1,301,297 PROPERTY OP AZ ::! l^;!!,1:! 0....11 lift'-:B ~', ' i,* 51,~ ~.. J~~ ~ ii~ * f. l l 1~ i~:a',??~!~,~,~,. '. d:/ i:1',:" W,,,, ^^ F1' 111 ^ 1 1! '!!!!!!! ' 1: 1. 1!' 11. ^ 1 ' i ' 1 I':L:' E : Il;~ IR If, I: I ARCH0EOLOGIA AMERICANA. \ II f,...... ARCHIIEOLOGIA AMERICANA. TRANSACTIONS AND COLLECTIONS OF THE AMERICAN ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY. VOLUME V. PRINTED FOR THE SOCIETY. 1874. Special Committee having charge of this Publication. SAMUEL F. HAVEN, NATHANIEL PAINE, JOEL MUNSELL. 0oE *10 Of h 4tls ~;~ ~~~:~I~;;:.,,i,; I;-;;;~-~;~,,;~;~~"ll:ir;.,,,,;:.:;i;r;nr;n:l,,,,,,:,,i;i;; W"~ ~;;;;;,.;~-rlri';;iii.,,..~...*,:,-;~~rll;,,;;ii;,i;;;;;; ; '"lliiie;.;, . ':i'iiiiiiiii;i;:;i~; ~: -;i:iii.ll;:lll;111;;;;;;;. 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';'~~:r,;,li::iiiiie:"l"l"""i I~';~''" ~ nric, ~ ~'"p"l"dji;~;~~~~~ i~~':":"i;'l'gl,,r;;,.;;, i~~lri~: i:iiilixll~l~~i;liiili......;-.,,_i-.rr~r~nI,:, :;; i;~;'~~;'Rfi,.:,,,,,i;liii':~ i~. -;;""'"~"""""""i;;';.~ "'"~LI*~,x."'""''l'"""'""ig,, -"i"; !i$!ruiiiiii lil!!riiiiii,, lii;il!r!iiiii '''""l"!""'"i"'''' "" :;iilii, I-,;..8;-';"1~(";ii~;i~;;;;;;..ll ii. - ~HI"Blllliis;.....II:;.:::'""""'";';~;" III,ij;;;;;~:~i';(;lr:. r RiL~i~i~i:;li;ii iil;liii ~i~ a',, iri.....-. rr;g LR:III 11 ~.r..... ~;iLi,,,,, -~~~;,:~~:~ '""';:'~"'": '("":; ((i. i;. l;iic,,r.i,: ~;iii;;;i;;; I;. ;"':;11;~ililllllii;i;;;.. i;~;isi-iisr ~~~~...... ~~ ~;r~;i 1.;;.~.~... -;-.~...~~r;F;~~;'i ~~~,~. ,~rl.~: :r~~a.~?:;;~lli.~il i ~ %/ a THE HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA, WITH A BIOGRAPHY OF PRINTERS, AND AN ACCOUNT OF NEWSPAPERS. IN TWO VOLUMES. BY ISAIAH THOMAS, LL.D. PRINTER, LATE PRESIDENT OP THE AMERICAN ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY, MEMBER0 OF THE AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY, AND OF THE MASSACHUSETTS AND NEW YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETIES. SECOND EDITION. Jtdit t)ie autor't 1ovtrrEtionrs antb abbttions, AND A CATALOGUE OF AMERICAN PUBLICATIONS PREVIOUS TO THE REVOLUTION OF 1776. PUBLISHED UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF A SPECIAL COMMITTEE OF THE AMERICAN ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY. VOL. I. ALBANY, N. Y.: JOEL MUNSELL, PRINTER. 1874. 7 tV~~ t i x '4i''t I / / 7 CONT ENTS. VOL. I. PREFACE,... MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR, SPANISH AMERICA,.. FRENCH AMERICA,... DUTCH AMERICA, PORTUGUESE AMERICA, ENGLISH AMERICA, NOW THE UNITED STATI INTRODUCTION OF THE ART, PAPER MAKING, PAPER MILLS,..... TYPE FOUNDERIES,.. STEREOTYPE PRINTING, ENGRAVING,... PRINTING PRESSES,.. ROLLING PRESSES,. MASSACHUSETTS,. CAMBRIDGE,.. CATALOGUE OF BOOKS PRINTED BY E * (i( c it i PAGE... ix xvii 10. 11 11 oS,. 13 13. 18,.. 25. 27 32 ~ 33 37 38 42 )AYE,.. 46 REEN,... 63 OHNSON,. 82 e * o.. 84 177 o o *b. o 179 180. r. o 184 ~.. X < 184..,. 188 190 G. *.. 192 194 c. * -.. 194 201 205...... 205. *~.. 207 BOSTON, SALEM, NEWBURYPORT, WORCESTER, CONNECTICUT, NEW LONDON, NEW HAVEN, HARTFORD, NORWICH,. RHODE ISLAND, NEWPORT, PROVIDENCE, NEW HAMPSHIRE, PORTSMOUTH,. EXETER,, ( i J( viii * * V111 CONTENTS. PENNSYLVANIA,. PHILADELPHIA, GERMANTOWN, LANCASTER, EPHRATA, NEW YORK,. NEW YORK, ALBANY, NEW JERSEY,. WOODBRIDGE, BURLINGTON, DELAWARE, WILMINGTON, MARYLAND, ANNAPOLIS, BALTIMORE, VIRGINIA, WILLIAMSBURG,. NORTH CAROLINA, NEWBERN,. WILMINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA, CHARLESTON, I PAGE.. 208. 208 270.286 287. 290 290. 313. 314.. 314 316. 318. 318. 320. 320. 322 330. 332 338. 338 339. 340 340. 352 352.. 52 353. 354 *. 354. 354 354 *. 354 355. 356 356. 362 365 GEORGIA, SAVANNAH, NEW STATES,.. VERMONT, KENTUCKY,.. TENNESSEE, OHIO,.... MISSISSIPPI TERRITORY, MICHIGAN TERRITORY,... LOUISIANA,... BRITISH COLONIES, HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA, QUEBEC, CANADA,.. APPENDIX,.... SEE INDEX AT THE END OF VOL. II. P REFACE. The Committee appointed to supervise the republication of Thomas's I Hiistory of Printiinq in America," have endeavored to carry out, as nearly as practicable, the intentions of the author, disclosed in a corrected copy, left by him for a new edition.1 This requirement being regarded as paramount to every other consideration, no change in the plan or arrangement has been deemed justifiable, beyond the apparent purpose of the writer, and the authority expressed or implied in the general statement of his design. Mr. Thomas made omissions and alterations in the text of an interleaved copy, and provided material for insertion not always entirely digested; but his ideas in regard to the manner of preparing the work for republication were sufficiently indicated by what he had already accomplished. He says, in a memorandum, that he proposed to take another copy, and make all the alterations, etc., in that, with more care; adding the request: ' If I should not live to fulfil my intention, and the work should be again printed, I hope some friend will do it." The expediency of omitting his preliminary account of the beginning and progress of printing in the Old World, has been determined by the circumstances of the case, rather than by an intimation of the author's wishes. Mr. Thomas had, indeed, bestowed considerable labor on a revision of that part of his book; but, though very desirable at the period when he wrote, it has been viewed by the Committee as less adapted to the present state of information on that subject, as requiring too much modification and enlargement, as occupying space demanded for additional matter of an important character, and as not essential to the special object of presenting a history of the American Press The full and interesting memoir of Mr. Thomas, by an eminent descendant, may, fitly and acceptably, take the place of an essay concocted with industrious research from such sources of information as were then accessible, yet which 1'lThe first edition appeared in 1810. B X PREFACE. might appear to disadvantage by the side of later and more elaborate, and thence likely to be more accurate compilations. The American Antiquarian Society are gratified in being able to reproduce the History of Printing in America, Mr. Thomas's great and distinctive enterprise, after his own revision, as an appropriate memorial of their honored Founder and first President. The original book is rarely met with in the market, and large prices have been paid for copies occasionally found. A desire to reprint has often been manifested by proninent publishers, but has usually been connected with some project impairing the identity of the work, and involving a continuation of the history of the art, and the biographical notices, to a later period. Mr. Munsell, who prints this edition, had long held a similar purpose in mind, and had made collections with reference to it; but since the Antiquarian Society, of which he is a member, decided to put to press the revised copy left in their possession, he has given the advantage of his information and judgment to that object, being joined to the Committee in charge of the publication. Mr. Paine, the Treasurer of the Society, has served faithfully on the Committee from the beginning. The principal responsibility and labor have, however, necessarily devolved on the chairman, with whatever accountability belongs to that position. Mr. Thomas's account of printing in Spanish America was not satisfactory to himself, from a consciousness of imperfections which he could not overcome with the means at his command, and he mentions his expectation ol better facilities in the future. The bibliography of that part of the country is now much better understood, and lon. John P. Bartlett, one of the Society, who has given special attention to the subject, kindly furnishes a valuable paper relating to it, which is printed in an Appendix. At the close of the preface to his first edition, Mr. Thomas says, in a note: " It was my design to have given a catalogue of the books printed in the English colonies previous to the revolution; finding, however, that it would enlarge this work to another volume, I have deferred the publication; but it may appear hereafter." It is extremely unfortunate that this design was not executed at the time. No person since has been so favorably situated for its accomplishment. Mr. Thomas left to the Antiquarian Society several memorandumn books and loose sheets of foolscap containing titles, a considerable portion of which had been transcribed several times, with an effort to arrange them alphabetically and under the names of the places where they were printed -"the product," he PREFACE. xi states "' of many months' research." His plan included the insertion of various points of information, such as the number of pages in each work, when known, and the indication of reprints by a sign. With titles collected from miscellaneous sources, from newspapers, bookseller's lists, and library catalogues, in all degrees of fullness and literalness of description, the task of adjustment upon a rigid or uniform principle was discouraging, and was finally relinquished, with the declaration that "all these volumes must be revised, corrected, and transcribed, and better arranged." Before the breaking out of the recent rebellion, the copying of these titles, and their rearrangement in order of date, a simpler and better system for the purpose in view, was undertaken by Samuel F. Haven Jr., M. D., who had just commenced medical practice, with some leisure for the gratification of a literary taste and love of investigation. Having placed Mr. Thomas's titles upon cards, under the plan adopted, Dr. Haven continued the research for more. He examined the advertisements- of early Newspapers, and the Publishers' announcements often contained in old books, studied library catalogues, and looked over libraries that were without catalogues. He had the advantage of admission to the unequalled collection of American publications made by George Brinley Esq., of Hartford, and of the cordial assistance of the accomplished owner in the examination of its treasures and the enlargement of his lists. The result of much zeal and a good deal of patient toil was a card catalogue of publications in this country previous to the revolution, which on brevier type would make a volume of four or five hundred pages. Dr. H-aven left his literary occupations, and his professional employments at home, to accompany the 15th Massachusetts Regiment of volunteers, one of the earliest to enter into the national service at the beginning of the late civil war. While engaged, as surgeon of the regiment, in active duty under fire, at the battle of Fredericksburg, he was mortally wounded by a shell from the enemy's battery. Had he returned in safety the catalogue would doubtless have been subjected to a most careful preparation for the press. H-e could, perhaps, have followed his memtoranda of titles back to their sources for reixamination, and by means of his studies might, to a certain extent, have treated Mr. Thomas's titles in the same way. Their precise verification would demand the virtual impossibility of comparison with the publications themselves. The most trusted authorities will sometimes lead into error, and the chances of mistake are xii PREFACE. greatly multiplied where vouchers are at second hand, or still further removed from their source, and of informal and irresponsible origin. In adopting the catalogue as left by Dr. Haven, without material alteration, other than occasional abridgment, the Committee believe they shall substantially execute the cherished purpose of Mr. Thomas, and attach to his work what may be claimed to be, in accordance with the expression of his own expectation, " the only Catalogue of (early) American printed books, of any consequence, or in any way general, to be met with, or that has been made." Catalogues are not wanting of American publications of later periods, with which many of an early date are mixed; but as the basis of an exhaustive list of both the major and minor issues of the American press, previous to that turning point of national history known as the Revolution, the effort here presented stands by itself. The first edition of the History of Printing in America was dedicated to " 1The President and other Officers and Members of the AMERICAN PHILOSOPHIICAL SOCIETY Sin Pennsylvania, and The President, Counsellors, and other members, of the AMERICAN ACADE1MY OP ARTS AND SCIENCES in Mlassachusetts." If the new edition had come from the hand of the author there is the best reason for presuming that it would have been inscribed to the society of his chief interest and affections, the American Antiquarian Society, whose later birth and infancy had been so largely the object of his care. The following extracts from the original Preface are all that may suitably be repeated in this place. " Amidst the darkness which surrounds the discovery of many of the arts, it has been ascertained that it is practicable to trace the.ntroduction and progress of Printing, in the northern part of America, to the period of the revolution. A history of this kind has not, until now, been attempted, although the subject, in one point of view, is more interesting to us than to any other nation. We are able to convey to posterity a correct account of the manner in which we have grown up to be an independent people, and can delineate the progress of the useful and polite arts among us with a degree of certainty which cannot be attained by the nations of the old world, in respect to themselves. I am sensible that a work of this kind might, in other hands, have been rendered more interesting. It has a long time been the wish of many, that some person distinguished for literature would bring it forward; but, as no one has appeared who was disposed to render PREFACE. xiii * * XT11 this service to the republic of letters, the partiality of some of my friends led them to entertain the opinion, that my long acquaintance with Printing must have afforded me a knowledge of many interesting facts, and pointed out the way for further inquiry, and that, therefore, I should assume the undertaking. Thus I have been, perhaps too easily, led to engage in a task which has proved more arduous than I had previously apprehended; and which has been attended with much expense. "It is true, that in the course of fifty years, during which I have been intimately connected with the art, I became acquainted with many of its respectable professors; some of whom had, long before me, been engaged in business. From them I received information respecting the transactions and events which occurred in their own time, and also concerning those of which they received the details from their predecessors. By these means I have been enabled to record many circumstances and events which must soon have been buried in oblivion. My long acquaintance with printing, and the researches I made in several of the colonies before the revolution, certainly afforded me no inconsiderable aid in this undertaking; and, to this advantage, I may add, and I do it with sincere and grateful acknowledgments, that I have received the most friendly attention to my inquiries from gentlemen in different parts of the United States; among whom I must be permitted to name the following, viz. —EBENEZER HAZARD, esq. and judge J. B. SMITH, of Philadelphia; the hon. DAVID RAMSAY, of Charleston, Southcarolina; rev. doctor MILLER, of Newoyork; rev. AARON BANCROFT, and mr. WILLIAM SHELDON, of Worcester; the rev. THADDEUS M. HARRIS, of Dorchester; the rev. doctor J OHN ELIOT, of Boston; and the rev. WILLIAM BENTLEY, of Salem; Massachusetts. To these I must add, among the elder brethren of the type, WILLIAM GODDARD and JOIN CARTER, esqrs. of Providence; and mr. TEOMAS BRADFORD, and the late mr. JAMES HUMPHREYS, of Philadelphia. Many others belonging to the profession, in various parts of the union, have laid me under obligations for the information they have given me. " Through the politeness of various gentlemen, I have had access to the ancient MS. records of the counties of Middlesex and Suffolk, in Massachusetts, where Printing was first introduced to this country; to those of the colony of Massachusetts, and of the university of Cambridge; and, also, to those of the United Newengland Colonies; all of the seventeenth century;-likewise, to the records of several of the southern states; and, to many of the principal libra Xiv PREFACE. ries in different parts of the United States. From these documents and institutions I have obtained much valuable intelligence. "'Yet, nothwithstanding all these advantages, I have experienced much difficulty in collecting, through this extensive country, the facts which relate to the introduction of the art of Printing in the several states. These facts were all to be sought for, and the inquiry after them had so long been neglected that the greater part of them would soon have passed beyond the reach of our researches. Most of the printers mentioned in these volumes have long since been numbered with the dead, of whom many were but little known while living; yet, the essential circumstances respecting them, as connected with the art, will, I believe, be found in the following pages; although I cannot flatter myself that they will be entirely free from unintentional errors or omissions. ' The biographical sketches of printers are principally confined to their professional concerns, and to such events as are connected with them. '4 Newspapers are placed in the proper order of succession, or agreeably to the periods in which they were established in the various cities, towns, &e. " The narratives respecting such persons as remained in business after the American revolution, and such newspapers as were continued after this event, are brought down to the time when those printers quitted business, or died, or these publications were discontinued. From the settlement of the country to the establishment of the independence of the United States, few Printers, and not many Newspapers, have, I believe, escaped my observation; and, I may venture to assert that the data respecting them are as correct, as can, at this period of time, be obtained by the researches of an individual. " The history of printing in America, I have brought down to the most important event in the annals of our country - the Revolution. To have continued it beyond this period, all will admit would have been superfluous. 'n From the consideration that the press, and particularly the newspapers to which it gave birth, had a powerful influence in producing the revolution, I have been led to conceive there would be much propriety in giving accounts of the prosecutions of printers for publishing Libels, which occurred under the several colonial govern.. ments. Articles of this description, will be found in such parts of this work as contain melmoirs of the Printers who were prosecuted, or descriptions of the Newspapers in which the supposed libels were published. PREFACE. XV " With a view to gratify the admirers of typographical antiquities, I have, in several instances, given, as accurately as the nature of the case would admit, representations of the titles of the most ancient Newspapers; from whicih a tolerable idea may be formed of the fashion of the originals. " Although a work of this nature may be principally interesting to the professors of the typographic art, yet the facts relating to printing are necessarily connected with others which I have thought it proper to enlarge upon. This circumstance may render these volumes amusing to the man of letters, and not altogether uninteresting to the antiquary. " I devoted sometime to obtaining a correct account of the booksellers in Boston; it having been my intention to take notice of all who were in the trade from the first settlement of each colony to the year 1775; but I discovered that particular information from other states respecting many, who, in this character, have passed over the stage of life, could not be procured, therefore, the statement is not so complete as I intended it should be. But supposing that the particulars which I have collected may afford some gratification, I have annexed them to this work." It only remains to be stated that the notes in this edition, are those of Mr. Thomas unless accompanied by an initial letter or other indication of different authorship. Thus B. is for Hon. John R. Bartlett, H. is for the chairman of the Committee, and M. is for Mr. Munsell. The notes respecting Paper Making, etc., in Pennsylvania, communicated by Mr. H. G. Jones of Philadelphia, bear his name or initials. I - MEMOIR OF ISAIAH THOMAS, BY HIS GRANDSON BENJAMIN FRANKLIN THOMAS. "On the 5th of June, 1632," says Governor Winthrop, "arrived in Boston the ship William and Francis, Mr. Thomas master, with about fifty passengers —whereof Mr. Welde and old Mr. Batchelor (being aged 71) were with their families and many other honest men." This Mr. Thomas, master, was, I believe, Evan Thomas, who in 1639 or 1640 settled in the colony of Massachusetts Bay. The first notice of him upon the colony records is of September 1st, 1640. " Evan Thomas, having a wife and four children, is allowed twenty bushels of corne at harvest." lHe was admitted a freeman of the colony in 1641, and a member of the Artillery Company in 1652. Evan was a successful vintner, paying into the colony treasury from twenty to forty pounds a year for licence or duty or as his proportion of the " rents of wine." We are sorry to have discovered any stain upon his escutcheon; but we find on the General Court record this entry, October 17th, 1654. " Lieut. Hudson and Evan Thomas having been ffined for selling beere above two pence the quart and also fforfeited bond for appearance at the Court of Assistance to answer the same; this court upon their pet, thinkes meet to c xviii HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. remitt their bonds, but se no cause to take off their ffines." Occasionally, like more modern merchants and vintners, Evan seems to have dabbled in speculation outside of his regular line of business. In the Suffolk Registry of deeds, vol. 2d, p. 192, is recorded a receipt by Isaac Allerton Senior (one of the principal men of Plymouth colony and its first assistant) dated New Haven, Nov. 29th, 1653, for one hogshead and four barrels of mackerel from Evan Thomas, vintner, of Boston, to adventure for half profits. Evan died August 25th, 1661. It is the family tradition that Peter Thomas, the grandfather of Isaiah Thomas, was the grandson of Evan. Peter, the eldest son of George and Rebecca Thomas, was born in Boston February 1st, 1682. He married Elizabeth Burroughs the daughter of the Rev. George Burroughs, who in August, 1692, was hung at Salem as a witch. The only evidence of his guilt consisted in the fact that though of rather small stature and frame he had remarkable physical strength. The thorough research and careful judgment of Mr. Upham leave him as man and Christian minister without stain or reproach. He was the victim, not of fanatacism, but of malice and perjury. Peter was a merchant and acquired a good estate. He owned a store and carried on his business on the town dock. Peter's fourth son was Moses Thomas, soldier, mariner, trader, farmer, and schoolmaster. Without the consent or knowledge of his father, in 1740 he enlisted as common soldier in the expedition against Cuba. His father, after futile efforts to procure his discharge, secured him the position of clerk of one of the officers. -Ie was one of the few who escaped the sword, and the more wasting pestilence of that disastrous expedition. On his return he sailed on MEMOIR OF ISAIAH THOMAS. xix a voyage to the Mediterranean. Afterwards, for some years, he was a school master at Hampstead, Long Island. Weary of teaching the "young idea how to shoot," he bought and cultivated a farm at IIampstead. Soon tired of this he became a trader and kept a store in the village. IHe was not an exception to the adage; he gathered no moss. It was while living in Hampstead, that he met, fell in love with, and married Fidelity Grant. Fidelity was a native of Rhode Island. Her father was a merchant of that colony, trading to Philadelphia and the West Indies. Dying and leaving his business in a very unsettled condition, his widow, taking the daughter with her, went to the West Indies and thence to Philadelphia to settle his estate. They had relatives in Hampstead, and on their return went there to reside. Moses remained at Long Island some three or four years after his marriage and then returned to Boston. Trying many things, holding fast to none, he wasted a few years in Boston, and then went to seek fortune in North Carolina, where he died in 1752. His father, an active, stable, frugal merchant, a solid man of Boston, not relishing the roving life and infirm purpose of his son, made a will in which he cut him off with five shillings. Though the father survived the son, he died without altering his will, and the widow and children of Moses were left entirely destitute. Two children, born at Hampstead, had been left with the relatives of their mother at that place. The relatives had become much attached to, and desired to retain them. The circumstances of the mother obliged her to acquiesce. We shall not appreciate the sacrifice required of this young mother of twenty-six years, unless we understand how entire the separation was. In 1752, and till after the revolution, there XX HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. was no communication from Long Island by mail to any part of the continent. Opportunities for the private conveyance of letters seldom occurred, the mother could not afford the expense of visiting her children, and the result was that, for many years together, she did not hear from them. Three children born after the return to Boston remained under the mother's care. She had the energy and business capacity wanting in the father. She had no money, but she had friends ready to help her in the best way, by enabling her to help herself. Women then engaged in active outside business more frequently than now. It was a quite common thing for widows, especially of printers, innkeepers, and traders, to take up and carry on the husband's trade, and not uncommon for them to set up business of their own. The friends of this young widow loaned her money with which to open a small shop. Putting her children to board in the near country, she devoted herself to their support. By industry and frugality she was able to do this and something more. Little by little she laid by enough to purchase a small estate in Cambridge. This, she ultimately lost. Having a large price offered for it in Continental paper, and having faith that these paper promises would sooner or later be transmuted into silver and gold, she sold house and land and, the story is short, was one of the thousands of victims of paper money. She was however never reduced to want, but lived to a good old age to witness the success of her son and to share the fruits of it. Isaiah Thomas, the youngest son of Fidelity and Moses, was born January 19th, 1749, old style. At the age of six years he was brought home to Boston. If he was ever in MEMOIR OF ISAIAH THOMAS. xxi a schoolhouse it was before his return. He used to say that six weeks "' schooling" was all he ever had, and poor at that. The mother meant the boy should have the common school education of the time, be taught to read, write, and cipher, and be trained to some mechanical pursuit. There was in Boston in 1755, Zechariah Fowle, a printer and pedler of ballads and small books; it was the custom of that day to hawk about the streets new publications. Mr. Fowle, having no children desired to take Isaiah. IHe promised the mother that he would treat the child as his own, give him a good school education, instruct him in the art of printing, and if, when arriving at the age of fourteen, the boy did not wish to remain with him, he should be at liberty to choose another place and trade. The lad had been with him about a year, when Mr. Fowle per-. suaded the mother to have him bound to him as an apprentice. The writer has before him the original indenture of apprenticeship, bearing date June 4th, 1756. Its principal provisions it may be well to give, not only as an illustration of the usages of the time, but to enable us to judge how far, in his dealings with the boy, the covenants of the master were kept. After fixing the time the apprenticeship was to continue-to the age of twenty-one -the conditions of the service to Fowle and his wife and heirs are thus stated: " During all which said time or term, the said apprentice, his said master and mistress, well and faithfully shall serve; their secrets he shall keep close; their commandments lawful and honest everywhere he shall gladly obey; he shall do no damage to his said master, etc., nor suffer it to be done by others without letting or giving seasonable notice thereof to his said master, etc.; he shall not waste the goods of his said master, etc., nor lend them XXll HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. unlawfully to any; at cards, dice, or any other unlawful game or games he shall not play; fornication he shall not commit; matrimony during the said term he shall not contract; taverns, alehouses or places of gaming he shall not haunt or frequent: from the service of his said master, etc., by day nor night he shall not absent himself; but in all things and at all times he shall carry and behave himself towards his said master, etc., and all theirs, as a good and faithful apprentice ought to do, to his utmost ability during all the time or term aforesaid." The covenants of the master, if not so comprehensive are equally plain and explicit. " And the said master doth hereby covenant and agree for himself, his wife and heirs, to teach or cause to be taught the said apprentice, by the best way and means he can, the art and mistery of a printer, also to read, write and cypher; and also shall and will well and truly find, allow unto, and provide for the said appprentice, sufficient and wholesome meat and drink, with washing lodging and apparrell, and other necessaries meet and convenient for such an apprentice, during all the time or term aforesaid; and at the end or expiration thereof shall dismiss the said apprentice with two good suits of apparrell for all parts of his body, one for the Lord's day, the other for working days, suitable to his degree." Mr. Fowle had a small printing office and shop on Middle street, near Cross street. His printing apparatus consisted of one press, one font of small pica of about three hundred and fifty pounds, about two hundred pounds of English and one hundred pounds of double pica. The library of the office was made up of a "C tattered dictionary and an inkstained Bible." The master was a singular man, irritable and rather effeminate. With little industry, and no MEMOIR OF ISAIAH THOMAS. xxiii enterprise, he was honest and did work enough to support himself and wife. He was in debt for his press and types when he began business, and he seemed to be equally careful not to increase nor diminish the debt. Having got the boy into his power, the master, as the apprentice always charged, put the lad to all the servile work he had strength to do, and when such work was wanting set him up to the type cases. Such statements are to be taken with some grains of allowance, especially when made as to a master on whose ignorance and want of capacity the boy early learned to look with contempt. The call upon the boy for services which he regarded as menial was not unusual in the relation of master and apprentice at that period. The boy, if a member of the master's family, was expected to do the " chores." Mr. Thomas has left in print, and in brief memoranda before me, a few anecdotes which may enable us to see something of the interior of that little printing office, and to learn with how small help and aid he grew up to manhood. In order that the child, of seven years, might reach the boxes to set types, he was mounted on a bench eighteen inches high and of the length of a double frame, which contained cases of the roman and italic. His first essay with the composing stick was on a ballad called the Lawyer's Pedigree, the licentious character of which gives us an idea of the taste and sense of the master and his interest in the moral welfare of the boy. The child set the types for this ballad (double pica) in two days, " though he knew then only the letters and had not been taught to put them together and spell." The skill of the master and his capacity to teach the " art and mistery of printing" are well illustrated in the following Xxiv HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. story. A young man, a barber's apprentice, illiterate, but as he fondly believed a favorite child of the Muses, composed a poem on the proposed expedition of the British and Provincial troops against Ticonderoga and Crown Point. Unable to write legibly, the poet recited his verse to a friend whose pen put it into black and white. It was sent to Mr. Fowle to be printed as quickly as possible. Fowle began to set the types, the boy at work near him. He had set but a line, when he discovered the absence of punctuation in the manuscript. The hurried Muse had made no stop from beginning to end. The master was in sore distress. He had a friend to whom he used to apply for aid and direction, but this friend could not be found. His genius suggested to him a mode of relief quite original. He went to his shelves of ballads, took one that he thought would answer his purpose, and, placing it by the side of his manuscript, put at the end of every line of the barber's poem the same point that was in the ballad. That the subject, composition and metre of the poem did not even faintly resemble those of the ballad seems to have given him no pause. Young and ignorant as the pupil was, he viewed the proceeding with surprise. He tells us that with the mechanical part of his work the master had but little more acquaintance than with the rules of punctuation. The master never taught the child to read, write, or cypher, nor caused it to be done by others. Iis only essay at teaching was a weekly lesson, on the Sabbath, in the Assembly's Catechism. This was by rote merely. " I recollect," said the pupil, " his putting me the question from the catechism ' What are the decrees of God;' I answered I could not tell, and then, boy-like, asked him what they were. t-Ie read the answer from the book. I was of MEMOIR OF ISAIAH THOMAS. XXV opinion he knew as little about the matter as myself." Poor boy! very likely, and as many wiser boys and wiser men before and since. For three years, from 1758 to 1761, Mr. Fowle had a partner, Samuel Draper, a good printer and kind man, from whom the lad got some valuable instruction in the art. During the partnership the business was not confined to ballads and pamphlets, but some books were printed, as Janeway's Hfeaven on Earth, Watts's Psalms, and a large edition of the Youth's Instructor, a spelling book in general use at the time. The spelling book and Watts, the boy fully mastered, the "Heaven on Earth" he failed to attain. Fowle and Draper did not get along very smoothly, and to the sorrow and loss of the boy the partnership was dissolved. Thomas was then about twelve years old, and from this time seems to have had the principal charge of the business of the office. He did the work in his own way, corrected the press as well as he could, and when the form was ready, Fowle having no other help, assisted him at the press. At this period there were few persons in Boston who could "cut" on wood or type metal. Thomas Fleet, the printer of the Boston Evening Post, was also a rival of Fowle in the printing of ballads. Fleet had a negro who illustrated his ballads by cuts. Young Thomas was induced to try his hand in decorating those printed by Fowle. He "cut " about an hundred plates, rude and coarse indeed, "but nearly a match," he says, "for those done by the negro." The young printer found friends outside of the office. Among those whom he held in grateful remembrance was D XXvi HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. an old man by the name of Gamaliel Rogers. Gamaliel had been a printer of the firm of Rogers and Fowle, who printed the first edition in America of the New Testament in the English language. The work had to be done secretly, and to bear the imprint of the London copy from which it was reprinted, to avoid prosecution from those who in England and Scotland published the Bible by a patent from the Crown, or cum privilegio, as did the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. Rogers's printing office was destroyed by fire and he lost most of his property. With the little that was left, he, in his old age, set up a little shop opposite the (now old) South Church. Thomas used to go frequently to his store, and the old printer was very kind to him, gave him some of the books which he had printed, and what Mr. Thomas used to say was of much more value to him, " he admonished me, diligently to attend to my business, that I might become a reputable printer. I held him in high veneration and often recalled his instructions, which on many occasions proved beneficial to me." This entrance upon the way and work of life is not promising, but the spirit, energy, and strength of will of the boy will make way for him. There is in him the germ of a noble manhood, and in the school of early struggle and narrowest fortune he will develop it. The printing office, as the history of our country has abundantly shown, is one of the best of schools, and printing the most encyclopedic of arts. In helping to diffuse knowledge the printer acquires it; in lighting the torch for others, he kindles his own. Self-developed, he will be strongly developed. We are apt in our day to over-value the facilities of culture; there may be too much dandling and nursing. Vigor and MEMOIR OF ISAIAH THOMAS. xxvii self-reliance come from effort and trial. The tattered dictionary, the ink-stained Bible, the spelling book and Watts's Psalms; there is food enough in these for large and vigorous growth. Thomas continued in the service of Mr. Fowle ten or eleven years. In this time he had acquired the elementary branches of learning, could think for himself, write good, plain English, with a dash of satire in it, put his thought in type without writing, and make, so he told the writer, tolerable verses for the poet's corner. He made the most diligent use of the means and opportunities within his reach to learn the art of printing. He was esteemed at the age of seventeen an excellent workman. He loved the art, and had an earnest desire to go to London to perfect himself in it. In his old age he used to say that if he could live his life over again, and choose his employment, it would be that of a printer. IIe evinced quite early a strong taste for reading, and a fondness of theatrical-entertainments - private they must have been for there was then no theatre in Boston. Tall and handsome in person, of attractive manners, neat and careful in his dress, the young printer impressed favorably the men, and most favorably the women, with whom he was brought in contact. He had fitted himself to do useful work in the world, and there was work for him to do. At three different times in early boyhood his life was in imminent peril. On one of the occasions (1756), he was playing with a young boy in a woodshed, where there was a large cistern of rain water, left at the time uncovered. The boy pushing young Thomas with a stick, he fell back into the cistern. His companion was too much frightened to assist or even to give notice of what he had done. Mean xxviii HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. time the little printer was drowning. There was near to the shed a tallow chandler's shop. An aged negro, Boston Peckens, at work in the shop, somehow or other discovered that the boy was in the cistern and came to his rescue. By means of the pole with a hook on the end of it, used to draw the bucket of water from the cistern, he brought him to the surface and took him out. He was insensible, but with the help of rubbing and other appliances was restored. Thomas, grateful to his kind preserver, used to express his deep regret that the old man died before it was in his power to give him any substantial proof of his gratitude. About a year after this, the lad was standing at an oyster board on the town dock, before it was filled up. A man called for oysters. The oyster vender, having no bread, the buyer asked the lad to go to a shop and get him a. biscuit; and the weather being unpleasant, went on board the oyster vessel to eat his oysters. The boy returning with his biscuit tried to jump on board. Not springing far enough he fell into the water. It was dark, and he was nearly drowned before he was discovered. The gentleman impatient for his biscuit came on deck to look for his messenger. He heard a noise in the water and the first thing he saw was the biscuit, by which he judged the boy was not far off. He was soon found, taken up and carried home. The third of these accidents, in 1758 or 1759, so connects itself with the manners of the time that it may be well to state it with some detail. Nowhere in the British dominions was the fifth of November, the anniversary of the discovery of the Gunpowder Plot, celebrated with more zeal and zest, and mock pomp and ceremony, than in the good town of Boston. Strife and rivalry had for sometime MEMOIR OF ISAIAH THOMAS. XXix existedbetween the north and south ends of the town, which should have the more august celebration and soonest put to rout the procession and parade of the other. The line of division between the North and the South was the old Mill creek, now Blackstone street. Collections were levied upon the inhabitants on the morning of the day; asked for, but few thought it quite safe to refuse. The money was spent in part for the pomp and circumstance of war, and largely for liquor. The principal effigies of the pope and the devil, the supposed instigators of the plot, were placed upon a stage mounted on cart wheels and drawn by horses. At the front of the stage was a large lantern of oiled paper, four or five feet wide and eight or nine feet high. On the front was painted in large letters, " The devil take the pope;" and just below this " North end forever" or " South end forever." Behind the lantern sat the pope in an arm chair, and behind the pope was the devil standing erect with extended arms, one hand holding a smaller lantern, the other grasping a pitchfork. The heads of pope and devil were on poles which went through their bodies and the stage beneath. Boxed up out of sight sat a boy whose mission was to sway the heads from side to side as fancy suggested. The devil, without consideration for his home climate, was clad in tar and feathers " from top to toe," "from head to foot." Other effigies were sometimes seen, suspended from gallows, of persons who had incurred the indignation and hatred of the mob, as the Pretender, Admiral Byng, Earl Bute, and Lord North. Ancillary devils and popes were drawn or carried by men and boys, as various in size as the men and boys who bore them; some even on shingles and bits of board. Assembling about dusk, North end and South end under XXX HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. their respective leaders, processions were formed, the lanterns, great and small, lighted, and through a speaking trumpet the order was given to '" move on." With this the noise and tumult began, the blowing of conch shells, whistling through the fingers, beating with clubs the sides of the houses, cheering, huzzaing, swearing, and rising above all the din the cry "N orth end forever" or '" South end forever." The devils on the stages were not the only or chiefest proof that the under world was let loose. The procession that first reached the Mill creek gave three cheers and rushed on to meet their foes. As they approached the strife began; clubs, stones, and brickbats were freely used, and though persons were not often killed, bruised shins, broken heads and bones, were not infrequent. It was on one of these 4 peaceful nights " when the Northenders had been as far south as the elm tree, soon after so well known as the Liberty Tree, and were on their return, masters of the situation, though now and then receiving a complimentary brick from South-enders secreted in lane or passage way, that our little printer, with a large bump of curiosity and a small one of caution, pressed through the crowd to read the labels on the lanterns. A brick aimed at the lantern, lighted on his head and struck him to the ground. The chances were for the little fellow to be trampled to death by the rushing crowd, but as his good fortune or a kind Providence would have it, the first man whose foot struck him, hearing his groans lifted him up, and persons coming around with lights, one of them recognized him, took him in his arms, and carried him to his master's house. A surgeon being sent for, it was found that no bone was broken, and in a few days he was able to return to his types. Such is in substance the account given MEMOIR OF ISAIAH THOMAS. xxxi by Mr. Thomas in later years. It does not speak very well for the refinement of manners of what was then the most cultivated town of British America, and is worth perhaps the passing notice of those who are continually asking "why the former days were better than these." In 1766, between 17 and 18 years of age, the apprentice had what he called a " serious fracas " with his master. I can throw no light upon the cause, merits or demerits, of the quarrel. Thomas left Boston secretly, taking passage for Halifax, with the hope of finding his way from Halifax to London, to acquire a more perfect knowledge of printing. In this he was wholly disappointed. So far from obtaining the means of going to England it was difficult to earn his daily bread. He found work and wages to pay board and lodging with one Anthony Henry. Henry was a goodnatured, heavy moulded Dutchman, who had been a printer in his youth, but left his master and came to Halifax as fifer in a British regiment. There being no printing office in the province, Henry got discharged from military service and set up the business. It might not seem the easiest thing in the world for a fifer to find means to purchase press and types. But there was a pastry cook in Halifax, of African descent, who had acquired a snug little property. Henry married her, endowed. himself with her wordly goods, and with them purchased printing materials and built a house. Some three years after the marriage the pastrycook died without issue. The relict was left in comfortable condition. He was a cheerful, good natured fellow, not very skillful in his art, and loving his ease. He was at the time of Thomas's arrival the printer and publisher of the fIalifax Gazette, and government printer. The master indolent, and the young man ambitious and willing to xxxii HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. work, the editing and printing the Gazette soon fell into his hands. He is found quite competent to the task. IHe remodelled the paper as well as he could with the means he had, and went to work. Thomas was fresh from the debates of Boston, and brought with him the Boston notions of liberty. The Gazette soon after his arrival was printed on stamped paper. Thomas could notbrookthis, and aparagraph appeared in its columns stating that " the people of the province were disgusted with the stamp act." The paragraph gave great offence to the loyal government of that loyal province, and Henry was called to account for printing sedition. He had not even seen the paper in which the seditious paragraph was published, and pleaded ignorance, saying that the paper in his absence was conducted by his journeyman. He was reprimanded, and threatened with the loss of the public printing if anything of the kind should again be found in his columns. The young patriot could not keep quiet, and, soon after, a paragraph of the same import appeared. This time the master pleaded that he had been confined to his house by sickness, and made a most humble apology. The young journeyman was sent for by the secretary of the province. He was probably not known to the secretary, who sternly asked him what he wanted. A. Nothing, sir. Q. Why came you here? A. Because I was sent for. Q. What is your name? A. Isaiah Thomas. Q. Are you the young New England man that prints for Henry? MEMOIR OF ISAIAH THOMAS. xxxiii A. Yes, sir. Q. How dare you publish in the Gazette that the people of Nova Scotia were displeased with the Stamp Act. A. I thought it was true. Secretary. You had no right to think so. If you publish any more of such stuff you shall be punished. You may go, but remember you are not in New England. T. I will, sir. Notlong after the interview the year's stock of stamped paper for the Gazette, some six reams only, arrived from England. It was soon discovered that the paper had been denuded of the stamps, and in the next Gazette was a notice that " all the stamped paper had been used, and as no more could be had the paper would in future be published without stamps." A few days later a vessel came from Philadelphia bringing the newspapers published in that city, among others the Pennsylvania Journal in full mourning for the passage of the Stamp Act. Thick black lines surrounded the pages and were placed between the columns. A death's head and cross-bones were over the title, and at the bottom of the last page was the figure of a coffin, beneath which was printed the age of the paper with the statement that it had died of a disorder called the Stamp Act. Thomas wished to do the like with the Gazette. To do it directly was a little too hazardous. As near an imitation was made of the Journal as possible, and the Gazette appeared with this notice. "We are desired by a number of our readers to give a description of the extraordinary appearance of the Pennsylvania Journal of the 30th of October last (1765). We can in no better way comply with their request than E xxxiv HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. by the exemplification we have given of that Journal in this, day's Gazette." The publication made no small stir in the town, but led to no immediate action. One morning soon after, an effigy of the stamp master and one of Ldrd Bute were found suspended on the public gallows, behind the citadel. The officers of the government, who had prided themselves upon the good behavior of the province, were dismayed. Somehow or other a suspicion prevailed that the young printer from Boston might hav.,some knowledge of the matter. A sheriff thereupon went to the printing office and told Thomas he had a precept against him and meant to take him to prison unless he gave information of the persons engaged in the transaction. The sheriff stated some circumstances which had convinced him that Thomas himself had been engaged in these seditious proceedings. Thomas making no reply to the-kind suggestions, the sheriff ordered him to go with him before a magistrate. In the simplicity of his heart he was about to go, when it occurred to him that the action of the sheriff might be merely intended to alarm hima into, an acknowledgment of his privity with the seditious acts. HI thereupon told the sheriff that he had not the pleasure of knowing him, and demanded to be told by what authority he acted. The sheriff replied that he had sufficient authority. On being requested to show it, the officer was evidently disconcerted, but answered he would show his authority when necessary, and again ordered the " printer of sedition," as he was pleased to call him, to go with him. Thomas replied he would not obey unless the sheriff produced his precept or proper authority for taking him prisoner. After further parley the officer left him with the assurance that he would soon return; but Thomas MEMOIR OF ISAIAH THOMAS. Xxxv saw him no more, and afterwards learned that this was a plan concerted for the purpose of surprising him into confession. There was too old a head on those young shoulders for such a trap. Such, in substance, is the narrative Mr. Thomas left us of his sojourn at Halifax. He has not in this history disclosed the circumstances of extreme poverty to which he was reduced. He used to say, not without satisfaction iln the contrast with his affluent condition in later life, that his linen was reduced to one check shirt, and that the only coat he had he sent to a tailor to turn, and the tailor ran away with it. Henry had no little liking for his young and quick-witted journeyman, but it became plain that he must part with him or with the government business, and Thomas, after seven months' residence, left Halifax in a New England sloop bound for Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The compensations of life are greater than men think. In what school or university could a boy of eighteen years have got so much or so valuable training, discipline, and self-reliance, as this young printer got in that obscure newspaper office in Halifax. On his arrival at Portsmouth the people were celebrating with great enthusiasm the repeal of the Stamp Act. His presence at Portsmouth was suspected by his Boston friends by the remodelling and improvement in the newspaper on which he worked, which must have been either the New Hampshire Gazette, printed by Daniel and RobErt Fowle, or the Portsmouth Mercury, printed by Furber and Russell. Mr. Fowle learns that he is in Portsmouth, and invites him to return to Boston. He comes back and goes to his old master, who fails to recognize him. He returns to his xxxvi HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. service and gets along quietly for a few weeks. In July 1766, on the day of the funeral of Jonathan Mayhew, whom the whole town followed to his grave, he has fresh trouble, but the difficulty is compromised and he lives with him once more. He remains hut a few weeks and then, with the full