspapers published. Of this totals the six New England states had 447; the six middle Atlantic states from New York to Maryland had 1023; the ten Southern states from Virginia to Louisiana had 425; and the seven Western states had 225. The city which from the beginning to 1820 had the most newspaper was New York with 138, followed by Philadelphia with 107, and Boston with 73.
Also, the six largest collections of newspapers before 1820 are:
1)American Antiquarian Society with 1492 titles
2) Library of Congress with 936 titles
3) Harvard with 732 titles
4) New York Historical Society with 634 titles
5) New York Public Library with 480 titles
6) Wisconsin Historical Society with 415 titles
Not quite a portable hairdryer…
August 15, 2009 by TimHughes · 1 Comment
So how would you like to pack this hairdryer in the suitcase for a weekend trip? It might have been a great devise in 1900 but I’m sure it didn’t travel well. This ad appeared in the “Ladies’ Home Journal” issue of August, 1900.