Introductory Newspaper Catalog: the Earliest Americana

Illuminated Manuscript and Incunabula Leaf Catalog

Presented for sale by Phil Barber, Post Office Box 8694, Boston, Mass. 02114-0036 Telephone (617) 492-4653

www.historicpages.com

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. - Preamble to the Constitution of the United States, 1787.
[We give you] a Republic, if you can keep it. -Benjamin Franklin, on presenting the final draft of the federal Constitution, Philadelphia, September, 1787
Free government is founded in jealousy, not confidence. It is jealousy and not confidence which prescribes limited constitutions, to bind those we are obliged to trust with power.... In questions of power, then, let no more be heard of confidence in men, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution.-- Thomas Jefferson, 1799
Oh, how I hate the phrase we have—a “living document”. We now have a Constitution that means whatever we want it to mean. The Constitution is not a living organism, for Pete’s sake...We can take away rights just as we can grant new ones. Don't think that it's a one-way street. -Antonin Scalia, Justice, Supreme Court of the United States, October, 2001

About This Era and its Newspapers

Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter. -Thomas Jefferson, 1787.

The first era of American printing begins in 1639 and ends about 1830. In the latter decade a technological revolution dramatically changed the art of printing, with the introduction of iron frame printing presses and machine made papers. These earliest printed items are the products of a pre-Industrial Age technology, printed on wooden "Franklin" presses on papers manufactured by a laborious hand process from rags, old clothing, and other newspapers. These wonderfully collectible imprints are charming in their simplicity, survivors of a sturdy era of hard, honest work by skilled crafts people. Interestingly, at this time newspapers and magazines were largely the province of the upper classes, as their high prices put them out of the reach of ordinary people.

For my part I entertain a high idea of the utility of periodical publications; insomuch as I could heartily desire, copies of ... magazines, as well as common Gazettes, might be spread through every city, town, and village in the United States. I consider such vehicles of knowledge more happily calculated than any other to preserve the liberty, stimulate the industry, and ameliorate the morals of a free and enlightened people.- George Washington, 1788 in a letter to Matthew Carey, published of the Philadelphia Columbian Magazine.

All items from this formative period of American journalism are now scarce to rare. An experienced printer and his apprentices could "pull" no more than six hundred newspapers a day; a circulation of two thousand copies per issue was considered exceptional throughout most of the period. Other than the few specimens saved by libraries, by the newspaper publishers themselves, and by a handful of individuals, all these early papers and magazines ended up discarded or recycled into new paper.

Some British periodicals are also included in this catalog, selected for the significance of ther historic content about America. They are so described where they appear.

It is worthy of remark that newspapers have almost entirely changed their form and character ... They have become the vehicles of discussion, in which the principles of government, the interests of nations, the spirit and tendency of public measures, and the public and private character of individuals are all arraigned, tried, and decided ... they have become immense moral and political engines, closely connected to the welfare of the state, and deeply involving both its peace and prosperity. -Miller, A Brief Retrospective of the Eighteenth Century, published in 1803

About The Catalog Listings
I am pleased to present for your consideration fine examples of rare newspapers, as well as newspapers carrying important historic, social, political, and economic content in these formative years of our nation. All items in this catalog are unconditionally guaranteed to be genuine and accurately described. Any item may be returned within ten days of receipt for a full refund. No reason for return is ever required.They are in fine used condition and are complete with all pages as issued. All papers are free of damage or objectionable defects, unless otherwise described. I am are sure you will be delighted with their exceptional state of preservation. I purchase only the finest condition newspapers that can be found to offer to my valued friends and customers.

These are the finest quality original antique newspapers and magazines, that you might find elsewhere priced at much greater cost. It has always been my policy to present my catalog items at "wholesale to the public" prices. Therefore all catalog items and quoted prices are net, and are not subject to further discount, either for dealers or in consideration of quantity orders. It is our policy to price our items based on what we believe to be their fair market value. I do not set prices at absurdly inflated levels to take advantage of novices or "investors"; nor do employ the common ploy of starting with an unrealistically high price in order to "negotiate" a phony discount later. As over a third of our catalog orders are from dealers buying for resale, at our stated prices, we have every confidence that this policy maintains an ethical standard of integrity and fairness to all.