consent of his master, leaves his service finally. Young as he was he seems to have thought of setting up for himself. On the look out for place and opportunity, he receives an invitation from a captain of a vessel to go with him to Wilmington, North Carolina, where, he was assured, a printer was wanted. With all the new facilities of intercourse it would require no little pluck now for a youth of eighteen to leave Boston and go to North Carolina to establish himself in business; especially if he had neither friends there nor money. But the young man had more courage than prudence or stability. Industrious, enterprising, and fearless, he had yet to acquire the steadiness of will and purpose which afterwards characterized him and assured success. A violent storm compelled the captain to put in for a while at Holmes Hole at the Vineyard. From this port he went to Newport, and took in, as a passenger, Martin Howard who, during the excitement of the Stamp Act, had been hung in effigy at Newport, his house destroyed and his person injured. Howard was afterwards appointed chief justice of North Carolina, and used to say he had no quarrel with the " Sons of Liberty" at Newport, for they had made him chief justice of North Carolina, with a thousand pounds sterling a year. On the voyage the young printer got acquainted with the future judge, who advised him (advice costs nothing) to set up a press in Wilmington, and promised him his countenance and support. On going MEMOIR OF ISAIAH THOMAS. xxxvii ashore at Wilmington, Thomas was introduced, by the captain of the ship, to a lady who kept a coffee-house in the town, and who seems to have been greatly impressed, if not charmed, by the young New England man. The good lady proposes to him a partnership in business, he to print and publish a newspaper, she to keep the coffee house, and the profits of the two concerns to be equally divided between them. Whether the partnership was to be further extended does not appear. Under the advice of Mr. Howard, and other gentlemen, young Thomas waited upon Lieutenant Gov. Tryon, then acting governor of the colony, afterwards famous and infamous in the history of the revolution. The governor encouraged him to remain, and flattered him that he should be favored with a part of the government printing. It may be doubted whether Mr. Howard or the governor knew much of the young man's opinions or recent history. There was, as before suggested, a somewhat formidable difficulty in his setting up the business of printing in Wilmington or elsewhere. He had not press, or types, or money to buy them. But something in the young man won confidence and credit. There was at Wilmington a printer, Andrew Stuart, who had fallen into disfavor and was about to leave the town. He had a press and three small fonts of letters for sale. Some gentlemen of Wilmington offered to advance money on a long credit to enable Thomas to make the purchase. Stuart, sensible that Thomas could not get a press and types elsewhere, asked about three times as much for them as they cost when new. After some chaffering he came down to about double the cost price. Finding that Thomas could raise the money he insisted upon including in the sale a negro woman and xxxviii HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. her child. Thomas concluded to take press, types, woman and child, when the seller insisted upon adding to the sale his household furniture. This broke off the negotiation, and when Stuart relented it was too late. Thomas had become discouraged at the aspect and business look of the place. The little money he had was gone, and his desire to go to England revived. Though a merchant of Wilmington offered to send to London for printing apparatus by the first opportunity, neither this, nor the landlady's tender of partnership, had power to detain him. To reach England being still his prevailing wish, he engages as steward on board the brig in which he came as a passenger from Boston, and which was now to sail for the West Indies, with the hope of readily finding his way from the West Indies to London. The change of relation from passenger to steward seems to have worked a sudden change in the feelings of the captain of the brig. Thomas finds the labors of his new position hard and disagreeable. Twice he is sent in a boat up the river with slaves fresh from Africa to procure lumber. The captain requires him to attend him on shore with a lantern and to wait on him as a servant. The young man's pride, and he had a good stock of it, revolts at this treatment, and he determines that he will not go with him. The will with him was apt to find the way. He rose soon after midnight, " dressed himself in his long clothes" and sat on the quarter deck wishing, like Paul and his fellow voyagers, for the day. He recollects at the moment a letter of recommendation which had been given him by a gentleman in Newport to Robert Wells, a printer in Charleston, South Carolina. He leaves the brig with the first break of dawn and goes in search of a vessel bound for Charleston. He finds a packet that is MEMOIR OF ISAIAH THOMAS. xxxix to sail in three days, engages a passage, and then seeks the captain of the brig and asks for a dismission from his service, which the captain very reluctantly grants. After the dismission, the captain was again quite friendly, and assisted him in procuring some provisions for the voyage. He had been employed some ten days in the service of the brig without visiting the lady of the coffee house. HIe goes to see her and meets with the same kind reception as before. The project of the partnership is renewed, and he is to go to Charleston, work till he could provide materials for his printing house, and then return to Wilmington to put his plan into execution. He goes on board the packet. As it was about leaving the wharf, the lady sends by her maid a present of stores for the voyage. She lived but a few steps from the wharf, and he must needs step on shore and thank her for the kindness. As he is conversing with her, he sees the packet under way, and leaving his thanks half paid, he runs to the wharf, but the vessel had gone. He hastens to a lower wharf, but is too late. lie meets the captain of the brig, who befriends him in his distress, takes his own boat with two men and after rowing an hour, the weather being calm, overtakes the packet and puts him on board. The packet had a slow passage down the river. After its arrival at Fort Johnson it was detained a week by head winds. The provisions were exhausted and a contribution was called for to get a new supply. Thomas was obliged to borrow a dollar to make up his share. The captain had to send back a boat thirty miles to procure the supplies. On their arrival they set sail and had a quick passage to Charleston. The young man's mortification does not end here. He has no money to pay his passage; he leaves his xl HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. chest in pledge and hurries on shore to find employment. In the space of two hours he had visited all the printers in Charleston in fruitless search of work. They were, however, very kind to him. One of them, Mr. Couch, invites him to dine with him and to make his house his home, working as he pleased " till he could better himself." Soon after he receives an offer of small wages from Mr. Wells and accepts it. Applying himself closely and diligently to his work, after ten days he asks of his employer seven dollars and goes in search of the packet to redeem his chest. He is dismayed to find that the packet had already returned to Wilmington. Upon further inquiry he learns that his chest is stored in the warehouse of the owner of the packet. He pays his passage money and the dollar he had borrowed, and is as happy as if a fortune had poured her full horn into his lap. His skill in his art and steady application won the good will of Mr. Wells, who raised his wages. He continued in his service till he left Charleston. Mr. Robert Wells, an excellent printer and good man, was the publisher of the South Carolina and American General Gazette. He kept also what was for the time an extensive bookstore, supplying the wants of both the Carolinas. He was a loyalist and supported the government, but the friendly relations between him and young Thomas were never disturbed. The young man had an opportunity to im - prove in his art and freedom of access to books which he had never before enjoyed. Little is known of his sojourn at Charleston. His promise to the fair keeper of the Coffee House seems to have been too easily forgotten. The present of supplies for the voyage and the half uttered thanks are the last we hear of her; she passes into the silence. Some MEMOIR OF ISAIAHI THOMAS. xli things and scenes he saw at Charleston made fast hold upon his memory; the arrival and inauguration of the statue to William Pitt; the burning at the stake of two negroes, man and woman, for the crime of poisoning their master, with the multitudinous sea of upturned black faces; an election of members of the assembly with candle light processions and temporary hospitals for the inebriated; the meeting with several Bostonians who had left their native town, as he expresses it " for the sin of being in debt." While at Charleston, in December 1769, Mr. Thomas was married to Mary Dill, daughter of Joseph Dill of the isle of Bermuda. The connection was not a happy one, and he was separated from her a few years afterward. He had a plan of going to settle in the West Indies; it was nearly perfected, but his health failing, after a short tour among the Southern Colonies, he came back to Boston in the spring of 1770. The condition of Boston in the early months of that year is matter of familiar history. It was then a town of not more than twenty thousand inhabitants, intelligent, wealthy, energetic, self reliant, loving the mother country when the mother country did not meddle with their affairs. The political controversies which had sprung up (from seeds long in the soil) soon after the close of the seven years war, had now for seven years been enlarging their scope and increasing in intensity and bitterness. Discussion had served only to widen the differences of opinion and policy. The growing claim, a natural growth, of the colonies for self government, was met by a larger claim for power and restraint on the part of parliament and the crown. Upon this town, sensitive and jealous of its rights, the British ministry had, in the autumn of 1769, quartered F xlii HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. some nine hundred troops. The contention, hot enough before, was brought to white heat by the personal collisions of the populace and soldiers. What history has called, without much propriety, the " Boston Massacre," was a probable, natural result of the attempt to overawe such a people by military force. There was not room on the little peninsula, physical or moral, for soldiers and people. Such was the excited state of the capital, and such indeed that of the province of Massachusetts Bay, when Mr. Thomas came back, to begin life for himself. With his temperament and convictions he could not long keep out of the thickest of the fight; and no suggestion of fear, or foreboding of loss or peril to himself, ever held him back. In the July following, Mr. Thomas formed a partnership with Mr. Fowle. We must, I think, find in this fact some mitigation of the judgment he has passed upon his old master. The firm commenced business in Salem street by issuing, in July 1770, the first number of a small newspaper called the Massachusetts Spy. This number was distributed gratuitously through the town. The paper was to be published three times a week, twice on a quarter sheet and once on a half sheet. The frequent issue of the paper, a new thing in Boston, was not to meet the commercial or business needs of the town. It was thought it would meet the wants of mechanics and other classes of people who had each day but little time to read, and to whom the news and instruction of the paper would be convenient in small doses. The second number of the paper was published on the 7th of August 1770. The publication was continued in this form for three months. The partnership of Fowle and Thomas was then dissolved, Thomas buying of Fowle the same press and types on MEMOIR OF ISAIAH THOMAS. xliii which he had worked as a child. They had been purchased by Fowle nineteen years before, had been paid for by borrowing the money of a relative who was content to let the principal lie, if he was paid punctually the interest. Thomas became the owner by giving to the creditor new security for the payment of the loan. He moved his office to School street, and changed the publication of the Spy from three times to twice a week, each number a half sheet. He continued the publication in this way for three months more, and then dropped it to make preparations for the weekly publication of a larger newspaper than had before been printed in Boston. On the 7th of March 1771, from his printing office, now changed to Union street, the new weekly appeared, printed on a whole sheet royal size folio of four pages; but not Cowper's folio of four pages, " happy work which not even critics criticize." In the new form the paper had to start with less than two hundred subscribers. After the first weekthe number rapidly increased, till, at the end of two years, the subscription list was larger than that of any other newspaper in Boston. The new sheet bore the name of the Mitassachusetts Spy. The title was between two cuts, on the left the Goddess of Liberty, on the right two infants culling flowers from a basket. Nothing could be ruder, less artistic, than these prints; but that on the left had its meaning for the time, soon after made clearer by the motto from Addison's Cato. " Do thou, great Liberty, inspire our Souls, And make our lives in thy possession happy, "Or our deaths glorious in thy just defence." It was with the publication of this paper that our printer really entered upon his own career of life. It was in this xliv HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. work that he was able to render valuable service to his country and to connect his name with its history. With it, though its place of publication was changed, he was connected for thirty years, and, after many trials and reverses, it laid the foundation of his fortune. Mr. Thomas was printer, publisher, and editor. A number of writers however supplied the paper with political essays. Some of the earlier essays were intended to be especially adapted to that class of citizens who had-made up the majority of the early readers of the Spy. "Common sense in common language," said Mr. Thomas, "is necessary to influence one class of citizens as much as learning and elegance of composition to produce an effect upon another: the cause of America was just, and it was only necessary to state this cause in a clear and impressive manner to unite the American people in its support." We incline to think that elegance of composition, rhetoric, and eloquence, are as agreeable to one class of citizens as to another. Whether this be so or not, the distinction suggested by Mr. Thomas was not kept up. The Spy circulated throughout the continent, and its writers addressed alike all classes of the people. At the start the publisher opened the columns of the paper to Whigs and Royalists, but the controversy had become too warm for such a course; it satisfied neither party. Overtures were made by friends of government to induce the printer to enlist the Spy in its defence. They were of course rejected, and Mr. Thomas gave the paper without reserve to the cause of the people. In an early number there is a pretty explicit statement of the relation of rulers and people. " Rulers are made for the people, not the people for the rulers. The people are bound to obey the rulers, when the rulers obey the laws; MEMOIR OF ISAIAH THOMAS. xlv and when the rulers are affectionate fathers, the people are bound to be dutiful children. Rulers were instituted to be servants to the people, and ministers of God for good; but if instead of servants they become masters, and instead of ministers for good they are ministers for evil, they are no longer rulers according to their institution. Rulers are appointed to be the representatives of God among men; and when they imitate him in righteousness the people are under the strongest obligations to give them great honour and reward. The people always have a right to judge of the conduct of their rulers, and reward them according to their deeds." The Spy soon became a power in the Massachusetts Bay, for it was conducted with vigor, zeal, and entire devotion to Whig principles. The government hoped to buy the young printer; he was not in the market. It tried to drive him; he could not be driven. It tried to alarm him; he was with6ut fear. It tried to suppress him; but he baffled and defeated every attempt to this end and gained new strength and influence by every conflict. The proposal to make the Spy a loyalist paper having failed, the next step was to force compliance or deprive the printer of his press and types. His creditor was an officer of the Crown, and, though a worthy man, was pushed on to demand payment of the debt contrary to his verbal agreement. Thomas had given a bond payable in one year, with an assurance that the principal should not be called for if the interest was promptly paid. Thomas, though without property, had the confidence and credit of his friends; he borrowed the money and paid the old debt by contracting a new one. The plan of suppression failing, the most paltry attempts were made to annoy HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. him and impair the value of his paper. One of these was a refusal to permit him to obtain from the Custom House an account of the arrivals and clearances of the port of Boston. The printer of the Massachusetts Gazette, and News-Letter, acknowledges that he had refused Thomas a copy of the list, under the influence of the Custom I-ouse officers. Thomas also charges Governor Hutchinson with attempting to get work out of his hands and give it to a tool of his own, and with saying of the Spy " Long ago would I have stopped the press could I but have persuaded the council to join with me." " A man" the editor adds " whom we could not more disgrace than by saying he is, and how he became the g —r of this p - e." The Spy had among its contributors several able and pungent writers who did not put on their gloves when they wrote. Among the early contributions was a series of essays signed Centinel, extending to over forty numbers, the first with a motto from the ballad of Chevy Chase. " The child that is unborn Will rue the hunting of that day." I have not been able to discover the writer of these essays. John Adams evidently knew the author, but he gives no clue. The question puzzled Governor Hutchinson. They are written with much learning and marked ability. In vindicating the liberties of the people of the province the writer does not confine himself to the charter, or their rights as English subjects, but lays for them deeper and broader foundations in the natural rights of man. The manner is clear, incisive, bitter, without the least recognition of the doctrine that the powers that be are ordained of God. MEMOIR OF ISAIAH TH6MAS. xlvii But the boldest of the writers for the Spy was Joseph Greenleaf, over the signature of Mutius Scoevola. In the Spy of November 14th 1771, he declares that Hutchinson is not the legal governor of the Province, that he is an usurper and ought to be dismissed and punished as such. We give one or two brief extracts. "An Englishman should never part with a penny but by his consent, or the consent of his agent or representative, especially as the money thus forced from us is to hire a man to tyrannize over us, whom his master calls our governor. This seems to me to be Mr. IIutchinson's situation, therefore I cannot but view him as an usurper, and absolutely deny his jurisdiction over this people, and am of opinion that any act of assembly consented to by him in his capacity as governor is ipso facto null and void and consequently not binding upon us. * * * * * * "If the pretended Governor or Lieutenant-Governor by being independent on us for their support are rendered incapable of completing acts of government, it is time we had a lawful one to preside or that the pretended governors were dismissed and punished as usurpers, and that the council, according to charter, should take upon themselves the government of the province." The article caused no little stir and excitement in the Bay. The Evening Post of the next Monday says, " it is said the piece referred to, from its nature and tendency, is the most daring production ever published in America." The Post refers to, without venturing to print it. The paper was printed on Thursday. On Friday afternoon Governor Hutchinson convened his Council. The Council, after deliberating upon the matter till sundown, adjourned to the next day, when they met again, and after xlviii HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. further discussion, resolved that the printer should be sent for. The messenger of the Council appeared in Mr. Thomas's office and told him that his presence was required in the Council chamber. Mr. Thomas replied that " he was busily employed in his office and could not wait upon his Excellency and their Honors." An hour later the messenger again appeared and informed him that the Governor and Council awaited his attendance, and by their direction he (the messenger) asked whether Mr. Thomas was ready to appear before them. Thomas answered that he was not. The messenger went to make report, and Thomas went for legal advice - the tradition is, to John Adams. HIe was instructed to persist in his refusal to appear before the Council, that they had no right to summon him before them. The messenger was sent a third time and brought this order. " The Governor and Council order your immediate attendance before them in the Council chamber." T. I will not go. Mess. You do not give this answer with the intention that I should repeat it to the Governor and Council? T. Have you anything written by which to show the authority under which you act? Mess. I have delivered to you the order of the Governor and Council as it was given to me. T. If I understand you, the Governor and Council order my immediate attendance before them? Mess. They do. T. Ilave you the order in writing? Mess. No. T. Then, sir, with all due respect to the Governor and Council, I am engaged in my own concerns and shall not attend. MEMOIR OF ISAIAH TIOMAS. xlix Ness. Will you commit your answer to writing? T. No, sir. Mess. You had better go, you may repent your refusal to comply with the order of the Council? T7 I must abide by the result.1 Upon the return of the messenger with this unexpected and firm refusal, the Governor and Council deliberated whether they should not commit the printer for contempt. Two difficulties were suggested. First, he had not appeared before them; if he had, his answers might have been construed as contempt of the Council. The other was yet graver and went to the root of the matter, that the Council could not compel his appearance before them to answer for any crime or misdemeanor; the judicial tribunals alone having jurisdiction and cognizance of criminal offences. If these considerations had had their just weight before, instead of after, the refusal, the Governor and Council would have escaped the mortification of being baffled and defied, by a young mechanic of twenty-two, on a question of law and right. So a more careful examination of the article itself would have disarmed it of its force. For the ground upon which Governor Hutchinson is denounced as an usurper is that he receives his salary from the Crown and not from the Province. The fact itself was well known, and as to the conclusion the Governor and Council might well have said valeat quantum, it is worth what it is worth. In judging of the conduct of Thomas we are not to forget, that he had often heard from his master how his brother Daniel Fowle, a few years before, had been imprisoned by the General Court among thieves and The conversation is given from memoranda made at the time by Mr. Thoxmas. 1 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. murderers, denied the sight of his wife, or the means of communicating with his family, for an alleged libel upon the General Court; and how James Franklin had been imprisoned and forbidden to publish his paper for the same reason. Governor Hutchinson was, it would seem, too good a lawyer not to have seen that the Governor and Council had no legal power in the matter. When, in 1774, notice was given him that the House of Representatives proposed to present to the Council articles of impeachment against Chief Justice Oliver, he replied that " he knew of no crimes, misdemeanors, nor offences, that were not cognizable before some judicatory or other; and he knew of no criminal case of which the Governor and Council, as a court ofjudicature, could take cognizance." Defeated in their attempt, the Governor and Council ordered the Attorney General to prosecute the printer for a libel. Great efforts were made to accomplish the object. The Chief Justice (Lieutenant Governor Oliver) at the following term of the Court in Boston, in his charge to the Grand Jury, dwelt largely on the doctrine of libels, the licentiousness of the press, and the necessity of restraining it. The Attorney General drew up an elaborate bill of indictment against Isaiah Thomas for a libel, but the Grand Jury refused to find it; they said " ignoramus." Foiled in this second method, the Attorney General was directed to file an information against Thomas. The fact became known, and the legality of the course was so bitterly attacked, and with such force of argument and authority, that it was thought best to drop the matter. The effort to prosecute in Suffolk failing, one other expedient was suggested. The Spy was circulated throughout the province. MEMOIR OF ISAIAH THOMAS. i Wherever the paper circulated the libel was published, and in the view of the law it was as truly published in Essex as in Suffolk. Let the printer be indicted in Essex, where the people are as yet more faithful and loyal to his Majesty, and his Majesty's faithful servants, the Governor and Council of the Province of Massachusetts Bay. Mr. Thomas states that the fallacy of this argument was made apparent. The legal view was perhaps sound enough, but the prosecution was not instituted. The Governor and Council had learned prudence, or had become satisfied that Essex also was growing seditious. While these measures were being taken against the printer, the Governor and Council proceeded with more rapid steps against the writer of the article, Mr. Greenleaf. A written order was served upon him to appear on the 10th of December before the Governor and Council to be examined touching a certain paper, called the Massachusetts Spy, published the 14th of November 1771. Greenleaf paid no heed to the summons, and on the 12th of December an order appeared in the Boston Newsletter, the Court Gazette, dismissing him from his office of Justice of the Peace for the county of Plymouth. The order was as follows: "At a Council held at the Council Chamber in Boston, Tuesday Dec. 10th, 1771. His Excellency having acquainted the Board, at their last meeting, that Joseph Greenleaf Esq. a Justice of the Peace for the county of Plymouth, was generally reputed to be connected with Isaiah Thomas in printing and publishing a newspaper called the Massachusetts Spy, and the said Joseph Greenleaf having thereupon been summoned to attend the Board on this day, in order to his examination touching the same, and not attending according to sum lii IHISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. mons, it was thereupon unanimously advised, that the said Joseph Greenleaf be dismissed from the office of a Justice of the Peace, which advice was approved of and consented to by his Excellency; and the said Joseph Greenleaf is dismissed from the said office accordingly. A true copy from the minutes of the Council. Thomas Flucker, Secretary." These attempts to restrain the Spy were not merely abortive, they kindled the editor to greater zeal for the country's cause, and to intenser hatred of its oppressors. But bitter as was the tone of the Spy, it is a striking fact that the tone of English papers and of prominent English statesmen upon the course of the Ministry toward the colonies was as severe and relentless as that of the Colonial press and statesmen. In the Spy of September 10th, 1772, appeared an address to the King, signed Akolax. Upon its appearance the Governor and Council ordered the Attorney General to prosecute the printer in what manner he thought best. The notice Thomas took of this was to republish in the Spy of Oct. 10th, 1772, an address to the King copied from the (English) Middlesex Journal. HIe calls attention to the fact that the latter address, far more disloyal in its tone and spirit, had passed unnoticed not only in England but on its republication in a neighboring province. lie thereupon charges that the purpose and order of the Governor and Council to prosecute him were malicious, closing a bitter article with the words " we may next have padlocks on our lips and fetters on our legs, or FIGHT OUR WAY TO CONSTITUTIONAL FREEDOM." The original letter, and the republication from the Middlesex Journal, were alike offensive to the officers of the Crown. Mr. Thomas was in MEMOIR OF ISAIAH THOMAS. liii formed by friends on whom he relied, that Governor Hutchinson had remarked that to secure a verdict against him stronger ground would be taken than in the case of Mutius Scaevola. What this stronger ground was, must be left to conjecture. It would seem as if no weapon had been left unused. The difficulty was insuperable. He could not find a grand jury to indict or a petit jury to convict. For some two years before these events men had seen the noble mind of James Otis o'erthrown, and " That noble and most sovereign reason Likes sweet bells jangled, out of tune and harsh." It was before the republication of the most obnoxious of the addresses to the King that Mr. Otis called upon Mr. Thomas and desired to have a private conference with him, in what he called his sanctum sanctorum, a private room up two flights of stairs, and adjoining the printing office, which the tories called the " sedition foundry." Being seated, Mr. Otis called for two sheets of paper. Iie doubled each sheet, and after putting them together indented them at the top. On one of the sheets he wrote his own signature, and requested Mr. Thomas to sign the second. He folded the latter carefully, put it in his pocket, leaving the other with Mr. Thomas, and, assuring him he should hear from him, went out. After the publication of the letters to the King and the report that Thomas was to be prosecuted Mr. Otis came again, apparently composed and in the possession of his reason. He said to Mr. Thomas that he had heard of the publication of the address and of the impending prosecution. The address he had not read. Mr. Thomas gave it liv HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. to him, and sitting down he read it very attentively. After reading it once he went over it again paragraph by paragraph, repeating at the end of each there is no treason in that. When he came to a particular passage, he paused, read it again and again, and after pondering upon it some time exclaimed, 4Touch and go, by G-d." Having read the address entirely through again, he assured Mr. Thomas that the whole of it was defensible, and in case the prosecution should take place, he would come forward in his defence without fee or reward, or would point out to his counsel the ground of defence, which, in his opinion, ought to be assumed. On taking leave he said " James Otis still retains some knowledge of law." This is what Hutchinson would have called " one of the flashes of our firebrand." The character of the Spy, its bold, defiant tone, and the attempts at prosecution successfully baffled, drew attention to the young printer in all parts of the continent. In North Carolina, the loyalists caused the Spy to be burned by the common hangman, and the printer to be burned in effigy. On the other hand applications were made to Mr. Thomas from the Whigs in different parts of the continent to set up presses, one even coming from Quebec. The hostility of the loyalists of the Province was bitter in the extreme. After the passage of the Boston Port Bill and the arrival of additional troops he was frequently threatened with violence. A British officer, whom he had befriended, informed him that his assassination even had been proposed. The following incident illustrates very well the state of feeling among the soldiers. A countryman, Thomas Ditson Jr. of Billerica, was charged with attempting to purchase of a soldier his musket, and thus enticing hiim to MEMOIR OF ISAIAH THOMAS. Iv steal and sell the property of the King. Ditson declared that a plan had been laid to entrap him and that he was innocent of any bad intention. Col. Nesbitt of the 47th Regiment gave Ditson a mock-trial, then stripped him of his clothes and, coating him from head to foot with tar and feathers, carted him through the streets. The soldiers, with the Colonel at their head, halted before the office of the Spy; the music playing the rogues march, and some of the soldiers crying out, the printer of the Sipy shall be the next to receive this punishment. Other illustrations of the state of feeling towards the printer of the Spy abound. In the Boston Evening Post of September 19th, 1774, is printed a circular letter, which was scattered among the forces, addressed " to the officers and soldiers of His Majesty's troops in Boston." After giving a list of the authors of the rebellion, Samuel Adams, Bowdoin, Hancock, and others, it says " The friends of your King and Country and of America hope and expect from you soldiers, the instant rebellion happens, that you will put the above persons to the sword, destroy their houses and plunder their effects. N. B. Don't forget those trumpeters of sedition, the printers Edes and Gill, and Thomas." It would not be easy to over estimate the services Mr. Thomas rendered the country as the editor and printer of the Spy. He gave the paper and he gave himself without reserve to the cause of freedom. He well understood that if the cause failed he would be one of the earliest victims. He led no man to risk and peril he did not incur himself. Reading the Spy now in the quiet of the library, and in the quiet of peace, one would find much in matter and manner to criticize. But revolutions are not fed and nurtured upon milk and water, or even the clear milk of Ivi HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. human kindness.. Contests are bitter when men are struggling for life or all that makes life worth the living. Rev. Dr. John Eliot in an article in the collections of the Historical Society of 1799 (vol. 6), avers that a more violent class of politicians filled the Spy with their speculations than the Whigs who wrote in the Boston Gazette. Referring especially to the articles signed Centinel, which we have already noticed, he says any one who reads them will now see that the same spirit and principles lead to a dissolution of all Society, and are, like more modern publications on equality and the rights of man, direct attacks on all authority and law. We have read them without reaching this conclusion. Allowance must be made for the difference of things in 1771, and 1799. It is doubtless true, speaking in general terms, that the writers of the Spy, as compared with those of the Gazette, assumed more radical ground and claimed, at an earlier date, for the colonists not only the rights of Englishmen but the rights of man. Perhaps the position of our printer cannot be better indicated than in the superscription of a letter now before me, addressed, April 4th 1775, by John Hancock from the Provincial Congress then sitting at Concord; "To Mr. Isaiah Thomas, Supporter of the Rights and Liberties of Mankind." The Spy early took the ground which the controversy ultimately assumed, and which gives to it its highest dignity and its most profound interest in the history of human progress. When the Spy entered upon the controversy, the gulf, at first narrow between the parties, had been widened and deepened. Substantially the question had become this, the unlimited power of Parliament on the one hand and the rights of self government on the other. The dis MEMOIR OF ISAIAHE THOMAS. Ivii tinction between internal taxes and external had lost its hold upon the popular mind. While the power of regulating commerce was in abeyance, or the laws to enforce it so readily and so commonly evaded, the Colonies were content. The moment they should have been brought into full activity submission would have been at an end. Indeed it was through the partial exercise of this power to regulate trade that the Colonies had suffered their heaviest practical grievances. All revolutions outgrow and leave behind them the issues on which they are started. When the power of Parliament to regulate the trade of the Empire began to be fully understood, when the colonial statesmen saw what had been already the restrictions its exercise had imposed upon the commerce and manufactures of the Colonies and their growth and expansion, when they understood clearly that in the future the interests of the Colonies were to be subordinated to those of the mother-country, and her wealth and prosperity to be secured at the cost of their own, they began to see that it was this very power they had most reason to dread and to contest. The course pursued by Parliament and the Crown had brought the Colonies into concert and union of action and to a sense of their power and strength, and when that began to be felt, the question of separation was one of time only. The Colonies found, as Montesquieu expresses it, that "they had grown to be great nations in the forests they were sent to inhabit." Governor Pownal had said truly, that '" it was essential to the preservation of the empire to keep the Colonies disconnected and independent of each other, that they must cohere in one centre (the mother country), and that they I lviii HJSTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. must be guarded against having or forming any principle of coherence with each other above that whereby they cohere in this centre." Coherence and Union of their own motion he deemed utterly improbable, and so great in fact were the differences of the colonies in their settlements, in their charters and frames of government, in their manners, religion, culture, trade and domestic policy, that Franklin, who best understood the subject, said, that nothing but the oppression of the mother country would ever unite them. In seeking for a policy and institutions fitted to their then condition they were led to look beyond their rights as colonists to their rights as men. But to return to the Spy. If it be true, as I think cannot fairly be denied, that its doctrines struck at the roots of the power of Crown and Parliament, insisting that the time of swaddling clothes had long since past, it was only a little early, possibly a little premature, in assuming the position to which the colonies were finally brought. That in times of revolution extravagant doctrines should be advanced by some of the writers in its columns, history would lead us to expect. It must be admitted also that the tone of the Spy was bitter, sarcastic, sometimes fierce, defiant and exasperating to the last degree; but in this regard it but showed "the age and body of the time, its form and pressure." One has but to glance at the newspapers to see how the questions at issue engrossed the public attention, how little space is given to, how little apparent interest is taken in, the news of the day, and how the columns are crowded with elaborate essays upon questions of abstract right and law. Never was a people better instructed in matters of right and duty. The questions of natural right were more easily understood, and touched and moved more MEMOIR OF ISAIAH THOMAS. lix deeply the mind and heart of the people. In this regard the Spy had signal advantage. In doing justice to the Spy we would do no injustice to the Boston Gazette, with which Mr. Eliot compares it. The articles in the Gazette, perhaps, as a general rule indicated more literary culture in the writers; their historical and legal arguments were more elaborate and finished. It would be a mistake to suppose that the articles in the Gazette were less personal, bitter and inflammatory, than those of the Spy. There was for example a series of papers in the Gazette, beginning December 20th 1772, entitled Needham's Remembrancer written by Josiah Quincy Jr., the noblest Roman of them all. Nothing in the columns of the Spy is more bitter, not to say ferocious, than some of these articles. As the discussion and controversy went on the writers for the Gazette, as well as those of the Spy, are from to-day expanding the claims of the colonies for self government, and narrowing and restricting the powers of Parliament and Crown - rising rapidly to the plane on which the controversy was finally placed. It was self-government to which our fathers were tending, it may be at the first unconsciously, but nevertheless tending. History, from 1763, is a prophesy of the result. It was becoming necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which connected them with another, and to assume among the nations of the earth the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitled them. Mr. Thomas would have been the last person to question the merits of the Boston Gazette. He was a rival, but a generous one. "During the long controversy" he remarks " between Great Britain and her colonies no paper Ix HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. on the continent took a more active part in defence of the country or more ably supported its rights than the Boston Gazette." We can hardly help glancing at the future fortune of the Gazette and its principal proprietor, Benjamin Edes. After the Revolution it lost its great contributors and its tone and policy were changed. It bitterly opposed the adoption of the constitution of the United States and the administration of Washington. The paper declined in power, interest and popular favor, till, after a long struggle, in 1798, it was discontinued for want of support. One cannot but be touched by the old man's farewell address. " The Editor of the Boston Gazette, after repeated attempts to prosecute his professional occupation in the declining period of his life, is at length obliged to relinquish his exertions and to retire to those melancholy paths of domestic embarrassments to which misfortune has consigned him. While thus passing the gloomy valley of old age and infirmity, his consolation still rests on that staff which can support a mind conscious of its own rectitude; and though he often feels the thorns and briers on the road, goading him in his passage, yet he patiently suffers under these afflictions, hoping that ere long he shall arrive at that peaceful abode ' where the weary are at rest.' The cause of Liberty is not always the channel of preferment or pecuniary reward. The little property which he acquired has long since fell a sacrifice; the paper-evidences of his services were soon consumed by their rapid depreciation, and the cares of a numerous family were too powerful to be resisted, though he fed them with property at four shillings and sixpence in the pound, which he faithfully and industriously earned at twenty shillings." MEMOIR OF ISAIAH THOMAS. lxi Mr. Buckingham, in his very interesting reminiscences of printers and editors, thus speaks of the unfortunate old man. "In 1801, I had occasion to call on him at his printing room and found him at work on a small job at the case, while an elderly female (probably one of his daughters) was at the press striking off shop bills. The venerable form of the old man setting types "with spectacles on nose," and the singular sight of a woman, beating and pulling at the press, together with the aspect of destitution that pervaded the whole apartment, presented a scene well adapted to excite sympathy, and to make an impression on the mind, which the vicissitudes of fifty years have not effaced. At length the infirmities of age overcame his physical powers and the curse of poverty lay heavily on his spirit. Oppressed with years and sickness, neglected and forgotten by those who enjoyed the blessings he had helped to secure, he died in December 1803 at the age of eighty years." July 1st 1773, nearly two years before he left Boston, Mr. Thomas sent out the prospectus of the Royal American iMacazine, to be issued monthly. The vessel containing the types for it was cast ashore on Cape Cod, and the first number (for January 1774) was not in fact issued till Febry. 6th 1774. After six months, " on account of the distresses of the town of Boston," Mr. Thomas suspended the publication. It was however purchased by Joseph Greenleaf, the Scsevola of the Spy, and continued till March 1775. A singular feature of the magazine, considering the relation of both Thomas and Greenleaf to Governor Hutchinson, is thus stated by the editor. "c To complete this plan will be added (to begin at the end of the first number and to continue until the whole is finished, printed Ixii HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. in an elegant manner, on fine paper, and occasionally ornamented with copper plate prints, exclusive of those particularly for the magazine) Governor Hutchinson's History of the Massachusetts Bay; which when finished will be worth the cost of the magazine." The magazine is illustrated by nineteen engravings, the most of which are by Paul Revere. The first number has the well known view of the town of Boston, with the several ships of war in the harbor. The last year Mr. Thomas was in Boston, he began the publication of an Almanac. The first number is styled " Thomas' New England Almanac, or the Miassachusetts Calendar for the year of our Lord Christ 1775." Its imprint is " Massachusetts Bay, Boston. Printed and sold by Isaiah Thomas at the printing office, the south corner of Marshall's Lane near the mill bridge." The Almanac was published by Mr. Thomas from 1775 to 1803, and from 1803 to 1819 inclusive, by his son Isaiah Thomas Jr. There is nothing in these Almanacs calling for especial notice. They aided in making the publisher well known, and some fortunate prophecies or guesses as to the weather gained for it something of the reputation of " old Probabilities." They contained a good deal of useful matter which found its way to places where books were little read. In a number before me, that for 1790, are published the tariff of 1789, the proposed Amendments to the Constitution of the United States, the Federal Register, headed by the President of the United States, "I is Highness George Washington Esquire," and the Judiciary Act of 1789. In that of 1791 is the whole of Franklin's Way to Wealth. To resume our story. It was not alone as editor and printer of an influential journal that Mr. Thomas was able MEMOIR OF ISAIAH THOMAS. Ixiii or ready to serve his country. He was personally one of the most active of Sons of Liberty. Wherever work difficult and hazardous was to be done, he was to be found. The meetings of the patriots are frequently held at his office. After the workmen have retired, the master remains to print hand-bills that are posted throughout the town before morning, to startle the timid and rouse the lethargic. For the five years following his return to Boston his life was a daily warfare. The tone of his paper, its sharp criticisms not only upon the provincial civil officers but upon the conduct and bearing of the military, excited against him hostility personal as well as political. Threats, as before stated, of violence, of assassination even, are frequently made; whether to alarm only cannot now be determined. His friends did not so regard them. They knew he was on the list of the proscribed, and believed he would be among the earliest victims. He sent his family to Watertown to be safe from the perils to which he was daily exposed. For a few days before the battle of Lexington his friends insisted upon his keeping himself secluded. He went to Concord to consult with Mr. Hancock and other leading members of the Provincial Congress. He opened to them his situation, which indeed the Boston members well understood. Mr. Hancock and his other friends advised and urged him to remove from Boston immediately; in a few days, they said, it would be too late. They seemed to understand well what a few days would bring forth. He came back to Boston, packed up his presses and types, and on the 16th of April, to use his own phrase, " stole them out of town in the dead of night." Thomas was aided in their removal by General Warren and Colonel Bigelow. They were carried across the ferry to Charles 1xiv HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. town and thence put on their way to Worcester. Two nights after, the royal troops were on their way to Lexington, and the next evening after, Boston was entirely shut up. Mr. Thomas did not go with his presses and types to Worcester. Having seen them on their way he returned to the city. The conversation at Concord, as well as his own observation, had satisfied him that important events were at hand. He went out on the night of the 18th of April, to assist in giving notice that the troops were crossing the Charles river. HIe returned, but was out again by daylight. Crossing the ferry with Dr. Warren he went into a public meeting at Charlestown and urged the arming of the people, and was opposed by one Mr. Russell " on principles of prudence." As one of the minute men, he engages in the fight which was the beginning of the end. At night he goes to Medford. On the morning of the 20th, he makes a flying visit to his family at Watertown, and then starts on foot for Worcester. -Ie is constantly met on his journey by bodies of armed men on their way to Cambridge, anxious to learn even the minutest details of yesterday's fight. After traveling on foot some miles, he meets with a friend who procures him the loan of a horse. Late at night, weary and travel worn, he arrives at Worcester to begin life anew; a good head and stout heart his only capital. Worcester was one of the places where Mr. Thomas had been invited to set up a press. The necessity for a Whig paper in this stronghold of the loyalists had been felt by Colonel Bigelow, the patriot blacksmith soldier and statesman, and the other leading Whigs of the town and county. Mr. Thomas made an agreement to do so early in 1775, but without any purpose of giving up the MEMOIR OF ISAIAH THOMAs. Ixv press at Boston. The presses and types sent before him were all that were left as the fruit of five years' toil and peril. A sum exceeding three thousand dollars (and a dollar meant something then, though soon to lose its meaning) was due him from subscribers, scattered over the continent. In times of peace most of this would have been collected. It was now worthless. Paper it was hard to get at any price, and the printer's means of purchase, present and prospective, were cut off. The list of Worcester subscribers was less than two hundred, town and county. Things were at a stand still. On the 24th of April, 1775, Samuel Adams and John Hancock were at Worcester, on their way to the Continental Congress at Philadelphia. They were there, some days, waiting the arrival of their colleagues and a military escort. We have no report of the interview between the patriot printer and the patriot statesmen. But on the journal of the Committee of Safety of the Province is this entry, April 29th, 1775. "Letters from Colonel Hancock now at Worcester were read, whereupon voted that four reams of paper be immediately ordered to Worcester for the use of Mr. Thomas, printer; he to be accountable." Though the letter requesting that paper be sent to Mr. Thomas has been lost, a very interesting one written from Worcester by Mr. Hancock, on the evening of his arrival, has been preserved. It is addressed to the Committee of Safety. I have space for a brief extract only. "Boston must be entered, the troops must be sent away or (blank). Our friends are valuable but our country must be saved. I have an interest in that town; what can be the enjoyment of that to me if I am obliged to hold it at the will of General Gage, or any one else. I doubt not your vigilance, your fortitude and resolution." One can Ixvi HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. not but conjecture that the young printer may have seen and read, with delight, that letter before it was put on its way to Watertown. On the third of May the Spy reappears at Worcester. In his address to his readers the editor says: " I beg the assistance of all the friends of our righteous cause to circulate this paper. They may rely that the utmost of my poor endeavors shall be used to maintain those rights and privileges for which we and our fathers have bled;" words that on the 30th of May, 1775, were something more than rhetoric. The place of publication was not however definitely settled. Mr. Thomas was directed by the Committee of Safety to bring his press to Concord. He goes there to find that the Provincial Congress had adjourned to Watertown. He goes to Watertown, and is advised by leading members of the Congress that it will be best to remain at Worcester for the present, to do the printing for Congress, the army and Committee of Safety, at that place establishing a post, what we should call an express, between Worcester and Watertown and Cambridge, to transmit orders and return the work when done. Following this course, on the 8th "of May the Provincial Congress