The First American Newspapers

January 14, 2008

firstnewspapers.jpgCollecting rare and historical newspapers is exhilarating because you’re reading first reports and eye-witness accounts of the news as it was reported in its time. And we’re not just talking any old news here… no, we’re talking about the stuff from your history books - actual pirates in the Caribbean, the plague in London, the Boston Tea Party, the pivotal battles of the American Revolution and Civil War, George Washington crossing the Delaware River, the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, the Wright Brothers first flight, the great Chicago fire, the gun fights of the wild west. Newspapers are the first draft of history!

Unlike old baseball cards and coins, which have millions in circulation, historic newspapers are scarce. Back in the early 1700s, the earliest newspapers only printed a few hundred copies. In fact, the very first American newspaper – The Boston News-Letter (started in 1704) – was the only newspaper in the colonies for 15 years, but it never exceeded 300 subscribers during that time. Prior to 1870, newspapers were printed on very durable rag linen paper - made from the linen in clothes and ship sails. That said, newspapers from the Revolutionary and Civil Wars are actually in better condition than yesterday’s newspaper, which is probably already yellow and brittle because it was printed on wood pulp. The durability of historic newspapers from the 1600s, 1700s and 1800s make them an excellent collectible - unlike the newspaper from when the Chicago Bears last won the Super Bowl in 1985, which is already shredded and faded. Just look at the photos of the 18th century papers on the left/above - they’re unbelievably well-preserved for being close to 300 years old (and the ink doesn’t rub off on your fingers).

I recently did some research to find all the earliest American newspapers and think I have a solid list of the first 20+. The list includes the start date and length of first run for each title - many of which restarted, often under new management, at later dates. Keep in mind that this list does not include Publick Occurrences, which was printed on September 25, 1690, but was banned after the first issue and therefore doesn’t qualify as an actual newspaper.

The First American Newspapers
1. The Boston News-Letter – April 24, 1704 - 1776 (Boston)
2. The Boston Gazette – December 21, 1719 – 1798 (Boston)
3. The American Weekly Mercury – December 22, 1719 – 1749 (Philadelphia)
4. The New England Courant – August 7, 1721 – 1727 (Boston)
5. The New York Gazette – November 8, 1725 – 1744 (New York)
6. The New England Weekly Journal – March 20, 1727 – 1741 (Boston)
7. The Maryland Gazette – September 16, 1727 – 1734, 1745 – 1820+ (Annapolis)
8. The Pennsylvania Gazette – December 24, 1728 – 1815 (Philadelphia)
9. The Weekly Rehearsal – September 27, 1731 – 1735 (Boston)
10. The South Carolina Gazette – January 8, 1732 – 1775 (Charleston)
11. The Rhode Island Gazette – September 27, 1732 – 1733 (Newport)
12. The New York Weekly Journal – November 5, 1733 – 1751 (New York)
13. The Boston Weekly Post-Boy – November 18, 1734-1775 (Boston)
14. The Boston Evening-Post – August 18, 1735 – 1775 (Boston)
15. The Virginia Gazette – August 6, 1936 – 1750 (Williamsburg)
16. The Pennsylvania Journal – December 2, 1742 – 1793 (Philadelphia)
17. The New York Weekly Post-Boy – January 3, 1743 – 1747 (New York)
18. The Independent Advertiser – January 4, 1748 – 1749 (Boston)
19. The North Carolina Gazette – August 9, 1751 – 1759 (New Bern)
20. The New York Mercury – August 3, 1752 – 1768 (New York)
21. The Connecticut Gazette – April 12, 1755 – 1768 (New Haven)

According to this list and highlighted in The History of Printing in America by Isaiah Thomas, only four newspapers existed in 1754 – all weeklies printed in Boston and they never printed more than 600 copies. Still, between April 1704 and April 1775, 78 different newspapers were printed in the colonies. And when the American Revolution started in 1775, there were 37 newspapers printing in the colonies. Soon after the Revolutionary War, daily newspapers were printed in Philadelphia and New York with 20 more published by 1810. In 1800, there were at least 150 newspapers in total, and 10 years later the newspaper count was more than 360.

According to America’s Historical Newspapers, after the Civil War, the number and size of newspapers continued to grow rapidly. The adoption of the telegraph and the prevalence of the Associated Press contributed to a second transformation of the newspaper industry during the second half of the 19th century. Daily editions replaced many weeklies, and—by the early 20th century—nearly every town in the United States had its own newspaper.

Today, newspapers are shrinking, so we may eventually see them get closer to the dimensions of the first American papers - most of which were around 8″ x 12″. History repeats itself.

Sources Used or Recommended for Newspaper History:
The History of Printing in America (Thomas)
The Press and America: An Interpretive History of the Mass Media (Emery)
History and Bibliography of American Newspapers 1690-1820 (Brigham)
Collecting American Newspapers (Lyons)
The Mitchell Archives
HistoryBuff.com
About.com: Journalism

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Posted by toddand | Filed Under Educational, History, Media, News, Newspaper Collecting 

Comments

5 Responses to “The First American Newspapers”

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  2. Daniel on January 18th, 2008 12:50 pm

    Glad to see at least one new media guy has a sense of “old media history.” The first American newspapers were some of the country’s best resources.

    Don’t you just love looking at the old papers? Or is it just me being a weird newspaper guy…?

    Always a pleasure,
    d

  3. Martin Calle on January 31st, 2008 4:59 pm

    Very kewl post. One of a kind. Nothing else like it have I ever seen. Think you’ve got me on a new bent! Great stuff! Though the Klingons have been admitted to the Federation, do you think I could earn a spot on your blogroll Todd for my MADISON AVENUE blog? Many thanks.

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  5. Diversify Your Investments with Historic Newspapers : ..:.:.. Todd And = Marketing + Media ..:.:.. on March 13th, 2008 9:01 pm

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