Newspapers are full folio size unless described as quarto (abbreviated 4to) or octavo (8vo), which are respectively smaller in format. Most newspapers have been removed from bound volumes and may exhibit characteristic minor spine weakness or separation without significant paper loss. Magazines are disbound from annual volumes and lack wraps unless otherwise stated, as these were never preserved in the bound runs. Each catalog entry is briefly described for its general appearance, historical significance, and content. Every one contains hours of additional historic reading and insights into the world preserved on its pages, much more than I could find the space to describe here.

I pride myself on the quality and accuracy of my catalog descriptions, and strive to provide all the information needed to enable you to make an informed selection. Please consult my collector information pages and glossary of terms page linked below, if you are not sure of what any of the descriptive terms mean.

Your comments are always welcome, as are your inquiries, if you have questions about these historic collectibles. We value our customers, and appreciate the confidence you place in us when ordering from our online catalogs. We strive to merit your patronage and to enrich your collecting experience through accurate, knowledgeable descriptions, honest pricing, courteous service, and timely order filling. Enjoy your browsing!

Pictures of Cataloged Items
Scans or digital photos are available of many items in this catalog. To view them, click the "VIEW SCAN" button in the listing. You can return to the catalog by using your browser's "BACK" command. All illustrations are of the exact item being offered for sale and depict a full page or a detail close-up of a page of the issue. All papers are complete and undamaged as noted. I hope to be able to provide pictures of all the items, as time allows and as I become more proficient with the scanner and digital camera.

Glossary of Terms Page | Collector Information Page | Want List Page | Home Page

Early Americana Catalog Index Click on the highlighted Page Number to visit that page.

Page 1 General Collection
Page 2 General Collection
Page 3 General Collection
Page 4 The War of 1812
Page 5 British Perspectives
Page 6 The Earliest Magazines
Introductory Catalog of atmosphere issues of early American papers

How to Order from This Catalog

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Postage per order addressed within the United States is just $3.85. Postage will be added to overseas orders at my actual cost. There is a ten day return privilege on all items and of course my unconditional guarantee of the authenticity of everything I sell.

Be sure to check my recently revised and expanded Introductory Catalog for an extensive selection of "atmosphere" issues of early American newspapers and magazines.

Early Page One UFO Sighting in the Bermuda Triangle!
E1-298. [SINGLE ISSUE] THE INDEPENDENT LEDGER AND THE AMERICAN ADVERTISER, June 20, 1785. [Complete issue of 4 pages, folio size, published at Boston, Mass. by John Folsom]
PAge One news paragraph datelined Kingston (Jamaica) details "a remarkable phenomenon... for several evenings past observed," a glowing circular object an eighth the size of the moon, moving up and down until its light pales and vanishes. Intriguing! Lots more on life and politics in the new Republic, free from England now less than two years. Most interesting essay "The Necessity of laying Restraints on Rulers," quoting Cato and how to control the self-obsession that is naturally present in all those drawn to the exercise of power over their fellows. Great variety of ads for all manner of domestic goods, real estate, shipping supplies, books, etc., for Boston is the heart of the new nation. SCARCER title, with a fine large masthead engraving of a trumpet-blowing Goddess of Liberty before a 13-columned temple, symbolizing the new nation.
Condition of this issue is very fine, light dampstain at the foot of the sheet. . . . 65.00