appoints a committee to transcribe the narrative of the proceedings of the King's troops on the 19th ult., together with depositions thereof accompanying, to be transmitted to Mr. Thomas for immediate publication." On the 12th of May the Committee of Safety "voted, that Mr. Isaiah Thomas have sixty reams of printing crown paper and eight reams of printing demy paper supplied to him by the committee of supplies; they taking his obligation to be accountable to the Colony for the amount thereof." MEMOIR OF ISAIAH THOMAS. Ixvii Mr. Thomas did account for the paper sent him to the last penny. Though the Congress and the Committee of Safety assumed to direct his movements, I cannot find that he ever received any favor from them, or sought any. They supplied him twice with paper, and he paid for it by his work. In his day of extremest want he would not feed from the public crib. In the summer, Samuel and Ebenezer I-all moved from Salem and set up a press in Stoughton HIall, Cambridge. Mr. Edes also escaped from Boston and set up a press at Watertown. After their removal, the printing of the Congress and the Committee of Safety passed into their hands. There was no further occasion for the risk and expense of sending their work to Worcester. With some view and for some purpose, which I have not been able to discover, in the latter part of May, Mr. Thomas started on foot for a journey to New York. So well was the printer of the Spy known, so familiar was his story, that innkeepers on the way would receive no pay for meals and lodging, nor boatmen for carrying him across the ferries. From New York he went to Philadelphia to see the members of the Continental Congress. Some of its leaders were personally known to him. I-le returned to his labors deeply impressed by their wisdom and patriotism, more ready and willing than ever to work for the "' righteous cause" to which they were devoting themselves. Materials are wanting for a connected and detailed narrative of Mr. Thomas's life during the Revolution. The Spy is indeed the weekly record of thought and opinion, but he seldom speaks of matters merely personal. A few incidents only can now be gathered up. In May, 1775, the Provincial Congress established a system of post-riders and post-offices to continue until other provision was made by 1xviii HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. the Continental Congress or the Province. In the resolve establishing the system Mr. Thomas was appointed Postmaster for Worcester. In the fall of 1775 the Continental Congress established a post-office department for all the colonies; that which had existed under the Crown having been broken up by the disorders of the times. Dr. Franklin was appointed Postmaster, with power to establish such post routes and appoint such deputies as he should think proper. He selected Mr Thomas for the office at Worcester. His commission was several times renewed by Franklin's successors. It was in the year following (1776) that Franklin was at Worcester, and Mr. Thomas first became acquainted with the man to whose history and character his own, in a humble way, had many points of resemblance. We get some glimpses of Mr. Thomas in the autumn of 1775 and spring of 1776 from the recollections of Benjamin Russell, better known as Ben Russell, afterward the distinguished editor of the Boston Centinel, who in August 1775 was carried by his father to Worcester and indentured as an apprentice to Mr. Thomas. The stories which old men tell of their youth are seldom spoiled from lack of condiment. Those of Mr. Russell were always racy. His master, Mr. Russell used to say, was not at that time in very affluent circumstances. During the first year, he with a fellow apprentice slept in a garret over the printing office on the rags that were taken from time to time for the paper maker. Not only his apprentices but the master himself frequently made their meals at the office on bread and milk, bought by the pennyworth at a time. Mr. Thomas remained at Worcester editing and printing the Spy till the spring of 1776, when he leased for a MEMOIR OF ISAIAH THOMAS. lxix year a part of his printing apparatus and his newspaper to William Stearns and Daniel Bigelow, two young gentlemen of the Bar of Worcester, intelligent and patriotic, but with no experience in editing, much less in printing a newspaper. With the small remaining part of his printing materials he went to Salem, with the view of starting business, but " obstructions arising" he sold his press and types and gave up the plan. The nature of the obstructions will be understood when we learn that three writs of attachment were served upon his press and types in a single evening; and that he was compelled to sell them to pay his debts. In the year 1777 he leased again the Spy and his press at Worcester to Antony Haswell. His family, in 1776 and 1777, were living on a small farm in Londonderry, New Hampshire. They must have been dark years to him. HIow he was employed I have not been able to learn. I only know that he was always industrious, and that, somehow or other, he got through them and supported his family. There was at least one bright day for him in their calendar. While on a visit to Worcester, July 24th, 1776, he read from the porch of the South Church, to an assembly consisting of almost the entire population of that and adjoining towns, the declaration of independence. He may well have had a just pride in the reading of that declaration. He could not fail to see it was grounded on principles he had been among tile earliest to espouse and defend. The declaration was received with every demonstration of joy and confidence. The King's arms were taken from the Court House and burned to ashes. The sign was removed from the King's Arms tavern, and a joyful celebration had there in the evening, when twenty-one patriotic toasts were given, and Ixx HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. the punch flowed freely. Russell, who seems to have been leased to Stearns and Bigelow with the press and paper, in describing the affair to Mr. Buckingham said, "we were all so happy we did not know exactly what we did, but we gave full vent to our patriotic feelings till a late hour in the evening. We were a little surprised in the morning to find that about a dozen of us had enlisted as private soldiers in the army; a recruiting officer being then in the town." Mr. Thomas however got him released on the ground that he was not sixteen years of age. In the spring of 1778, Mr. Thomas returned to Worcester, took possession of his press, and resumed the publication of the Spy. Worcester was thenceforth to be his home; in it he was to pass the remainder of his long life. He was very fortunate in the place of his residence. There were disadvantages in doing business so far from the seaboard, but saving this, all else was propitious. Worcester was one of the largest and most beautiful of the inland towns of Massachusetts Bay, indeed of the New England Colonies. The village was then, and for half a century later, on one broad, beautiful street, in a lovely valley environed by hills of gentle ascent and well rounded summits. The view as you entered the village from the east was charming. The long broad street arched with graceful elms; the neat, many of them elegant and spacious, mansions standing back from the way with grass plats or flower beds in front, and shrubbery at their sides, and the general air of comfort, refinement and taste, delighted all travelers. The town was some six miles square, and agriculture its chief pursuit; but it was the shire of the county and in its central village. Within a mile's compass, were gathered the county officers, eminent lawyers, and a number of mer MEMOIR OF ISAIAH THOMAS. Ixxi chants and traders who supplied the wants of a large surrounding country. It had several large inns, like the Kings Arms, well known throughout the Bay and places of much resort, not only during the terms of the courts, but at all seasons of the year. John Adams, when its village schoolmaster, has, in his diary, given us some pleasant sketches of society in Worcester some twenty years before our date, and of his taking tea with the Putnams, Greens, Chandlers, and Macartys of the village; a custom not yet obsolete. Then, as ever since, Worcester was distinguished for its agreeable and cultivated society, for the number of its eminent men and attractive and accomplished women. Some members of the older families who had adhered to the crown had left in 1778, but there were new accessions among the Whigs, the Lincolns and Allens, Waldos and Salisburys, to fill their places. But the fact of greatest importance in this new home of the young printer is that it was alive and growing. As well bury a young man at once as plant him in a place that is torpid or retroceding, where the spirit of enterprise and thrift has died out. Few young men are capable of resisting its repressing and becalming influences. It was a hard time to begin business anew. All business was disordered by a paper currency daily depreciating; materials and labor were difficult to be procured; subscriptions to his paper hard to be got and harder to be collected. Mr. Thomas however started with new resolution and courage which carried him through the war even, with some small measure of pecuniary success. In a few months after his return he was so fortunate as to purchase some new types, which were taken in a vessel from London lxxii HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. and the Spy came out in a new dress. Removed from the personal collisions, insults and threats, to which he had been subjected by the officers and soldiers, and their allies in Boston, the tone and temper of the paper, while equally patriotic and firm, were more temperate and impersonal. Many of the loyalists had left the province; those who remained were quiet and inactive. Though Mr. Thomas was the editor, many able writers among the patriots contributed to the columns of the Spy. It did an excellent work, not merely by giving accurate information of the progress of the war but in keeping up the hope and trust of the people. The " trumpeter" gave no uncertain sound. In 1780 Mr. Thomas was drafted as a soldier. He must go or procure a substitute; there was no money commutation. He was felt to be an useful soldier at home that could not be spared from his press; and his apprentice Russell readily consented to go in his place. Russell's term was but six months and he never was in battle. He joined the army at West Point and was one of the guard who attended Major Andre to the place of execution. Upon his return, Mr. Russell thought that in consideration of his service he ought to be discharged from his apprenticeship, and Thomas, though reluctant to part with so good a workman, consented. Mr. Thomas from his return to Worcester in 1778 seems to have gained ground slowly but steadily. The circulation of his paper was extended, and he added to his income a little by job printing. From 1781, and especially after the peace of 1783, his progress was more marked and rapid. New types and better paper were procured for the Spy, and it was enlarged to five columns. It was, says Mr. Buckingham, a most competent judge, well conducted and filled with excellent matter. Besides MEMOIR OF ISAIAH T}HOMAS. Ixxiii selections of news and communications on interesting subjects, the whole of Robertson's History of America, Gordon's hIistory of the Revolution, and large extracts from Guthrie's Geography, and other British publications, enriched its pages and made it more valuable than any paper published in Massachusetts." To the business of editing and publishing a newspaper he added that of printing, publishing and selling books, at the first however in a small way. For the two years from March 1786 to March 1788 the publication of the Spy was suspended, and in its place was printed, in octavo form, the Worcester JMfagazine. The reasons for the suspension were these. In March, 1785, the General Court laid a stamp duty of two thirds of a penny on newspapers and a penny on almanacs. This law revived the memories of 1765, and was so odious that it was repealed before it went into operation. In July, 1785, an act was passed imposing a duty on all advertisements in newspapers printed in the state. This act was thought by Thomas and other printers to be a still greater grievance. "A shackle," says the Spy, "which no legislature but ours, in British or United America, have laid upon the press, which when free is the great bulwark of liberty." The act was very unpopular (the only excuse for it was that government must be supported), and was repealed. In April, 1788, the Spy reappeared. "The printer has once more the pleasure of presenting to the public the Massachusetts Spy or Worcester Gazette, restored to its constitutional liberty (thanks to our present legislature) after a suspension of two years." The Worcester iMagazine was after all the Spy with a new name and form without the advertisements. The K lxxiv HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. magazine for the two years makes four volumes octavo. In it will be found, with much other interesting matter, very full accounts of the Shays rebellion, and of the proceedings and discussions leading to the formation and adoption of the constitution of the United States. Mr. Thomas, though appreciating and sympathizing with the sufferings of the people, was a firm supporter of the government. In a position with his postriders to obtain early information of the plans and movements of' the rebels, he was able to render important aid to the authorities in Boston. I-e was not by nature rebel or radical. He had a strong love of liberty, of the state and personal, but it was liberty regulated by law. In the Spy and Magazine Mr. Thomas supported the adoption of the constitution of the TUnited States. Popular opinion in the county was against it. We observe that he is very careful to publish everything that Washington said or wrote on the subject, and this not only from the unbounded reverence he had for the man but from a sense of the vast influence his voice and judgment would have in determining the question. It is not perhaps too much to say, that the weight of that influence turned the scale. The knowledge that Washington approved of it, the general expectation that he would be called to administer it, conciliated and drew to its support men whose prepossessions were all against it, who found it difficult to reconcile such large central power with local independence and home government. Washington, it is well known, felt a deep interest in the action of Massachusetts. On the last page of the last number of the magazine is a letter of his to a gentleman in Boston (General Lincoln), in which after speaking of the candid and conciliatory MEMOIR OF ISAIAEI THOMAS. 1xxv course of the minority of the convention after the vote had been taken, he says: '" The adoption of the constitution in Massachusetts will, I presume, have great influence in obtaining a favorable determination upon it in those states which have not yet decided." No man felt more quickly the invigorating influences of the adoption of the national constitution and the putting into operation the national government than Mr. Thomas. His business was rapidly built up and extended. I-He embarked in the art or mystery of making and selling books in all its branches. I-e conducted it with great enterprise, skill and judgment, and as the fruit of these with great success. lIe built a large paper mill and made his own paper, le printed books, he established an extensive bindery, and he sold at wholesale and retail his own publications and all new works from the presses at London. IHis business extended to almost every part of the Union. Atonetime hehadunder his control, and that of his partners, sixteen presses constantly employed, seven of them in Worcester. lie had five bookstores in Massachusetts, one in Concord, New Hampshire, one in Albany, New York, and one in Baltimore. His business at Worcester alone would be regarded as extensive even in this age of the multiplication of books. Viewed with reference to the time and place, a village then so far in the interior and with so few facilities of communication, it affords striking proof of his business capacity. In 1788 Mr. Thomas established a printing and bookselling business in Boston, taking with him as partner a former apprentice, Ebenezer T. Andrews, under the firm of Thomas and Andrews. This store was in Newbury street under the sign of Faust's head. It speaks well for Mr. Ixxvi IISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. Thomas that his partners, in almost every instance, were persons who had learned their art and trade with him. A large and successful business was carried on by the firm of Thomas and Andrews. They published from 1789 to 1793, inclusive, the Massachusetts Magazine, a monthly devoted to letters and the arts, and illustrated by engravings. It was quite popular and useful in its day; and an examination of it now may serve at least to mark the progress we have made in general culture and in art. The store and printing office in Boston were but a branch of his business. Mr. Thomas remained at Worcester, and his principal establishment was there. It may give some further idea of its materials and resources to state that his, for that day, splendid editions of the Bible, in folio (with fifty copper plates) and quarto, were carried through in a little more than twelve months. He was in fact one of the largest book publishers of his time on either side of the Atlantic. As editor of a newspaper and almanac, as printer, publisher and seller of school books, Bibles, law books, and books of general literature, the name of Isaiah Thomas became throughout the country a household word. His work was remarkable for elegance and accuracy. Rev. Peter Whitney, the historian of Worcester county, says, "his editions of the Bible are found upon examination the most correct of any now extant." The celebrated Brissot (de Warville), the famous Girondist leader, in his travels in the United States in 1788, says: " Nous allimes diner a Worcester a 48 miles deBoston; cette ville estjoue ct bien peuplee; l'imprimeur Isaias Thomas l'a rendue celebre dans tout le continent Americain. I1 imprime la plupart des ouvrages que paroissent; etl'on avouer que ses editions sent correctes et bien soignecs. Thomas est le Didot des MEMOIR OF ISAIAh THOMAS. Ixxvii Etats-Unis." A relative of Dr. Franklin, in a letter before me, says: " Being one day in the Doctor's library, I opened an elegant folio Bible and said, this is a most splendid edition. Yes, he said, it was printed by Baskerville, the greatest printer in England, and your countryman Mr. Thomas of Worcester is the Baskerville of America." As England produces now in the art of printing no superior to Baskerville we shall have to give considerable force to the addition " of America." The remark no doubt had something in it of personal kindness. Mr. Thomas had known Franklin for many years. IHe had been appointed postmaster by him, and Franklin had visited him at Worcester. It would have been enough to have secured Franklin's regard that Mr. Thomas was so good a patriot; his skill in printing was another bond of sympathy. Dr. Franklin, like all printers who have become eminent, retained a great affection for the art. Mr. Thomas saw him for the last time in 1788, when a number of printers and booksellers met at Philadelphia to form some rules for the benefit of the trade. Mr. Thomas and Benjamin Franklin Bache, the grandson of Franklin, were of the number. After the first meeting Mr. Thomas had a long conversation with Dr. Franklin upon the objectsof the meeting. Dr. Franklin manifested a deep interest in the matter. Unable to go abroad from the state of his health, he desired to have the next meeting at his own house. The convention of course felt itself greatly honored by such a request, and the Doctor, though suffering constant pain from the calculus, entered freelyinto the plans and discussions of the meeting. Hle was then in his eighty-third year, suffering constant bodily pain, but with a mind as vigorous, a wisdom as large and practical, and manners as easy and winning, as in the noon of life. 1xxviii HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. The man for whom Mr. Thomas had, if possible, a yet higher reverence, Washington, visited Worcester in the course of his New England tour in the autumn of 1789. The ASpy of October 22d 1789 has a notice of his brief visit. " Information being received on Thursday morning (October 22d) that his Highness would be in town the next morning, a number of respectable citizens, about forty, paraded before sunrise on horseback, and went as far as Leicester line to welcome him, and escorted him into town. The Worcester company of artillery, commanded by Major Treadwell, were already assembled; on notice being given that his H-ighness was approaching, five cannon were fired for the five New England States; three for the three in the Union; one for Vermont which will speedily be admitted; and one as a call to Rhode Island to be ready before it be too late. When the President General arrived in sight of the meeting house, eleven cannon were fired; he viewed with attention the artillery company as he passed, and expressed to the inhabitants his sense of the honor done him. He stopped at the United States Arms and breakfasted, and then proceeded on his journey. To gratify the inhabitants he politely passed through the town on horseback, dressed in a brown suit, and pleasure glowed in every countenance; eleven cannon were then fired. The gentlemen of the town escorted him a few miles, when they took their leave." E. Smith Thomas, a nephew of Isaiah Thomas, was then one of his apprentices. " A boy of fourteen," he writes many years afterwards, I was presented to Washington by my distinguished kinsmian, Isaiah Thomas. I can never forget his words or my feelings on the occasion. 'Young man' he said, 'your uncle has set you a bright example of MEMOIR OF ISAIAII THOMAS. Ixxix patriotism, and never forget that next to our God we owe our highest duty to our country."' Smith Thomas went to live with his uncle, to learn the art of printing, in 1788. In the reminiscences of his life and times, published in 1840, we find some notices of his kinsman. Speaking of the Spy, he says: " Mr. Thomas was a pungent writer, possessing a clear and strong style, with the most biting sarcasm." This is extravagant. "' He was constantly aided by the powerful pens of General Ward, Dwight Foster, Edward Bangs, and others, so that his paper, which was a small weekly sheet, was always well filled with matter calculated to confirm the patriotic in their course and prevent the wavering from going over to the enemy." (He had then built his extensive printing office, bookstore and bindery.) "Few gentlemen passed through Worcester without calling to see the proprietor and his establishment, who never failed to treat them with the most marked politeness. In his person Mr. Thomas was tall and elegantly formed, in his dress fashionable to a fault, in his manners elegant, with a mind stored by a most extensive acquaintance with the best authors whether in literature or science." With fair allowance for the relation of the parties and the impression the accomplished master makes on tie apprentice, and the teacher on the pupil, the description conforms to the general recollection of Mr. Thomas's contemporaries. Into the cultivated society of the town, the self educated printer and bookseller made easy way, and in intellectual culture and manners found himself among equals. When his business had expanded, and his income enlarged, he built what was for the time a spacious and plegant mansion, Ixxx HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. which during his long life was the seat of an open, refined and generous hospitality. Mr. Thomas was a supporter of the administration of Washington and of the Federal party. He was not, according to the standard of his times, a bitter partizan, but those were times when men had strong convictions and expressed them clearly, not to say fiercely. We' have seen with what ardor and at what peril and sacrifice he maintained the liberties of the colonies -indeed liberty everywhere. The experience of the war and of the seven years of confusion and disorder which followed it, taught him the necessity of a strong, stable, efficient, national government. Hle believed the constitution had been so framed and adopted, and should be so administered, as to give the country such a government. Under such a government he lived to see his country free, prosperous, happy. In his preface to his edition of the Bible, in 1791, he says: " The general state of our country must afford satisfaction to every benevolent mind. Evidences of increasing prosperity present themselves on every side to our view. Abroad, our national character is rising to dignity and eminence, at home, confidence is established in our government, the spirit of patriotism appears to be the actuating principle with the distinguished characters of our age, and the greatest exertions are making for the public good. The civil and religious rights of men are generally understood, and by all enjoyed. The sciences which open to the minds of men a view of the works and ways of God, and the arts which tend to the support, the convenience, and the ornament of society, begin to receive proper encouragement from the administration of state and national governments; and by the application and enterprise of individuals arc MEMOIR OF ISAIAH THIOMAS. lxxxi approaching to excellence and perfection. The means of a good education are daily becoming more general, and the present spirit of industry and economy, which pervades all classes of men, furnishes the brightest prospects of future prosperity and welfare. While a general solicitude prevails to encourage the Arts and to promote national honor, dignity and happiness, can any be indifferent to those improvements which are necessary to secure to all the free and independent exercise of the Pights of Conscience? The civil authority hath set an example of moderation and candor to all Christians, by securing equal privileges to all; and it must be their ardent and united wish, independently of foreign aid, to be supplied with copies of the sacred Scriptures -the foundation of their religion-a religion which furnishes motives to the faithful performance of every patriotick, civil and social duty, -superior to the temptations of ambition, avarice and selfishness; which opens prospects to the human mind that will be realized when the relation to civil government shall be dissolved, and which will raise its real disciples to their highest glory and happiness, when the monuments of human genius, art and enterprise, shall be lost in the general dissolution of nature." In 1802 Mr. Thomas relinquished his business in Worcester to his son, who bore his name and shared his tastes. Though he had acquired an ample fortune he was not a man to remain idle. He was not merely a printer of books but a reader, and early began the collection of a library. Amid the cares of a vast business he always found some time for reading and study. He was strongly attached to the art to which, for nearly half a century, he had been devoted. There was no history of printing in America, lxxxii HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. and he would try to supply the want. There was danger that many of the facts would be irrecoverably lost. He had known personally the leading printers of his time and had heard the story of many earlier printers from their successors. No person then living had so much knowledge of the subject, not to be found in books -the unwritten history. But he spares no labor or expense in gathering the materials for his work. The collection of newspapers for the purpose, with those he already possessed, made the largest collection in the country. The modest view of Mr. Thomas was not so much to write the history as to collect and preserve the materials for a history. eIc " makes no pretence to elegance of diction" but is content with a plain, unadorned statement of facts;" yet there are some of the biographical sketches whose easy, simple and attractive style, reminds us of the greatest American printer, writer, statesman and thinker. The result of his researches and labors was the History of iPrinting, published in 1810, in two volumes octavo. Upon the value of this contribution to the history of the country I will not enlarge. Its general accuracy and fidelity have been recognized by historians, students, and antiquarians. In his business as printer and bookseller, in gathering the materials for his history of printing, having a deep personal interest in the annals of a country whose course he had watched, not idly, from colonial dependence to national greatness, a lover and reader of books, touched early by the gentlest of infirmities, bibliomania, he had collected a library especially rich as to the fountains and springs (fontes et origines) of American history. His researches had taught him the value of such a collection; his observation MEMOIR OF ISAIAu THOMAS. Ixxxiii and experience had shown him how quickly the sources of our history were drying up, how rapidly the monuments of the past were crumbling and wasting away. He saw and understood, no man better, from what infinitely varied and minute sources the history of a nation's life was to be drawn; that the only safe rule was to gather up all the fragments so that nothing be lost. It was in the light of this experience, and with a view to garner up and preserve the materials of our history, that he conceived the plan of the American Antiquarian Society, of making his own library the basis of its collections, and of giving to the cause of good letters a liberal share of the fortune he had acquired in their service. It was in January, 1812, that his intent and purpose of founding the society were first suggested to his friends, the Rev. Dr. Bancroft and Dr. Oliver Fiske of Worcester. In the spring and summer of that year, in consultation with them and other friends, a plan was matured, and on the 12th of October a petition was presented to the legislature of Massachusetts for an act of incorporation. The petition was signed by Isaiah Thomas, William Paine, Levi Lincoln, Nathaniel Paine, Aaron Bancroft, and Edward Bangs. This was in the war, when political strife was bitter, but the cause of letters brought together men who were antipodes in political faith. On the 19th of October Mr. Thomas went to Boston to wait upon the committee to whom the petition had been referred, and on the 20th a bill was drawn. It passed the -louse the 23d, the Senate the 24th, and was approved by Governor Strong, and became a law the same day. The petition, in stating the objects of the society, has one line which is the key to the society's history, to assist the re lxxxiv HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. searches of the future historians of our country." The persons incorporated were among the most eminent citizens of the commonwealth in all the walks of cultivated life. The society was organized at the Exchange Coffee lHouse in Boston on the 19th of November 1812, and Mr. Thomas elected president. At the beginning the annual nmetin gs were held in Boston. On the first, Oct. 23d, 1813, a public address was delivered at the Stone Chapel by the Rev. Dr. Jenks. In 1814 an address was delivered in the same church by Dr. Wm. Paine, and the society was escorted to and from the Chapel by the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company. The library given by Mr. Thomas, consisting of about three thousand volumnes, was kept for eight years in his nmansion on Court Hill; he, constantly, we might say daily, adding to its collections. In the fall of 1820, it was removed to Antiquarian HIall, erected for the society by Mr. Thomas at a cost of ten thousand dollars. The first volume of the Collections and Transactions of the society was also prepared and published at his expense. IIis interest in the society never abated. HIe was at workl for it diligently and happily to the very close of his ilfe. He was relected president till his death. By his will he gave funds for the support of a permanent librarian, and for incidenltal purposes, amounting in the whole to twenty-four thousand dollars. His entire gifts to the society in books, land, building, and legacies by his will, would not fall short of fifty thousand dollars. His was among the early examples in our country of giving in a man's lifetime, and so giving his own. "Defer not charities till death," says Lord Bacon, " for certainly, if a man weigh it rightly, he that doth so is rather liberal of another man's MEMOIR OF ISAIAH THOMAS. Ixxxv than his own." Mr. Thomas's gifts to public uses during his lifetime exceeded those by his will. Indeed, I incline to the opinion that he gave away in his life more than he accumulated. Since Mr. Thomas's death, the society has gone on quietly, without parade, successfully accomplishing the purpose, gradually becoming more and more clearly defined, of collecting and preserving the materials of American history. It has published four volumes of Collections and Transactions, which, where original, are marked with precise learning and thorough research; and, where republications, by careful editing and annotations. It is not too much to say they are most valuable contributions to our history. The library has rapidly increased, so that it has now overfifty-three thousand volumes, reckoning ten pamphlets as a volume. Thanks to the munificence of its present president and other friends, it has now a new library building, and land for its extension, and well invested funds to the amount of eighty thousand dollars. The services of Mr. Thomas to his country and to letters were appreciated and recognized by his fellow citizens. So far as I can learn, he had no aspirations for political life or official service. The party to whose principles he constantly adhered was in the minority at Worcester during most of his active life. Had it been otherwise, he had neither taste, nor perhaps any peculiar aptitude, for public service. Beside this, though just and kind to others, he liked to do his own thinking, and the free use of lips and pen; and such men are apt to find the post of honor in a private station. In that station he wielded a large influence, and few men of his day were more widely known. He was made a member of many scientific, historical and philanthropic societies throughout the country; among nu lxxxvi HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. merous others, the American Philosophical Society of Philadelphia, the New York Historical Society, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Massachusetts Historical Society. He received the honorary degree of Master of Arts from Dartmouth College, and that of Doctor of Laws from Alleghany College, Pennsylvania. He died on the 4th of April 1831. His funeral took place on the 7th, when a very interesting address on his life and public services was delivered by Isaac Goodwin Esq. of the Worcester Bar. This imperfect memoir, the materials for which have been collected with much tribulation, has shown, I hope, that, in three things especially, Mr. Thomas rendered valuable service to his country - as the editor and printer of a newspaper which was an able and fearless advocate of the rights of the colonies and of man, as the author of the Ilistory of Printing, and as the founder and benefactor of the American Antiquarian Society. In the relations of townsman, neighbor, friend, we have estimates of his life and character by those who had the fullest opportunity and capacity to judge. The late Governor Lincoln, and this is laudari ab laudato viro, in his pleasant reminiscences of the Worcester Fire Society, thus speaks of Mr. Thomas. " With a strong and vigorous mind and a cultivated intellect, enterprise, energy and industry in early life gave him wealth, and possessed of this, he lived in courtly style, and with beneficent liberality. * * * He was a public spirited citizen, generous in his contributions to all worthy objects, and a most efficient cooperator with others in promoting the growth, improvement and prosperity of the place. The city is full of memorials of his good deeds." Perhaps a higher tribute was paid to him by his counsellor MEMOIR OF ISAIAH THOMAS. Ixxxvii and friend of many years, Samuel M. Burnside, when he said that" Young men, just entering into active life, and engaging in the untried and perplexing mazes of business, seldom looked to him in vain for advice, for patronage, for assistance." William Lincoln, the accomplished historian of Worcester, familiar with every detail of its record, says: "I while his private charity relieved the distresses, his public munificence promoted the improvements of the town." After an enumeration of his benefactions to the municipal corporation he adds, "' few local works for the public good were accomplished without the aid of his purse or efforts." Mr. Lincoln closes his interesting memoir of Mr. Thomas with eulogy not more beautiful than it is just. "The incidents of the life of Dr. Thomas have occupied broad space in these poor annals. His memory will be kept green when the recollection of our other eminent citizens shall have faded in oblivion. His reputation in future time will rest as a patriot on the manly independence which gave, through the initiatory stages and progress of the revolution, the strong influence of the press he directed to the cause of freedom, when royal flattery and favor would have seduced, and the powers of government subdued its action; as an antiquarian, by the minuteness and fidelity of research in the History of Printing; as a philanthropist, on the foundation and support of a great national society whose usefulness, with the blessing of Providence, will increase through distant centuries." I HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. SPANISH AMERICA. The art of printing was first introduced into Spanish America, as early as the middle of the sixteenth century. The historians, whose works I have consulted, are all silent as to the time when it was first practiced on the American continent; and the knowledge we have of the Spanish territories, especially of Mexico and Peru, is so circumscribed, that we cannot fix on any precise date as the period of its commencement; but it is certain that printing was executed, both in Mexico and Peru, long before it made its appearance in the British North American colonies. I do not mean to assert, however, that it is impossible to ascertain the place where, and the exact date when, the first printing was performed in the extensive provinces belonging to Spain in America; but as respects myself, I have found that insurmountable difficulties have attended the inquiry.1 When Mr. Thomas wrote his History of Printing in America, little was known of its introduction in Spanish America. All the works he had consulted on the subject were silent as to the time. Historians of the art were ignorant on this point, for the reason that if there existed in Europe any specimens of very early printing in America, the investigator did not know under what name to search for them. A writer sixty years ago is excusable for the lack of correct information, since Mr. Humphreys, one of the highest authorities and most recent authors on the history of printing, says that the art " was introduced in America by Mcndoza in 1 2 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. Chevillier refers his readers to some books printed early at Lima, the capital of Peru.' Luckombe writes2 that " Printing was extended to Africa and America, not indeed at the invitation bf the natives, especially of America, but by means of the Europeans; and, particularly, of the Spanish missionaries, who carried it to the latter for their ends; accordingly, we find that several printing houses were established very early in the city of Lima, and in several cities of the kingdom of Mexico." I am of opinion that the first printing press erected in America was in the city of Mexico. I have, however, been enabled to ascertain the time when the art of printing was introduced into Mexico with greater precision than any writer whose works have come under my inspection, and have become acquainted with the name of one of the earliest Spanish American printers, and can state with a tolerable degree of certainty that the press was established some years before 1569, in the city of Mexico. In 1571 a large and laborious work was printed there, entitled Vocabvlario _En-Lengva Castellana y Mexicana, compuesto por el muy Reuerendo Padre Fray Alonso de Molina de la Orden del bienauenturado nuestro Padre Sant IFrancisco. Dirigido al mvy excelente senor Don Martin Enriquez Visorrey destanueua kEspana. -En Mexico, en Casa de Antonio de Spinosa, 1571.3 1566, his printer being Antonio Espinoza." (JIist. Art of Printing. Lond., 1868, p. 206). Rather than attempt to alter Mr. Thomas's remarks, we have preferred to give in the appendix a new article on the history of printing in Spanish America, which has been furnished us by Hon. John R. Bartlett, of Providence, R. I. See Appendix A. —IT 1 Chevillier, a French writer, was library keeper at the Sorbonne, (b. 1636, d. 1700). 2 History and Art of Printing, p. 41. 3 Spanish, as well as English and French orthography, has varied since this book was printed. The words Sant, Visorrey, destanueua, are now written San, visrey, de esta nueva. The title and imprint of this curious book, which is a folio volume of 568 pages, when translated into Eng SPANISH AMERICA. 3 A press was secretly established by the Jesuits at Cordova soon after they settled in Spanish America, at which were printed grammars and dictionaries of Peru and the missions. Printing was prohibited, excepting for the use of government, in all the Spanish provinces; and Vicente Pazos asserts that " at the breaking out of the revolution, in 1810, from Lima to Monte Video, for an extent of more than one thousand leagues, including P ru, Chili, and Rio de la Plata, countries filled with cities, illages, universities, colleges, schools, tribunals of justice, and men of wealth and science, there was but one miserable old printing press, and this formerly belonged to the Jesuits of Cordova." Molina's book is numbered by leaves, not by pages. The license for printing it is dated in 1569, and affords indubitable evidence that a press was then operant in Mexico. The epistle dedicatory is of the same date; and these circumstances show that the book was two years in the press; which is not at all improbable, as works of this kind cannot be correct when hastily executed. Even at this time a work of that class and magnitude, would not, in the ordinary course of business, be printed from manuscript copy in a much shorter period. It is to be presumed that the practice with regard to title pages, was the same then as at the present day; and that the title page of this book did not go to press until the rest of the work was completed. This dictionary, in two parts, consists, first, of 122 leaves, or 244 pages, of Spanish and Mexican; and, secondly, of 162 leaves, or 324 pages, of Mexican and Spanish. A very lish, reads thus: A Dictionary in the Castilian and Mexican Languages composed by the very reverend Father Friar Alonzo de Molina, of the order of our well disposed Father Saint Francis. Dedicated to the very excellent Don Martin Enriquez, Viceroy of this New Spain. Imprint-In Mexico, in the Ilouse of Antonio de Spinosa. 1571. 1See the letters of Vicente Pazos to the Hon. Henry Clay. 4 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. large cut of a coat of arms, probably that of the viceroy to whom the book is dedicated, fills two-thirds of the title page; the arms are in eight compartments, surmounted with a coronet. This book furnishes incontestable evidence that the Spaniards established the press, in the American continent, many years before the English planted a colony in this quarter of the world. The abbe Clavigero,' a Mexican writer, mentions that c the laborious Franciscan, Bernardino Sahagun, composed in pure and elegant Mexican language, three hundred and sixty-five hymns, one for each day in the year;" and in a note he adds, that he " saw a copy of this book in a library of the Jesuits of Angelopoli, printed at Mexico, to the best of his recollection, in theyear 1540. If Clavigero is correct, printing was introduced into Spanish America one hundred years before it appeared in the English colonies. Antonio de HIerrera, in his General history of America, from the discovery to 1554, observes in relation to the rebuilding of Mexico by the Spaniards, which began in 1524, " such was the care and industry of Cortes the conqueror, that all sorts of artificers resorted to the place. There were soon erected a mint, a college, and a printing house. So that the city became as renowned as any in Europe." He afterwards mentions that in 1537, "the viceroy ordered the college, founded by the Franciscan friars, at Mexico, for teaching boys the Latin grammar, should be finished." From this account we may conclude that printing was introduced into Mexico previously to the year 1540, and probably as early as 1530. The religion of the Spaniards has suffered very little, if any innovation; and many of the books they have printed in America are on religious subjects. Copies of these, See Clavigero's History of Mexico, Philadelphia edition, vol. II, p. 206. I MEXICO AND PERU. 5 together with those of various histories of the old world, and of the discovery and settlement of America, which have, from time to time, issued from the Mexican and Peruvian presses, are, it is said, preserved in the colleges of the capital cities in those provinces, together with many heavy folio volumes in manuscript, respecting the country, and written there. In this age of revolutions, those, and the other provinces of Spain, may experience some convulsions of the revolutionary tornado, by which their parent state is desolated, in common with the other European kingdoms. The time may not be far distant when a spirit of freedom and a consciousness of their own strength, may lead the people of the south to follow the example of their northern neighbors, and establish their independence; when that time shall arrive, strangers may be permitted to explore their country without difficulty or restraint.' MEXICO AND PERU. The books published in both English and Spanish America, till within the last century, were, principally, on religious subjects. Perhaps those produced in the British colonies, anterior to our revolution, exceed in number those published in Mexico and Peru; but, from the best information I have been able to obtain, it appears they were inferior, in point of magnitude, to the many large and voluminous labors of the monks, on subjects of devotion and scholastic theology, that have been printed in the Spanish part of the continent. Besides books on 1The above was written in the beginning of the year 1809. It now appears that the revolution I then contemplated, has been already partially produced. New Spain becomes daily more practicable to the researches of the curious and learned; and we have a pleasing prospect that we shall speedily become more intimate; and possibly, on more friendly terms with these near neighbors, who have hitherto been estranged from us by the genius of their government. 6 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. religious and devotional concerns, many large historical works, a variety of dictionaries, grammars, etc., were produced by the presses of Spanish America. Notwithstanding the press in Spanish America was under severe restrictions, yet the books allowed to be printed, together with the works necessary for the purposes of government, afforded it much employment; and, from the best information I can procure, it appears that the typographical performances, both in Mexico and Peru, were not badly executed. Gazettes have, for many years, been published in that country; some say they were printed before the end of the seventeenth century; that they were so, in the cities of Mexico and Lima, is not improbable. An excellent literary journal was for some time published in Lima, entitled Mercurio Peruano.1 Dr. Robertson, in his History of America, mentions his being furnished with the Gazette of Mexico for the years 1728, 1729, and 1730, printed in quarto. Hlaving examined the contents, he observes, "The Gazette of Mexico is filled almost entirely with accounts of religious functions, with descriptions of processions, consecrations of churches, beatifications of saints, festivals, autos da f6, &c. Civil or commercial affairs, and even the transactions of Europe, occupy but a small corner of this monthly magazine of intelligence." tIe mentions, also, that the titles of new books were regularly inserted in the Gazette; whence it appeared that two-thirds of them were treatises on religion.2 A literary journal, entitled Gazeta de Literatura was for a long time published in Mexico, and was continued in 1Mercurio Peruano de Historia, Literatura y Noticias publicas, qua da galaluz la Sociedac Academica de Arnantes de Lima, 1791-1794. 12 vols., small 4to.- B. 2 Robertson's America, vol. IT, p. 401, 7th edition, London. MEXICO AND PERU. 7 1760, by M. Alzate, an astronomer; and in the government of Guatemala, the Gazeta de Guatemala was continued in 1800. The press being under the absolute control of government, we might expect to find the catalogue of Spanish American publications confined within narrow limits; but the fact is, that the works which treat of religion, history, morals, and classical books, which in that country have been printed, are numerous. Even the dictionaries and grammars, for the use of the various nations of aborigines in the Mexican provinces only, excite our surprise. Of these the Abbe Clavigero,l the historian, mentions five Mexican dictionaries and twenty Mexican grammars; three Otomi dictionaries and four grammars; two Tarascan dictionaries and three grammars; one Zapotecan dictionary and one grammar; one Miztecan grammar; three Maya dictionaries and three grammars; two Totonacan dictionaries and two grammars; one Popolucan dictionary and one grammar; one Matlazincan dictionary and one grammar; two Huaxtecan dictionaries, and two grammars; one Mixe dictionary, and one grammar; one Cakciquel dictionary, and one grammar; one Taramaran dictionary, and two grammars; one Tepehuanan dictionary, and three grammars. Clavigero also mentions eighty-six authors held in high estimation by the learned; thirty-three of whom were Creoles, who have written on the doctrines of Christianity, and on morality, in the languages of New Spain;" and he remarks, "the books published in Mexico on religion are so numerous, that of them alone might be formed a large library." Their works, and the dictionaries and grammars before mentioned, were, unquestionably, printed in the 1A learned native of New Spain who published the history of ancient Mexico, and the conquest of it, by the Spaniards, in two large volumes, quarto. 8 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. provinces of Mexico; and it is not improbable that many books, of the like kind, have been published in the extensive provinces of Peru, in South America.1 Dr. Robertson prefixed to the seventh edition of his history, a list of Spanish books and manuscripts, which he consulted for that work.2 It evidently appears, that the most voluminous and expensive works were published by the Spaniards; and this is not altogether strange, as they possessed by far the richest part of the country; and the settlement of the southern part of the continent, and of Mexico, commenced a century before that of the British colonies. SAINT DOMINGO. A printing press was early introduced into the Spanish part of this island; probably about the beginning of the seventeenth century. It was seldom used, except for printing the lists and returns, and other papers for the different branches of the administration. M. de St. Mery,3 in his Description of the Spanish part of St. Domingo, informs us, that "' No works concerning the colonies can be printed in them, without the permission of the council of the Indies, and it is well known that the council is not over fond of granting such permissions. In the examination of the vessels that arrive, strict search is made after the books proscribed by the 1 Sec Sqvier's Monograpt of Central American Authors, 1861, pp. 70.- M. An excellent little volume by the learned and reliable bibliographer, Don Joaquin Garcia Icazbalceta, on the subject of books on the American aboriginal languages has lately appeared. It is entitled Apuntes para un catalog de Escritores en lenzguas indigenos de America. MExIco en la imprenta particular del antor, 1866. 12mo.- B. 2 An extract from Robertson's list, which, with some additions, was inserted in the first edition, it is not deemed expedient to reprint. — I. 3 M. de St. Mery lived at Cape Francois, previous to tile destruction of it by the blacks. In 1798, lie was a bookseller in Philadelphia, and a member of the Philosophical Society of Pennsylvania. SPANISH AMERICA. 9 inquisition; and, as the convent of St. Lawrence the Royal, has, in Spain, the exclusive privilege of printing religious books, the senior auditor is exclusively charged with the causes that this privilege may give rise to in the island. If a work be printed at St. Domingo, twenty copies of it must be delivered to the president, to be sent by him to the council of the Indies, there to be buried, like every thing else that is sent thither." l In 1790, the printing house in the city of St. Domingo stood in the vicinity of the palace of the president, or governor general, and not far from the ancient cathedral; which, with the prisons, and many ancient private houses, form a square, which is used for a market place. The cathedral was begun in 1512, and finished in 1540; and in it were interred the remains of the celebrated Christopher Columbus, the discoverer of this continent, which ought to have borne his name. The cathedral also contained the remains of his brother Bartholomew, or of Diego, the son 1Similar regulations have existed throughout the vast territories of Spain in South and North America. No book could be printed without permission from the officers of the high courts of the inquisition; and no books be sold, or even read, on any subjects but such as received their approbation. Major Pike was employed by our government to explore the sources of the Arkansa, and the internal parts of Louisiana, when, on that expedition in 1807, he was taken prisoner, with the party under his command, by the Spanish troops, and carried to Santa Fe in New Mexico, and from thence to Chihuahua in New Biscay. He mentions in the appendix to his interesting journals, under the article, Religion in New Spain, that the officers of the inquisition "examine and condemn to the flames all books of a modern sentiment, either as to religion or politics, and excommunicate any one in whose hands they may be found. I recollect," continues the major, "to have seen a decree of theirs published in the Mexican Gazette, condemning a number of books as heretical and contrary to the sacred principles of the holy catholic church, and the peace and durability of the government of his catholic majesty, amongst which were mentioned: Helvetius on War; J. J. Rousseau's Works; Voltaire's, Mirabeau's, and a number of others of that description; and even at so great a distance as Chihuahua, a Spanish officer dared not take Pope's Essay on Man to his quarters, but used to come to mine to read it." 10 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. of Columbus. The coffins which contained their bodies were discovered in 1783, when, in repairing the cathedral, part of a thick wall was taken down. This fact St. Mery mentions on good authority; which is corroborated by the certificates of Don Joseph Nuniez, dean, dignitary of the holy metropolitan and primatial church of the Indies, Don Manuel Sanchez, canon, dignitary, &c., and Don Pedro de Galvez, preceptor, canon, dignitary of the cathedral church, and primate of the Indies. These certificates are dated at Santo Domingo, April 26, 1783. This part of the island was ceded by the king of Spain to the French in 1795. The dust of Columbus was not, however, suffered to remain in its deposit, subject to the control of the French; the leaden coffin, with its contents, was removed to the Havana, and on the 20th of January, 1796, with great pomp and ceremony, buried a third time. FRENCH AMERICA. SAINT DOMINGO. A royal printing house was established in Port au Prince, on the French part of this island, as early as 1750, in which in 1750, was printed an account of a great earthquake which happened at that time in the island. Among other works permitted to be printed at the king's press, was a volume of memoirs of a literary institution of the colony. It was published in 1788. M. Mozard was a printer in Port au Prince in 1790, and for some time previous to that year.' M. Mozard was afterwards appointed a consul for the French republic and resided in Boston. He brought with him to Massachusetts a valuable portable printing apparatus, which he had used in Saint Domingo. This apparatus consisted of a small press, and several small fonts of neat types, &c., manufactured in Paris. When he was about leaving Boston, he sold SPANISH AMERICA. 11 There was a press in Cape Fran9ois also belonging to the king, as early as 1765, and probably several years preceding. In 1766 appeared from this press a Treatise on Coffee, giving its history in ninety pages. Batilliot & Co. printed at the press of the municipality in 1790; and from this press they issued in 1793, the third volume the Monitor General of Saint Domingo. Du Tour de Rians styled himself printer to the general assembly of the colony in 1791, in the imprint to a pamphlet entitled, A Project of a Constitutionfor the French Colonies. MARTINICO. A press was established on this island, for the use of government, many years preceding the revolution in France, after which there were several. DUTCH AMERICA. SURINAM. Printing was performed in this colony at Paramaribo before the year 1775. The Dutch also introduced the press at their islands of Cura9oa and Saint Eustatius. PORTUGUESE AMERICA. Printing has been long practiced in the Portuguese settlements; but, I believe, the press has been kept almost solely for the use of the government. If any literary prothem to John Mycall, formerly a printer in Newburyport, who removed them to Harvard, county of Worcester, where I have frequently seen them. They were subsequently in possession of Mycall, at Cambridgeport. 12 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. ductions were ever issued from it, I am unacquainted with them. From the intercourse between the United States and Brazil, we may hope to obtain, at no distant period, the history of printing in this part of South America.' 1 In 1792, according to Sir George Staunton's account, there were but two booksellers in Rio Janeiro, and they sold books on the subjects of divinity and medicine only. ENGLISH AMERICA: NOW THE UNITED STATES. Introduction of the Art. The early part of the history of the United States, is not, like that of most other nations, blended with fable. Many of the first European settlers of this country were men of letters; they made records of events as they passed, and they, from the first, adopted effectual methods to transmit the knowledge of them to their posterity. The rise and progress of English America, therefore, from its colonization to the period at which it took a name and place among sovereign and independent nations, may be traced with the clearness and certainty of authentic history. That art which is the preserver of all arts, is worthy of the attention of the learned and the curious. An account of the first printing executed in the English colonies of America, combines many of the important transactions of the settlement, as well as many incidents interesting in the revolutions of nations; and exhibits the pious and charitable efforts of our ancestors in New England, to translate the sacred books into a language which, at this short distance of time is, probably, not spoken by an individual of the human race, and for the use of a nation which is now virtually extinct. Such is the fluctuation of human affairs! Part of the aborigines of the country. 14 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. The particulars respecting the printing and printers of this country, it is presumed, will gratify professional men; and a general history of this nature will certainly preserve many important facts which, in a few years, would be irrecoverably lost. Among the first settlers of New England were not only pious but educated men. They emigrated from a country where the press had more license than in other parts of Europe, and they were acquainted with the usefulness of it. As soon as they had made those provisions that were necessary for their existence in this land, which was then a rude wilderness, their next objects were, the establishment of schools, and a printing press; the latter of which was not tolerated, till many years afterward, by the elder colony of Virginia. The founders of the colony of Massachusetts1 consisted of but a small number of persons, who arrived at Salem in 1628.2 A few more joined them in 1629; and Governor Winthrop, with the addition of his company of settlers, arrived in 1630. These last landed at the place since called Charlestown, opposite to Boston, where they pitched their tents and built a few huts for shelter. In 1631, they began to settle Cambridge, four miles from the place where they landed. They also began a settlement on the identical spot where Boston now stands. In 1638, they built an academy at Cambridge, which in process of time was increased to a college: and they also established a printing house in that place. In January, 1639, printing was first performed in that part of North America 1 The reader will observe that I am here speaking of Massachusetts proper, not of the colony of Plymouth, where a settlement was made in the year 1620. That colony has, however, long since been incorporated into that of Massachusetts. 2 The Cape Anne fishermen selected and occupied the position of Salem before the arrival of the colonists of 1628.- H. ENGLISH AMERICA. 15 which extends from the gulf of Mexico to the Frozen ocean. For this press our country is chiefly indebted to the Rev. Mr. Glover, a nonconformist minister, who possessed a considerable estate, and had left his native country with a determination to settle among his friends, who had emigrated to Massachusetts; because in this wilderness, he could freely enjoy, with them, those opinions which were not countenanced by the government and a majority of the people in England. Another press, with types, and another printer, were, in 1660, sent over from England by the corporation for propagating the gospel among the Indians in New England. This press, &c., was designed solely for the purpose of printing the Bible, and other books, in the Indian language. On their arrival they were carried to Cambridge, and employed in the printing house already established in that place. Notwithstanding printing continued to be performed in Cambridge, from a variety of causes it happened, that many original works were sent from New England, Massachusetts in particular, to London, to be printed. Among these causes the principal were -first, the press at Cambridge had, generally, full employment; secondly, the printing done there was executed in an inferior style; and, thirdly, many works on controverted points of religion, were not allowed to be printed in this country. Hence it happened that for more than eighty years after printing was first practiced in the colony, manuscripts were occasionally sent to England for publication. The fathers of Massachusetts kept a watchful eye on the press; and in neither a religious nor civil point of view, were they disposed to give it much liberty. Both the civil and ecclesiastical rulers were fearful that if it was not under wholesome restraints, contentions and heresies would arise 16 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. among the people. In 1662, the government of Massachusetts appointed licensers of the press; and afterward, in 1664, passed a law that " no printing should be allowed in any town within the jurisdiction, except in Cambridge; " nor should any thing be printed there but what the government permitted through the agency of those persons who were empowered for the purpose. Offenders against this regulation were to forfeit their presses to the country, and to be disfranchised of the privilege of printing thereafter.2 In a short time, this law was so far repealed as to permit the use of a press at Boston, and a person was authorized to conduct it; subject, however, to the licensers who were appointed for the purpose of inspecting it. It does not appear that the press, in Massachusetts, was free from legal restraints till about the year 1755..Holyoke's Almanack, for 1715, has, in the title page, " Imprimatur, J. Dudley." A pamphlet, printedigi Boston, on the subject of building market houses in that town, has the addition of, " Imprimatur, Samuel Shute, Bqston, Feb. 19, 1719." James Franklin, in 1723, was ordered by the government not to publisA Thk:Neu ^c/ciand Courant, without previously submitting its contents to the secretary of the province; and Daniel Fowle was imprisoned by the house of representatives, in 1754, barely on suspiion of his having printed a pamphlet said to contain reflections on some members of the general court.3 For several years preceding the year 1730, the government of Massachusetts had been less rigid than formerly; and, after that period, I do not find that any officer is mentioned as having a particular control over the press. For a long Gen. Daniel Gookin, and the Rev. Mr. Mitchel, of Cambridge, were the first appointed licensers of the press in this country. 2 See this stated more at length in the account given of Samuel Green, printer at Cambridge, Massachusetts. 3See Franklin, and Fowle. *4 ENGLISH AMERICA. 17 time, however, the press appeared to be under greater restrictions here than in England; that is, till toward the close of the seventeenth century. In the course of this work it will appear, that the presses established in other colonies were not entirely free from restraint. The rulers in the colony of Virginia in the seventeenth century, judged it best not to permit public schools, nor to allow the use of the press.' And thus, by keeping the people in ignorance, they thought to render them more obedient to the laws, to prevent them from libelling the government, and to impede the growth of heresy, &c. The press had become free some years previous to the commencement of the revolution; but it continued for a long time duly to discriminate between liberty and licentiousness. Except in Massachusetts, no presses were set up in the colonies till near the close of the seventeenth century. Printing then was performed in Pennsylvania, " near Philadelphia," and afterward in that city, by the same press, which, in a few years subsequent, was removed to New York. The use of types commenced in Virginia about 1681; in 1682 the press was prohibited. In 1709, a press was established at New London, in Connecticut; and, from this period, it was gradually introduced into the other colonies; as well as into several of the West India islands, belonging to Great Britain. In 1775 the whole number of printing houses in the British colonies, now comprising the United States, was fifty. Till the year 1760, it appears that more books were printed in Massachusetts, annually, than in any of the other colonies; and, before 1740, more printing was done C1halmers's Annals, vol. i, p. 32, and 345. 2 18 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. there than in all the other colonies. After 1760, the quantum of printing done in Boston and Philadelphia was nearly equal, till the commencement of the war. New York produced some octavo and duodecimo volumes. The presses of Connecticut were not idle; they furnished many pamphlets on various subjects, and some small volumes. Some books were handsomely printed in Virginia and Maryland; and folio volumes of laws, and a few octavos and duodecimos, on religion, history and politics, issued from the presses of Carolina, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, &c. Before 1775, printing was confined to the capitals of the colonies; but the war occasioned the dispersion of presses, and many were set up in other towns. After the establishment of our independence, by the peace of 1783, presses multiplied very fast, not only in seaports, but in all the principal inland towns and villages. Paper-making. The ancient Mexicans made great use of paper. They manufactured it from the leaves of a genus of the aloe, or the palm icxoll, and from the thin bark of other trees, by a process not now known. They formed it into sheets of various dimensions and thicknesses, so as to answer sundry purposes; some of the sheets were similar, in thickness, to the thin pasteboard, and press paper for clothiers, manufactured in Europe; and some were thinner, but softer, smoother, and easy to write on. The sheets were generally made very long, and were polished suitably for the use to which they were intended to be applied. For preservation they were made up into rolls, or folded in the manner of bed screens, and thus formed into books.l 1 Clavigero's History of Mexico, vol. II, p. 219, Am. ed.; lumboldt's Essay on New Spain, vol. I, Am. ed., p. 120. ENGLISH AMERICA. 19 Clavigero, who saw and handled specimens which were preserved in Mexico, informs us, that on this kind of paper the ancient Mexicans painted, in beautiful and permanent colors, the representations of their gods, their kings, their heroes, their animals, their plants, and whatever objects their fancy dictated, or circumstances might require. On paper they delineated, in hieroglyphics, painted with colors which were appropriated to the subject, "the symbols of their religion, accounts of remarkable events, their laws, their rites, their customs, their taxes or tributes. Some of these paintings on paper were chronological, astronomical, or astrological, in which were represented their calendar, the positions of the stars, eclipses, changes of the moon, prognostications of the variations of the weather; this kind of painting was called, by them, tonalamatl. Other paintings were topographical, or chorographical, which served not only to show the extent and boundaries of possessions, but, likewise, the situation of places, the direction of the coasts, and courses of the rivers. The Mexican empire abounded with all these kinds of paintings on paper; for their painters were innumerable, and there was hardly anything left unpainted. If these had been preserved, there would have been nothing wanting to explain the history of Mexico; but, after the conquest of the country by the Spaniards, the first preachers of the gospel, suspicious that superstition was mixed with all these paintings, made a furious destruction of them."'.' Humboldt mentions that " the paper made by the ancient Mexicans, on which they painted their hieroglyphical figures, was made of the fibres of agave leaves, macerated in water, and disposed in layers like the fibres of the Egyptian cyperus, and the mulberry of the South lavigero's History cf Mexico. 20 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. Sea islands."' He mentions that he had in his possession " some fragments of the ritual books composed by the Indians in hieroglyphics at the beginning of the conquest, written on maguey paper, of a thickness so different that some of them resembled pasteboard, while others resembled Chinese paper."2 Paper similar to that of Mexico, it is said, was made in Peru. Clavigero says "the invention of paper is certainly more ancient in America than in Egypt, from whence it was communicated to Europe. It is true that the paper of the Mexicans is not comparable with paper of the Egyptians, but it ought to be observed that the former did not make theirs for writing but painting." In an account of Pennsylvania by Gabriel Thomas, published in 1698, he mentions " all sorts of very good paper are made in the German Town." The mill at which this paper was made, was the first paper mill erected in the British colonies. What was then called the German Town,3 was afterwards, and is now, known by the name of Germantown, five miles distant from Philadelphia.4 The mill was constructed with logs. The b ilding covered a water wheel set over a small branch of the Wissahickon. For this mill there was neither dam nor race. It was built by Nicholas (or as he was then called Claus) Rittenhouse,5 Humboldt's Essay on New Spain, vol. II, p. 375. 2 bid., vol. I, p. 124. This name of the German Town was not confined merely to what is now known as Germantown, but included also Roxborough township at present forming the Twenty-first ward of Philadelphia.- II. G. Jones. 4 The first settlement of Germans is stated to have been in 1692. This mill, from many circumstances, must have been erected prior to that period, and in 1688, with the log mill and log house of Rittenhouse. Nicholas Rittenhouse, the first paper-maker, died in May, 1734, aged 68, and was succeeded by his son William, who was born in 1691, and died in 1774. 'Mr. Thomas has fallen into error. The first paper-maker was not ENGLISH AMERICA. 21 about the year 1689, with the assistance of William Bradford, then the only printer in the colonies southward or westward of New England, who procured the tract of land, then considered of little, if any value, on which the log mill and a log house for Claus were placed. Bradford also procured molds and other furniture for the mill. Claus was from H-olland,l and a paper-maker by trade. ile was only twenty-one years of age when he arrived in America. He was something of a carpenter, and did the chief of the work of these buildings himself. This small mill was carried away by a freshet.2 Another mill built Nicholas Rittenhouse, but William Rittenhouse, a native of the Principality of Broich in Holland. The mill was built in the year 1690, by a company composed of such prominent men as Robert Turner, Thomas Tresse, William Bradford, Samuel Carpenter, William Rittenhouse and others. The mill was erected on a stream of water which empties into Wissahickon creek about a mile above its confluence with the river Schuylkill, in the township of Roxborough. This stream still bears the name of Papermirll run. The deed for the land on part of which the mill was erected, comprising about twenty acres, is dated " the Ninth day of the Twelfth month called ffebruary, in the ffourth year of the Reign.of Queen Ann 1705," and the grantee was William Rittenhouse. This deed recites that in the year 1690, it was agreed between the said parties " and others that undertook to build a paper mill upon the land," above referred to, that said Carpenter should demise to them the said land, and then proceeds as follows: " And whereas the said paper mill was afterwards built, but no Lease actually signed or executed according to the said Agreement." -. G. J. 1 Claus, or Nicolas, Rittenhouse was born in Holland, June 15, 1666, came to America with his father, William Rittenhouse, who settled in Germantown and afterwards removed to Roxborough, where he had erected his paper mill. Nicholas was a member of the Mennonist meeting at Germantown, and officiated as a minister in that society.-Ibid. 2 This terrible calamity occurred in the year 1700 or 1701, during the second visit of William Penn to his colony. Barton, in his Memoirs of David Rittenhouse, pages 83-4, says: " There is now before the writer a paper in the hand writing of the celebrated William Penn, and subscribed with his name, certifying that William Rittinghausen and Claus his son, then part owners of the paper mill near Germantown, had recently sustained a very great loss by a violent and sudden flood, which carried away the said mill, with a considerable quantity of paper, materials and tools, with other things therein, whereby they were reduced to great distress; and therefore recommending to such persons as should be disposed to lend 22 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. of stone was erected near to the spot where the first mill stood. At length this mill was found to be too small for the increased business of its owner. -Ie built another of stone, which was larger than the one already erected. This mill spot was occupied, and the paper-making business carried on, by the first Claus, or Nicholas, and his descendants, from 1689 to 1798,1 one hundred and nine years, who from time to time made many valuable improvements in the mills, and in the art of paper-making. Appendix B. From Claus, or Nicholas Rittenhouse,2 and his brother, (Garrett) who came with him from Holland to America in 1687, or 1688, are descended all of that name now in Pennsylvania or New Jersey. The late David Pittenhouse, the philosopher of Pennsylvania, was the grandson of Claus, the first manufacturer of paper in British America. them aid, to give the sufferers 'relief and encouragement, in their needful and commendable employment,' as they were ' desirous to set up the paper mill again.' " The Rittenhouses rebuilt the mill in 1702, and on the 30th of June, 1704, William Rittenhouse became the sole owner of the mill, and in 1705, secured the land from Samuel Carpenter on a lease for 975 years. — [L G. J. 1 William Rittenhouse, the first paper maker in America, died in the year 1708, aged about 64 years. Shortly before his death he gave his share in the paper mill to his son Nicholas, who carried on the business until May, 1734, when he died. He deeded the paper mill to his oldest son William Rittenhouse, and when he died the mill property fell to his son Jacob Rittenhouse, also a paper-maker, who carried on the business, and died in 1811. The mill was erected by a family named Markle, who continued to manufacture paper there for many years. So that the paper-making business was carried on by the same family for a period of one hundred and twenty-one years at the same place.- Ibid. 2 It was not Nicholas but William Rittenhouse who was the progenitor of the family in America. He arrived here about 1688, and settled in Germantown. Hie had only two sons, Nicholas or Claus, and Garrctt or Gerhard, and a daughter Elizabeth who married Heiver Papen. Nicholas married Wilhclmina De Wees, a sister of William De Wees of Germantown. Garrett resided at Cresheim, a part of Germantown, and was a miller.- Ibid. ENGLISH AMERICA. 23 The second establishment of a paper mill erected in Pennsylvania, or in British America, was built with brick on the west branch of Chester creek, Delaware county, twenty miles distant from Philadelphia, by Thomas Wilcox, who was born in England, and there brought up to papermaking.' Wilcox came to America about the year 1712, and applied to Rittenhouse for employment, but could not obtain it, as but little business was then done at the mill. For fourteen years Wilcox followed other business, and by his industry and economy he acquired and laid up a small sum of money, when in 1726, he erected a small paper mill, and began to make fuller's boards. He continued this business fourteen years without manufacturing either writing or printing paper. HIe gave up his mill to his son Mark in 1767. Wilcox the father died November 11, 1779, aged ninety.2 The paper-making business was carried on in 1815, by the sons of Mark, who was then living aged seventy. lie made the paper for the bills issued by congress during the revolutionary war; for the bills of the first bank established in Philadelphia; for many other banks and I The second paper mill in America was not that of Thomas Wilcox. Dr. George Smith, in his History of Delaware County, Pa., says, that "the old Ivy Mill of Wilcox was not erected until the year 1729, or very shortly afterwards." He claims that it was the second place at which paper was manufactured in Pennsylvania. But this is an error. The second paper mill in America was erected by another settler of Germantown named William De Wees, who was a brother-in-law of Nicholas Rittenhouse, and, as Mr. Thomas says, had been an apprentice at the Rittenhouse mill. This second mill was built in the year 1710, on the west side of the Wissahickon creek in that part of Germantown known in early times as Crefeld, near the line of the present Montgomery county. I have seen papers which show that this mill was in full and active operation in that year and in 1713.- H. G. J. 2The first purchase of land that Thomas Wilcox made for his mill seat was from the proprietors of Pennsylvania. The additional piece for his dam he agreed for at one shilling sterling a year forever. This seems, at the present time, to have been a small compensation; but lands were 24 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. public offices. He was undoubtedly the first who made good paper in the United States. In 1770 he was appointed associate judge for Delaware county. The third paper mill establishment in Pennsylvania was erected by William De Wees and John Gorgas, who had been the apprentices of Rittenhouse. Their mill was on the Wissahickon creek, eleven miles from Philadelphia, and built in 1728. They manufactured an imitation of asses skin paper for memorandum books, which was well executed.1 The fourth mill was also on the Wissahickon, nine miles from Philadelphia, built by William De Wees, Jr., about 1736. The fifth was erected by Christopher Sower, the first of the name, about the year 1744, on a branch of Frankford creek. This was on the lower end of his land. The improvements in paper-making at Wilcox's and other mills in Pennsylvania, were principally owing to an Englishman by the name of John Readen. lie was a man of great professional ingenuity, and a first rate workman. Ie had indented himself to the master of the vessel who brought him from Europe. Wilcox redeemed him, and employed him several years. I-e died in 1806, aged sixty. Engines were not used in the American paper mills before 1756; until then, rags for making paper were pounded. then plenty, andl money scarce. Lands were leased out at one penny an acre; but this price was thought high. Quantities of land were afterwards taken up at one shilling sterling for every hundred acres. The state, about the commencement of the revolution, bought out the quit rents from the proprietors for ~30,000, but the proprietors still retain the manors. John Brighter, an aged paper-maker, who conducted a mill for more than half a century in Pennsylvania, and who gave this account, observed that this kind of paper was made out of rotten stone, which is found in several places near and to the northward of Philadelphia, and that the method of cleansing this paper was to throw it in the fire for a short time, when it was taken out perfectly fair. ENGLISH AMERICA. 25 There were several paper mills in New England, and two or three in New York, before the revolution. About the year 1730, an enterprising bookseller in Boston, having petitioned for, and received some aid from the legislature of Massachusetts,l erected a paper mill, which was the first set up in that colony. After 1775, paper mills increased rapidly, in all parts of the Union. Paper Mllls. My endeavors to obtain an accurate account of the paper mills in the United States, have not succeeded agreeably to my wishes, as I am not enabled to procure a complete list of the mills, and the quantity of paper manufactured in all the states. I have not received any particulars that can be relied on from some of the states; but I believe the following statement will come near the truth. From the information I have collected it appears that the mills for manufacturing paper, are in number about one hundred and eighty-five, viz: in New Hampshire, 7; Massachusetts, 40; Rhode Island, 4; Connecticut, 17; Vermont, 9; New York, 12; Delaware, 10; Maryland, 3; Virginia, 4; South Carolina, 1; Kentucky, 6; Tennessee, 4; Pennsylvania, about 60; in all the other states and territories, say 18. Total 195, in the year 1810. At these mills it may be estimated that there are manufactured annually 50,000 reams of paper which is consumed in the publication of 22,500,000 newspapers. This kind of paper is at various prices according to the quality and size, and will average three dollars per ream; at which, this quantity will amount to 150,000 dollars. The weight of the paper will be about 500 tons. 1Daniel Henchman. He produced in 1731, to the General court, a sample of paper made at his mill. 26 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. The paper manufactured, and used, for book printing, may be calculated at about 70,000 reams per annum, a considerable part of which is used for spelling, and other small school books. This paper is also of various qualities and prices, of which the average may be three dollars and a half per ream, and at that price it will amount to 245,000 dollars, and may weigh about 630 tons. Of writing paper, supposing each mill should make 600 reams per annum, it will amount to 111,000 reams; which at the average price of three dollars per ream, will be equal in value to 333,000 dollars, and the weight of -it will be about 650 tons.1 Of wrapping paper the quantity made maybe computed at least at 100,000 reams, which will amount to about 83,000 dollars. Beside the preceding articles, of paper for hangings, for clothiers, for cards, bonnets, cartridge paper, pasteboards, &c., a sufficient quantity is made for home consumption. Most of the mills in New England have two vats each. Some in New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland, have three or more -those with two vats can make, of various descriptions of paper, from 2,000 to 3,000 reams per annum. A mill with two vats requires a capital of about 10,000 dollars, and employs twelve or more persons, consisting of men, boys and girls. Collecting rags, making paper, &c., may be said to give employment to not less than 2,500 persons in the United States. 1 Some of the mills are known to make upwards of 3,000 reams of writing paper per annum; a few do not make any; but there are not many that make less than 500 reams. The quantity of rags, old sails, ropes, junk, and other substances of which various kinds of paper and pasteboards are made, may be computed to amount to not less than three thousand five hundred tons yearly. ENGLISH AMERICA. 27 lype Founderies. An attempt was made to establish a foundery for casting types in Boston about 1768, by a Mr. Mitchelson from Scotland, but he did not succeed. In 1769, Abel Buel of IKillingworth in Connecticut, who was a skillfuljeweller and goldsmith, began a type foundery, without any other aid than his own ingenuity, and perhaps some assistance he derived from books. In the course of a few years he completed several fonts of long primer, which were tolerably well executed, and some persons in the trade made use of them. The first regular foundery was established at Germantown, Pennsylvania, in 1772, by Christopher Sower, the second of that name. All the implements for this foundery were imported from Germany, and intended solely for casting German types. It is somewhat remarkable that the first establishments for paper making and type founding in the English colonies, should be in this place. The interval between the two establishments was eighty-four years. Sower's first object in setting up the foundery was to cast pica types for a quarto edition of the German Bible. His father had, many years before, printed an edition on long primer, and the son had printed another on pica. This was for a third edition, and it was his intention to cast a sufficiency of types to keep the whole work standing. When the materials for this foundery arrived from Germany, they were placed by Sower in a house opposite to his printing house, and committed to the care and management of one of his workmen, who, although not a type founder, was very ingenious. This workman was named Justus Fox, born in 1736, at Manheim, Germany, where he received a good education. After his arrival in America he served as an apprentice with Sower, and was 28 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. by him employed in various occupations. Fox is said to have been a farrier, an apothecary, a bleeder and chpper, a dentist, an engraver, a cutler, a tanner, a lamp-black maker, a physician, a maker of printing ink, and a type founder. At most of these pursuits he was a proficient. The molds of this foundery, and some other implements, were found to be very imperfect; but Fox set himself at work, cut a number of new punches, supplied all deficiencies, and put the whole in order for casting. The first font that was cast was a German pica for the Bible. Afterwards Fox cut the punches for roman and italics of several sizes, for English works. Fox acquired the art of mixing metal. IIis types were very durable. As the materials which composed this foundery remained in the possession of Fox they were thought to be his property, and therefore escaped seizure when all the other property of Sower was confiscated. Afterwards, in 1784, Fox purchased them, and continued the business somewhat extensively in partnership with his son for nine years; after which Fox conducted the business till he died, which was on the twenty-sixth of January, 1805, aged seventy years. Fox was a man of pleasing manners, and his character was in conformity with his name, Justus. IIe was of the sect of Tunkers; humorous, also very pious, exemplary, humane and charitable. He acquired a handsome property. Ile had but one child whom he named Emanuel. The year after Fox died, his son sold the foundery to Samuel Sower, a son of the unfortunate Christopher, junior (or second), the first owner. Samuel Sower had previously begun a foundery in Baltimore, and in 1815, continued the business in that city. The second type foundery was also established in Germantown, by Jacob Bay, a man of great ingenuity, born ENGLISH AMERICA. 29 near Basil, in Switzerland. He was brought up to silk weaving. He came to Philadelphia in 1771. In this place he worked for a short time at calico printing, and then was engaged by Sower to work in his foundery in Germantown as an assistant to Fox. After being two years in this foundery, he began business for himself in a small house not far from Sower. He made all the apparatus for his foundery himself. The punches which he cut were for roman and italic types of the sizes of pica, long primer, and bourgeois. tie cast for Sower a font of German faced bourgeois for the whole of the German Hymn Book of four hundred octavo pages, which Sower kept standing. He bought a house and removed to it, and continued the business of type-making in Germantown, till 1789. During the time he removed his foundery to other parts of the town. At length he sold all his material to Francis Bailey, a printer, who made use of it chiefly for a supply of types for himself. Bay then commenced diaper weaving, removed to Frankford, and then to Philadelphia. Bay's ingenuity has been exceeded by very few. He was at any time able, without a model before him, to construct, by the aid of his memory, any machine he had ever seen, however complicated. Among his weaving machines was a loom with six shackles. A patent for one of the same kind has since been obtained as a new invention, and the right to use it sold in several places, at a high price. But he was poor, the fate of many ingenious men. He engaged at the mint as an engraver, and about six months after fell a victim to the yellow fever which prevailed in Philadelphia in 1793, aged 54. Dr. Franklin was desirous of establishing in Philadelphia a more extensive type foundery than either of those just mentioned. For this purpose, he purchased in Paris, of P. S. Fournier, the materials of an old foundery. 30 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. Fournier was a type founder, and B. F. Bache, Franklin's grandson, resided sometime with him for instruction in this art, and that he might otherwise be qualified for managing the foundery in Philadephia. Franklin and his grandson arrived in Philadelphia in 1775, soon after the revolutionary war commenced, and Bache set up his foundery in Franklin court, Market street, where his grandfather resided. Although the materials of this foundery enabled the proprietor to make Greek, Hebrew, Roman, and all other kinds of types in use in Europe or America, the foundery was but little employed. The implements for making roman and italic types, especially, would not produce handsome specimens. This difficulty was in some sort removed by means of a German artist, named Frederick Geiger. This person was a mathematical instrument maker. He came from Germany to Philadelphia, like thousands of others who were called Redemptioners. Franklin paid for his passage, and placed him in his foundery. He cut a number of punches, and made great proficiency as a type maker, and in the improvement of the foundery. Geiger, after serving the time stipulated for his redemption, was, in 1794, employed in the mint; but quitting the mint, he plodded a long time on perpetual motion. He appeared confident of success, and anticipated receiving the promised reward for this discovery. Disappointed in this, he next applied himself to finding out the longitude by lunar observations. He was allured to this study by the great bounty which he who should be successful was to receive from the British government. But, unfortunately, perpetual motion caused an irregular motion of his brains, and his observations of the moon caused lunacy. He was eventually confined in the cells of the Philadelphia almshouse. The foundery was neglected, and Bache turned his attention to printing. ENGLISH AMERICA. 31 The fourth establishment of this kind was that belonging to the Messrs. Baine, the grandfather and grandson, from Scotland. They settled in Philadelphia by advice of Young & McCullock, printers in that city, about the year 1785. Bayne, the senior, possessed a great mechanical genius. His knowledge in type founding was the effect of his own industry, for he was self-taught. He, it is said, communicated to the celebrated Wilson of Glasgow the first insight into the business, and they together set up a foundery in Glasgow. They soon after separated, and Baine went to Dublin, where he established a foundery. lie removed thence to Edinburgh, and commenced a type foundery in that city. Thence with his grandson he came with all his materials to America. They were good workmen, and had full employment. The types for the Encyclopedia, which was completed some years ago from the press of Dobson in Philadelphia, were made by them. The elder Baine died in August, 1790, aged seventy-seven. lie was seventy-two years of age when he arrived in America. His grandson relinquished the business soon after the death of his grandfather. He removed from Philadelphia, and died at Augusta in Georgia, about the year 1799. At the commencement of the troubles occasioned by the Prussians, under the Duke of Brunswick, entering Holland for the purpose of reforming the stadtholdership, an ingenious type founder, Adam G. Mapper, left that country, and took with him the whole apparatus of his foundery, and came to New York, where he began business.1 His foundery was designed principally for making Dutch and German types, the casts of which were handsome. Those for roman were but ordinary. He soon left He was a Dutch patriot, lost most of his property, and was obliged for safety to leave his country. 32 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. type making for other employment, and was concerned in the Holland Land Company. There were, in 1830, eight or more type founderies in the United States. One was established in Philadelphia, by Binney & Ronaldson, in 1796. They were from Scotland. They had to encounter many difficulties before they could succeed in obtaining a permanency to their establishment, but by perseverance and industry overcame them, and made valuable improvements in their art. Their foundery produced types equal in beauty to those of any foundery in Europe, and was said to excel them all in the economy of operation. Samuel Sower and Co., of Baltimore, had a somewhat extensive foundery. Sower cut the punches, and cast both roman and italics for a font of diamond types, on which has been printed, in that city, an edition of the Bible. An italic to this smallest of types has not been, until very recently, attempted in Europe. Stereotype Printing. About the year 1775, an attempt at stereotype printing was made by Benjamin Mecom, printer, nephew of Dr. Franklin.1 He cast the plates for a number of pages of the New Testament; but never completed them. I shall have occasion to mention Mecom, in the course of this work, several times. He was skillful, but not successful. Stereotyping is now very common in the United States, and is well executed. The ingenious Jacob Perkins, of Newburyport, Massachusetts, invented a new kind of stereotype, for impressing In 1743, Dr. C. Colden explained to Franklin a process of stereotyping, which was published in the American Med. and Phil. Register, vol. I, 1810. The Larger CGatechism of the Westminster Asseibly, stereotyped and printed by J. Watt & Co., of New York, in June, 1813, claims upon its title page to have been the first work stereotyped in America.- M. ENGLISH AMERICA. 33 copper and other plates. From plates so impressed most of the bank bills of Massachusetts and New Hampshire were printed at rolling presses, and were called stereotyped bills. Engraving. Man in his primeval state discovered a propensity to represent, by figures, on various substances, the animated works of his Creator. From sketching, painting, or engraving these images, or representations, on the surface of those substances, he proceeded to the business of the sculptor or statuary, and produced all the features and proportions of men, and the other various descriptions of the animal creation, in wood and stone. The invention of hieroglyphics has been generally attributed to the priests of ancient Egypt, who made use of them to convey the knowledge they possessed of the 'mysteries of nature, and the secrets of their morality and history, to their successors in the priesthood, without discovering them to the vulgar; but Dr. Warburton, who appears to have been well acquainted with the subject of hieroglyphic engravings, although his knowledge of coins and medals was questioned by Pinkerton, has, with great ingenuity, shown, that hieroglyphics were not the invention of Egyptian priests.' He remarks, that "c the general concurrence of different nations in this method of recording their thoughts, can never be supposed to be the effect of imitation, sinister views, or chance; but must be considered as the uniform voice of nature, speaking to the rude conceptions of mankind; for, not only the Chinese of the east, the Americans of the west, the Egyptians of the south, but the Scythians, likewise, of the north, and the intermediate inhabitants of the earth, viz: the Phoenicians, 1 See Warburton's Works. 3 34 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. the Ethiopians, the natives of India, etc., used the same methods of hieroglyphic and picture." The American continent is not destitute of vestiges of ancient engraving. Long before the discovery of America by Columbus, we are told, the Mexicans made money of tin and copper, which was stamped by the authority of their sovereigns and feudal lords.' They were acquainted with the arts of sculpture and engraving; and, Fran9ois Coreal says, that the ornaments of the doors of the temple of the sun, in Peru, were formed of jasper and granite, and were sculptured in birds, quadrupeds, and animals of imaginary being, such as the sphinx, etc., and in the most exquisite manner. Don Ulloa gives an account of vases dug up in South America, which have figures designed upon them, completely in the Etruscan taste, formed of earth, or composition, which, like the old Etruscan, is now nowhere to be found. They were red, black, and extremely light, and sometimes had the figures in relief. What is very remarkable is, that, like the Etruscan vases, they have been discovered in no other places than sepulchres. The Mexicans had learned to express in their statues "all the attitudes and postures of which the human body is capable; they observed the proportions exactly, and could, when necessary, execute the most delicate and minute strokes " with their chisels of flint, or of hardened copper.1 They excelled in the art of founding and casting, with the precious metals, the most perfect images of natural bodies. They were expert lapidaries, and knew how to form gems into such shapes and figures as fancy dictated; and to finish them with an exquisite polish. Among their precious stones were the emerald, amethyst, cornelian, turquoise, and some which were unknown in Europe. They Clavigero's History of Mexico. ENGLISH AMERICA. 35 set these stones in gold, and in silver, wrought in a very skilful manner, and rendered of great value. Condamine and Clavigero were both astonished at the industry and patience with which they must have worked in marble. They were workmen in linen and cloth of various descriptions, as well as painters and engravers. The specimens of their art, which were carried to Europe by Cortes, and others who visited the country, were found to be nearly inimitable by the most expert artists of the old world. Their copper instruments and weapons they hardened to a temper which was equal to that of steel; an art which the Greeks and Romans possessed to the time of the taking of Constantinople, by Mahomet II.1 The United States also contain several vestiges of engraving, by the rude hands of the aborigines. Thus we find that there is hardly any inhabited part of the world, which did not, before it became civilized, produce some specimens of engraving. The modern European art of engraving was not greatly encouraged in America before the revolution, and the artists did not appear to possess first rate abilities. Printing Presses. The printing presses made use of in the English colonies, before the revolution, were, generally, imported from England, but some were manufactured in the country. Christopher Sower, Jr., had his printing presses made under his own inspection, in Germantown, as early as 1750. After 1775, good presses were made in many of the capital towns in the United States, particularly in Philadelphia, and in Hartford, Connecticut. Some of these presses underwent several partial alterations in their Allowance must be made for exaggeration in these statements.- H. 36 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. machinery, but no essential change in the construction was made from the common English printing press.1 A few were contrived to perform the operation of printing in a different manner from that press, but these were not found to be useful. Some years since, Dr. Kinsley, of Connecticut, who possessed great mechanical ingenuity, produced, among other inventions, a model of a cylindrical letter press. It was a subject of much conversation among printers, but was never brought into use. The invention, however, did not originate with Iinsley. 2 Cylindrical letter presses were invented in 1789, by William Nicholson, of London, who obtained a patent for them in 1790. Kinsley's model was from Nicholson's plan, with some variation. Nicholson 1 This remark seems hardly just in respect to the presses of Adam Ramage, unless intended to apply to presses made previous to the revolution. It is true that from Moxon's time in 1683, the English had made no change in the screw of the common book press, which was uniformly two and a quarter inches in diameter, with a descent of two and a half inches in a revolution. The diameter was even smaller in job presses, but the same fall was always maintained, by which the platen was made to rise and fall five-eighths of an inch in a quarter of a revolution; a space deemed necessary for the free passage of the form and frisket under the platen. Mr. Ramage enlarged the diameter of the screw to three inches, and where much power was required to three and a half inches, and at the same time reduced the fall in a revolution to two inches, which very nearly doubled the impressing power, but decreased the rapidity of the action. It was an improvement made necessary by the finer hair lines the type founders introduced, requiring increased power in the press, and the reduction in the descent of the screw to one-half an inch was met by a more careful finish of the frisket and its hinges, which were made to slide freely under the platen in a space of half an inch. Mr. Ramage came from Scotland and settled in Philadelphia. He made his presses of Honduras mahogany, with ample substance and a good finish, which gave them a better appearance than foreign made presses, and they were less liable to warp. Importation had in consequence almost entirely ceased as early as 1800. His great improvement on the screw and working parts connected therewith were made seven years later. He died in 1850, at a great age. See further, Printers' Circular, Philadelphia, 1868, p. 108.- M. 2 Dr. Kinsley was a native of Massachusetts, but settled in Connecticut. IIe invented a machine for making pins, and another for preparing clay and moulding bricks, etc. ENGLISH AMERICA. 37 placed his forms of types horizontally; Kinsley placed his perpendicularly; his method was not calculated for neat printing. Nicholson's presses were used, and, it is said, made excellent work.1 Rolling Presses. The rolling press, as it is called, by copperplate printers, was not used in England till the reign of King James I. It was carried from Antwerp to England, by one Speed. I cannot determine when it was first brought into English America, but I believe about the beginning of the eighteenth century. 1 For an account of the introduction of cylinder presses into this country, see Senior's Mirror of Typography, 1871, p. 2.- M. 38 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. MASSACHUSETTS. So far as relates to the introduction of the art of printing, and establishing the press in this section of the continent, Massachusetts claims precedence over all the other colonies. The press was erected here nearly at the end of the year 1638; and it was more than forty years later when printing commenced in any other part of what, before the revolution, was called British America. Hitherto justice has not been done to the man by whose agency the art was first introduced into the English colonies. Although he was one of the best and firmest friends to New England, his name has not been handed down to us with so much publicity as were those of other distinguished characters, who were his contemporaries and fellow laborers in the great work of settling a dreary country and civilizing the children of the wilderness. The principal cause of this seeming neglect in our historians and biographers may, perhaps, arise from the circumstance, that his destiny was similar to that of Moses, who, although zealously engaged in conducting the children of Israel from Egypt to Canaan, yet never reached the land of promise himself. As the founder of the Anglo-American press died on his passage from Europe to this country, he, of course, did not become so well known as he would have been had he arrived and resided here. This circumstance, probably, prevented his acquiring that celebrity to which his merits justly entitled him. Although his name is barely mentioned by two or three journalists, yet, after a diligent research, I have been enabled to obtain the following particulars respecting this venerable Father of the American Press. MASSACHUSETTS. 