Unusual Early Printing of the Star-Spangled Banner
E1-299. [SINGLE ISSUE] THE RECORDER, May 8, 1816. [Complete issue of 4 pages, folio size, published at Boston, Mass. by Nathaniel Willis]
In the backpage Poetry column appears the full text of the""DEFENSE OF FORT M'HENRY," as Francis Scott Key's masterpiece was known in its early years, together with an account of the circumstances of the composition of what would become America's enduring national anthem. Great historical Americana. See detail scan. Much of Page One is taken up with a listing of the various Christian congregations in New England, while inside there is a good piece of Napoleon, in exile at St. Helena, and speculations on the great mounds being found on the Ohio frontier, whether Europeans built them, etc. Issue number 19, Volume 1. Founder and Editor Nathaniel Willis (1780 - 1870) made the claim that this Baptist weekly was "The World's First Religious Newspaper." A veteran journalist, who founded the Eastern Argus in 1803, he would achieve lasting famed for starting the hugely successful Youth's Companion which first appeared as a department in this sheet.
Condition of this issue is nice very fine . . . 75.00

The Battle of the Nile
E1-300. [SINGLE ISSUE] THE COLUMBIAN CENTINEL, December 12, 1798. [Complete issue of 4 pages, folio size, published at Boston, Mass. by Benjamin Russell]
On Page Two are "Particulars of the GLORIOUS BRITISH NAVAL VICTORY" over Napoleon's fleet at the epic Battle of the Nile. One of the great sea battles of the age of sail, the crushing defeat inflicted on the French navy checked Bonaparte's power in the Mediterranean. Over a full column of information of the fight, supplied by "gentlemen" on the fleets' return to Portsmouth. Page One open letter to Pres. Adams is the Maryland Legislature's support of his stand against revolutionary France and its attacks on religion. More news, ads, and opinion .
Condition of this issue is very fine, untrimmed . . . 48.00

Early American Handwritten Documents
E1-304. Early American Document, before 1830. [singlesheet, oblong 16mo to 8vo size, [New Hampshire]]
This group consists of promissory notes, receipts, bills, and similar financial records, all from an early New Hampshire archive. Each is completely handwritten, dated, and signed by the principals. These humble, once everyday items speak of lives so far removed from the luxury and convenience that we take for granted in the 21st century. Their small size bears witness to the high cost of handmade paper and how frugal Yankees might make a sigle sheet into half a dozen monetary documents. All date between 1800 and 1829. See my scan for their general appearance. Condition is very fine, price each. . . 4.00

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The Earliest Mormons Head West "for the Promised Land"
E1-325. [SINGLE ISSUE]. NILES WEEKLY REGISTER, July 16, 1831. [Complete issue of 20 pages, 8vo size, published at Baltimore, Maryland]
This historic issue contains an account of Joseph Smith's announcement that his followers are to leave hostile New York for "the promised land" which has been revealed to him to be in Ohio. See my scan for the text of the report. The article is deeply critical of the leadership, saying, among other things, "the chiefs of those people appear to exempt themselves from labor, and herein is, probably, the grand object for which they have established this new religion." More on their "Deluded followers'", now numbering some one thousand souls. Typical of early notices of Mormonism, yet a landmark event in that faith. More news of all kinds.
Condition is very fine, in the original state, never bound, with wide untrimmed margins, extremely uncommon thus; scattered light foxing on the front page, small corner loss on the final leaf . . . 125.00

Frontpage Letter from the Ill-Starred Queen Marie Antoinette
E1-335. THE MASSACHUSETTS CENTINEL, October 7, 1789. [Complete issue of 4 pages, folio size, published at Boston, Mass. by Benjamin Russell] Excellent Page One feature "Address of Maria Antoinetta of Austria, Queen of France" cover almost two columns. Dated three days after the attack on the Bastille (for it takes two months or more for European news to reach America), the article tells of her great upset at being named the cause of the people's discontent - so soon after the death of her infant son- when her heart is with her subjects. She addresses the nation saying "Ye Frenchmen, cherished by the Princess who enjoys the inestimable advantage of reigning over you... Ye models of love for your Sovereign.. great and valiant souls!" They will "find my heart ever open; I will pour into theirs every consolation which beloved children have a right to expect from a tender and affectionate mother whom they love..." Quite a far cry from the "let them eat cake" misquotation. Inside a lengthy account on the war between Russia and Sweden. Piece about Rhode Island, the holdout state that has refused to ratify the new federal Constitution because it places so much unaccountable power in so few hands, their response to George Washington's threat that they will be treated as a foreign nation by the rest of the States. Lots more historic content in this 218 year old newspaper.
Condition is nice strong very fine, tiny light brown spot, top margin cropped slightly close . . . 75.00