39 THE REV. JOSEPH G-LOVER was a worthy and wealthy dissenting clergyman in England, who engaged in the business of the settlement of Massachusetts, and had been attentively pursuing such measures for its interest and prosperity as he judged would best tend to promote them. Among other things for the benefit of the infant colony, he was very desirous of establishing a press to accommodate the business of both church and state; he contributed liberally towards a sum sufficient to purchase printing materials, and for this purpose solicited, in England and Holland, the aid of others.2 The ancient records of Harvard College mention, that "Mr. Joss. Glover gave to the college a font of printing letters, and some gentlemen of Amsterdam gave towards furnishing of aprintingpress with letters forty-nine pounds, and something more."3 The same records give us, also, the following names as " benefactors to the first fonts of letters for printing in Cambridge, in New England, Major Thomas Clark, Capt. James Oliver, Capt. Allen, Mr. Stoddard, Mr. Freake, and Mr. Hues." In the year 1638, Mr. Glover, having obtained the means, procured a good printing apparatus, and engaged 1 Wonder- Working Providence of Sion's Saviour in New England. London edition, 4to, page 129. It is a "History of New England from the English planting in the yeere 1628 until the yeere 1652." It was written by Major Edward Johnson, who was one of the first settlers of Woburn, a very judicious and active man in the settlement of the colony; he was a member of the general court, and employed in several important concerns of the government. He was father of the lion. William Johnson, who was chosen assistant in 1684. Johnson bears testimony to the worth of Mr. Glover, and speaks of his exertions to promote the interests of the infant colony. He mentions him as "being able in person and estate for the work in which he was engaged;" and " for further comnpleating the colonies in church and common-wealth-work, he provided [in 1638] a printer, which hath been very usefull in many respects." 2 Governor Winthrop mentions that "a printing house was begun at Cambridge, at the charge of Mr. Glover." See his Journal, p. 171. 3 Ancient Records of hiarvard College, vol. i, and iir, in manuscript. 40 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. a printer to accompany it in a ship bound to New England. Mr. Glover, with his family, embarked in the same vessel; but unfortunately he did not live to reach the shores of this new world. His widow and children, it is supposed, arrived in the autumn of that year, and settled at Cambridge; she afterwards became the wife of Mr. Henry Dunster, who was elected the first president of Harvard College. It is not known whether Mr. Glover had been in New England previous to his embarking for this country in 1638; but I find by the records of the county of Middlesex, that he possessed a valuable real and personal estate in Massachusetts; that he had two sons and three daughters; that John Glover, one of the sons, was educated at Harvard College, and graduated in 1650, and was appointed a magistrate in 1652; that one of the daughters was married to Mr. Adam Winthrop, and another to Mr. Appleton. Mr. Glover had doubtless been written to and requested by his friends, among whom were the leading men in the new settlement of Massachusetts, who were then establishing an academy, which soon acquired the appellation of college -to provide a press, etc., not only for the advantage of the church and state, but particularly for the benefit of the academy; the records of which prove that the types and press were procured for, and, types particularly, were the property of, that institution. The press, as appears by the records of the county court of Middlesex, 1656, was the property of Mr. Glover's heirs. Mr. Glover, it should seem, intended to have carried on both printing and book selling; for, besides the printing materials, he had provided a stock of printing paper, and a quantity of books for sale. John Glover, one of the sons of Mr. Glover, after the death of his mother brought an action, in the court above MASSACHUSETTS. 41 mentioned, against his father-in-law Dunster, for the recovery of the estate which had belonged to his father and mother, and which was detained by Dunster. An inventory of the estate was filed in court; among the items were the printing press, printing paper, and a quantity of books. The inventory proves that the press, then the only one in the country, was the property of the plaintiff in the action; and it is shown by the said inventory, and by the records of the general court, that Dunster had had the management of the press, in right of his wife, and as president of the college; and that he had received the " profits of it." ' As it may amuse those who feel an interest in whatever concerns the first press, and the person by whose agency the art of printing was introduced into the colonies, and as others may be gratified by the perusal of 'We gather some additional facts respecting Mr. Glover from the Glover Memorials and Genealogies by Anna Glover, Boston, 1867. The Rev. Joseph Glover was rector of Sutton, in Surrey, England, from 1628 to 1636, when he tendered his resignation for the purpose of coming to New England. He preached in London, and traveled through.parts of England endeavoring to obtain funds for the college already commenced at Cambridge. He embarked in the summer of 1638, with his family, consisting of wife and five children, in the John of London, bound for New England, and died on the passage. He had with him a printing press, and a printer (Stephen Daye) who was to superintend the printing; and also three men servants to work the press. His name, which has been variously stated by different writers, was Joseph. It is so written by Gov. Winthrop in his Journal, vol. I, p. 242, and in the Records of Sutton in Surrey, and wherever it occurs in English documents. Mr. Glover was twice married. His first wife was Sarah Owfield, daughter of Roger Owfield of London. They had three children, (viz).: 1. Roger, died in Scotland. 2. Elizabeth, married Adam Winthrop, Esq. 3. Sarah, married Deane Winthrop, Esq. The second wife to whom he was married about 1630, was Elizabeth Harris of England, By her he had two children. (viz.): 1. Priscilla, married John Appleton, Esq., of Ipswich. 2. John, died in London in 1668, unmarried. Mrs. Elizabeth Glover, soon after her arrival at Cambridge, married Rev. Henry Dunster, and died in 1643. See, also N. K. Eist. Gen. Regr., xxiii, p. 135.- -i 42 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. the proceedings in, and decision of, one of the courts of justice holden in the primitive state of the country, I have extracted them, verbatim et literatim, from the records, and added them with the inventory before mentioned in a note. Appendix C. Cambridge. The printing apparatus, as has been related, was, in the year 1638,' brought to Cambridge, then as much settled as Boston, both places being founded in a situation which eight years before this event, was, in scriptural language, a howling wilderness. At Cambridge the building of an academy was begun; and, it was at that place the rulers both of church and state then held their assemblies. These circumstances, probably, induced those who had the management of public affairs to fix the press there; and there it remained for sixty years, altogether under their control, as were other presses afterwards established in the colony; but for upwards of thirty years, printing was exclusively carried on in that town. STEPHEN DAYE was the first who printed in this part of America. He was the person whom Mr. Glover engaged to come to New England, and conduct the press. IIe was supposed to be a descendant of John Daye, a very eminent printer, in London, from 1560 till 1583, but this cannot be accurately ascertained. He was, however, born in London, and there served his apprenticeship to a printer. Daye having, by the direction of the magistrates and elders, previously erected the press and prepared the other parts of the apparatus, began business in the first month of 1639.2 The press was set up in the house of the president of IIarvard College, the Rev. Henry Dunster, in 1639. — lI 2 Gov. WiUntoro)'s Journal, p. 171. MASSACHUSETTS. 43 The first work which issued from the press was the Freeman's Oath - to which succeeded, an almanack.. However eminent Daye's predecessors, as printers, might have been, it does not appear that he was well skilled in the art. It is probable he was bred to the press; his work discovers but little of that knowledge which is requisite for a compositor. In the ancient manuscript records of the colony, are several particulars respecting Daye; the first is as follows: " Att a General Court held at Boston, on the eighth day of the eighth moneth [October] 1641. Steeven Daye being the first that sett vpon printing, is graunted three hundred acres of land, where it may be convenient without prejudice to any town." Inr 1642, he owned several lots of land "in the bounds of Cambridge." He mortgaged one of those lots as security for the payment of a cow, calf, and a heifer; whence, we may conclude, he was not in very affluent circumstances.' In 1643, Daye, for some offence, was by order of the general court taken into custody; his crime does not appear on record; the court "' ordered, that Steeven Day shall be 1 A simple memorandum of the fact, made in the book of records, was then judged sufficient, without recording a formal mortgage; this appears by the first book of records kept in the colony, now in the registry of deeds of the county of Suffolk, Massachusetts, from which the following are extracted, viz: " Steeven Day of Cambridge graunted vnto John Whyte twenty-Seaven Acres of Land lying in the Bounds off Cambridg for the payment of a cowe and a calf and a two yeares old heiffer." Dated the 25th of the 5th month, 1642. " Steeven Day of Cambridg graunted vnto Nicholaus Davidson of Meadford, all his lands on the south side of Charles River, being aboute one hundred Acres in Cambridg bounds, for surety of payment of sixty pounds, with sundry provisions." Dated the 25th of the 5th month, 1642. " Steeven Day of Cambridg bound over to Thomas Crosby, five lots of land in the new field beyond the water in Cambridg, number 24, 25, 26, 27, and 29th, in all sixety Acres, for the payment of fiftey seaven pounds, with liberty to take off all wood and timber." &c. Dated 16th of '2d month, 1643. 44 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. released, giving 1001. Bond for appearance when called for." Daye continued to print till about the close of the year 1648, or the beginning of 1649; at which time the printing house was put under the management of Samuel Green. Whether the resignation of the office of manager of the printing house was or was not voluntary in Daye, cannot be ascertained. Neither the press nor the types belonged to him; he had been employed only as the master workman; his wages were undoubtedly low; and it evidently appears he was embarrassed with debts. His industry and economy might not be suited to the state of his finances. Circumstances like these might cause Mr. Dunster, who it seems then conducted the printing business, to be dissatisfied, and induce him to place the printing house in other hands; or, it was possible that Daye, finding himself and the press under a control he was unwilling to be subjected to, resigned his station. Daye remained in Cambridge; and, some years after he had ceased to be master workman in the printing house, brought an action against President Dunster, to recover one hundred pounds for former services. The record of the decision of the County court in that case, is as follows: LAtt a County Court held at Cambridge, April, 1656, Steeven Day, Plant. against Mr. Henry Dunster, Defft. in an action of the case for Labour and Expenses about the Printing Presse and the utensils and appurtenances thereof and the manageing the said worke to the vallue of one hundred pounds. The jury finds for the Defft. costs of court." In 1655, he had not obtained the land granted to him in 1641. This appears by the following extracts from the public records, viz: 1In some legal papers after 1650, Daye is styled locksmith. Dr. Page's Manuscrip2t Hist. of Cambridge.-1I MASSACHUSETTS. 45 " At a General Court of Elections holden at Boston 29th of May 1655, In answer to the Peticon of Steeven Day of Cambridge craving that the Graunt within the year 1641 of this Court of three hundred Acres of Land to him for Recompence of his Care and Charg in furthering the worke of Printing, might be recorded, the Record whereof appears not,1 the Court Graunt his Request and doeth hereby confirme the former graunt thereof to him." " At a General Court of Elections holden at Boston, 6th of May 1657, Steeven Day of Cambridg having often complayned that he hath suffered much dammage by Erecting the Printing Presse at Cambridg, at the Request of the Magistrates and Elders, for which he never had yett any Considerable Sattisfaction. This Court doe Graunt him three hundred Acres of Land in any place not formerly Graunted by this Court." In the records of 1667, is the following order of the General Court relative to another petition from Daye, viz: " In answer to the Peticon of Steeven Daye, It is ordered that the Peticoner hath liberty to procure of the Sagamore of Nashoway [now Lancaster] by sale, or otherwise, to the quantity of one hundred and fifty acres of Vpland, and this Court doeth also graunt the petic6ner twenty Acres of meadow where he can find it free of former Graunts." Daye died in Cambridge, December 22, 1668, aged about 58 years. Rebecca Daye, probably his wife, died, October 17, of the same year. I have found but few books printed by Daye. I have never seen his name in an imprint, and, I believe, it never appeared in one. Several books printed at Cambridge, by his successor, are without the name of the printer; and some of them do not give even the year in which they were printed; but I have identified the following 1 The record appears to have been regularly made in 1641. I extracted it from the original record book 6f the colony for that year. 46 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. Catalogute of Books printed by Daye. 1639. The Freeman's Oath.. 1639. An Almanack, calculated for New England. By Mr. Pierce, Mariner. The year begins with March. 1640. The Psalms in Metre, Faithfully translated for the Use, Edification, and Comfort of the Saints in Publick and Private, especially in New England. Crown 8vo. 300 pages. I have no doubt that it is thefirst book printed in this country. The type is Roman, of the size of small bodied English, entirely new, and may be called a very good letter. In this edition there are no Hymns or Spiritual Songs; it contains only the Psalms, the original long preface, and " An Admonition to the Reader" of half a page, at the end of the Psalms after Finis.- This " admonition " respects the tunes suited to the psalms. The second edition in 1647, contained a few Spiritual Songs. The third edition, revised and amended by President Dunster, &c., had a large addition of Scripture Songs and Hymns, written by Mr. Lyon. The first edition abounds with typographical errors, many of which were corrected- in the second edition. This specimen of Daye's printing does not exhibit the appearance of good workmanship. The compositor must have been wholly unacquainted with punctuation. " The Preface," is the running title to that part of the work. "k The " with a period, is on the left hand page, and "' Preface," on the right. Periods are often omitted where they should be placed, and not seldom used where a comma only was necessary. Words of one syllable, at the end of lines, are sometimes divided by a hyphen; at other times those of two or more syllables are divided without one; the spelling is bad and irregular. One thing is very singular -at the head of every left hand page throughout the book, the work " PSALM " is spelled as it should be; at the head of every right hand page, it has an E final thus, " PSALME." Daye was probably bred a pressman; the press work is passable. This was commonly called The Bay Psalm Boo/c, but afterwards The New England Version of the Psalms. The Rev. Thomas Prince, of Boston, who published a revised and improved edition in 1758, gives, in his preface, the following account of its origin and of the first edition printed by Daye, viz: "By 1636 there were come over hither, near thirty pious and learned Ministers, educated in the Universities of England; and from the same exalted Principles of Scripture Purity in Religious Worship, they set themselves to MASSACHUSETTS. 47 translate the Psalms and other Scripture Songs into English Metre as near as possible to the inspired Original. They committed this Work especially to the Rev. Mr. Weld, and the Rev. John Eliot' of Roxbury, well acquainted with the Hebrew, in which the Old Testament, and with the Greek, in 'which the New, were originally written. They finished the Psalms in 1640, which were first printed by Mr. Daye that year, at our Cambridge, and had the Honor of being the First Book printed in North America, and as far as I find in this whole New World." 2 1640. An Almanack for 1640. 1641. A Catechism, agreed upon by the Elders at the Desire of the General Court.3 1641. Body of Liberties. [This book contained an hundred Laws, which had been drawn up pursuant to an order of the General court by Nathaniel Ward, pastor of the church in Ipswich. Mr. Ward had been a minister in England, and formerly a practitioner of law in the courts of that country.] 4 1641. An Almanack for 1641. [One or more almanacs were every year printed at the Cambridge press. In all of them the year begins with March.] 1642. Theses, etc., in Latin, of the first graduates in Harvard College. 1647. The Psalms in Metre. Faithfully translated for the use, Edification and Comfort of the Saints, in public and private, especially in New England. Cro. 8vo, 300 pages. [This was a second edition, somewhat amended, and a few Spiritual Songs added. After this edition was published, the Rev. Henry Dunster, President of Harvard College, and a master of the Oriental languages, and Mr. Richard Lyon, educated at a university in Europe, were appointed a committee further to revise and improve the Psalms, which service they performed in two or three years; Eliot who translated the Bible into the Indian language. 2 The reverend annalist is here in an error. Printing was introduced into Mexico, and other Spanish provinces in America, many years before the settlement of the English colonies in North America. 3 This work is mentioned in Gov. Winthrop's Journal. 4 The Body of Liberties had been revised and altered by the general court, and sent to every town for further consideration. This year the court again revised and amended the laws contained in that book, and published and established them as an experiment for three years. Mr. Ward was the author of The Simple Cobler of Agawam, a book celebrated in New England in the seventeenth century. 48 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. when another edition was published, with the addition of other scriptural songs. This revised version went through numerous editions, in New England. It was reprinted in England and Scotland; and was used in many of the English dissenting congregations, as well as in a number of the churches in Scotland -it was added to several English and Scotch editions of the Bible; and, went through fifty editions, including those published in Europe]' 1647. Danforth's [Samuel] Almanack. " Cambridg, Printed 1648." The typography is rather better than usual.2 1648. The Laws of the Colony of Massachusetts; drawn up by order of, and adopted by, the General Court, etc. Folio. I have not found a copy of this work. 1648. [About] Astronomical Calculations. By a Youth. [Urian Oakes, then student at Cambridge; where he was afterwards settled in the ministry, and elected president of Harvard College.] The Almanack had the motto -Parvum parva decent; sed inest sua gratia parvis. The year in which this was published is not ascertained, nor by whom printed.3 1649. Danforth's [Samuel] Almanack. (Cambridg, Printed." Besides the works already enumerated, there were many others printed by Daye; but no copies of them are now to be found.4 Although I have not been able to discover a copy of the laws, printed in 1648; yet, respecting this edition, there is the following record, viz: ' It was first published in London, by John Blayne, bookseller, 1652. 2 Memorandumn by Mr. Thomas - [Inquire of John Farmer the date of an Almanack printed at Cambridge by Matthew Daye. Matthew Daye, I presume, was a brother or son of Stephen Daye. He is not noticed as a printer in any record. I have discovered nothing printed by him but this almanac. It was undoubtedly done in Stephen Daye's office by his permission.] The Almanac referred to as in the possession of Mr. Farmer, the well known antiquary, is now in the rich collection of George Brinley, Esq., of Hartford, Conn. The date is 1647. The imprint " Cambridge printed by Mathew Daye; and to be sold by Hezekiah Usher, at Boston." For notice of Mathew Daye, see Mass. JHist. Soc. Proceedings, Iln, 154. It is mentioned by Mather in his Magzalia, by Holmes in his History of Cambridge, in Hist. Soc. Coll., and by others. 4A list of all known publications in this country before 1776, is appended to his edition.-II. MASSACHUSETTS. 49 - "At a General Court of Elections held at Boston 8th month, 1648. It is ordered by the court that the Booke of Lawes now at the presse may be sould in Quires, at 3s. the booke, provided that every member of this court shall have one without price, and the Auditor Generall and Mr. Joseph Hills; for which there shall be fifty in all taken up to be so disposed by the appointment of this court." Appendix D. SAMUEL GREEN, was the son of Bartholomew and Elizabeth Green, who, with their children and other relations, were among the early settlers of Cambridge. Samuel Green, then only sixteen years of age, arrived with Governor Winthrop. He was in Cambridge eight years before Daye came from England; but was unknown as a printer until about 1649, nearly eleven years after Daye's arrival. Some writers, since the year 1733, erroneously mention Green as " the first who printed in New England, or in North America."l All the records I have examined are silent respecting the cause of Daye's relinquishing the management of the press; nor do they give any reason why his place in the printing house was supplied by the appointment of Green. The similarity of Green's first printing to that of Daye's, induces me to believe that Green was unacquainted with the art when he undertook the management of the press, 1" December 28th, deceased here Mr. Bartholomew Green, one of the deacons of the South Church; who has been the principal printer of this town and country near forty years, in the 67th year of his age." " His father was Capt. Samuel Green the famous printer of Cambridge, who arrived with Gov. Winthrop in 1630. He used to tell his children that, upon their first coming ashore, he and several others were for some time glad to lodge in empty casks, to shelter them from the weather. This Capt. Green was a commission officer of the military company at Cambridge for above 60 years together. He died there Jan. 1, 1701-2, aged 87, highly esteemed and beloved both for piety and a martial genius. He had nineteen children, eight by the first wife, and eleven by his second, who was a daughter of Elder Clark of Cambridge."- Boston News Letter, Jan. 4, 1733. 4 50 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. and that he was assisted by Daye, who continued to reside in Cambridge; and whose poverty, probably, induced him to become, not only an instructor, but a journeyman to Green. By the records of the colony, it appears, that the president of the college still had the direction of the concerns of the printing house, and made contracts for printing; and that he was responsible for the productions of the press, until licensers were appointed. I have extracted the following from the records of 1650 and 1654: " At a third meeting of the General Court of Elections at Boston, the 15th of October, 1650, It is ordered that Richard Bellingham, Esquir, the Secretary, and Mr. Hills, or aney Two of them, are appointed a Comittee to take order for the printing of Lawes Agreed vppon to be printed, to determine of all Things in reference thereunto. Agreeing with the President ffor the printing of them with all Expedition and to Alter the title if there be Cawse." "At a General Court of Elections, held at Boston, the third of May, 1654. It is ordered by this Court that henceforth the Secretary shall, within tenn dayes after this present sessions, and so from time to time, deliver a copie of all Lawes that are to be published unto the President or printer, who shall forthwith make an Impression thereof to the noumber of five, Six, or Seven hundred as the Court shall order, all which Coppies the Treasurer shall take of and pay for in wheate, or otherwise to Content, for the Noumber of five hundred, after the rate of one penny a Sheete, or eight shillings a hundred for five hundred sheetes of a Sorte, for so many sheetes as the bookes shall contajne, and the Treasurer shall disterbute the bookes, to every magistrate one, to every Court one, to the Secretary one, to each towne where no magistrate dwells one, and the rest amongst the Townes that beare publick charge with this jurisdiction, according to the MASSACHUSETTS. 51 noumber of freemen in each Towne. And the order that Ingageth the Secretary to transcribe coppies for the Townes and others, is in that respect repealed." 1 " At a General Court held at Boston 9th of June, 1654, Upon Conference with Mr. Dunster, [president of the college] and the printer in reference to the imprinting of the Acts of the General Court, whereby we understand some inconveniencies may accrue to the Printer by printing that Law which recites the agreement for printing. It is therefore ordered, that the said law be not put forth in print, but kept amongst the written records of this Court." Whether Green was, or was not acquainted with printing, he certainly, some time after he began that business, prosecuted it in such a way as, generally, met approbation. He might, by frequenting the printing house, when it was under the care of Daye, have obtained that knowledge of the art, which enabled him, with good workmen, to carry it on; be this as it may, it is certain that as he proceeded with the execution of the business, he seems to have acquired more consequence as a printer; his work, however, did not discover that skill of the compositor, or the pressman, that was afterwards shown when Johnson, who was sent over to assist in printing the Indian Bible, arrived. In 1658, Green petitioned the general court for a grant of land. The court took his petition into consideration, and determined as follows, viz. "At the Second Sessions of the General Court held at Boston the 19th of October, 1658, in answer to the Petictn of Samuel Green, of Cambridge, printer. The Court 1I have quoted ancient records in many instances, as they not only give facts correctly, but convey to us the language, etc., of the periods in which they were made. 52 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. judgeth it meete for his Encouragement to graunt him three hundred acres of Land where it is to be found." In 1659, the records of the colony contain the following order of the General court. "It is ordered by this Court that the Treasurer shall be and hereby is empowered to disburse out of the Treasury what shall be necessary tending towards the printing of the Lawes, to Samuel Greene, referring to his Pajnes therein or otherwise." This edition of the Laws was ordered to be printed December 1658, and was finished at the press, October 16th, 1660. From the Manuscript records of the commissioners of the United Colonies, who were agents for the corporation in England for propagating the gospel among the Indians in [New England, we find that in 1656 there were two presses in Cambridge, both under the care of Green. One belonged to the college, which undoubtedly was the press that Mr. Glover purchased in England, and Daye brought over to America; the other was the property of the corporation in England. There were types appropriated to each. The corporation, for a time, had their printing executed in London; but when the Indian youth had been taught to read, &c., at the school at Cambridge, established for the purpose, and Mr. Eliot and Mr. Pierson had translated Primers and Catechisms into the Indian language for the common use of the Indians, and eventually translated the Bible, it became necessary that these works should be printed in America, under the inspection of the translators. For this reason the corporation sent over a press and types, furnished every printing material for their work, and even paid for mending of the press when out of repair. In September, 1654, the commissioners in the United Colonies found that a sufficient quantity of paper and types for the purpose of executing the works which were projected had not been received, they therefore, MASSACHUSETTS. 53 wrote to the corporation in England for an augmentation to the value of ~20.' The articles arrived in 1655. Green judging it necessary to have more types for the Indian work, in 1658, petitioned the General Court to that purpose. The court decided thereon as follows, viz. " At a General Court holden at Boston 19th of May, 1658. In answer to the Peticon of Samuel Green, printer, at Cambridge, The Court Judgeth it meete to Comend the consideration therof to the Comissioners of the United Colonjes at their next meeting that so if they see meete they may write to the Corporation in England for the procuring of twenty pounds worth more of letters for the vse of the Indian Colledg." When the press and types, &c., sent by the corporation in England, for printing the Bible and other books in the Indian Language, arrived they were added to the printing materials belonging to the college, and altogether made a well furnished printing house.2 The types were very good, and the faces of them as handsome as any that were made at that time; they consisted of small founts of nonpareil, brevier, long primer, small pica, pica, english, great primer, and double pica; also, small casts of long primer and pica Hebrew, Greek, and blacks. The building occupied for a printing house, was well suited to the business. It had been designed for a college for the Indian youth. 1 All the sums are in sterling money. 2 General Daniel Gookin, who lived in Cambridge, and who, in 1662, was appointed one of the two first licensers of the press, mentions in his work, entitled Historical Collections of the Indians of Neto England dedicated to King Charles II, that "the houses erected for the Indian college, built strong and substantial of brick, at the expense of the Corporation in England for propagating the Gospel in New England, and cost between 3001. and 4001. not being improved for the ends intended, by reason of the death and failing of Indian scholars, was taken to accommodate English scholars, and for placing and using the Printing Press belonging to the college," &c. This building was taken cown many years since. It stood not far from the other buildings of the college. 54 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. Green now began printing the Bible in the Indian language, which even at this day would be thought a work of labor, and must, at that early period of the settlement of the country, have been considered a business difficult to accomplish, and of great magnitude. It was a work of so much consequence as to arrest the attention of the nobility and gentry of England, as well as that of King Charles, to whom it was dedicated. The press of Harvard college, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, was for a time, as celebrated as the presses of the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, in England. Having obtained many particulars relating to the printing of this edition of the Bible, I will follow Green through that arduous undertaking. In 1659, Hezekiah Usher, merchant, and bookseller, of Boston, agent for the corporation, charges that body ~40 paid Green for printing s" the Psalms and Mr. Pierson's Cattechisme," &c., and credits 80 ~ in printing types; he also gives credit for one hundred and four reams of paper sent by the corporation toward printing the New Testament " in the Indian language." The corporation in a letter dated London, April 28, 1660, and directed to the commissioners, observes: " Conserning youer Printing the New Testament in the Indian Language, a sheet whereof you haue transmitted to vs, wee concurr with youerselues therin, and doe approue of that prouision you have made for printing the same conceiueing and offering as our judgments that it is better to print fifteen hundred than but a thousand; hopeing that by incurragement from Sion Collidge, with whom we haue late conference, you may bee enabled to print fifteen hundred of the Ould Testament likewise." Usher, in his account rendered to the corporation in 1660, debits the stock of the corporation with two hundred reams of printing paper, "'bought since he rendered his last account," and with printing ink and types, and MASSACHUSETTS. 55 "setting them in the presse," the gross sum of ~120 1 8; and, to 4' cash paid Mr. Green for distributing the ffont of letters and printing six sheets of the New Testament in Indian att four pounds per sheet, ~24." In September 1661, the commissioners, who that year met at Plymouth, wrote to Mr. Usher; and among other things, thanked him for his "' care in prouiding Matterials and furthering the printing of the Bible, and desire the continuance of the same vntill it bee Issved;" and to " pay Mr. Green for printing the same as formerly; " also to " demaund and receiue of Mr. Green the whole Impression of the New Testament in Indian, now finished; and take care for the binding of two hundred of them strongly and as speedily as may bee with leather or as may bee most serviceable for the Indians; and deliuer them forth as you shall haue direction from any of the commissioners for the time being of which keep an exact account that soe it may bee seen how they are Improved and disposed of; alsoe, wee pray you take order for the printing of a thousand coppyes of Mr. Eliotts Catichismes which we vnderstand are much wanting amongst the Indians, which being finished, Receiue from the Presse and dispose of them according to order abouesaid." The agent, in his account current with the corporation in 1662, has, among other charges, one for "' Disbursements for printing the Bible as per bill of particulars ~234 11 8."L 1 The following is the bill of particulars, as charged by Green, viZ: To mending of the windowes of the printing house,... ~ 1 0 5 To pack thrid and uellum,.......................... 5 6 To 2 barrells of Inke and leather for balls,.......... 20 0 0 To hide for the presse being broken,................. 1 0 0 To 160 Reams of Paper Att 6s. per ream............ 48 0 0 To printing the Title sheet to the New Testament,.. 1 0 0 To printing 1500 Cattechismes,.................... 15 0 0 To printing 21 sheets of the Old Testament, att 31b. 10s. per sheet Mr. Iohlson being absent,............... 73 10 0 56 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. This bill was only for one year ending September, 1662. At that time Green, by direction, gave to the commissioners: "An account of the Vtensils for printing belonging to the Corporation, in the custody of Samuell Green of Cambridge Printer and giuen in vnder his hand, viz: The presse with what belongs to it with one tinn pann and two frisketts. Item two table of Cases of letters [types] with one ode [odd] Case. Item the ffontt of letters together with Imperfections that came since. Item one brasse bed, one Imposing stone. Item two barrells of Inke, 3 Chases, 2 composing stickes one ley brush 2 candlestickes one for the Case the other for the Presse. Item the frame and box for the sesteren [water trough.] Item the Riglet brasse rules and scabbard the Sponge 1 galley 1 mallett 1 sheeting [shooting] sticke and furniture for the chases. Item the letters [types] that came before that were mingled with the colledges." At the meeting of the commissioners in September, 1663, the agent charges the corporation with the balance due for printing the Bible, which he paid that month to Green, in full for his services, ~140 12 6. Green, at this meeting, gave in an account of all the printing paper he had received at different times, from the corporation and their agent, amounting to 469 reams; 368 reams of which he had used in printing the Bible, 30 reams in printing two Catechisms, and there remained in his hands 71 reams. At the meeting of the commissioners in September, 1664, among the articles charged in the agent's account To printing 25 sheets with his healp att 50 shill. per sheet,................................... 62 10 0 To binding 200 Testaments att 6 d. a peece,....... 5 0 0 To Mr. Johnsons board,........................... 7 5 9 ~234 11 8 MASSACHUSETTS. 57 with the corporation, was the following bill of sundries paid to Green, viz: "To expences about the presse for mending it; makeing new Chases, and to twenty seauen skins for balls &c. ~ 4 4 To two smale Chests to put the Bibles in [20 Copies] that were sent to England. 5 0 To printing the Indian Psalmes to go with the Bible, 13 sheets att 2 lb per sheet, 26 0 0 To printing the Epistle dedicatory to the Bible, 1 0 0 To printing Baxter's Call in Indian, eight sheets at 50s. per sheet, 20 0 0 To printing the Psalter in Indian, 9 sheets, at 20s. 9 0 0 To one yeares board of Johnson, 15 0 0 The agent, in his account for 1669, charges, " Cash paid Green for binding and clasping 200 Indian Bibles at 2 s. 6 d. ~25.-For binding 200 Practice of Piety at 6d. ~5.- For do. 400 Baxter's Call at 3s. per 100, 12s." &c. I have made a calculation from the documents I have seen, and find the whole expense attending the carrying through the press, 1000 copies of the Bible, 500 additional copies of the New Testament, an edition of Baxter's Call to the Unconverted, an edition of the Psalter, and two editions of Eliot's Catechism, all in the Indian language, including the cost of the types for printing the Bible, and the binding a part of them, and also the binding of. a part of Baxter's Call, and the Psalters, amounted to a fraction more than ~1200, sterling. The Bible was printed on a fine paper of pot size, and in quarto. After the first edition of the Bible, and some other books in the Indian language, had been completed at the press belonging to the corporation for propagating the gospel, &c., the corporation made a present of their printing materials to the college. On this occasion the government of the college ordered as follows: 58 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. "IIarvard Colledge Sept. 20, 1670. The honorable Corporation for the Indians having ordered their Printing Presse, letters, and Vtensils to be delivered to the Colledge, the Treasurer is ordered forthwith to take order for the receiveing thereof, and to dispose of the same for the Colledge use and improvement."' Green, by direction, gave to the president a schedule of the articles, and valued them at ~80. That sum must have been very low. With these types he began another edition of the Indian ]3ible.2 Some small religious treatises having been published in 1662, which the general court, or some of the ruling clergy, judged rather too liberal, and tending to open the door of heresy, licensers of the press were appointed;3 but on the 27th of May, 1663, the general court " Ordered that the Printing Presse be at liberty as formerly, till this Court shall take further order, and the late order is hereby repealed." 4After this order was passed, a more free use of the press seems to have been made; this immediately arrested the attention of government, and soon awakened their fears; and the following rigid edict was in consequence passed, viz. "At a General Court called by order from the Governour, Deputy Governour, and other Magistrates, held at Boston 19th of October 1664. For the preventing of Irregularyties and abuse to the authority of this Country, by the Printing Presse, it is ordered by this Court and the authority thereof, that theeir shall no Printing Presse be allowed in any Towne within this Jurisdiction, but in 1 College Records vol. i. 2The New Testament, of which five hundred octavo copies were printed, was first put to the press, and finished, in 1681, and the whole Bible completed in 1686. 3Major Daniel Gookin and the Rev. Jonathan Mitclell were the first appointed licensers of the press. [Ancient records of the colony.] 4Ancient records of the colony. MASSACHUSETTS. 59 Cambridge,' nor shall any person or persons presume to print any Copie but by the allowance first had and obtayned under the hands of such as this court shall from tjme to tjme Impower; the President of the Colledge, Mr. John Shearman, Mr. Jonathan Mitchell and Mr. Thomas Shepheard, or any two of them to survey such Copie or Coppies and to prohibit or allow the same according to this order; and in case of non observance of this order, to forfeit the Presse to the Country and be disabled from Vsing any such profession within this Jurisdiction for the tjme to Come. Provided this order shall not extend to the obstruction of any Coppies which this Court shall Judge meete to order to be published in Print." 2 Government appears not only to have required a compliance with the above law, but to have exercised a power independent of it. The licensers of the press had permitted the reprinting of a book written by Thomas A Kempis, entitled Imitation of Christ &c., a work well known in the Christian world. This treatise was represented to the court by some of its members, in their session in 1667, as being heretical; whereupon the court passed an order as follows: ' This Court being informed that there is now in the Presse reprinting, a book that Imitates of Christ, or to that purpose, written by Thomas Kempis, a popish minister, wherein is contayned some things that are lesse safe to be infused amongst the people of this place, Doe comend to the licensers of the Presse the more full revisale thereof, and that in the meane tjme there be no further progresse in that work." 1 By this order it should seem that another press had been set up, or what is most probable, intended to be, in Boston. But I have not found any book printed in Boston, or in any other town in Massachusetts, excepting Cambridge, until the year 1674. 2 Ancient manuscript records of the colony. 60 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. In 1671, the general court ordered an edition of the laws, revised, &c., to be printed. Heretofore the laws had been published at the expense of the colony. John Usher, a wealthy bookseller, who was then or soon after treasurer of the province, made interest to have the publishing of this edition on his own account. This circumstance produced the first instance in this country of the security of copyright by law. Usher contracted with Green to print the work, but suspecting that Green might print additional copies for himself, or that Johnson, who was permitted to print at Cambridge, would reprint from his copy, two laws, at the request of Usher, were passed to secure to him this particular work. These laws are copied from the manuscript records; the first was in May, 1672, and is as follows, viz: "In answer to the petition of John Vsher, the Court Judgeth it meete to order, and be it by this Court ordered and Enacted, That no Printer shall print any more Coppies than are agreed and paid for by the owner of the Coppie or Coppies, nor shall he nor any other reprint or make Sale of any of the same without the said Owner's consent upon the forfeiture and penalty of treble the whole charge of Printing and paper of the quantity paid for by the owner of the Coppie, to the said owner or his Assigns." When the book was published, Usher, not satisfied with the law already made in his favor, petitioned the court to secure him the copyright for seven years. In compliance with the prayer of his petition, the court in May, 1673, decreed as follows: "John Vsher IIaving been at the sole Chardge of the Impression of the booke of Lawes, and presented the Governour, Magistrates, Secretary, as also every Deputy, and the Clark of the deputation with one. The Court Judgeth it meete to order that for at least Seven years, Vnlesse he shall have sold them all before that tjme, there shall be no other or MASSACHUSETTS. 61 further Impression made by any person thereof in this Jurisdiction, under the penalty this court shall see cause to lay on any that shall adventure in that Kind, besides making ffull sattisfaction to the said Jno Vsher or his Assigns, for his chardge and damage thereon. Voted by the whole court met together." A revised edition of the laws of the colony was put to the press in 1685. Respecting this edition the court " Ordered, for the greater expedition in the present revisal of the Laws they shall be sent to the Presse Sheete by Sheete, and the Treasurer shall make payment to the Printer for the same, Paper and work; and Elisha Cook and Samuel Sewall Esqrs. are desired to oversee the Presse about that work." There is among the records of the colony for 1667, one as follows: "ILayd out to Ensign Samuel Green of Cambridge printer three hundred Acres of land in the wilderness on the north of Merrimacht River on the west side of Haverhill, bounded on the north east of two little ponds beginning at a red oak in Haverhill," &c. "The court allowed of the returne of this farme as laid out." By the records of the earliest English proprietors of Cambridge, it appears that Green was the owner of several valuable tracts of land in and about that town. Green often mentioned to his children, that for some time after his arrival in New England, he, and several others, were obliged to lodge in large empty casks, having no other shelter from the weather; so few were the huts then erected by our hardy and venerable ancestors. He had nineteen children; eight by his first wife, and eleven by a second, who was daughter of Mr. Clarke, an elder in the church in Cambridge, and to whom he was married Feb. 23, 1662.' Nine of the children by 1Middlesex Records of Marriages and Deaths, vol. ir. 62 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. the second wife lived to the age of fifty-two years, or upwards. The Cambridge company of Militia elected Green to be their captain; and, as such, he bore a commission for thirty years. Ile took great pleasure in military exercises; and when he became through age too infirm to walk to the field, he insisted on being carried there in his chair on days of muster, that he might review and exercise his company.1 He was for many years chosen town clerk. And in the Middlesex Records, vol. I, is the following particular, viz: "At a County Court held at Cambridge the 5th 8th month 1652, Samuel Green is alowed Clearke of the Writts for Cambridge." Green continued printing till he became aged. He was a pious and benevolent man, and as such was greatly esteemed. He died at Cambridge, January 1st, 1702, aged eighty-seven years. Until the commencement of the revolution in 1775, Boston was not without one or more printers by the name of Green. These all descended from Green of Cambridge. Some of his descendants have, for nearly a century past, been printers in Connecticut. One of them, in 1740, removed to Annapolis, and established the Maryland Gazette, which was long continued by the family. No printing was done at Cambridge after Green's death. The press was established in this place sixty years; and, about fifty of them, Green, under government, was the manager of it. He was printer to the college as long as he continued in business. Soon after his decease, the printing materials were removed from Cambridge and probably sold. It does not appear that the corporation of the college owned any 1 Boston News Letter, Jan., 1733. MASSACHUSETTS. 63 types after this time till about the year 1718, when Mr. Thomas Hollis, of London, a great benefactor to the college, among other gifts, presented to the university a fount, or cast, of Hebrew, and another of Greek types, both of them of the size of long primer. The Greek was not used till 1761, when the government of the college had a work printed entitled, Pietas et Gratulatio Collegii Cantabrigiensis apud Novanglos, dedicated to King George III, on his accession to the throne; two of these poetical essays being written in Greek, called these types into use. They were never used but at that time, and were in January, 1764, destroyed by the fire that consumed Harvard hall, one of the college buildings, in which the types and college library were deposited; the cast of Hebrew escaped, having been sent to Boston some time before to print Professor Sewall's Hebrew Grammar. The following is a catalogue of the books that I have ascertained were printed by Green, and by Green and Johnson; the greater part of them I have seen. Those in which Marniaduke Johnson was concerned, have the names of the printers added. Catalogue of Books printed by Green. 1649. "A Platform of Church Discipline gathered out of the word of God: and agreed upon by the Elders; and Messengers of the Churches assembled in the Synod at Cambridge in New England to be presented to the Churches and Generall Court for their consideration and acceptance, in the Lord. The Eight Moneth Anno 1649. Printed by S. G. at Cambridge in New England and are to be Sold at Cambridge and Boston Anno Dom: 1649." Quarto, of pot size, 44 pages. [This book appears to be printed by one who was but little acquainted with the typographic art; it is a proof that Green was not bred to it, and that this was one of the first books from the press after he began printing. The type is new pica, or one but little worn; the press work is very bad, and that of the case no better. The punctuation in the title is exactly copied; the compositor did 64 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. not seem to know the use of points; there are spaces before commas, periods, parentheses, &c. The head of The Preface is in two lines of large capitals, but has no point after it - nor is there any after FINIS, which word is in two line capitals at the end of the book. The pages of the Preface have a running title; with the folio, or number of the pages, in brackets immediately following in the centre of a line, thus, The Preface [2] The printer did not appear to have any acquaintance with signatures. The book is printed and folded in whole sheets, without insets; in the first sheet, at the bottom of the second page, is Aa, third page Aaa, fifth page Aaa, seventh page Aaaa. The second sheet has the signature A at the bottom of the first page of that sheet; A a, third page, A a a, fifth page, and A a a a, seventh page. The third sheet begins with B, which the following sheets, have as many signatures to each as the first and second; but all, excepting those on the first and third pages of a sheet, were uncommon, and have not any apparent meaning. Every part of the work shows the want of common skill in the compositor. Facs, and ornamented large capitals cut on wood, are used at the beginning of the preface, and at the first chapter of the work. A head piece of flowers is placed at the beginning of the text, and a line of flowers between each chapter. In the book are many references to scripture, in marginal notes, on brevier. Letters of abbreviation are frequently used - such as comend, allowa-ce, comply, acqualt, fro, offeceoffffded, partakig, c6fession, &c. The spelling is very ancient, as els, forme, vpon, owne, wildernes, powr, eyther, wee, acknowledg, minde, doctrin, therin, wherin, himselfe, patrone, choyce, soveraigne, sinne, satisfie, griefe, &c. As I believe this book to be one of the first printed by Green, I have been thus particular in describing it; soon after this period his printing was much improved.] [The Platform, &c., was reprinted in London, in 1653, for "Peter Cole, at the Sign of the printing Press, in Cornhill, near the Royal Exchange."] 1650. Norton's [John] Heart of New England rent at the Blasphemies of the present Generation. 4to. 58 pages. 1650. The Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs of the Old and New Testament, faithfully translated into English Metre. For the Use, Edification and Comfort of the Saints in publick and private, especially in New England. 2 Tim. 3: 16, 17. Col. 3: 16, Eph. 5: MASSACHUSETTS. 65 18, 19. James 5: 13." Crown 8vo, 308 pages. [This was the New England version of the Psalms, revised and improved by President Dunster and Richard Lyon, mentioned by the Rev. Thomas Prince.] 1653. Eliot's [John] Catechism. [In the Indian language. Printed at the expense of the corporation in England for propagating the gospel among the Indians in New England.] 1655. God's Mercy shewed to his People in giving them a faithful Ministry and Schooles of Learning, for the continual Supplyes thereof. Delivered in a sermon Preached at Cambridge the Day after the Commencement, by Charles Chauncy, B. D., President of Harvard College, in New England. Published with some additions thereto, at the Request of divers Honoured and much Respected Friends, for publick Benefit, as they judged. Small 8vo, 56 pages. 1656. An Almanack for the year of our Lord 1656. By T. S. Philomathemat. Foolscap. 8vo. 16 pages [This Almanack I own. V It appears that an Almanack was annually printed at Cambridge from the first establishment of the press, till near the close of the 17th century. Many of them I have seen, and these I shall more particularly notice.] 1657. An Almanack for the year of our Lord 1657. By S. B. Philomathemat. Foolscap. 8vo. 16 pages. [I have a copy of this.] /. 1657. Mather's [Richard] Farewell Exhortation to the Church and People of Dorchester, in New England. "Printed at Cambridge." 4to. 28 pages. The Life and Death of that deservedly Famous Mr. John Cotton, the late Reverend Teacher of the Church of Christ at Boston in New England. Collected out of the Writings and Information of the Rev. Mr. John Davenport, of New Haven, the Rev. Mr. Samuel Whiting at Lynne, the pious Widow of the Deceased, and others. And compiled by his unworthy Successour. 4to. 56 pages. 1658. Pierson's Catechism. [In the Indian language, for the use of the Indians in New Haven jurisdiction.] 1659. Versions of the Psalms in the Indian Language. 1660. The Humble Petition and Address of the General Court Sitting at Boston, New England, unto the High and Mighty Prince, Charles the Second. 4to, 8 pages. 1660. The Book of the General Lawes and Libertyes concerning the Inhabitants of the Massachusets, collected out of the Records of the General Court, for the several years wherein they were made and established. And now Revised by the same Court, and disposed 5 66 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. into an Alphabetical order, and published by the same Authority in the General Court holden at Boston, in May, 1649. Whosoever therefore resisteth the Power, resisteth the Ordinance of God, and they that resist, receive to themselves damnation. Rom. 13: 2. Folio, 100 pages. Cambridge, [N. E.] Printed accordingto Order of the General Court, 1660. [This volume has a Preface addressed '" To our Beloved Brethren and Neighbours the Inhabitants of the Massachusets, the Governour, Assistants, and Deputies Assembled in the General Court of that Jurisdiction wish Grace and Peace in our Lord Jesus Christ," signed, " By Order of the Generall Court, Edward Rawson, Secret." There is an Alphabetical Table or Index at the end. It was printed by Samuel Green, but his name does not appear in the imprint. Only one perfect copy of this work can be found, and that is in the Library of the American Antiquarian Society.] 1 1661. The New Testament of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Translated into the Indian Language and ordered to be printed by the Commissioners of the United Colonies in New England, at the Charge, and with the Consent of the Corporation in England for the Propagation of the Gospel amongst the Indians in New England. The Indian title is thus, Wusku Wuttestamentum Nul-Lordumun Jesus Christ Nuppoquohwussuaeneumun. With marginal notes. Printed by Samuel Green and Marmadzule Johnson. The whole in the Indian language, except having two title pages, one of which is in English. Quarto. [Appendix E.] [Some copies were dedicated to the king.] 1661. Eliot's [John] Catechism. [In the Indian language.] Second edition. [1000 copies were printed.] 1661. The Psalms of David in Indian Verse, entitled, Wame Ketoohomae Uketoohomaongash David. 4to. [This Indian version accompanied the New Testament, and when the Old Testament was finished they were bound up together.] 1662. Propositions to the Elders and other Messengers of the Churches, concerning Baptisme. Recommended by the General Court. 4to, 48 pages. 1662. Answer of the Elders and other Messengers of the Churches assembled at Boston 1662, to the Questions proposed to them by order of the Honoured General Court. 4to. 60 pages. 1662. An Almanack for 1662. 'It was Secretary Rawson's private copy.- H. MASSACHUSETTS. 67 1662. Anti-Synodalia Scripta Americana. By John Allin of Dedham. 4to. 38 pages.1 [No printer's name nor year are mentioned. This was reprinted in London.] 1663. The Holy Bible: Containing the Old Testament and the New. Translated into the Indian Language, and ordered to be printed by the Commissioners of the United Colonies in New England, at the Charge and with the Consent of the Corporation in England for the Propagation of the Gospel amongst the Indians in New England. [Appendix E.] Quarto. Printed by Samuel Green and Marmaduke Johnson. It had marginal notes; and also an Indian title page, for which see the second edition in 1685. [This work was printed with new types, full faced bourgeois on brevier body cast for the purpose, and on good paper. The New Testament which was first printed in 1661, was on the same types and like paper. The Old Testament was three years in the press. 1663. An Almanackfor 1663. By Israel Chauncy.,IXo}caSPrinted by S. Green and M. Johnson. 1663. Davenport's [John, of New Haven] Another Essay for investigation of the Truth in answer to two Questions concerning, I. The subject of Baptisme. II. The Consociation of Churches. Cambridge. Printed by Samuel Green and Marmaduke Johnson. 4to. 82 pages. 1663. Shepard's Church Membership. 4to. 50 pages. 1663. Shepard's Letter on the Church Membership of Children and their Right to Baptisme. Printed by S. Green and M. Johnson. Certain Positions out of the Holy Scriptures, premissed to the whole ensuing Discourse. Printed at Cambridge. 4to. 80 pages. [Year and printer's name not mentioned.] 1663. Cotton's [John] Discourse on Civil Government in a New Plantation. 4to. 24 pages. Printed by S. Green and M. Johnson. 1663. Higginson's [John] Cause of God and his People in New England. An Election Sermon at Boston, 1663. 4to. 28 pages. 1663. Several Laws and Orders made at Several General Courts. In the years 1661, 1662, 1663. Printed and Published by order of the General Court. 8 pages, Folio. No imprint. [Printed by Samuel Green.] 1664. Shepard's Sincere Convert. 12mo. 1664. Anti-Synodalia Americana. 4to. 100 pages. Second edition. Reprinted at Cambridge by S. G. & M. J., for Hezekiah Usher of Boston. 1This is an error, the author was Rev. Charles Chauncy, John Allin wrote a reply.- I. 68 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. 1664. Animadversions upon the Anti-Synodalia Americana, printed in Old England in the Name of the Dissenting Brethren in the Synod held at Boston in New England 1662, and written by John Allin, Pastor of the Church in Dedham. 4to. 86 pages. Reprinted by S. Green and M. Johnson. 1664. Defence of the Answers and Arguments of the Synod met at Boston in the yeare 1662. 4to. 150 pages. Printed by S. Green & M. Johnson, for Hezekiah Usher of Boston. By Richard Mather. 1664. Defence of the Synod by some of the Elders. 48 pages, small type. Printed by S. G. & M. J., for Hezekiah Usher of Boston. 1664. Several Laws and Orders made at Several General Courts. In the years 1661, 1662, 1664. Printed and Published by Order of the General Court. 4 pages, folio. No imprint. [Printed by S. Green.] 1664. Baxter's Call to the Unconverted. Translated into the Indian Language by the Rev. John Eliot. Small 8vo. 130 pages. [1000 copies were printed.] 1664. The Psalter. Translated into the Indian Language by the Rev. John Eliot. Small 8vo. 150 pages. [500 copies were printed.] 1664. Indian Grammar. About 60 pages. 4to. [No year is mentioned, as I find is often the case with other printers besides Green, but it must have been printed about 1664.] 1664. Whiting's [Samuel] Discourse on the Last Judgment. 12mo. 170 pages. Printed by S. G. and M. J. 1664. Chauncy's [Israel] Almanack for 1664. Printed by S. Green and M. Johnson. 1665. Nowell's [Alexander] Almanack for 1665. 1665. Collection of the Testimonies of the Fathers of the New England Churches respecting Baptism. 4to. 32 pages. 1665. Laws and Orders made at the General Courts in May 3, August 1, and October 11, 1665. Printed and Published by order of the General Court. 4 pages, folio. No imprint. [Printed by Samuel Green.] 1665. Manitowompae Pomantamoonk: Sampwshanau Christianoh uttoh woh an Pomantog wussikkitteahonat God. 12mo. 400 pages. [Written in the language of the aborigines of New England.] The Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs of the Old and New Testament, Faithfully Translated into English Metre. For the Use, Edification and Comfort of the Saints in publick and private, MASSACHUSETTS. 69 especially in New England. Small 12mo. 100 pages, two columns to each, in nonpareil. "Cambridge. Printed for Hezekiah Usher of Boston." [This was, I believe, the third edition of the New England Version of the Psalms after it had been revised and improved by president Dunster, &c., and the fifth, including all the former editions. [Appendix E.] I have a complete copy of this edition, but the name of the printer, and the year in which it was printed, are not mentioned. It is calculated by being printed in a small page, with a very small type, to bind up with English editions of the pocket Bible; and, as the printing is executed by a good workman, and is the best that I have seen from the Cambridge press, I conclude, therefore, it could not be printed by Green before the arrival of Marmaduke Johnson in 1660; I have no doubt it was printed under Johnson's care; and, probably, soon after the Indian Bible came from the press in 1663. Johnson was a good printer, and so called by the corporation in England, who engaged, and sent him over, to assist Green in printing that work. Although in this edition the typography far exceeds in neatness any work then printed in the country, it is very incorrect; but this might have been more the fault of the corrector of the press, than of the printer. My belief that it was published about the year 1664, or 1665, is confirmed by its being printed for Hezekiah Usher, the only bookseller that I can find an account of at that time, in New England. He dealt largely in merchandise, and was then agent to the corporation in England, for propagating the Gospel in New England. It is a curious fact, that nonpareil types were used so early in this country; I have not seen them in any other book printed either at Cambridge, or Boston, before the revolution; even brevier types had been but seldom used in the printing houses in Boston, earlier than 1760. The nonpareil used for the Psalms was new, and a very handsome faced letter.] 1665. The Conditions for New Planters in the territories of his Royal Highness the Duke of York. Printed at Cambridge, on the face of half a sheet. 1665. Practice of Piety. [Translated into the Indian language.] Small 8vo. about 160 pages. 1666. Whiting's [Samuel, of Lynn] Meditations upon Genesis xviii, from ver. 23 to the end of the chapter. 12mo. 350 pages. " Printed and Sold at Cambridge." [No printer's name, but undoubtedly from Green's press.] 1666. Flint's [Josiah] Almanack for 1666. ~Xoic, after Flint's name. " Printed Anno Dom. 1666." 70 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. 1666. Several Laws and Orders made at the General Court Held at Boston the 23d of May, 1666, and 10th of October following. Printed and published by Order of the General Court. 4 pages. folio. [Printed by S. Green.] 1667. Mitchell's [Jonathan] Nehemiah upon the Wall. An Election Sermon, May, 1667. "Printed at Cambridge." [No printer's name.] 1667. Practice of Piety. Translated into the Indian language, by the Rev. John Eliot. Second edition. / 1667. Beakenbury's [Samuel] Almanack for 1667. 1668. Dudley's [Joseph] Almanack for 1668. 1668. Elegy on the Rev. Thomas Shepard, Pastor of the Church in Charlestown. By Urian Oakes. 4to. 1668. Wilsoniana Memoria. Or the Life of the Rev. John Wilson. 12mo. 1668. Several Laws and Orders made at the General Courts of Election, held at Boston, New England, the 29th of April, 1668. Printed and Published by their Order. 12 pages, folio. No imprint. [Printed by S. Green.] 1668. Several Laws and Orders made at the General Court held at Boston, in New England, October 14th, 1668. Printed and Published by their Order. 16 pages, folio. [Printed by S. Green.] 1669. Morton's [Nathaniel] New England's Memorial. 216 pages, 4to. Printed by S. G. & M. J. for John Usher of Boston. 1669- An Almanack for 1669. By J. B. Printed by S. G. & M.J. 1670. Danforth's Election Sermon at Boston, 1670. 4to. 24 pages. Printed by S. Green and M. Johnson. 1670. Stoughton's [William] Election Sermon, 1670. 4to.,/ 1670. An Almanack for 1670. By J. R. Printed by S. G. & M. J. 1670. Life and Death of that Reverend Man of God, Mr. Richard Mather, Teacher of the Church in Dorchester, New England. 4to. 42 pages. Printed by S. Green and M. Johnson. 1670. Walley's [Thomas, of Boston] Balm of Gilead to heal Sion's Wounds. An Election Sermon, preached at New Plimouth, 1669. 20 pages, 4to. Printed by S. Green and M. Johnson. 1670. Mather's [Samuel] Testimony from the Scripture against Idolatry and Superstition, preached in Dublin 1660. 4to. 80 pages. [No printer's nane.] " Reprinted at Cambridge." MASSACHUSETTS. 71 1671. Mather's [Eleazar, of Northampton] Exhortation to the present and succeeding Generations. 4to. 32 pages. Printed by S. G.&MJ. 1671. An Almanack for 1671. 1672. An Artillery Election Sermon 1672. By the Rev. Urian Oakes. 4to. 1672. Mather's [Increase] Word to the present and succeeding Generations of New England. 4to. 36 pages. 1672. Eye Salve, or a Watch Word from our Lord Jesus Christ unto his Churches, especially in the Colony of Massachusetts. An Election Sermon preached at Boston 1672. By Thomas Shepard, of Charlestown. 4to. 56 pages. 1672. Allin's [John, of Dedham] Spouse of Christ coming out of Affliction leaning upon her Beloved. 4to. 32 pages. "Printed at Cambridge by Samuel Green, and are to be Sold by John Tappan of Boston." 1672. The General Laws and Liberties of the Massachusetts Colony, Revised and alphabetically arranged. To which are added, Precedents and Forms of things frequently used. With a complete index to the whole. Re-printed by order of the General Court Holden at Boston, May 15, 1672. Edward Rawson, Seer. Whosoever therefore resisteth the Power, resisteth the Ordinance of God; and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. Rom. 13, 2. Folio, 200 pages. [Well printed. There is a small wooden cut of the colony arms as a frontispiece opposite to the title page, indifferently executed, and a large handsome head piece cut on wood at the beginning of the first page of the laws. Printed by S. Green, for John Usher of Boston.] 1672. The Book of the General Laws of the Inhabitants of New Plimouth, collected out of the Records of the General Court. Published by the Authority of the General Court of that Jurisdiction, held at Plimouth the 6th day of June, 1671. The following text of scripture is in the title page - Be subject [?] to every Ordinance of Man for the Lord's sake. 1 Pet. ii. 13. Folio. 50 pages. 1672. Indian Logic Primer. By John Eliot. 1672. Several "Laws and Orders " made at the General Court at Boston, 1672. 8 pages. Folio. 1673. The Book of the General Laws for the People within the Jurisdiction of Connecticut. Collected out of the Records of the General Court. Lately revised and published by the Authority of the General Court of Connecticut, 1672. Has a text from scripture 72 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. in the title page, viz.-Let us walk honestly as in the Day, not in Rioting and Drunkenness; not in Chambering and Wantonness; not in Strife and Envying. Rom. xiii. 13.1 [There is a small wooden cut of the arms of Connecticut in the title page. The arms are fifteen grape vines, with a hand over them holding a scroll, on which is this motto.-Sustinet qui transtulit.] Folio. 76 pages. 1673. New England Pleaded with, and pressed to Consider the Things which concern her Peace. An Election Sermon 1673. By Urian Oakes. 4to. 64 pages. 1674. Samuel Torrey, of Weymouth. Election Sermon at Plymouth. 4to. 1674. The Unconquerable, All-Conquering, and more than Conquering Souldier, or the Successful Warre which a Believer wageth with the Enemies of his Soul. An Artillery Election Sermon, June, 1672. By Urian Oakes. 4to. 46 pages. 1674. David Serving his Generation. An Election Sermon before the General Court of New Plimouth, June, 1674. By Samuel Arnold of Iarshfield. 4to. 24 pages. Imprimatur John Oxenbridge and Increase Mather. 1674. Several "Laws and Orders," made at the General Court at Boston, 1674. 4 pages. Folio. 1674. Moody's [Joshua] Souldiers Spiritualized, or the Christian Souldier orderly and Strenuously engaged in the Spiritual Warre, and so fighting the Good Fight. A Sermon preached at Boston on Artillery Election 1674. 4to. 48 pages. 1674. Fitch's [James, of Norwich] Holy Connexion. An Election Sermon at Hartford, Connecticut, 1674. 4to. 24 pages. 1675. Several "Laws and Orders " made at the Sessions of the General Court at Boston in 1675. Folio, 20 pages. 1675. Mather's [Increase] First Principles of New England concerning the subject of Baptisme and Church Communion. 4to. 56 pages. 1675. Mather's [Increase] Discourse concerning the subject of Baptisms. 4to. 82 pages. 1676. Heart Garrisoned; or the Wisdome and Care of the Spiritual Souldier above all Things to Safeguard his Heart. An Artillery Election Sermon. By Samuel Willard. 4to. 24 pages. 1676. A Brief History of the War with the Indians in New England from June 24, 1675, when the first Englishman was In Mr. Brinley's copy the citation is from " Rom. 13. 1. 2," two more appropriate verses.- H. MASSACHUSETTS. 73 murdered by the Indians, to August, 1776, when Philip, alias Metacomet, principal Author and Beginner of the War was slain. By Increase Mather. 4to. 56 pages. 1677. Several " Laws and Orders," made at the first Session of the General Court for Elections 1677, at Boston. Folio. -4 pages. 1679. An Almanack for 1679. By Philomath. 1680. Wusku Wuttestamentum Nul-lordumun Jesus Christ Nuppoquohwussuaeneumun. [The New Testament in the Indian Language. The greater part, including the title page, was printed in 1680, but the Testament was not completed till the year following. This was a second edition and consisted of 2,500 copies; 500 of which were bound up with the Indian Catechism, and the remainder reserved to complete a second edition of the whole Bible which came from the press in the beginning of the year 1686. 1680. A Confession of Faith owned and consented to by the Elders and Messengers of the Churches assembled at Boston, May 12, 1680, being the Second Session of that Synod. 1682. Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson. 8vo. 1682. Oakes's [Urian] Fast Sermon, delivered at Cambridge 4to. 32 pages. 1682. Ornaments for the Daughters of Zion; or the Character and Happiness of a Virtuous Woman. By Cotton Mather. 12mo. 116 pages. Printed by S. G. & B. G. for Samuel Phillips of Boston. 1684. An Almanack for 1684. 1684. Dennison's [Daniel] Irenicon; or a Salve for New England's Sore. 8vo. 50 pages. 1685. The New England Almanack for 1686. 'Printed at Cambridge by Samuel Green, sen., Printer to Harvard Col. A. D. 1685." 1685. The Holy Bible, containing the Old Testament and the New. Translated into the Indian Language, and ordered to be printed by the Commissioners of the United Colonies in New England, &c. This was a second edition of Eliot's Indian Bible; and, like the first, it had marginal notes, and an Indian translation of the New England Version of the Psalms. The Rev. Mr. Cotton, a great proficient in the Indian language, assisted Mr. Eliot in revising and correcting this edition. Both editions had title pages in English and Indian. The title in the Indian language is as follows: Mamvsse Wunneetupanatamwe Up-Biblum God Naneeswe Nukkone-Testament kah wonk Wusku Testament. Ne quoshkinnumuk nashpe Wuttineu 74 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. moh Christ noh asoowesit John Eliot. Nahcht6eu ontchetoe Printewoomuk. Cambridge: Printeuoop nashpe Samuel Green. 4to. It was six years in the press. Two thousand copies were printed.t It was not so expensive as the first edition. Mr. Eliot had the management of it; and, in his letters to the Hon. Robert Boyle, president of the corporation for propagating the gospel among the Indians in New England, he acknowledges the reception of ~900 sterling, in three payments, for carrying it through the press. 1685. Manitowampae pomantamoonk sampwshanau Christianoh. &c., second edition, 400 pp. small 8vo. [Practice of Piety.] 1686. The New England Almanack for 1687. 1687. Practice of Piety. [Translated into the Indian language.] Third edition. 1687. Eliot's Catechism. [In the Indian language. This was a third or fourth edition printed at the expense of the corporation.] 1687. Primer, in the Indian Language. [It had gone through several previous editions at the expense of the corporation.] 1689. Sampwutteahae Quinnuppekompauaenin, Wahuwomook oggussemesuog Sampwutteahae Wunnamptamwaenuog, &c. Noh asoowesit Thomas Shepard. This is Shepard's Sincere Convert, translated into Indian by the Rev. John Eliot, and was licensed to be printed by Grindal Rawson. 12mo, 164 pages. 1691. An Almanack. By John Tully. " Cambridge. Printed by Samuel Green and B. Green, and are to be sold by Nicholas Buttolph at Gutteridge's Coffee House, in Boston, 1691." 1691. Nashauanittue Meninnunk wutch Mukkiesog Wassesemumun wutch Sogkodtunganash Naneeswe Testamentsash; wutch Ukkesitchippooonganoo Ukketeahogkounooh. Noh asoowesit John Cotton. [This is John Cotton's Spiritual Milk for American Babes. Translated by Grindal Rawson.] 12mo. 14 pages. [See old editions of the New England Primer.] Printeuoop nashpe Samuel Green kah Bartholomew Green. 1691. Ornaments for the Daughters of Zion; or the Character and Happiness of a Virtuous Woman. By Cotton Mather. 12mo. 114 pages. Re-Printed by Samuel Green and Bartholomew Green for Nicholas Buttolph, at Gutteridge's Coffee House, Boston. Letter from the Rev. John Eliot to the Hon. Robert Boyle in London. Mr. Eliot gave a part of his salary toward printing the work. It went to the press in the beginning of the year 1680, and was not completed till the beginning of 1686. Mr. Eliot lived till 1690. MASSACHUSETTS. 75 1691. TIhings to be looked for. An Election Sermon. By Cotton Mather. 12mo. 84 pages. Reprinted bySamuel Green and Bartholomew Green. 1692. Tully's Almanack for 1692. Printed by Samuel Green and Bartholomew Green for Samuel Phillips of Boston. MARMADUKE JOHNSON was an Englishman, and had been bred to the printing business in London. The corporation in England for propagating the gospel among the Indians engaged and sent him over to America in 1660, to assist in printing the Bible in Indian. In a letter dated, Cooper's Hall in London, April 28th, 1660, and directed to the commissioners of the United Colonies, who had the whole management of Indian affairs, the corporation writes: "' Wee haue out of our desire to further a worke of soe great consernment, [printing the whole Bible in the Indian language] agreed with an able printer for three yeares vpon the tearmes and conditions enclosed. Wee desire you at the earnest request of Mr. Johnson the printer, and for his incurragement in this undertaking of printing the bible in the Indian language, his name may bee mentioned with others as a printer and person that hath bine instrumentall therin; for whose diet, lodging and washing wee desire you to take care off" The commissioners in their answer to the corporation, dated New Haven the 10th of September, 1660, observe: "Such order is taken by aduice of Mr. Eliott Mr. Vsher Mr. Green and Mr. Johnson that the Impression of the ould and New Testament shalbee carryed on together which they have alredy begun and Resolue to prosecute with all diligence; a sheet of Geneses wee have seen which wee have ordered shalbee Transmitted vnto you; the printers doubte not but to print a sheete euery weeke and compute the whole to amount to a hundred and fifty sheets. Mr. Johnson wilbee gratifyed with the honour 76 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. of the Impression and acomodated in other respects wee hope to content." The commissioners this year charged the corporation with ~1 4s. paid for " the expenses of Johnson the printer att his first arrivall before he settled at Cambridge." In a letter dated, Boston Sept. 10, 1662, and addressed to the Hon. Robert Boyle, governor of the corporation in England, the commissioners oftheUnited Colonies observe: " The bible is now about half done; and constant progresse therin is made; the other halfe is like to bee finished in a yeare; the future charge is vncertain; wee have heer with sent twenty coppies of the New Testament [in Indian] to bee disposed of as youer honors shall see meet. The trust youer honors hath seen meet to repose in vs for the manageing of this wTorke we shall endeauor in all faithfulness to discharge. Wee crane leave att present for the preuenting of an objection that may arise concerning the particulars charged for the printing wherin you will find 2 sheets att three pounds ten shillings a sheet, and the rest butt att 50 shillings a sheet, the reason wherof lyes heer: It pleased the honored corporation to send ouer one Marmeduke Johnson a printer to attend the worke on condition as they will enforme you; whoe hath caryed heer very vnworthyly of which hee hath bine openly Convicted and sencured in some of our Courts although as yett noe execution of sentence against him: peculiare fauor haueing bine showed him with respect to the corporation that sent him ouer; but notwithstanding all patience and lenitie vsed towards him hee hath proued uery idle and nought and absented himselfe from the worke more than halfe a yeare att one time; for want of whose assistance the printer [Green] by his agreement with vs was to haue the allowance of 21 lb. the which is to bee defallcated out of his sallery in England by the honored Corporation there." MASSACHUSETTS. 77 The commissioners, in this letter to the corporation, mentioned some bad conduct of Johnson, of which he was convicted, but they do not particularize his offence. I find in the records of the county court of Middlesex for 1662, that in April of that year, Johnson was indicted for " alluring the daughter of Samuel Green, printer, and drawing away her affection without the consent of her father." This was a direct breach of a law of the colony. Johnson was convicted, fined five pounds for that offence; and having a wife in England, was ordered " to go home to her," on penalty of twenty pounds for neglecting so to do. At the same court Johnson was fined twenty pounds for threatening the life of any man who should pay his addressesto Green's daughter. In October, 1663, Johnson, not having left the country agreeably to his sentence, was fined twenty pounds, and ordered "to be committed till he gave security that he would depart home to England to his wife the first opportunity." Samuel Goffe and John Bernard were his sureties that he should depart the country within six weeks, or in a vessel then bound to England. Johnson, however, for some cause that cannot be ascertained, [the records of the next county court being destroyed by fire] was permitted to remain in the country. His wife might have died; he had influential friends; and made his peace with Green, with whom he was afterwards concerned in printing several books. The commissioners received an answer to the letter last mentioned, from the governor of the corporation, dated London April 9th, 1663, at the close of which the governor remarks: "Conserning Marmeduke Johnson the printer wee are sorry hee hath soe miscarryed by which meanes the printing of the bible hath bin retarded we are resolved to default the 21 lb. you mention out of his sallary. Mr. Elliott whose letter beares date three monthes after youers, writes that Johnson is againe Returned into the 78 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. worke whose brother alsoe hath bine with vs and gives vs great assurance of his brothers Reformation and following his busines diligently for the time to come; and hee being (as Mr. Elliott writes) an able and vsefull man in the presse we haue thought fitt further to make tryall of him for one yeare longer and the rather because vpon Mr. Elliotts motion and the goodnes of the worke; wee have thought fitt and ordered that the Psalmes of Dauid in meter shallbee printed in the Indian language, and soe wee hope that the said Johnson performing his promise of amendment for time to come may bee vsefull in the furthering of this worke which we soe much desire the finishing of: We haue no more but comend you to the Lord. Signed in the name and by the appointment of the Corporation for the propagating of the Gospell in America. Per Robert Boyle Gouernor." The commissioners wrote from Boston, Sept. 18th, 1663, to the corporation, as was their annual custom, rendering a particular account of their concerns, and of the expenditures of the money of the corporation. Respecting Johnson they observe: " Some time after our last letter Marmeduke Johnson Returned to the Presse and hath carried himselfe Indifferently well since soe farr as wee know but the bible being finished and little other worke presenting; wee dismised him att the end of the tearme you had contracted with him for; but vnderstanding youer honorable Corporation hath agreed with him for another yeare; wee shall Indeavour to Imploy him as wee can by printing the Psalmes and another little Treatise of Mr. Baxters which Mr. Elliott is translateing into the Indian language which is thought may bee vsefull and profitable to the Indians; and yett there will not bee full Imployment for him; and for after times our owne printer wilbee sufficiently able to print of any other worke that wilbee necessary for theire MASSACHUSETTS. 79 vse soe that att the yeares end hee may be dismised; or sooner if hee please: and If there bee occation further to Imploy him It were much better to contract with him heer to print by the sheete than by allowing him standing wages: Wee were forced vpon his earnest Request to lett him fiue pounds in parte of his wages to supply his present nessesitie which must bee defaulted by youer honors with his brother: his last yeare by agreement with him begineth the 20th of August last from the end of his former contract till that time hee was out of this Imployment and followed his own occacions." The corporation in their next letter to the commissioners write: " Concerning Marrneduke Johnson the printer whose Demeanor hath not been suitable to what hee promised wee shall leave him to youerselues to dismisse him as soone as his yeare is expired if you soe think fit." The next meeting of the Commissioners was at Hartford, September 1, 1664; they then informed the corporation in England, that they had "dismised Marmeduke Johnson the Printer att the end of his tearme agreed for hauing Improued him as well as wee could for the yeare past by imploying him with our owne printer to print such Indian workes as could be prepared which hee was not able to doe alone with such other English Treatises which did present; for which allowance hath bine made proportionable to his laboure; some time hath bine lost for want of imployment but for after time wee hope to haue all books for the Indians vse printed vpon ezier tearmes by our owne printer especially if it please youer honers to send ouer a fonte of Pica letters Roman and Italian which are much wanting for printeing the practice of piety and other workes; and soe when the Presses shallbee Improued for the vse of the English wee shalbe carefull that due alowance be made to the Stocke for the same; It seemed Mr. Johnson ordered all his Sallery to be receiued and 80 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. disposed of in England which hath put him to some straightes heer which forced vs to allow him fiue pounds formerly (as we Intimated in our last) and since hee hath taken vp the sume of four pounds all which is to be accoumpted as parte of his Sallery for the last yeare; the remainder wherof wee doubt not youer honors will satisfy there." Before the Bible was finished, Johnson, being in great want of money, applied to the commissioners of the United Colonies to pay him his wages here instead of receiving them, agreeably to contract, in England. Upon which the commissioners "ordered in Answare to the request of Marmeduke Johnson for payment of his wages heer in New England; notwithstanding his couenant with the Corporation to receiue the same in England which hee sayeth is detained from him; which yett not appearing to the comissioners they could not giue any order for the payment of it heer; but vpon his earnest request that there might bee some Impowered to relieue him in case it could appeer before the next meeting of the Comissioners that noe payment was made to him in England the Cornissioners of the Massachusetts Collonie is Impowered to act therein according to theire Discretion." The Rev. Mr. Eliot, who translated the Bible into the Indian language, appears to have been very friendly to Johnson. After he was dismissed from employment at the press of the corporation, Mr. Eliot proposed to the commissioners in September, 1667, that Johnson should have " the font of letters [types] which the Corporation sent over for their vse by him, when he came from England," and which had been but little worn, at the price they cost in England, which was ~31 17s. 8d. sterling; 1Mr. Eliot was by some styled " Apostolus nostrorum Temporum inter Indos Nov Anglise." He died 1690, aged 86. MASSACHUSETTS. 81 to which proposal the commissioners assented. These types he received in part payment of his salary. In 1670, April 28th, Johnson, being released by death or divorce from his wife in England, married Ruth Cane of Cambridge, which is recorded in the register of the town for that year. In September, 1672, the commissioners ordered their agent, Hezekiah Usher, to pay Johnson ~6 "for printing, stitching and cutting of a thousand Indian Logick Primers." This is the last business I can find performed by Johnson for the corporation. His name appeared after Green's in the imprint of the first edition of the Indian translation of the Old and New Testament, and to several other books which were not printed for the corporation for propagating the gospel among the Indians. It is not probable that they had any regular partnership, but printed a book in connexion when convenient. I have seen no book with his name in the imprint after 1674. Johnson was constable of Cambridge in 1673, and perhaps some years preceding. In April, 1674, the county court allowed him "his bill of costs, amounting to three shillings; and ten shillings and six pence for journeys that were by law to be paid by the county treasurer." It appears that he was poor, and rather indolent. He departed this life in 1675, and his wife soon followed him. The following is an extract from the Middlesex records, vol. III, p. 176. " At a County Court held at Charlestowne June 19, 1677. Mr. John Iayward Attorney in behalfe of the Commissioners of the United Coloneys pl'ff against Jonathan Cane, Executor to the last will and testament of Ruth Johnson administratrix to the estate of her husband Marmaduke Johnson deceased, in an action of the case for deteyning a font of Letters, bought by the said Johnson with money yt. he received for yt' end and use of ye. Honourable Corporation in London constituted by his ) 6 D/ 82 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. Majestie for propagating of the gospell to the Indians in New England, and also for deteyning a Printers chase, and other implements that belong to a Printing Presse, and is apperteyning to the said Indian Stocke according to attachmt. dated 8, 4, 77. Both parties appeared & joyned issue in the case. The Jury having heard their respective pleas & evidences in the case, brought in their verdict, finding for the pl've that the Defdt. shall deliver the wt. of Letters expressed in the attachment, with other materials expressed in the attachment, or the value thereof in money, which wee find to be forty pounds, with costs of court. The Defdt. made his appeale to the next Court of Assistants." Beside the books printed by Green and him, which appear in Green's catalogue, I find the following printed solely by Johnson, viz. Catalogue of Books printed by Johnson. 1665. Communion of Churches; or, the Divine Management of Gospel Churches by the Ordinance of Councils, constituted in Order, according to the Scriptures. As also the Way of bringing all Christian Parishes to be particular reforming Congregational Churches: humbly proposed as a Way which hath so muche light from the Scriptures of Truth, as that it may be lawfully submitted unto by all; and may by the Blessing of the Lord be a means of uniteing those two Holy and eminent Parties, the Presbyterians and the Congregationalists -As also to prepare for the hoped-for Resurrection of the Churches; and to propose a Way to bring all Christian Nations unto an Unity of the Faith and Order of the Gospel. Written by John Eliot, Teacher of Roxbury in N. E. Crown 8vo. 38 pages. The following is the Preface to the work. " Although a few copies of this small script are printed, yet it is not published, only committed privately to some godly and able hands to be viewed, corrected, amended, or rejected, as it shall be found to hold weight in the sanctuary ballance, or not. And it is the humble request of the Author, that whatever objections, rectifications or emendations may occurre, they may be conveyed unto him; who desireth nothing may be accepted in the Churches, but MASSACHUSETTS. 83 what is according to the will and minde of God, and tendeth to holiness, peace, and promotion of the holy kingdome of Jesus Christ. The procuring of half so many copies written and corrected, would be more difficult and chargeable than the printing of these few. I beg the prayers as well as the pains of the precious Servants of the Lord, that I may never have the least finger in doing any thing that may be derogatory to the holiness and honour of Jesus Christ and his churches. And to this I subscribe myself, one of the least of the labourers in the Lord's vineyard. JOHN ELIOT." 1668. The Rise, Spring and Foundation of the Anabaptists: or the Re-Baptised of our Times. 58 pages. Quarto. 1668. God's Terrible Voice in the City of London, wherein you have the Narration of the late dreadful Judgment of Plague and Fire; the former in the year 1665 and the latter in the year 1666. 32 pages. Quarto. 1668. The Righteous Man's Evidence of Heaven. By Timothy Rogers. Small Quarto. 1671. Cambridge Platform of Church Discipline. Second Edition. 40 pages. Quarto. 1672. "Indian Logick Primer." 1673. Wakeman's Young Man's Legacy to the Rising Generation. A Sermon, preached on the Death of John Tappin, of Boston. 46 pages. Quarto. 1673. Mather's [Increase] Woe to Drunkards. Two Sermons. 34 pages. Quarto. [Printed by Johnson] " and sold by Edmund Ranger, Book Binder, in Boston." 1674. Exhortation unto Reformation. An Election Sermon. By Samuel Torrey, of Weymouth. 50 pages. Quarto. 1674. Cry of Sodom enquired into, upon occasion of the Arraignment and Condemnation of Benjamin Goad, for his prodigious Villany. By S. D. Quarto. 30 pages. BARTHOLOMEW GREEN, son of Samuel Green, by his second wife, was in business a few years with his father at Cambridge. In the year 1690 he removed to Boston, and set up his press. The same year his printing house and materials were destroyed by fire; and he, in consequence of his loss, returned to Cambridge, and was again connected with his father. The few books which I have seen that were printed by his father and him in company, are 84 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. taken notice of with his father's. He resumed business in Boston in 1692. [See Printers in Boston.] BOSTON. ABOUT forty-five years from the beginning of the settlement of Boston a printing house was opened, and the first book I have found printed in this town was by JOHN FOSTER. He was born in Dorchester, near Boston, and educated at Harvard College, where he graduated in 1667. Printers at this time were considered as mere agents to execute the typographic art; the presses were the property of the college, but all their productions were under the control of licensers appointed by the government of the colony; that government had restricted printing, and confined it solely to Cambridge, but it now authorized Foster to set up a press in Boston. It does not appear that he was bred to printing, or that he was acquainted with the art; the probability is, that he was not; but having obtained permission to print, he employed workmen, carried on printing in his own name, and was accountable to government for the productions of his press. The General court, at the session in May, 1674, passed the order following: " Whereas there is now granted that there may be a printing Presse elsewhere than at Cambridge; for the better regulation of the Presse it is ordered and Enacted that the Rev. Mr. Thomas Thatcher and Rev. Increase Mather, of Boston, be added unto the former Licensers, and they are hereby impowered to act accordingly." If Foster's printing equalled, it could not be said to excel, that of Green or Johnson, either in neatness or correctness. He printed a number of small tracts for himself and others. The earliest book which I have seen MASSACHUSETTS. 85 from the press under his care was published in 1676, and the latest in 1680. IHe calculated and published Almanacks. To his Almanack for 1681 he annexed an ingenious dissertation on comets seen at Boston in November and December, 1680.1 He died at Dorchester, September 9, 1681, aged thirty three years. His grave stone bears the following inscription, viz: Astra colis vivens, moriens super sethera Foster Scande precor, coelum metiri disco supremum: Metior atque meum est, emit mihi dives Jesus, Nee tenior quicquam nisi grates solvere." In English thus? Thou, 0 Foster, who on earth didst study the heavenly bodies, now ascend above the firmament and survey the highest heaven. I do survey and inhabit this divine region. To its possession I am admitted through the grace of Jesus; and to pay the debt of gratitude I hold the most sacred obligation. Two poems on the death of Foster were printed in 1681; one of them was written by Thomas Tilestone, of Dorchester, and the other by Joseph Capen, afterwards minister of Topsfield, Massachusetts. The latter concluded with the following lines: '; Thy body, which no activeness did lack, Now's laid aside like an old Almanack; But for the present only's out of date, 'Twill have at length a far more active state. Yea, though with dust thy body soiled be, Yet at the resurrection we shall see A fair EDITION, and of matchless worth, Free from ERRATAS, new in Heaven set forth; 'Tis but a word from GOD, the great Creator, It shall be done when he saith 3nmprimatlr." 'See Collections of Massachusetts Historical Society, vol. ix. Chronological and topographical account of Dorchester, written by the Rev. T. M. IHarris. 86 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. Whoever has read the celebrated epitaph, by Franklin, on himself, will have some suspicion that it was taken from this original. SAMUEL SEWALL. When Foster died, Boston was without the benefit of the press; but a continuance of it in this place being thought necessary, Samuel Sewall, not a printer but a magistrate, &c., a man much respected, was selected as a proper person to manage the concerns of it, and as such was recommended to the General court. In consequence of this recommendation, the court in October, 1681, gave him liberty to carry on the business of printing in Boston. The license is thus recorded: 1 Samuel Sewall, at the Instance of some Friends, with respect to the accoinmodation of the Publick, being prevailed with to undertake the Management of the Printing Presse in Boston, late under the command of Mr. John Foster, deceased, liberty is accordingly granted to him for the same by this court, and none may presume to set up any other Presse without the like Liberty first granted." Sewall became a bookseller. Books for himself and others were printed at the press under his management, as were several acts and laws, with other work for government. Samuel Green, jun., was his printer. In 1682 an order passed the General court for the treasurer to pay Sewall ~10 17s., for printing the election sermon delivered that year by the Rev. Mr. Torrey. I have seen several books printed by the assignment of Sewall. In 1684, Sewall by some means was unable to conduct the press, and requested permission of the General court to be released from his engagement, which was granted. The record of his release is in the words following: "Samuel Sewall by the providence of God being unable Records of the Colony for 1681. MASSACHUSETTS. 87 to attend the press &c., requested leave to be freed from his obligations concerning it, which was granted." In 1684, and for several subsequent years, the loss of the charter occasioned great confusion and disorder in the political concerns of the colony. Soon after Sewall resigned his office as conductor of the press in Boston, he went to England; whence he returned in 1692. He was, undoubtedly, the same Samuel Sewall who, when a new charter was granted by King William, was for many years one of the council for the province; and who, in 1692, was appointed one of the judges of the superior court; in 1715 judge of probate; and in 1718 chief justice of Massachusetts. He died January 1, 1729-30, aged seventy-eight years.' JAMES GLEN. Printed for or by the assignment of Samuel Sewall, to whom government had committed the management of the press after the death of Foster. He printed under Sewall less than two years. I have seen only three or four works which bear his name in the imprint, and these were printed for Sewall. One was entitled Covenant Keeping, the Way to Blessedness, by SamuelWillard. 12mo. 240 pages. " Boston: Printed by James Glen, for S. Sewall, 1682." I do not recollect the titles of the others, which were pamphlets. All the printing done by Glen was at Sewall's press. SAMUEL GREEN, Junior, was the son, by his first wife, of Samuel Green, who at that time printed at Cambridge. He was taught the art in the printing house of his father. His books bear the next earliest dates to Foster's and Glen's. In 1682, he printed at the press which, by order 1 See Prince's Faneral Sermon, and Allen's Biographical Dictionary. 88 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. of the General court, was underthe management of Sewall, and for some time by virtue of an assignment from Sewall. He worked chiefly for booksellers. Many books printed for them are without the name of the printer, and some without date.' After Sewall ceased to conduct the press, Green was permitted to continue printing, subject to the control of the licensers. John Dunton, a London bookseller, who visited Boston while Green was in business, in 1686, and after his return to England published the history of his own Life and Errors, mentions Green in his publication in the following manner: "I contracted a great friendship for this man; to name his trade will convince the world he was a man of good sense and understanding; he was so facetious and obliging in his conversation that I took a great delight in his company, and made use of his house to while away my melancholy hours." 2 Dunton gives biographical sketches of a number of men and women whom he visited in Boston in 1686, and represents Green's wife as a most excellent woman, even as a model from which to draw the picture of the best of wives." 3 Green printed for government, and soon after his death the General court ordered the treasurer to pay his heirs ~22 17s. " due him for his last printing." In 1690, Boston was visited with the small pox. Before the practice of inoculation was introduced, this disease, at 1Printers should insert in their imprints to books, newspapers, &c., not only their names, but the year, and mention both the state and town where their presses are established. Many towns in the United States bear the same name. Some newspapers, and many books, have been published in certain towns; and the state not being designated in'the imprints, in many instances it cannot be determined, especially by those at a distance, in which of the states they were printed. 2 Dunton's Life and Errors, printed at London, 1705, pp. 129. 3 Her maiden name was Elizabeth Sill. She was born in Cambridge. MASSACHUSETTS. 89 every visitation, swept off a large number of inhabitants. In July of that year, Green fell a victim to that loathsome disorder; he died after an illness of three days; and his amiable wife, within a few days after her husband,' was carried off by the same epidemic. RICHARD PIERCE. On an examination of the books printed in Boston before the year 1700, it appears that Richard Pierce was the fifth person who carried on the printing business in that place. Whether he had been bred a printer in England, or had served an apprenticeship with Green at our Cambridge, cannot be determined. There was a printer in London by the name of Richard Pierce, in 1679; and it is not improbable that he emigrated to this country, and set up his press in Boston. I have seen some books printed by him on his own account, and a number for booksellers; they are mentioned in the catalogue of books printed in America before the revolution. I have not found any thing printed by him before 1684, or after 1690. BARTHOLOMEW GREEN has been mentioned as a printer at Cambridge, in connection with his father. He began business at Boston in 1690, immediately after the death of his brother, with the best printing apparatus then in the country. He was married the same year; and soon after his printing house was consumed, and his press and types I am favored by Rosseter Cotton, Esq., of Plymouth, with an original letter, dated at Plymouth, Aug. 5, 1690, to his great grandfather, the Rev. John Cotton, then on a visit to Barnstable, from his son, which mentions among other articles of information from Boston, " the small pox is as bad as ever; Printer Green died of it in Three days, his wive also is dead with it." This letter contains much news of the day; it states that, " on Saturday Evening about fourteen houses, besides warehouses and Bruehouses, were burnt at Boston, from the Mill Bridgh down half way to the Draw Bridgh." By this it should seem, that at that time, there was a street along side of the Mill creek. 90 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. entirely destroyed by a fire, which began in his neighborhood. This misfortune obliged him to return to Cambridge; and he continued there two years, doing business in company with his father. Being again furnished with a press and types, he reestablished himself in Boston, and opened a printing house in Newbury street. The imprint to several of the first books from his press, is, '" Boston: Printed by B. Green, at the South End of the Town." In April, 1704, he began the publication of a newspaper, entitled The Boston News Letter. Published by Authority. It was printed weekly, on Mondays, for John Campbell, postmaster, who was the proprietor. After the NewsLetter had been printed eighteen years for Campbell, Green published it on his own account. It was the first newspaper printed in the British colonies of North America, and had been published fifteen years before any other work of the kind made its appearance. It was continued by Green and his successors until the year 1776, when the British troops evacuated Boston.' After his father's death Bartholomew Green printed for the college, and he was for nearly forty years printer to the governor and council of Massachusetts; but the acts and laws printed by him were done for a bookseller, Benjamin Elliot, from 1703 to 1729, as appears from the imprints. He was the most distinguished printer of that Bartholomew Green began the printing of The Boston News-Letter, in Newbury street, in a small wooden building, to which another room was annexed some years after, for the accommodation of his son. This building was burnt down in January, 1734; it was previously occupied as a printing house both by young Green and John Draper, who did business independently of each other. Another house of like dimensions was built on the same spot by John Draper, the successor of the elder B. Green. This building was occupied as a printing house until the British troops evacuated Boston, in 1776. At that place began and ended the printing of The Boston News-Letter. That house was built and occupied by Richard, the son and successor of John Draper. MASSACHUSETTS. 91 period in this country, and did more business than any other of the profession; yet he worked chiefly for the booksellers. John Allen was concerned with him in printing many books, in the imprints of which both their names appeared; there was not, however, a regular partnership between them. Through the whole course of his life, Green was distinguished for piety and benevolence; he was highly respected; and, for many years, held the office of a deacon in the Old South church in Boston. He died December 28, 1732. The following character of him is extracted from The Boston News-Letter, of January 4, 1733: " Bartholomew Green was a person generally known and esteemed among us, as a very humble and exemplary Christian, one who had much of that primitive Christianity in him which has always been the distinguishing glory of New England. We may further remember his eminency for a strict observing the sabbath; his household piety; his keeping close and diligent to the work of his calling; his meek and peaceable spirit; his caution of publishing any thing offensive, light or hurtful; and his tender sympathy to the poor and afflicted. He always spoke of the wonderful spirit of piety that prevailed in the land in his youth with a singular pleasure." [See History of Newspapers in the second volume of this work.] JOHN ALLEN. I have not seen any book with his name in the imprint, published earlier than the year 1690. He printed, sometimes in connection with Bartholomew Green, and sometimes with Benjamin Harris; but was not in regular partnership with either. There is no evidence that he had printing materials of his own until 1707; at this time he opened a printing house in Pudding lane, near the post office, and did business on his own account. In November of this year he began printing The Boston News 92 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. Letter, for the proprietor, Mr. Campbell, postmaster. Soon after this event he published the following advertisement, viz: " These are to give Notice, that there lately came from London a Printing Press, with all sorts of good new Letter, which is now set up in Pudding Lane near 'the Post-Office in Boston for publick use: Where all persons that have any thing to print may be served on reasonable terms." Allen printed The News-Letter four years; when a fire which consumed most of the buildings in Cornhill, and many in King street, Queen street, and the contiguous lanes, is supposed to have burnt his printing house. The fire broke out on the evening of the 2d of October, 1711. On the preceding day he had printed The News-Letter; but on the next week that paper was again printed by Green; or as the imprint runs, "Printed in NewburyStreet, for John Campbell, Post-Master." I have seen a number of books printed after this time by Allen alone, the last of which is Whittemore's Almanack, bearing the date of 1724. While he was connected with Green, and previous to 1708, the acts, laws, proclamations, &c., of government, were printed by them, and Allen's name appeared with Green's as "Printers to the Governour and Council." Allen printed no book that I have seen on his own account; all the business he executed in the line of his profession was for booksellers. He was from England. There is in an ancient library in Boston, a copy of Increase Mather's Mystery of Israel's Salvation, printed in London, by John Allen, in 1669. It is supposed that he came to Boston by encouragement from the Mathers. MASSACHUSETTS. 