Fine Early Political Ephemera
E1-340. [HANDBILL] A FACT., n.p., n.d., 1808. [Singlesheet, 4½" x 5½" size, published at Salem Mass, at the press of the Essex Gazette]
This early imprint from the ancient seafaring town is an attack on one "Dr. Kilham", who had the audacity to publicly claim that maritime commerce and fisheries were of no economic value to the Commonwealth's economy. In fact these were the lifeblood of old Salem, and President Jefferson's tremendously controversial embargo of trade with Britain, invoked in 1808 in the wake of the infamous Chesapeake incident, was seen as crippling to the wealthy men of the town. (Salem is also the Yankee city that was pre-eminent in the slave trade, which was also abolished in 1808 by Congress.) This bill is signed by B(enjamin) Goodhue and Rich(ar) d Manning, under the MS notation "We are ready to testify to the above Nov. 5th 1808". Goodhue (1748-1814) was a Federalist member of both state House of Reps. and Senate, and was elected to the first three sessions of the U.S. House. He helped draft the Mass. Constitution and was appointed a U.S. Senator in 1796. Manning has the modest distinction of being Nathaniel Hawthorn's uncle. Of the beleaguered Kilham, alas, I find no record. Not in NUC, possibly unique, quite a good memento of the heated political passions of the early republic.
Condition of this handbill is quite fine, unbtrimmed, problem-free, MS notations bold and legible . . . 120.00

Wisdom from the Past: John Quincy Adams on True Liberty
E1-707. [SINGLE ISSUE]. THE COLUMBIAN CENTINEL, July 21, 1821. [Complete issue of 4 pages, folio size, published at Boston, Mass.]
Filling all of Page One and completed within is Secretary of State Adams powerful Independence Day speech given in Washington. He speaks of the true meaning of freedom and has a warning our leaders would do well to heed today, for "She [the United States] goes not abroad in search of monsters to destroy...She well knows that by once enlisting under other banners than her own, were they even the banners of foreign independence, she would involve herself beyond the power of extrication, in all the wars of interest and intrigue, of individual avarice, envy, and ambition, which assume the colors and usurp the standard of freedom." Powerful message of what being America means, that should be required reading. Much more. .
Condition is nice clean VF. . . . SOLD

Of "Ye" and the "S" that looks like an "F" New collectors are sometimes confounded by the unfamiliar ways some words are found printed in old newspapers and documents. Foremost among these is the mistaken idea that the letter "f" was used where we today use an "s". In the old Anglo-Saxon alphabet, from which the English alphabet is derived, the lower case "s" was written in two forms: one is the "long s" that resembles my modern letter "f" (but note, it does not have the center bar), which is used when the "s" is the first letter of the word, or in any other position within a word other than the final letter; the other is the familiar shaped "s" which appears at the end of words. In capital letters the common "S" is always used. This usage is cognate to the two forms of "s" in the Greek alphabet.
What appear to be printed, for example, as "fuccefs", in old newspapers, is in reality nothing more exotic than "success". In capital letters this word would be printed as "SUCCESS", as it is today.
English printer John Bell first phased out the use of the long "s" in his books at the end of the 1700's, and by 1810 or so the new practice was universal in printed material. Interestingly, though, the use of the old long "s" continued in handwritten documents for many years, through the 1870's. This innovation must have saved typesetters much labor!