93 BENJAMIN HARRIS. His printing house was " over against the Old Meeting House in Cornhill." He removed several times; and once printed C at the London CoffeeHouse," which I believe he kept, in King's street; at another time in Cornhill, ' over against the Blew Anchor." The last place of his residence I find mentioned, was in Cornhill, "at the Sign of the Bible." He printed, principally, for booksellers; but he did some work on his own account. He kept a shop, and sold books. I have not met with any book of his printing earlier than 1690, nor later than 1694. In 1692 and 1693, he printed The Acts and Laws of Massachusetts, containing about one hundred and thirty pages, folio, to which the charter was prefixed. The imprint is, " Boston: Printed by Benjamin Harris, Printer to his Excellency the Governour and Council." His commission from Governor Phips, to print them, is published opposite to the title page of the volume in the words following: "By his Excellency.- I order Benjamin Harris to print the Acts and Laws made by the Great and General Court, or Assembly of Their Majesties Province of Massachusetts Bay in New England, that so the people may be informed thereof. WILLIAM PHIPS. "Boston, December 16, 1692." In the title page of the laws, printed by him in 1693, is a handsome cut of their majesties' arms. This was in the reign of William and Mary.2 'This church in Boston was burnt down in the great fire of 1711; but was soon rebuilt, on a new site, a number of rods to the south of the spot where the old building stood, and was, for many years, known by the name of The Old Brick; which, in 1808, was taken down, a new church having been erected for the society in Summer street. 2 The following is a more accurate description of this rare volume from the copy in the library of the Antiquarian Society: It contains 1. The Charter of William and Mary. Imprint: "Printed at London, and Re 94 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. Harris was from London; he returned there about the year 1694. Before and after his emigration to America he owned a considerable bookstore in that city. John Dunton's account of him is thus: "He had been a brisk asserter of English Liberties, and once printed a Book with that very title. He sold a protestant Petition in King Charles's Reign, for which he was fined five Pounds; and he was once set in the Pillory, but his wife (like a kind Rib) stood by him to defend her Husband against the Mob. After this (having a deal of Mercury in his natural temper) he travelled to New England, where he followed Bookselling, and then Coffee-selling, and then Printing, but continued Ben Harris still, and is now both Bookseller and Printer in Grace Church Street, as we find by his London Post; so that his Conversation is general (but never impertinent) and his Wit pliable to all inventions. But yet his Vanity, if he has any, gives no alloy to his Wit, and is no more than might justly spring from conscious virtue; and I do him but justice in this part of his Character, for in once travelling with him from Printed at Boston, in New England. By Benjamin Iarris, over against the Old Meeting House, 1692," 13 pp. 2. Several Acts and Laws, &c. Imprint, BOSTON. Printed by Benjamin Harris, Printer to His Excellency the Governour and Council, 1692. 16 pp. These are the Acts, &c., of the first Session, begun June 8, 1692. 3. Acts and Laws, &c., with the Imprint and the order of Gov. Phips as stated by Mr. Thomas. These are the Acts, &c., of what is called in the title page the Second Session, " Begun the eighth day of June, 1692, and continued by adjournment unto Wednesday the twelfth day of October following." Besides the title and table of contents there are ninety pages to this part. 4. Another title page, with the Acts and Laws of the Third Session, terminating on the succeeding eighth of February. 6 pp. The date is 1693. 5. Another title page, with the Acts and Laws of the Fourth Session, ending on the second day of March. 2 pp. This has upon the title page the arms of the English crown. Subsequent Acts and Laws of 1693, bear the imprint of Bartholomew Green. — I. MASSACHUSETTS. 95 Bury-Fair, I found him to be the most ingenious and innocent Companion, that I had ever met with." 1 TIMOTHY GREEN was the son of Samuel Green, junior, of Boston, and grandson of Samuel Green of Cambridge. The earliest books which I have met with of his printing, bear date in 1700. He had a printing house at the north part of the town, in Middle street, near Cross street. Ie printed and sold some books on his own account; but, as was customary, printed principally for booksellers. The imprint to some of his books is, "' Boston: Printed by Timothy Green, at the North Part of the Town." I have seen other books printed at the same time by his uncle Bartholomew, with this imprint, " Boston: Printed by B. Green, at the South Part of the Town." Although several printers had succeeded each other, there had never been more than two printing houses open at the same time in Boston; and, at this period, it does not appear that the number was increased. T. Green continued in business, at Boston, until 1714. He then received encouragement from the general assembly of Connecticut, and removed his press to New London. [See Printers in Connecticut.] JAMES PRINTER, alias James the Printer. This man was an Indian native; born at an Indian town called Hassanamesitt,2 now the town of Grafton, in the county of Worcester, Massachusetts. His father was a deacon of the church of Indian Christians established in that place. James had two brothers; the one, named Anaweakin, 1Dunton's Life and Errors, printed in London, 1705. Dunton was an English bookseller, who had been in Boston; he was bred to this business by Thomas Parkhurst, who published AIather's lMagnzalia, and other books for New England ministers. Dunton had a knowledge of the booksellers in England, Scotland, Ireland, Holland, and New England; and published sketches of their characters. [See Bool7sellers, Boston.] 2 Signifying a place of small stones. 96 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. was their ruler; the other, named Tarkuppawillin, was their teacher; they were all esteemed on account of their piety, and considered as the principal persons of that Indian village.' James, when a child, was taught at the Indian charity school, at Cambridge, to read and write the English language, where, probably, he received the Christian name of James. In 1659, he was put apprentice to Samuel Green, printer, in that place, which gave him the surname of Printer. Green instructed him in the art of printing; and employed him whilst his apprentice as a pressman, &c., in printing the first edition of the Indian Bible. A war taking place between James's countrymen and the white people, James, fired with a spark of the amor patrice, left his master secretly, and joined his brethren in arms. A number of skirmishes were fought, in all which the Indians were repulsed with loss; they, in consequence, became disheartened; and the associated tribes separated, and retired to their respective places of residence; at which time, 1676, the government of Massachusetts issued a proclamation, or, as Hubbard, in his Narrative of the Indian Wars, terms it, " Put forth a Declaration, that whatsoever Indians should within fourteen days next ensuing, come in to the English, might hope for mercy. Amongst sundry who came in, there was one named James the Printer, the superadded Title distinguishing him from others of that name, who being a notorious Apostate, that had learned so much of the English, as not only to read and write, but had attained some skill in printing, and might have attained more, had he not like a false villain run away from his Master before his time was out; he having seen and read the said Declaration of the English, did venture himself upon the Truth thereof, and came to sue for his life; he affirmed with others that came along 1 Major Daniel Gookin's account of the Indians in New England. MASSACHUSETTS. 97 with him, that more Indians had died since the War began of diseases (such as at other times they used not to be acquainted withal) than by the sword of the English."' In this war, the Narraganset Indians lost their celebrated chief, king Philip, of Mount Hope; after which the colony enjoyed great tranquillity. James, it is supposed, remained in and near Boston till 1680; and, doubtless, worked at the printing business, either with his former master, at Cambridge, or with Foster, who had lately set up a press, the first established in Boston, and must have well known James, who lived with Green when Foster was at college. In 1680, he was engaged with Green at Cambridge in printing the second edition of the Indian Bible. The Rev. John Eliot, in a letter to the Hon. Robert Boyle at London, dated March, 1682-3, observes respecting this second edition, "I desire to see it done before I die, and I am so deep in years, that I cannot expect to live long; besides, we have but one man, viz., the Indian Printer, that is able to compose the Sheets, and correct the Press with understanding." In another letter, dated "Roxbury, April 22, 1684," to the Hon. Mr. Boyle, from the Rev. Mr. Eliot, he mentions, "We present your honours with one book, so far as we have gone in the work, and humbly beseech that it may be acceptable till the whole Bible is finished; and then the whole impression (which is two thousand) is at your honours command. Our slow progress needeth an apology. We have been much hindered by the sickness the last year. Our workmen have been all sick, and we have but few hands (at printing) one Englishman, and a boy, and one Indian,2 and many interruptions and 1 Hubbard's Narrative of the Troubles with the Indians in New England, &c., 4to edition; "printed by Authority," at Boston, 1677, p. 96. 2 Undoubtedly J. Printer. This surname of Printer was continued by the descendants of James, who owned and left to his posterity some 7 98 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. diversions do befall us, and we could do but little this very hard winter." We hear no more of James until the year 1709, when an edition of the Psalter, in the Indian and English languages, made its appearance with the following imprint.-" Boston, N. E. Printed by B. Green and J. Printer, for the Honourable Company for the Propagation of the Gospel in New England, &c."- In Indian thus, Upprinthonunneau B. Green, kah J. Printer, wutche quhtiantamwe Chapanukkeg wutche onchektouunnat wunnaunchunmmookaonk ut New England. 1709.1 Some of James's descendants were long living in Grafton; they bore the surname of Printer. THOMAS FLEET was born in England and there bred to the printing business. When young he took an active part in opposition to the high church party. On some public procession, probably that of Dr. Sacheverel, when many of the zealous members of the high church decorated their doors and windows with garlands, as the head of their party passed in the streets, Fleet is said to have hung out of his window an ensign of contempt, which inflamed the resentment of his opponents to that degree, that he was obliged to secrete himself from their rage, and to embrace the first opportunity to quit his country. valuable tracts of land in Grafton, county of Worcester, Mass., the place of his nativity. An action respecting a part of this land, owned by Abigail Printer, was decided in the Court of Common Pleas, in said Worcester in 1810. She was probably, the great-granddaughter of James. 'Bartholomew Green was the son of James's former master; James was well known among all the neighboring tribes; and one motive for employing him in printing this Psalter, might have been, to excite the greater attention among the Indians, and give it a wider circulation; besides, his knowledge of both languages enabled him to expedite the work with more facility and correctness than any other person. Several books were, about this time, translated into the Indian language, and printed, which might have afforded employment to James; but I have seen only the Psalter with his name as the printer. MASSACHUSETTS. 99 le arrived at Boston about the year 1712, and soon opened a printing house in Pudding Lane, now Devonshire street. The earliest book I have seen of his printing bears date 1713. He was a good workman; was a book printer, and he and T. Crump were concerned in printing some books together. But the principal performances of Fleet, until he began the publication of a newspaper, consisted of pamphlets for booksellers, small books for children, and ballads. He made a profit on these, which was sufficient to support his family reputably. He owned several negroes, one of which worked at the printing business, both at the press and at setting types; he was an ingenious man, and cut, on wooden blocks, all the pictures which decorated the ballads and small books of his master. Fleet had also two negro boys born in his house; sons, I believe, to the man just mentioned, whom he brought up to work at press and case; one named Pompey and the other Cesar; they were young when their master died; but they remained in the family, and continued to labor regularly in the printing house with the sons of Mr. Fleet, who succeeded their father, until the constitution of Massachusetts, adopted in 1780, made them freemen.' Fleet continued printing in Pudding Lane, till early in 1731, he then hired a handsome house in Cornhill, on the north corner of Water street, which he afterwards purchased; and occupied it through the residue of his life. He erected a sign of the Heart and Crown, which he never altered; but after his death, when crowns became unpopular, his sons changed the Crown for a Bible, and let the Heart remain. Fleet's new house was spacious, and contained sufficient room for the accommodation of his 1 See discussion of this question in iMassachusetts Ilistorical Collections, 4th series, Iv, 333, and Moore's Notes on the 1History of Slavery in Massachusetts, 200.- H 100 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. family and the prosecution of his printing business, besides a convenient shop, and a good chamber for an auction room. He held his vendues in the evening, and sold books, household goods, &c., as appears by the following advertisement which he inserted in the Boston Weekly News-Letter, March 7th, 1731. "This is to give Notice to all Gentlemen, Merchants, Shopkeepers and others, that Thomas Fleet of Boston, Printer, (who formerly kept his Printing House in Pudding Lane but is now removed into Cornhill at the sign of the Heart ~ Crown, near the lower end of School Street), is willing to undertake the Sale of Books, Household Goods, Wearing Apparel, or any other Merchandize, by V endue or Auction. The said Fleet having a large & commodious Front Chamber fit for this Business, and a Talent well known and approved, doubts not of giving entire Satisfaction to such as may employ him in it; he hereby engaging to make it appear that this Service may be performed with more Convenience and less Charge at a private House well situated, than at a Tavern. And, for further Encouragement, said Fleet promises to make up Accompts with the Owners of the Goods Sold by him, in a few Days after the sale thereof." In September, 1731, a new periodical paper was published in Boston, entitled, The Weekly Rehearsal; intended principally, to contain essays, moral, political and commercial.1 John Draper was first employed to print the Rehearsal for the editor, but soon relinquished it, and Fleet succeeded him as the printer of it; and, in April, 1733, he published the Rehearsal on his own account. It was then, and had been in fact, from the beginning, no more than a weekly newspaper; but, while in the management of Fleet, it was the best paper at that time published See Rehearscal, in the History of Newspapers in this work. MASSACHUSETTS. 101 in New England. In August, 1735, Fleet changed The Weekly Rehearsal into The Boston Evening Post. The last number of the Rehearsal was 201, and the first number of the Evening Post, was 202, which shows that the Evening Post was then intended to be a continuation of the Rehearsal; but the next Boston Evening Post was numbered 2, and it became a new hebdomadal paper, which was published every Monday evening. Fleet was industrious and economical; free from superstition; and possessed a fund of wit and humor, which were often displayed in his paragraphs and advertisements. The members of Fleet's family, although they were very worthy, good people, were not, all of them, remarkable for the pleasantness of their countenances; on which account he would, sometimes, indulge himself in jokes which were rather coarse, at their expense. Hie once invited an intimate friend to dine with him on pouts; a kind of fish of which the gentleman was remarkably fond. When dinner appeared, tie guest remarked that the pouts were wanting. 'G 0 no," said Fleet, " only look at my wife and daughters." The following is an advertisement of Fleet, for the sale of a negro woman -it is short and pithy, viz: " To be sold by the Printer of this paper, the very best Negro Woman in this Town, who has had the small pox and the measles; is as hearty as a Horse, as brisk as a Bird, and will work like a Beaver." The Evening Post, Aug. 23, 1742. In number 50 of The Boston Evening Post, Fleet published the following paragraph, under the Boston head: "We have lately received from an intelligent and worthy Friend in a neighboring Government, to the Southward of us, the following remarkable Piece of News, which we beg our Readers Patience to hear, viz: That the printer there gets a great deal of Money, has Twenty Shillings for every Advertisement published in his News-Paper, calls Us 102 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. Fools for working for nothing, and has lately purchased an Estate of Fourteen Htundred Pounds Value.l We should be heartily glad (had we Cause for it) to return our Friend a like surprizing Account of the Printers Prosperity here. But alas! the reverse of our Brother's Circumstances seems hereditary to Us: It is well known we are the most humble, self-denying Set of Mortals (we wish we could say Men) breathing; for where there is a Penny to be got, we readily resign it up to those who are no Ways related to the Business, nor have any Pretence or Claim to the Advantages of it.2 And whoever has observ'd our Conduct hitherto, has Reason enough to think, that we hold it a mortal Crime to make any other Use of our Brains and Hands, than barely to help us " To purchase homely Fare, and fresh small Beer, (Hard Fate indeed, we can't have better Cheer ) And buy a new Blue Apron once a year.3 " But as we propose in a short Time to publish a Dissertation upon the mean and humble state of the Printers of this Town, we shall say no more at present upon this important Subject, and humbly Pardon for so large a Digression. Only we would inform, that in this most necessary Work, we are promised the Assistance of a worthy Friend and able Casuist, who says he doubts not but that he shall easily make it appear, even to the Satisfaction of the This friend, it is supposed, was James Franklin, nephew to Dr. Benjamin Franklin, who was established in Rhode Island; and, at that time, the paper currency of that colony was greatly depreciated. 2 Two or three of the Boston newspapers were then printed for postmasters, or past postmasters; and printing in general was done for booksellers. Master printers had but little more profit on their labor than journeymen. 3It was usual then, and for many years after, for printers, when at work, to wear blue or green cloth aprons; and it would have been well if this practice had not been laid aside. MASSACHUSE: TS. 103 Printers themselves, that they may be as good Christians,1 as useful Neighbors, and as loyal Subjects, altho' they should sometimes feed upon Beef and Pudding, as they have hitherto approved themselves by their most rigid abstemious way of living." In February, 1744, a comet made its appearance and excited much alarm. Fleet on this occasion published the following remarks: "The Comet now rises about five o'Clock in the Morning, and appears very large and bright, and of late it has been seen (with its lucid Train) in the Day-time, notwithstanding the Luster of the Sun. This uncommon Appearance gives much uneasiness to timorous People, especially Women, who will needs have it, that it portends some dreadful Judgments to this our Land: And if, from the Apprehension of deserved Judgments, we should be induced to abate of our present Pride and Extravagance, &c., and should become more humble, peaceable and charitable, honest and just, industrious and frugal, there will be Reason to think, that the Comet is the most profitable Itinerant Preacher2 and friendly New Light that has yet appeared among us." —Evening Post, No. 446. Fleet had often occasion to complain of the delinquency of his customers in making payment for his paper; and in reminding them of their deficiency he sometimes indulged himself in severity of remark, that men of great religious professions and service should neglect to pay him his just demands. One of his dunning advertisements is as follows: "It will be happy for many People, if Injustice, Extortion and Oppression are found not to be Crimes at the last; which seems now by their Practice to be their settled 'Most of the printers in Boston, at that time, were members of the church; to which circumstance Fleet, probably, alluded. 2 Preachers of this class, who with their adherents were vulgarly called New Lights, were then frequent in and about Boston. 104 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. Opinion: And it would be well for the Publisher of this Paper, if a great many of his Customers were not of the same Sentiments. Every one, almost, thinks he has a Right to read News; but few find themselves inclined to pay for it. 'Tis great pity a Soil that will bear Piety so well, should not produce a tolerable Crop of Common Honesty."- Evening Post, No. 690, Oct., 1748. The preceding extracts from the Evening Post, are sufficient to enable our readers to form some acquaintance with the publisher of that paper; and, when they consider the time when the extracts were published, they will be the more pleased with his independence of character. Fleet published the Evening Post until his death; and his sons continued it till the memorable battle at Lexington, in 1775, the commencement of the revolutionary war, when its publication ceased. He was printer to the house of representatives in 1729, 1730 and 1731. He died in July, 1758, aged seventy-three years; was possessed of a handsome property, and left a widow, three sons, and two daughters. One of the sons, and the two daughters, were never married. T. CRuMP.- The first book I have seen with Crump's name in it, was printed in 1716, by T. Fleet and himself. Fleet and Crump printed several books together, but never, I believe, formed a regular partnership. It seems to have been the custom with master printers in Boston, at that time, when their business was on a very small scale, instead of hiring those who had served a regular apprenticeship at the trade, as journeymen, to admit them as temporary partners in work, and to draw a proportion of the profit. For example, two printers agreed to a joint agency in printing a book, and their names appeared in the imprint; if one of them was destitute of types, he allowed the other for the use of his printing materials, the MASSACHUSETTS. 105 service of apprentices, &c., and when the book came from the press, the bookseller (most books were then printed for booksellers), paid each of the printers the sum due for his proportion of the work; and the connection ceased until a contract was formed for a new job. This method accounts for a fact of which many have taken notice, viz., books appear to have been printed the same year by T. Fleet and T. Crump, and by T. Fleet separately; and so of others. This was the case with Samuel Green and Marmaduke Johnson, at Cambridge. Their names appear together in the imprint of a book, and in the same year the name of S. Green appears alone. The same thing took place with Bartholomew Green and John Allen, and with Benjamin H-arris and John Allen. Allen's name often appeared with Green's, and sometimes with Harris's; but still oftener the names of Green and Harris appear alone in the books issued from their respective printing houses. I can recollect that, when a lad, I knew several instances of this kind of partnership. Crump, after his connection with Fleet, printed some books, in which his name only appears in the imprints. Iie did but little business. I have not seen any thing printed by him after the year 1718. SAMUEL KNEELAND began business about the year 1718. His printing house was in Prison lane,' the corner of Dorset's alley. This building was occupied for eighty years as a printing house by Kneeland and those who succeeded him; Kneeland was born in Boston, and served an apprenticeship with Bartholomew Green. HIe had respectable friends, who, soon after he became of age, furnished him with means to procure printing materials. Kneeland was a good workman, industrious in his business, Now Court street. 106 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. and punctual to his engagements. Many books issued from his press for himself and for booksellers, before and during his partnership with Timothy Green, the second printer of that name. William Brooker, being appointed postmaster at Boston, he, on Monday, December 21st, 1719, began the publication of another newspaper in that place. This was the second published in the British colonies, in North America, and was entitled The Boston Gazette. James Franklin was originally employed as the printer of this paper; but, in two or three months after the publication commenced, Philip Musgrave was appointed postmaster, and became the proprietor. IHe took the printing of it from Franklin, and gave it to Kneeland. In 1727, a new postmaster became proprietor of the Gazette, and the printer was again changed. Soon after this event, in the same year, Kneeland commenced the publication of a fourth newspaper,1 entitled, The New England Journal. This was the second newspaper in New England published by a printer on his own account. In four months after the establishment of this paper, Kneeland formed a partnership with Green already mentioned, son of that Timothy Green who, some years before, removed to New London. The firm was KNEELAND & GREEN. When this partnership took place, Kneeland opened a bookshop in King, now State street, on his own account, and Green managed the- business of the printing house for their mutual interest. After attending to bookselling, for four or five years, Kneeland gave up his shop, returned to the printing house, and took an active part in all its concerns. They continued the publication of The New England Journal, nearly fifteen years; when, on the The Neoa England Courant had been printed several years before, but at this time was discontinued. MASSACHUSETTS. 107 decease of the proprietor of the Boston Gazette, his heirs, for a small consideration, resigned that paper to Ineeland and Green. They united the two papers under the title of The Boston Gazette, and Weekly Journal. The partnership of Kneeland and Green was continued for twenty-five years. In 1752, in consequence of the father of Green, in New London, having become aged and infirm, the partnership was dissolved, and Green removed to that place, where he assumed his father's business.1 The concerns of the printing house were, after Green went to Connecticut, continued by Kneeland with his accustomed energy. Soon after the dissolution of their partnership, The Boston Gazette and Weekly Journal was discontinued; and Kneeland, when a few months had elapsed, began another paper entitled The Boston Gazette or Weekly Advertiser.2 The booksellers of this time were enterprising. Kneeland and Green printed, principally for Daniel Henchman, an edition of the Bible in small 4to. This was the first Bible printed, in America, in the English language. It was carried through the press as privately as possible, and had the London imprint of the copy from which it was reprinted, viz: "London: Printed by Mark Baskett, Printer to the King's Most Excellent Majesty," in order to prevent a prosecution from those in England and Scotland, who published the Bible by a patent from the crown; or, Cum privilegio, as did the English universities of Oxford and Cambridge. When I was an apprentice, I often heard those who had assisted at the case and press in printing this Bible, make mention of the fact. The late In the Historical Magazine, Ix, new series, 39, and Boston Traveller, Sept. 5, 1866, the Christian History, printed weekly for Thomas Prince Jr. by Kneeland and Green, in 1743-4, is claimed to have been the first religious newspaper in the world.-M. 2 See Newspapers, Appendix, vol. Ir. 108 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. Governor Hancock was related to Henchman, and knew the particulars of the transaction. He possessed a copy of this impression. As it has a London imprint, at this day it can be distinguished from an English edition, of the same date, only by those who are acquainted with the niceties of typography. This Bible issued from the press about the time that the partnership of Kneeland and Green expired. The edition was not large; I have been informed that it did not exceed seven or eight hundred copies.1 An edition of the New Testament, in duodecimo, was printed by Rogers and Fowle, not long before the time when this impression of the Bible came from the press, for those at whose expense it was issued. Both the Bible and the Testament were well executed. These were heavy undertakings for that day, but Henchman was a man of property; and it is said that several other principal booksellers in Boston were concerned with him in this business. The credit of this edition of the Testament was, for the reason I have mentioned, transferred to the king's printer, in London, by the insertion of his imprint. Kneeland was, for a great length of time, printer to the governor and council, and during several years he printed the acts, laws and journals of the house of representatives. He was diligent, and worked at case when far advanced in years. The books he published were chiefly on religious subjects; he printed some political pamphlets. He was independent in his circumstances; a member of the Old South church; and was a pious, friendly, and benevolent man. He left four sons, all of whom were printers; two of them, Daniel and John, set up a press, in partnership, 1 The authenticity of this statement has been questioned by Bancroft, the historian, and an account of some fruitless investigations concerning the edition is given in O' Callaghan's List of Editions of American Dibles, p. xiii.-M. MASSACHUSETTS. 109 before their father's death; but the other two never were in business on their own account. He died December 14, 1769, aged seventy-three years. The following is extracted from the Evening Post of December 18, 1769: " Last Thursday died, after a long indisposition, Mr. Samuel Kneeland, formerly, for many years, an eminent Printer in this Town. He sustained the character of an upright man and a good Christian, and as such was universally esteemed. He continued in business till through age and bodily Infirmities he was obliged to quit it. His Funeral was very respectfully attended on Saturday Evening last." JAMES FRANKLIN was the brother ofthe celebrated Dr. Benjamin Franklin. He was born in Boston, where his father, who was a respectable man, carried on the business of a tallow chandler, at the Blue Ball, corner of Union street. With this brother Dr. Franklin lived several years, as an apprentice, and learned the art of printing. I have been informed that James Franklin served an apprenticeship with a printer in England, where his father was born, and had connections. In March, 171',1 J. Franklin came from London with a press and types, and began business in Boston. At first he printed a few pamphlets for booksellers. In 1719, a 1Before the new style took place in 1752, there was much confusion respecting dates, particularly in regard to the months of January and February. Some writers began the year in January, and others in March. The difficulty was to determine whether January and February closed an old year, or began a new one. It became necessary to have some mode, by which it might be known to what year January and February belonged, whenever these months were mentioned. For this purpose the following method was adopted: During January, February, and to the 25th of March, the year was thus marked, 1716-17, or 1716, meaning, that by the ancient mode of calculating, tle month mentioned belonged to the year 1716; but, by the new calculation, to the year 1717. After the 24th of March there was no difficulty; for by both calculations, the succeeding months were included in the new year. 110 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. postmaster was appointed who established a second newspaper; for until this time The Boston News-Letter was the only paper which had been published in British America. The title of the new paper was The Boston Gazette, and J. Franklin was employed to print it;' but, within seven months, Philip Musgrave, being appointed to the postoffice, became the proprietor of the Gazette, and employed another printer; and Franklin employed his press otherwise until August 6, 1721; when, encouraged by a number of respectable characters, who were desirous of having a paper of a different cast from those then published, he began the publication, at his own risk, of a third newspaper, entitled, The New England Courant. Franklin's father and many of his friends were inimical to this undertaking. They supposed that one newspaper was enough for the whole continent; and they apprehended that another must occasion absolute ruin to the printei. Franklin, notwithstanding their remonstrances, continued. This weekly publication, like the others issued in Boston, contained only a foolscap half sheet, but occasionally was enlarged to a whole sheet. The patrons of the paper formed themselves into a club, and furnished it with short original essays, generally one for each week, in imitation of the Spectator and other periodical publications of that class. These essays soon brought the Courant into notice; the rigid puritans warmly opposed it; but men of differ1Dr. Franklin, in writing his life, was incorrect in asserting, that the Gourant was the second newspaper published in America. There were three papers published at that time, viz., first, The Boston News-Letter; secondly, The Boston Gazette; and the third was The American Mercury, published at Philadelphia; of course the Coucrant was the fourth. The doctor probably fell into this mistake, from his knowledge that his brother first printed the Gazette, which, in fact, was the second paper published in Boston. He seems to have mentioned the events of his youth from recollection only; therefore, we cannot wonder if he erred in respect to some circumstances of minor importance. In more material concerns, he was substantially correct. MASSACHUSETTS. 111 ent sentiments supported it. Among others, the Rev. Increase Mather, who was one of Franklin's first subscribers, very soon denounced The Courant, by an advertisement in The Boston Gazette, No, 114.1 The Courant contained very little news, and but few advertisements. It took a decided part against the advocates of inoculation for the small pox, which was then beginning to be introduced: it was hostile to the clergy, and to some of the most influential men in civil government; and, it attacked some of the religious opinions of the day; in consequence, frequent 'assaults were made upon its writers; and, in their defence, they abounded more in severe, and not always the most refined, satire, than in argument. While, therefore, the Courant gained a currency with one part of the community, it excited the resentment of another, and soon attracted the notice of government. Franklin had not published The New England Courant twelve months, before he was taken into custody, publicly censured, and imprisoned four weeks, by the government, for publishing what were called scandalous libels, &c.2 Being released from his confinement, he continued the publication of tbe Courant until January 14, 1723, when an order of council, in which the house of representatives concurred, directed, " That James Franklin be strictly forbidden by this Court to Print or Publish the New England Courant, or any Pamphlet or Paper of the like Nature, except it be first supervised by the Secretary of this Province."3 This order, this stride of despotism, could, it seems, at that time, be carried into effect; but, at this day, a similar attempt would excite indignation, or a contemptuous smile. 'For this advertisement, see History of Newspaper's -Boston. 2 See resolve of council, July 5th, 1722, in 1History of Newspapers. 3For this act bf the legislature, see Newspapers. 112 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. Franklin was not inclined to subject his paper to licensers of the press, and he was unwilling to stop the publication of it; but, he dared not proceed in defiance of the order of the legislature. The club wished for the continuance of the paper; and, a consultation on the subject was held in Frankliin's printing house, the result of which was, that to evade the order of the legislature, the New England Courant should, in future, be published by Benjamin Franklin, then an apprentice to James. Accordingly, the next Courant had the following imprint: "'Boston, printed and sold by Benjamin Franklin, in Queen Street, where advertisements are taken in." About a year afterward, J. Franklin removed his printing house to Union street. The Courant was published in the name of Benjamin Franklin, for more than three years; 1 and, probably, until its publication ceased; but it appears from Dr. Franklin's life, that he did not remain for a long time with his brother after the Courant began to be printed in his name. J. Franklin remained in Boston for several years. I-He continued to publish the Courant, and printed several small works. He had a brother, by the name of John, who was married and settled at Newport in the business of a tallow chandler. Not satisfied with his situation in Boston, and receiving an invitation from his brother and other persons in Rhode Island, he removed to Newport, and set up the first printing press in that colony; and, in the latter part of September, 1732, he published the first number of The Rhode Island Gazette.- See Rhode Island. James Franklin had learned, in England, the art of calico printing, and did something at the business, both in Boston and Newport. The Boston Gazette of April 25, 1720, then printed by him for the postmaster, contains I Appendix G. MASSACHUSETTS. 113 the following advertisement: " The Printer hereof prints Linens, Calicoes, Silks, &c., in good Figures, very lively and durable colours, and without the offensive smell which commonly attends the Linens printed here." 1 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. Well known and highly celebrated in this country and in Europe, was born in Boston, January 17th, 1705. His father was an Englishman, and served an apprenticeship with a silk dyer in Northamptonshire.2 He came to Boston with his wife and three children; and, after his arrival in America, he had four other children 'by the same wife. She dying, he married a native of New England, by whom he had ten children; two daughters excepted, Benjamin was the youngest child by the second wife.3 Franklin's father settled in Boston; but, finding the business to which he had been bred insufficient to afford him a maintenance, he relinquished it, and assumed that of a soap boiler and tallow chandler, in which occupations Benjamin was employed from the tenth to the twelfth year of his life. Franklin was dissatisfied with the business of his father, and felt a strong inclination for a seafaring life. His father was extremely averse to that plan, and through fear that Benjamin might, in a clandestine manner, get to sea, he concluded to bind him apprentice to his nephew, who was settled in Boston, as a cutler; but not agreeing with his nephew on conditions, and Benjamin expressing a wish to be a printer, his father consented to gratify this ' James Franklin died in 1735, leaving his printing office to his wife and family, who continued it successfully for several years after his death.-M. 2 More probably wool dyer in Oxfordshire. See Autobiography of B. Franklin.-II 3 Franklin's Life, first London edition, 12mo, from which I have taken most of the particulars respecting him. 8 114 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. inclination. At this time, 1717, James Franklin returned from England with printing materials, and commenced business in Boston; and Benjamin, at the age of twelve years, signed indentures, and became his apprentice. Pleased with his new employment, Franklin soon became useful to his brother. He borrowed books, and read them with avidity and profit. At an early age, he wrote stanzas on the capture of Black Beard, a noted pirate, and on other occurrences. These verses, he observes, " were miserable ditties," but his brother printed them, and sent Benjamin about the town to sell them. One of these compositions, he remarks, " had a prodigious run,"because the event was recent, and had made a great noise." When his brother printed a newspaper, Benjamin felt increased satisfaction with his business; and he soon began, privately, to compose short essays, which he artfully introduced for publication without exciting suspicion of his being the author. These were examined and approved by the club of writers for the Courant, to the great gratification of the writer, who eventually made himself known. It has already been stated, in the account given of James Franklin, that he was forbidden by the General court to proceed in the publication of the Courant, except on certain conditions. With the terms dictated James determined that he would not comply; and, with a view to evade the injunctions of the government, the name of his brother Benjamin was substituted in the place of his own, and the publication was continued. "To avoid the censure of the General assembly, who might charge James Franklin with still 'printing the paper under the name of his apprentice, it was resolved that Benjamin's indentures should be given up to him, with a full and entire discharge written on the back, in order to be produced on any emergency; but that to secure to James the service of MASSACHUSETTS. 115 Benjamin, it was agreed the latter should sign a new contract, which should be kept secret during the remainder of the term." This, Benjamin observes, in his Life, was a very shallow arrangement, but it was put into immediate execution. Though the paper was stillissuedin Benjamin's name, he did not remain with his brother long after this arrangement was made. They disagreed, and in the eighteenth year of his age he privately quitted James, and took passage in a vessel for New York. At this time there was but one printer in New York, and from him Franklin could obtain no employment; but he gave our adventurer encouragement, that his son, who printed in Philadelphia, would furnish him with work. In pursuit of this object, he entered a ferry boat on his way to Philadelphia; and, after a very disagreeable passage, reached Amboy. From that place he traveled on foot to Burlington, where he was hospitably entertained, for several days, by an aged woman who sold gingerbread. When an opportunity presented to take passage in a boat, he embraced it, and reached Philadelphia in safety. As Franklin afterwards obtained the highest offices in civil government, and was greatly celebrated as a statesman and a philosopher, the particulars of this apparently inauspicious period of his life are singularly interesting; I will, therefore, give his own narrative of his entrance into the capital of Pennsylvania, of which he was destined to become the governor. " On my arrival at Philadelphia, I was in my working dress, my best clothes being to come by sea. I was covered with dirt; my pockets were filled with shirts and stockings; I was unacquainted with a single soul in the place, and knew not where to seek for a lodging. Fatigued with walking, rowing, and having past the night without sleep, I was extremely hungry, and all my money consisted of a Dutch dollar, and about a shilling's worth of coppers, 116 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. which I gave to the boatmen for my passage. As I had assisted them in rowing, they refused it at first; but I insisted on their taking it. A man is sometimes more generous when he has little, than when he has much money; probably because in the first case he is desirous of concealing his poverty. I walked towards the top of the street, looking eagerly on both sides, till I came to Market street, where I met a child with a loaf of bread. Often had I made my dinner on dry bread. I enquired where he had bought it, and went straight to the baker's shop, which he pointed out to me. I asked for some biscuits, expecting to find such as we had at Boston; but they made, it seems, none of that sort in Philadelphia. I then asked for a threepenny loaf. They made no loaves of that price. Finding myself ignorant of the prices, as well as the different kinds of bread, I desired him to let me have three penny worth of bread of some kind or other. I-e gave me three large rolls. I was surprized at receiving so much; I took them, however, and having no room in my pockets, I walked on with a roll under each arm, eating the third. In this manner I went through Market street to Fourth street, and passed the house of Mr. Read, the father of my future wife. She was standing at the door, observed me, and thought, with reason, that I made a very singular and grotesque appearance. "I then turned the corner, and went through Chestnut street, eating my roll all the way; and, having made this round, I found myself again on Market street wharf, near the boat in which I had arrived. I stepped into it to take a draught of the river water; and, finding myself satisfied with my first roll, I gave the other two to a woman and her child, who had come down the river with us in the boat, and was waiting to continue her journey. Thus refreshed, I regained the street, which was now full of well dressed people, all going the same way. I joined MASSACHUSETTS. 117 them, and was thus led to a large Quaker's meeting-house, near the market place. I sat down with the rest, and after looking round me for some time, hearing nothing said, and being drowsy from my last night's labor and want of rest, I fell into a sound sleep. In this state I continued till the assembly dispersed, when one of the congregation had the goodness to wake me. This was consequently the first house I entered, or in which I slept, at Philadelphia. "I began again to walk along the street by the river side, and looking attentively in the face of every one I met, I at length perceived a young quaker, whose countenance pleased me. I accosted him, and begged him to inform me where a stranger might find a lodging. We were then near the sign of the Three Mariners. They receive travellers here, said he, but it is not a house that bears a good character; if you will go with me I will shew you a better one. He conducted me to the Crooked Billet, in Water street. There I ordered something for dinner, and during my meal a number of curious questions were put to me; my youth and appearance exciting the suspicion that I was a runaway. After dinner my drowsiness returned, and I threw myself on a bed without taking off my clothes, and slept till six o'clock in the evening, when I was called to supper. I afterward went to bed at a very early hour, and did not awake till the next morning. " As soon as I got up I put myself in as decent a trim as I could, and went to the house of Andrew Bradford the printer. I found his father in the shop, whom I had seen at New York. Having travelled on horseback, he had arrived at Philadelphia before me. He introduced me to his son, who received me with civility, and gave me some breakfast; but told me he had no occasion at present for a journeyman, having lately procured one. He added, that there was another printer newly settled in the town, 118 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. of the name of Keimer, who might, perhaps, employ me; and, that in case of a refusal, I should be welcome to lodge at his house, and he would give me a little work now and then, till something better should offer. "The old man offered to introduce me to the new printer. When we were at his house, ' Neighbor,' said he, ' I bring you a young man in the printing business; perhaps you may have need of his services.' Eeimer asked me some questions, put a composing stick in my hand to see how I could work, and then said, that at present he had nothing for me to do, but that he should soon be able to employ me. At the same time, taking old Bradford for an inhabitant of the town well disposed towards him, he communicated his project to him, and the prospect he had of success. Bradford was careful not to betray that he was the father of the other printer; and from what Keimer had said, that he hoped shortly to be in possession of the greater part of the business of the town, led him by artful questions, and by starting some difficulties, to disclose all his views, what his hopes were founded upon, and how he intended to proceed. I was present, and heard it all. I instantly saw that one of the two was a cunning old fox, and the other a perfect novice. Bradford left me with Eeimer, who was strangely surprized when I informed him who the old man was." Keimer encouraged Franklin with the hope of employment in a short time, and he returned to Bradford's. In a few days after he began to work for Keimer, but continued to board with Bradford. This was not agreeable to Keimer, and he procured a lodging for him at Mr. IRead's, who has been already mentioned. "My trunk and effects being now arrived," says Franklin, " I thought of making, in the eyes of Miss Read, a more respectable appearance, than when chance exhibited me to her view, eating my rolls and wandering in the streets." MASSACHUSETTS. 119 Franklin remained about seven months in Philadelphia, worked for Keimer, and formed many acquaintances, some of them very respectable. Accident procured him an interview with Governor Keith, who made him great promises of friendship and patronage; persuaded him to visit his father, which he accordingly did, and was bearer of a letter the governor wrote to him, mentioning the son in the most flattering terms; and recommending his establishment as a printer at Philadelphia, under assurances of success. Franklin was at this time only in the nineteenth year of his age, and his father declined to assist in establishing him in business on account of his youth and inexperience; but he answered Governor Keith's letter, thanking him for the attentions and patronage he had exercised toward his son. Franklin determined to return to Philadelphia. At New York, on his way, he received some attentions from the governor of that colony.1 On his arrival at Philadelphia he presented his father's letter to Governor Keith. The governor disapproved of the caution of his father; still urgedthe prosecution of the scheme; promised himself to be at all the expense of procuring printing materials; and advised Franklin to make a voyage to England, and select the types, under his own eye, at the foundery. To this plan Franklin agreed, and it was settled that the design should be kept secret, until an opportunity presented for his taking passage for London. In the meantime he continued to work for Keimer. When a vessel was about to sail, the governor promised from day to day to give Franklin letters of credit upon his correspondent in London; and, when he was called on board ship, the governor told him that he would send his letters to him on board. At the moment of sailing, letters were brought from the governor and put into the ship's letter Burnet, who was soon after governor of Massachusetts. 