The second common misunderstanding is the idea that "ye" (as in "ye olde") is pronounced "ye". It is not and never was! Again, what appears to be the modern letter "y" in this usage is in fact the diphthong from the old Anglo-Saxon alphabet called thang, which is pronounced "th", and which was used as a form of shorthand, being easier to set one letter than two.

Very Early Illinois Newspaper
E1-712. [SINGLE ISSUE]. THE EDWARDSVILLE SPECTATOR, March 30, 1824. [Complete issue of 4 pages, folio size, published at Edwardsville, Illinois by Hooper Warren]
From what was then America's "Wild West" frontier comes this remarkable survivor of pioneer days in Illinois, which had been admitted to the Union as a state scarcely six years before this paper was printed. Its columns contain local news, state politics, divvying up of public lands to the new settlers. Also included is a tantalizing hint of Lincoln (who was 15 and in Indiana when this issue rolled off the press; he would not come to Sangamon County until he was 21) in which "The Town of Sangamo" offers "good encouragement" for new settlers. Rare opportunity. The title is the settlement's first newspaper, founded in 1819; the Union List locates just two examples of the date in existence.
Condition is bright clean very fine, cleanly separated at the spine when micofilmed prior to release by the holding library; short area of old clear library tape reinforcement . . . 125.00

Tom Jefferson Is Dead!
E1-713. [SINGLE ISSUE]. NILES WEEKLY REGISTER, July 8, 1826. [Complete issue of 16 pages, 8vo size, published at Baltimore, Maryland, by Hezekiah Niles]
"A Great Man has fallen -THOMAS JEFFERSON, the liberal and the just, the wise and the good, has departed from works to reward." So begins a good page one early report of the death of one of our nation's greatest. See detail scan below. Within is printed one of Jefferson's last letters, declining due to ill health an invitation to attend the July Fourth celebrations in Washington. Other letters in the issue, which was set in type before the news of Jefferson's death arrived, are signed in type by John Adams, also to pass away on the 50th July 4, and another is by fellow Founder James Monroe. More. Lovely historic issue.
Condition is fine and problem-free . . . 68.00

On The Earliest american Newspapers
R-100. [REFERENCE BOOK]. An Historical Digest of the Provincial Press, 1911. [Complete issue, 564 pages, octavo size, published at Boston]
This is Volume I, the only volume published, of an ambitious series projected to record the contents of all surviving early American newspapers. It is especially notable for the rarely-seen full sized facsimiles of the earliest American near-newspapers, The Present State of New-English Affairs (1689),Publick Occurrences (1690), and the first issue of the first successful paper, The Boston News-Letter of 1704. It continues with Massachusetts issues through 1707 and is fully indexed by subject matter. The project failed to attract sufficient attention to continue and was abandoned by editors Lyman Weeks and Edwin Bacon after this first volume; indeed most copies remained unbound in a warehouse until purchased by the great Boston bookseller, Goodspeed's, in the 1940's, when they were bound in the distinctive light blue cloth of this example. Great reference for the serious newspaper collector/journalism historian, rich with details of life in early America.
Condition is fine and clean internally in fine sound bindings. Red gilt spine label. . . . 48.00

A Fine History of 18th Century Journalism
RF-0005. [Reference Book]. Eric Burns, INFAMOUS SCRIBBLERS: The Founding Fathers and the Rowdy Beginnings of American Journalism, 2006. [467 pages, 8vo hardcover size, published at New York, by Public Affairs.]
An excellent introduction to the first century of American newspapers, from the first failed attempt at journalism in 1690 to the vibrant political press of George Washington's administration, written by the host of "Fox News Watch". All the major newsmen are well represented here, along with their successes and failures, honorable and dishonorable actions alike, and how profoundly the fourth estate would affect politics and liberty. Recommended one volume history of this most exciting formative period of our national heritage. ISBN 158648334X Published at $27.50.
Condition is new in dustjacket . . . 17.50

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