120 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. bag; among which Franklin supposed were those that had been promised him. But when he reached his port, he found, on investigation, that he had neither letters of credit nor introduction. The governor had deceived him, and he landed a stranger in a strange country. Destitute and friendless, Franklin's only means of support consisted in his capacity to labor. Ite immediately applied to a printer for employment as a journeyman, and obtained it. In this situation he continued for eighteen months, and gained much knowledge in the art of printing. HIe then formed a connection with a mercantile friend, whom he assisted as a clerk; and, with him, he returned to Philadelphia. This friend soon died, and Franklin relinquished the plan of mercantile pursuits. He returned to the business of a printer as a journeyman; but, soon after, opened a printing house of his own in Philadelphia. [See Philadelphia Printers.] TIMOTHY GREEN, JUN. I-e was the son of Timothy Green, who removed from Boston to New London in 1714; and great grandson of Samuel Green, of Cambridge. I have seen no printing with his name before 1726. One ore two pamphlets were then printed by S. IKneeland and T. Green. Several small publications appeared afterwards with Kneeland's name only. In 1727, a regular partnership took place between them, under the firm of S. Kneeland & T. Green. This partnership, as has been mentioned, continued till 1752, when he removed to New London, and succeeded his father. [See Kneeland and Green, and printers in Connecticut.] BARTHOLOMEW GREEN, JUN., was the son of Bartholomew Green, printer of The Boston Neiws-Letter, grandson to Samuel Green, who printed at Cambridge, and served an apprenticeship with his father. The earliest works I have MASSACHUSETTS. 121 seen printed by Bartholomew Green, Jun., are, a small book published in 1726, and the Boston Gazette, for the postmaster, Henry Marshall, in 1727. He made use of his press and types in the printing house of his father, till 1734; and was, occasionally, connected with John Draper, his brother-in-law, in printing pamphlets, etc. Draper succeeded to the business of B. Green the elder in 1732, in the same house. On the night of the 30th of January, 1734, this house, with the greatest part of its contents, was destroyed by fire. After this misfortune, B. Green, Jr., formed a copartnership with John Bushell and Bezoune Allen.1 The firm of this company was GREEN, BUSHELL & ALLEN. They printed a number of small books for the trade, which were very well executed. They used handsome types, and printed on good paper. How long this partnership continued, I cannot say; it was dissolved before 1751. In September, 1751, Green with his printing materials removed to Halifax, Nova Scotia, intending to establish a press in that place; but he died in about five weeks after his arrival there, at the age of fifty-two years. On his decease, his late partner Bushell went to Halifax, and commenced business with Green's press. Green left several children, and two of his sons were printers. Bartholomew, the eldest of them, never had a press of his own. The following peculiarity in his character introduced him to a particular intercourse with the merchants of the town; he made himself so well acquainted with every vessel which sailed out of the port of Boston, 'Bezoune, Bozoun, Bozoune or Bozoon Allen, was an ancient and respectable name in Boston. In 1647, an order of the court was signed by John Winthrop, Governor, and Bozoun Allen, on the part of the house. In 1691, Capt. Bezoone Allen was one of the selectmen. In 1693, Bozoun Allen held the same office. In 1694, Capt. Bozoone Allen was assessor. In 1700, Bozoon Allen was chosen representative.- Drake's Boston, pp. 327, 492, 503, 506, 522. —I. 122 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. as to know each at sight. Perpetually on the watch, as soon as a vessel could be discovered with a spyglass in the harbor, he knew it, and gave immediate information to the owner; and, by the small fees for this kind of information, he principally maintained himself for several years. Afterwards he had some office in the custom house. John, another son, will be mentioned hereafter. One of the daughters of Green was the mother of Mr. Joseph Dennie, formerly editor of The Farmer's lMuseum, at Walpole, New Hampshire, and also of The Port Folio, published at Philadelphia. Mr. Dennie was reckoned among the first scholars in the belles-lettres, which our country has produced. GAMALIEL ROGERS served his apprenticeship with Bartholomew Green the elder. About the year 1729, he began business in a printing house near the Mill Bridge. tie printed for the booksellers. In 1742, he commenced a partnership with Daniel Fowle, under the firm of ROGERS & FowLE. They opened a printing house in Prison lane, for some time called Queen street, and now named Court street. For those times they entered largely into business, and the books they printed, in magnitude and variety, exceeded the usual works of the country. A number of octavo and duodecimo volumes issued from their house; and their printing was executed with accuracy and neatness. Several of these books were printed on their own account. In 1743, they issued The American Magazine. It was published in numbers, monthly, printed in a handsome manner, and in its execution was deemed equal to any work of the kind then published in London. Several respectable booksellers were interested in this magazine. It was continued for three years. In the beginning of the year 1748, they commenced the publication of a newspaper entitled The Independent Adver MASSACHUSETTS. 123 Uiser. A. number of able writers supported and enlivened this publication. Its prominent features were political. In 1750, they closed the business of the firm, and the Independent Advertiser was then discontinued. During the partnership of Rogers and Fowle, they printed an edition of about two thousand copies of the New Testament, 12mo, for D. Henchman and two or three other principal booksellers, as has been already observed. This impression of the Testament, the first in the English language printed in this country, was, as I have been informed, completed at the press before Kneeland and Green began the edition of the Bible which has been mentioned. Zechariah Fowle, with whom I served my apprenticeship, as well as several others, repeatedly mentioned to me this edition of the Testament. I-Ie was, at the time, a journeyman with Rogers and Fowle, and worked at the press. He informed me that, on account of the weakness of his constitution, he greatly injured his health by the performance. Privacy in the business was necessary; and as few hands were intrusted with the secret, the press work was, as he thought, very laborious. I mention these minute circumstances in proof that an edition of the Testament did issue from the office of Rogers and Fowle, because I have heard that the fact has been disputed. Rogers and Fowle were correct printers. They used good types, paper, and excellent ink of their own manufacture. They were the only printers, I believe, who at that time could make good ink. The printing ink used in this country, until later, was chiefly imported from Europe. In the first stages of printing, printers made their own ink and types; but the manufacture of types and ink soon became separate branches of business. Most of the bad printing in the United States, particularly in New England, during the revolutionary war, was occa 124 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. sioned by the wretched ink, and more wretched paper, which printers were then under the necessity of using. After the dissolution of the partnership of Rogers and Fowle, Rogers removed to the west part of the town, then called New Boston; and there opened a printing house. For two or three years he did a little business in this place, when his printing house was, unfortunately, burnt down. By this accident he was deprived of his press, and the principal part of his types. Having lost most of his property, he did no more business as a printer. Iis spirits were broken, and he appeared dejected. At an advanced period of life he opened a small shop opposite to the Old South church, where he supported his family by retailing ardent spirits in small quantities, trifling articles of grocery, and by vending a few pamphlets, the remnant of his stock. I went myself frequently to his shop, when a minor. He knew that I lived with a printer, and for this, or some other reason, was very kind to me; he gave me some books of his printing, and, what was of more value to me, good advice. He admonished me diligently to attend to my business, that I might become a reputable printer. I held him in high veneration, and often recollected his instructions, which, on many occasions, proved beneficial to me. Rogers was industrious, and an excellent workman; an amiable, sensible man, and a good Christian. In 1775, soon after the battle at Bunker's hill, when Boston was wholly in possession of the British troops, and besieged by the provincials, Rogers was among a number of the infirm and invalid inhabitants of that town who obtained permission from the British general to leave it. He sought an asylum at Ipswich; removed there, and died at that place in the autumn of that year, aged 70. Hie left several daughters but no sons; two of his daughters married clergymen; one of them was the wife of the Rev. Elijah MASSACHUSETTS. 125 Parsons of East Haddam, in Connecticut, and the other the second wife of the Reverend Mr. Dana of Ipswich. JOHN DRAPER, was the son of Richard Draper, a trader in Boston. He served his apprenticeship with Bartholomew Green, Sen., whose daughter he married; and, at the decease of his father-in-law, occupied his printing house in lNewbury street. In September, 1731, Draper commenced the publication of a political paper, entitled The Weekly Rehearsal. It was printed, according to the custom of those times, on a half sheet of small paper; and was carried on at the expense of some gentlemen who formed themselves into a political or literary club, and wrote for it. At the head of this club was the late celebrated Jeremy Gridley, Esq.,l who was the real editor of the paper. The receipts for the Rehearsal never amounted to more than enough to defray the expense of publication. Draper printed this paper only about a year and a half, and at the expiration of about four years it was discontinued. On the 28th of December, 1732, Bartholomew Green died, and Draper succeeded him in his business; particularly as publisher of The Boston Weekly News-Letter. In 1734, he printed the laws of the province. He was afterward appointed printer to the governor and council, and was honored with that mark of confidence and favor as long as he lived. Draper not only succeeded Bartholomew Green in his business, but he was heir to his calamities also. On the night of the 30th of January, 1734, the flames were seen to burst from his printing house, but too late for any 1Mr. Gridley was afterward attorney general of the province of Massachusetts, grand master of the society of free masons, president of the marine society, and a member of the general court. He died in September, 1767. 126 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. effectual assistance to be afforded. The fire had kindled in the interior part of the building, which was burnt to the ground, and nearly the whole of the printing materials were destroyed. This loss was in some measure repaired by the friendship of his brethren of the type, who loaned to him a press, and several founts of letters, till he could replace those articles by a new printing apparatus from England. He printed a number of books for the trade; but published only a few small pamphlets for his own sales. He V annually printed Ames's famous Almanac, for himself and for booksellers; of which about sixty thousand copies were annually sold in the New England colonies. Draper owned the house in which he resided. It was in Cornhill, the east corner of the short alley leading to the church in Brattle street. He was an industrious and useful member of society, and was held in estimation by his friends and acquaintances. He died November 29th, 1762, and was succeeded in business by his son. The following character of Draper is extracted from the Boston Evenring Post of December 6, 1762: "On Monday Evening last departed this Life after a slow and hectic Disorder, having just entered the 61st Year of his Age, Mr. John Draper, Printer, who for a long Time has been the Publisher of a News-Paper in this Town; and by his Industry, Fidelity and Prudence in his Business, rendered himself very agreeable to the Public. His Charity and Benevolence; his pleasant and sociable Turn of Mind; his tender Affection as a Husband and Parent; his Piety and Devotion to his Maker, has made his Death as sensibly felt by his Friends and Relations, as his Life is worthy Imitation."' 'See Hlistorical Miagazine, vii, 2d series, p. 219. MASSACHUSETTS. 127 JOHN BUSHELL was born in Boston, where he served an apprenticeship. He began business about the year 1734; and, as I have been informed, printed The Boston Weekly Post Boy, during a short period, for Ellis Tuske, postmaster. He was afterward of the firm of Green, Bushell & Allen. They did but little business while together, and the connection was dissolved about 1750. Upon the termination of the partnership, Green, as has been mentioned, removed to Halifax, Nova Scotia; and, as he died a few weeks after his arrival, Bushell went to Halifax, and with Green's apparatus established a press in that place. He was the first who printed in that province. [See Nova Scotia.] BEZOUNE ALLEN was, probably, the son of John Allen. He entered on business, according to report, about the year 1734; and was, for several years, of the firm of Green, Bushell and Allen. This copartnership was formed, I believe, in 1736. I have seen books printed by them as late as 1745; but I have not discovered that any thing was printed by Allen separately. They never were in extensive business; and what they did consisted, principally, of small works for the booksellers. JONAS GEEEN was the son of the elder Timothy Green, who removed from Boston and settled at New London in 1714, and great-grandson of Samuel Green, printer at Cambridge. He was born at Boston, and served his apprenticeship with his father in New London. When of age, he came to Boston, and was several years in the printing house of his brother, who was then the partner of S. Kneeland. I have seen but one book printed by Jonas Green in Boston, viz.: A Grammar of the Hebrew Tongue, by Judah Monis, professor of the Iebrew language, at Harvard Col 128 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. lege, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Good judges pronounced this work to be correctly printed. I have seen a copy of it in the theological library in Boston, where the original manuscript is preserved. The Hebrew types were a cast belonging to the college, which have since been used in printing Professor Sewall's Hebrew Grammar, and I suppose are now in the museum of the University. Green' resided several years in Philadelphia; and during that time was employed in the printing houses of Bradford and Franklin. In 1739, as there was not a printer in Maryland, the legislature of that province employed an agent to procure one. Green, being well recommended by his employers, made application to the agent, and obtained the place of printer to that government. In consequence of the liberal encouragement he received, he opened a printing house at Annapolis in 1740. [See printers in JlMaryland.] EBENEZER LOVE. I have not been able to obtain much information respecting Love. He was born in, or near Boston, and served his apprenticeship in that town. I have seen nothing of his printing; but he was known in Boston as a printer; indeed, I recollect, myself, that, when a lad, I heard mention made of him; but I cannot ascertain that he was at any time actively engaged in the printing business. In The Boston Evening Post of May 14th, 1770, under the Boston head, is the following parapraph, viz.: "c We hear from New Providence, that on the 23d of January last, died there after a few days illness of a Bilious Cholic, Ebenezer Love, Esq., formerly of this town, Printer. For a number of years past he had resided at that Island, and carried on Merchandize; was well esteemed by the Gentlemen there, and elected a member of their House of Assembly." MASSACHUSETTS. 129 DANIEL FOWLE was born in Charlestown, near Boston, and served his apprenticeship with Samuel Kneeland. He began printing, on his own account, in 1740, " north side of King street, opposite the town house." In 1742, he, and Gamaliel Rogers, formed a partnership in business, under the firm of Rogers & Fowle.l A brother of Fowle, named John, was a silent partner in this firm. They opened a printing house in Prison lane, the house next but one to the old stone jail, where the court house now (in 1815) stands. In the account given of Rogers, I have mentioned the works done by this company; and, particularly, the New Testament, the American Magazine, and the newspaper, entitled The Independent Advertiser. In taking notice of Fowle, therefore, I shall begin with the period at which the partnership was dissolved, that is, in 1750. Soon after that event, Fowle opened a printing house on the south side of Anne street, not far from the Flat conduit, so called, which at that time stood in Union street. At the same place he also opened a shop, and kept a small collection of books for sale. Here he printed a number of works, chiefly pamphlets, most of which were for his own sales. In October, 1754, Fowle, while at dinner, was arrested, by virtue of an order of the house of representatives, signed by Thomas Hubbard, their speaker, and taken before that house, on suspicion of having printed a pamphlet which reflected upon some of the members. It was entitled, The Monster of Monsters, by Tom Thumb, Esq. After an hour's confinement in the lobby, he was brought before the house. The speaker, holding a copy of the pamphlet in his hand, asked him, "Do you know any thing of the printing of this Book?" Fowle requested to see it; and it was given him. After examination, he I See Rogers and Fowle. 9 130 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. said that it was not of his printing; and that he had not such types in his printinghouse. The speaker then asked, " Do you know any thing relating to the said Book?" Fowle requested the decision of the house, whether he was bound to answer the question. No vote was taken, but a few members answered, " Yes!" He then observed, that he had " bought some copies, and had sold them at his shop." This observation occasioned the following questions and answers, viz: Question. [By the speaker.] Who did you buy them of? Answer. They were, I believe, sent by a young man, but I cannot tell his name. Q. Who did he live with? [Fowle again desired the decision of the house, whether he was obliged to give the required information, and a number of individual members again replied, "Yes! " Upon which Fowle answered] The young man, I believe, lives with Royall Tyler. Q. Did you have any conversation with him [Tyler] about them? A. I believe I might, in the same manner I had with many others; not that I thought him the author. It was never offered me to print. Q. Did any of your hands assist in doing it? A. I believe my negro might, as he sometimes worked for my brother.2 'Vide Total Eclipse of Liberty, a pamphlet written and published by D. Fowle, containing a full account of this arbitrary procedure. 2 This negro was named Primus. He was an African. I well remember him; he worked at press with or without an assistant; he continued to do press work until prevented by age. He went to Portsmouth with his master, and there died, being more than ninety years of age; about fifty of which he was a pressman. There is now [1815] in Philadelphia, a negro pressman named Andrew Cain, but now unable to do hard labor. He is ninety-four years old. It is said that he has been a good workman. MASSACHUSETTS. 131 Q. Ias your brother any help? A. No. Q. Did you see any of it whilst printing? A. Yes. Q. Whose house was it in? A. I think it was my brother's. Q. Where does he live? A. Down by Cross street. Q. What is his name? A. Zechariah. One of the members then said to Fowle, You do not know when you lie! Fowle replied, " Begging your pardon, sir, I know when I lie, and what a lie is as well as yourself." After this examination, Fowle was again confined for several hours in the lobby; and from thence, about ten o'clock at night, was, by order of the house, taken to the "common gaol," andthere closely confined " among thieves and murderers." 1 He was denied the sight of his wife, although she, with tears, petitioned to see him; no friend was permitted to speak to him; and he was debarred the use of pen, ink and paper. Royall Tyler, Esq., was arrested, and carried before the house. When interrogated, he claimed the right of silence, C Nemo tenetur seipsum accusare," was the only answer he made. -Ie was committed for contempt; but was soon released, on a promise that he would be forthcoming when required. The house ordered their messenger to take Fowle's brother Zechariah into custody, with some others; but his physician gave a certificate of his indisposition, and by this means he escaped imprisonment. Fowlc was confined in the same room with a thief and a notorious cheat; and, in the next cell, was one Wyer, then under sentence of death for murder, and was soon after executed. [Vide Fowle's Total Eclipse of Liberty.] 132 -IISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. After two days close confinement, Fowle was taken to the keeper's house, and told that " He might go! but he refused; observing, that as he was confined at midnight uncondemned by the law, he desired that the authority which confined, should liberate him, and not thrust him out privily. He remained with the jailer three days longer; when learning from a respectable physician, that his wife was seriously indisposed, that her life was endangered by her anxiety on account of his confinement, and his friends joining their persuasion to this call upon his tenderness, Fowle was induced to ask for his liberation. He was accordingly dismissed; and here the prosecution ended. He endeavored to obtain some satisfaction for the deprivation of his liberty, but he did not succeed in the attempt. Disgusted with the government of Massachusetts by this treatment, and being invited by a number of respectable gentlemen in New Hampshire to remove into that colony, he accepted their invitation; and, at the close of the following year, established his press at Portsmouth. He was the first printer who settled in that province; and, in 1756, he began the publication of The New Hampshire Gazette.l Fowle was, I believe, the third person whom the legislature of Massachusetts imprisoned for printing what was deemed a libel on that body, or on some of its members, or for publishing heretical opinions, &c. Living in the family of Daniel Fowle's brother, I early became minutely acquainted with the whole transaction, and deep impressions were then made upon my mind in favor of the liberty of the press. For this liberty I am now an advocate, but I still, as I ever did, hold the opinion, that a line should be drawn between the liberty and the licentiousness of the press. [See New Hampshire.] This paper is still printed, and is the oldest paper extant in the United States.-M MASSACHUSETTS. 133 ZECIHARIAH FOWLE. He was born at Charlestown, near Boston, of very respectable parents, and served his apprenticeship with his brother Daniel, who was at that period in partnership with Gamaliel Rogers. The first book which bears the name of Z. Fowle as printer, was begun by Rogers and Fowle, viz., Pomfret's Poems, on a new small pica. On the dissolution of that firm, they assigned this book over to Z. Fowle, who completed it, and sold the greater part of the copies, in sheets, to booksellers. He soon after opened a printing house, and a small shop, in Middle street, near Cross street, where he printed and sold ballads and small pamphlets. Not being much known as a printer, and living in a street where but little business was transacted, he was selected by a number of gentlemen, who were in opposition to the measures of the general court, and particularly to an excise act, to print a pamphlet entitled, The Monster of Monsters, satirizing this act, and bearing with some severity upon individual members of the court. Daniel was prevailed upon to assist his brother in carrying this work through the press. Joseph Russell, his apprentice, then nearly of age, worked at the case, and a negro man at the press. The pamphlet was small, and appeared without the name of the printer. It was the custom of that day to hawk about the streets every new publication. Select hawkers were engaged to sell this work; and were directed what answers to give to enquiries into its origin, who prinlted it, &c. The general court was at the time in session. The hawkers appeared on the Exchange with the pamphlet, bawling out, " The Monster of Monsters! " Curiosity was roused, and the book sold. The purchasers inquired of the hawkers, where the Monster came from? all the reply was, " It dropped from the moon! " Several members of the general court bought the pamphlet. Its contents soon excited the attention of the house. Daniel 134 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. Fowle, who was suspected to be the printer, was brought before the house of representatives and examined, as has been observed.1 Z. Fowle was then ordered into custody, and Russell who assisted him. Russell was brought before the house, examined and released. Z. Fowle hearing that his brother and Russell were arrested, and that the officer was in search of him, was instantly seized with a violent fit of the cholic. His illness was not feigned; he possessed a slender constitution, was often subject to this complaint; and, at this time, it was brought on by the fear of an arrest. When the officer appeared, the attending physician certified that he was dangerously ill. With this certificate the officer departed, and Fowle escaped punishment, the punishment which his brother unjustly experienced. When Daniel Fowle removed to Portsmouth, Zechariah took the printing house which he had occupied, in Anne street. Until the year 1757, Z. Fowle printed little else than ballads; he then began an edition of the Psalter for the booksellers. In this work he was aided by two young printers just freed from their indentures, and to whom Fowle allowed a proportionate part of the profits of the impression. One of these, Samuel Draper, a very worthy young man, became a partner with Fowle after the Psalter was printed. The firm was FOWLE & DRAPER. They took a house in Marlborough street, opposite the Founder's Arms; here they printed, and opened a shop. They kept a great supply of ballads, and small pamphlets for book pedlers, of whom there were many at that time. They printed several works of higher consequence, viz.: an edition consisting of twenty thousand copies of The Youth's Instructor in the Enylish Tongue, commonly called the New England Spelling Book. This school book was in great repute, and 1Vide Daniel Fowle. MASSACHUSETTS. 135 in general use for many years. Janeway's Heaven upon Earth, octavo, Watts's Psalms, and several smaller duodecimo volumes, all for the trade. They printed, also, many pamphlets of various sizes on their own account; and had full employment for themselves and two lads. Draper was a diligent man, and gave unremitted attendance in the printing house. Fowle was bred to the business, but he was an indifferent hand at the press, and much worse at the case. He was never in the printing house when he could find a pretence for being absent. After the death of John Draper, Richard, his son, took his kinsman Samuel as a partner, and Fowle again printed by himself. The business in his printing house was then principally managed by a young lad, his only apprentice. Soon after he separated from Draper, he removed to Back street, where he continued printing and vending ballads and small books until 1770; at which time Isaiah Thomas became his partner. This connection was dissolved in less than three months, and Thomas purchased his press and types. Fowle having on hand a considerable stock of the small articles he usually sold, continued his shop till 1775. Boston being then a garrison town in the possession of the British troops, he obtained a permit to leave it, and removed to Portsmouth, New Hampshire. While in this place he resided with his brother, and died in his house in 1776. Fowle was a singular man, very irritable and effeminate, and better skilled in the domestic work of females, than in the business of a printing house. His first wife dying ii 1759, he married a second; but had no children by either. Fowle could not be called an industrious man; yet, in justice to his character, it ought to be mentioned, that he did business enough to give himself and family a decent maintenance. Although he did not acquire property, he 136 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. took care not to be involved in debt. He was honest in his dealings, and punctual to his engagements. BENJAMIN EDES was born in Charlestown, Oct. 14, 1732. He began business with John Gill, in the year 1755, under the firm of EDES & GILL. They continued in partnership until the commencement of the revolutionary war. Their printing house, for a time, was in King street, now State street; they afterward occupied the printing house formerly kept by Rogers and Fowle, then the second house west of the Court House in Court street. After the death of Samuel Kneeland, they removed to the printing house which he, for about forty years, occupied, and there they remained until hostilities commenced between the parent state and the colonies. Two newspapers had been published, entitled The Boston Gazette, and were, in succession, discontinued. Edes and Gill began a new paper under the title of The Boston Gazette, and Country Journal, which soon gained an establishment, and became distinguished for the spirited political essays which appeared in it. They published many political pamphlets, and for a number of years were appointed printers to the general court. They did some business for booksellers. A small number of octavo and duodecimo volumes were occasionally issued from their press; but their principal business consisted in the publication or the Gazette. When the dispute between Great Britain and her colonies assumed a serious aspect, this paper arrested the public attention, from the part its able writers took in the cause of liberty and their country; and it gained a very extensive circulation. Edes was a warm and a firm patriot, and Gill was an honest whig.1 1 In September, 1775, Gill underwent an imprisonment by the British, of twenty-nine days, for printing treason, sedition and rebellion.- IV Force's American Archives, II, 712.- M. MASSACHUSETTS. 137 Soon after the revolutionary war began, the British troops closed the avenues between Boston and the country; but Edes fortunately made his escape by night, in a boat, with a press and a few types. He opened a printing house in Watertown, where he continued the Gazette, and printed for the provincial congress of Massachusetts. Here he found full employment, and his zeal in the cause of his country animated him to redoubled diligence. The printing he executed at Watertown, did not, indeed, do much credit to the art; but the work, at this time, done at other presses, was not greatly superior. The war broke out suddenly, and few of any profession were prepared for the event. All kinds of printing materials had usually been imported from England; even ink for printers had not, in any great quantity, been made in America. This resource was, by the war, cut off; and a great scarcity of these articles soon ensued. At that time, there were but three small paper mills in Massachusetts; in New Hampshire there were none; and Rhode Island contained only one, which was out of repair. The paper which these mills could make fell far short of the necessary supply. Paper, of course, was extremely scarce, and what could be procured was badly manufactured, not having more than half the requisite labor bestowed upon it. It was often taken from the mill wet, and unsized. People had not been in the habit of saving rags, and stock for the manufacture of paper was obtained with great difficulty. Every thing like rags was ground up together to make a substitute for paper. This, with wretched ink, and worn out types, produced miserable printing. In 1776, Edes returned to Boston, on the evacuation of the town by the British army. Gill had remained recluse in Boston during the siege. They now dissolved their 10 138 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. connection, and divided their printing materials. Edes continued to print for the state several years. In 1779, he took his two sons Benjamin and Peter into partnership; their firm was BENJAMIN EDES & SONS. About three years after this event Peter began business for himself in Boston, but was not successful. Benjamin continued with his father some time longer, and then set up a press and printed a newspaper in Haverhill, Massachusetts; but he was not more fortunate than his brother. The father continued the business alone, and labored along with The Boston Gazette. This paper had had its day, and it now languished for want of that support it derived from the splendid talents of its former writers, some of whom were dead, some were gone abroad, and others were employed in affairs of state. It was further depressed and paralyzed by the establishment of other newspapers, and by the exertions of another class of writers, who enlivened the columns of the new journals with their literary productions. Edes was a man of great industry. At the beginning of the revolutionary war he had accumulated a very decent property, which was not lessened when he returned to Boston, in 1776. At that time he took a good house in Cornhill, part of which formed the alley leading to Brattle street; it was next to that formerly owned by John Draper; but, some years before his death, he moved into a house which he then owned in Temple street, and hired a chamber over the shop of a tin plate worker in Kilby street, where he erected his press. The rapid depreciation of paper money proved fatal to the property of Edes, as well as to that of many others. He had a large family to support; and he continued to work, as had been his custom, at case and press, until the infirmities of age compelled him to cease from labor. In the advanced period of his life competence and ease forsook him, and he was oppressed by poverty and sickness. MASSACHUSETTS. 139 His important services were too soon forgotten by his prosperous, independent countrymen. I-e died December 11, 1803, at the age of seventy-one years. His second son, Peter Edes, printed at Augusta, in the district of Maine.' Edes began the Boston Gazette and Country Journal, and with him it ended. No publisher of a newspaper felt a greater interest in the establishment of the independence of the United States than Benjamin Edes; and no newspaper was more instrumental in bringing forward this important event than The Boston Gazette. [See Newspapers.] JOHN GILL, the partner of Benjamin Edes, and the junior publisher of The Boston Gazette and Country Journal, was born in Charlestown, Massachusetts. He served his apprenticeship with Samuel Kneeland, and married one of his daughters. Gill was a sound whig, but did not possess the political energy of his partner. He was industrious, constantly in the printing house, and there worked at case or press as occasion required. His partnership with Edes continued for twenty years. They separated at the commencement of hostilities by the British, in 1775. Gill remained in Boston during the siege; he did no business, and thought it prudent to confine himself to his own house. He had, fortunately, acquired a competency for the support of his family under that trial. After the evacuation of Boston, his connection with Edes ended. They divided their stock, and settled their concerns. While Edes continued the publication of the Gazette, Gill issued another paper, entitled The Continental 1 In Sept., 1775, Peter Edes was a prisoner of the British in Boston, under a sentence of seventy-five days, for having fire-arms concealed in his house.- IV Force's Archives, IIm, 712. See also Historical Magazine, viI, 219, 220, 2d series. He was one of the Boston tea party, so called. He died at Bangor, Me., March 30, 1840. Benjamin Edes, Jr. died at Boston, May 15, 1801, aged 46. —l. 140 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. Journal. Having published this paper several years, he sold the right of it, in 1785, with his printing materials, to James D. Griffith. Gill was brother to the IIon. Moses Gill, who, subsequently to the revolution, was for several years lieutenantgovernor of the commonwealth of Massachusetts. He died August 25, 1785, and left several children. The Continental Journal, which announced to the public the death of Gill, contains the following observations respecting him, viz.: "Capt. John Gill, for disseminating principles destructive of tyranny, suffered during the siege of this town in 1775, what many other printers were threatened with, a cruel imprisonment. He, however, was so fortunate as to survive the conflict; but had the mortification, lately, of seeing the press ready to be shackled by a stamp act fabricated in his native state; he, therefore, resigned his business, not choosing to submit to a measure which Britain artfully adopted as the foundation of her intended tyranny in America. His remains were very respectfully entombed last Monday afternoon." [See Edes.- Boston Gazette.] JOHN GREEN was the son of Bartholomew Green, Jr., who died at Halifax, and the great grandson of Samuel Green of Cambridge. He was born in Boston, served an apprenticeship with John Draper, whose daughter he married, and in the year 1755 began business with Joseph Russell. The firm was GREEN & RUSSELL. Their press was established in Tremont street, in a house which was taken down to make room for Scollay's Buildings. In August, 1757, they issued from their press a newspaper, entitled The Boston Weekly Advertiser. They repeatedly altered the title of this paper, but continued its publication until 1773, when they sold their right in it, to Mills MASSACHUSETTS. 141 and Hicks.1 In 1758 they removed, and opened a printing house in Queen street, in the brick building which made the east corner of Dorset's alley, and nearly opposite to the Court House. They printed for some time the journals of the house of representatives, and the laws of the government. They also did the printing of the custom house, and published a number of pamphlets; but they never engaged largely in book work. A few years after this partnership was formed, Russell opened an auction office, the profits of which were shared by the firm. Green managed the printing house, and Russell the auction room. They continued together until 1775, and by their attention to business acquired a handsome property. Green remained in Boston during the siege, and when the British troops left the town he became interested in the Independent Chronicle, then published by Powars and Willis, but his name did not appear. He was a man of steady habits, true to his engagements, and well respected. He died November, 1787, aged sixty years. He had no children. He was, I believe, the last of the descendants of Samuel Green of Cambridge who printed in this state. JOSEPH RUSSELL was born in Boston, served an apprenticeship with Daniel Fowle, and in 1755, entered into partnership with John Green.2 Russell was a good workman in the printing business; but his talents were more particularly adapted to the duties of an auctioneer. When Green and Russell united auctioneering with printing, Russell took the sole management of the vendue room; he soon arrived at celebrity in this line, and had more employment in it than any other person in Boston. When I See Newspapers. Russell lived with David Fowle, at the time Fowle was imprisoned, on suspicion of printing The Monster of Monsters. Vid. Zechariah Fowle, 142 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. his partnership with Green was dissolved, he formed a connection with Samuel Clap; and this company, under the firm of Russell & Clap, continued the business of auctioneers till the death of Russell. Russell was full of life, very facetious, but attentive to his concerns. Few men had more friends, or were more esteemed. In all companies he rendered himself agreeable. He acquired considerable property, but did not hoard up his wealth, for benevolence was one of his virtues. He was a worthy citizen, and a friend to his country. IIe died at the end of November, 1795, aged sixty-one years. BENJAMIN MECOM was a native of Boston. His mother was sister of James Franklin and of the celebrated Benjamin Franklin. Mecom served his apprenticeship with his uncle Benjamin Franklin at Philadelphia. When of age, having received some assistance from his uncle, he went to Antigua, and there printed a newspaper; but in 1756, he quitted that island, and returned to Boston. In 1757, he opened a printing house in Cornhill, nearly opposite to the old brick church. At the same place he kept a shop and sold books. His first work was a large edition, thirty thousand copies, of The Psalter, for the booksellers. He printed these on terms so low, that his profits did not amount to journeymen's wages. This edition was two years worrying through his press. After the Psalter Mecom began to print and publish, on his own account, a periodical work, which he intended should appear monthly. It was entitled, T'he New England Magazine of Knowledge and Pleasure. It contained about fifty pages 12mo, but he published only three or four numbers. These were issued in 1758; but no date either of month or year appeared in the title page, or in the imprint. In this magazine were inserted several articles under the MASSACHUSETTS. 143 head of Queer Notions. Each number, when published, was sent about town for sale by hawkers; but few copies were vended, and the work, of course, was discontinued. His business was not extensive; he printed several pamphlets for his own sale, and a few for that of others. He remained in Boston for a number of years; but when James Parker & Co., who printed at New Iaven, removed to New York, Mecom succeeded them. Soon afterwards Dr. Franklin procured Mecom the office of postmaster for New Haven. He married in New Jersey, before he set up his press in Boston. He possessed good printing materials, but there was something singular in his work, as well as in himself. He was in Boston several months before the arrival of his press and types from Antigua, and had much leisure. During this interval he frequently came to the house where I was an apprentice. He was handsomely dressed, wore a powdered bob wig, ruffles and gloves; gentlemanlike appendages which the printers of that day did not assume, and thus apparelled, would often assist, for an hour, at the press. An edition of The New England Primer being wanted by the booksellers, Z. Fowle consulted with Mecom on the subject, who consented to assist in the impression, on condition that he might print a certain number for himself. To this proposal Fowle consented, and made his contract with the booksellers. Fowle had no help but myself, then a lad in my eighth year. The impression consisted of ten thousand copies. The form was a small sixteens, on foolscap paper. The first form of the Primer being set up, while it was worked at the press I was put to case to set the types for the second. Having completed this, and set up the whole cast of types employed in the work, and the first form being still at press I was employed as a fly; that is, to take off the sheets from the tympan as they 144 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. were printed, and pile them in a heap; this expedited the work. While I was engaged in this business, I viewed Mecom at the press with admiration. He indeed put on an apron to save his clothes from blacking, and guarded his ruffles; but he wore his coat, his wig, his hat and his gloves, whilst working at press; and at case, laid aside his apron. When he published his magazine with Queer Notions, this singularity, and some addenda, known to the trade, induced them to give him the appellation of Queer Notions. Mecom was, however, a gentleman in his appearance and manners, had been well educated to his business, and if queer, was honest and sensible, and called a correct and good printer. [See New H1aven, Philadelphia, Antigua.] THOMAS FLEET, JR., & JOHN FLEET. They were brothers, and having learned from their father the art of printing, succeeded him in business at his house in Cornhill, in 1758. I mention them together, because they commenced printing in partnership, and continued in connection until separated by death. They carried on the publication of. The Boston Evening Post until the commencement of the revolutionary war; when they suspended the publication of that newspaper, and it was never after resumed. The impartiality with which the paper was conducted, in those most critical times, the authenticity of its news, and the judicious selections of its publishers, gained them great and deserved reputation. Both brothers were born in Boston. Their father gave them a good school education; they were correct printers, very attentive to their concerns, punctual in their dealings, good citizens, and much respected. They printed several works in octavo, and some volumes in duodecimo, on their own account; and some in connection with other printers. Their shop was always supplied with smaller MASSACHUSETTS. 145 articles for the benefit of their sisters, who were never married. They remained in Boston during the siege; and, afterward, revived the publication of the Massachusetts Register, which originated with Mein and Fleming some years before, and had been continued by Mills and Hicks. Thomas died a bachelor, March 2, 1797, aged sixty-five years. John was married; he died March 18, 1806, aged seventy-one, and left several children; one of whom, by the name of Thomas, was a printer in Boston at the same house in which his grandfather began the The Boston Evening Post.' RICHARD DRAPER. I-e was the son of John Draper, the successor of Bartholomew Green, proprietor and printer of The Boston News Letter. He was brought up a printer by his father, continued with him after he became of age, and, for some years before his father's death, was a silent partner with him. On the death of his father, Richard continued the News Letter. IHe was early appointed to the office of printer to the governor and council, which he retained during life. Is paper was devoted to the goAnn Fleet, the daughter of John, and the last of the name, died in Boston, July, 1860, aged 89. The estate of Thomas Fleet Sen., at the northerly corner of Washington and Water streets, which he purchased in 1744, and from which the Evening Post was issued for upwards of thirty years, still remained in the hands of his descendants in 1860, although they had discontinued the business of printing in 1808.- Boston Transcript. Thomas Fleet Sen. was the putative compiler of Mfotler Goose's Melodies, which he first published in 1719. Among the entries of marriages in the City Registry, under date of June 8, 1715, is that of Thomas Fleet to Elizabeth Goose, and the idea of the collection is said to have arisen from hearing his mother-in-law repeat nursery rhymes to his children. It was characteristic of the man to make such a collection; and the first book of the kind known to have been printed in this country bears his imprint, and the title of Songs for the Nursery, or Mother Goose's Melodies for Children. The name of Goose is now extinct in Boston, but monuments remaining in the Granary burial ground in that city mark the family resting place.- M. 11 146 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. vernment; and, in the controversy between Great Britain and the American colonies, strongly supported the royal cause. He added the title of The Massachusetts Gazette, to The Boston News Letter, and decorated it with the king's arms.' Many able advocates for the government filled the columns of the News Letter, but the opposition papers were supported by writers at least equally powerful, and more numerous. The constitution of Richard Draper was very feeble, and he was often confined by sickness. Soon after his father's death, he took his kinsman, Samuel Draper, who was connected with Z. Fowle, into partnership, under the firm of R. & S. DRAPER. Samuel was not permitted to share in the honor of printing for the governor and council. In all the work done for them, Richard's name alone appeared as printer. Samuel Draper died a few years after this connection was formed. Richard Draper, having been successful in his business, erected a handsome brick house, on a convenient spot in front of the old printing house in Newbury street, in which he resided. He was attentive to his affairs, and was esteemed the best compiler of news of his day. He died June 6, 1774, aged forty-seven years. He left no children, and was succeeded by his widow. Draper, alone, did very little book printing; but he was concerned with Edes & Gill, and the Fleets, in publishing several volumes of sermons, etc. One month preceding his death, he commenced a limited copartnership with John Boyle. Boyle's name appeared in the Gazette with Draper's, whose ill health rendering him unable to attend closely to business, Boyle undertook the chief care and It was customary, many years before the revolution, among publishers of newspapers, especially those whose titles embraced the word Gazette, to ornament the titles with this ensign of royalty. But the printers in Boston had not followed the fashion. MASSACHUSETTS. 147 management of it. The following sketch of the character of Richard Draper is taken from the Evening Post of June 13, 1774. "He was a man remarkable for the amiable delicacy of his mind, and gentleness of his manners. A habit enfeebled and emaciated by remorseless disease, and unremitted distress, could never banish the smile from his countenance. A well founded confidence in the mercies of his God, and the happy consciousness of a life well spent, smoothed the pillow of anguish, and irradiated the gloom of death with the promise of succeeding joy; in every relation he sustained in life, his endearing manners and inflexible integrity rendered him truly exemplary." SAMUEL DRAPER was the nephew and apprentice of John Draper. IIe was born at Martha's Vineyard. In 1758, soon after he became of age, he went into trade with Zechariah Fowle, who stood in much need of a partner like Draper. Their connection was mutually advantageous. Fowle had been in business seven years; but had made no progress in the advancement of his fortune. Draper was more enterprising, but had no capital to establish himself as a printer. He was a young man of correct habits and handsome abilities. He was industrious, and, for those times, a good workman. Draper was an important acquisition to his partner, although Fowle did not appear to be highly sensible of it. The connection continued five years; during which time they printed, as has been remarked, three or four volumes of some magnitude, a large edition of the Youth's Instructor in the English Tongue, another of the Psalter; also, a variety of pamphlets, chapmen's small books, and ballads. They so far succeeded in trade as to keep free of debt, to obtain a good livelihood, and increase their stock. Their printing house was in Marlborough street; it was taken down in 148 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. later years, and a new house built on its site, at the south corner of Franklin street, at the entrance from Marlborough street. The articles of copartnership contemplated a continuance of the connection of Fowle and Draper for seven years; but, on the death of John Draper, Richard, his son, succeeded to his business. Richard was often confined to his house by ill health, and wanted an assistant; he therefore made liberal proposals to Samuel, which were accepted; and they entered into partnership. In pursuance of this new arrangement, the connection between Fowle and Draper was dissolved; and Draper recommenced business with a more active and enterprising partner. S. Draper continued with his kinsman until his death, which happened March 15, 1767, at the age of thirty years. While he was in partnership with Fowle, he married an agreeable young lady, of a respectable family, by whom he had two daughters. His widow died in 1812. HIe had two brothers who were printers, the eldest of whom, named Richard, died before 1810; the other whose name was Edward, with a partner, published, for some time during the war, a newspaper in Boston. DANIEL KNEELAND was the son of Samuel KIneeland, and served his apprenticeship with his father. He began trade as a bookbinder, in plain work, having been bred to binding as well as printing. A dispute had arisen between the printers and booksellers respecting Ames's Almanack, the particulars of which I do not fully recollect; but, in substance, it was as follows. John Draper, and his predecessor Bartholomew Green, had always purchased the copy of that Almanac, and printed it on their own account; but they had supplied the booksellers, in sheets, by the hundred, the thousand, or any quantity wanted. About the year 1759, this Almanac was enlarged from MASSACHUSETTS. 149 sixteen pages on a foolscap sheet to three half sheets. Draper formed a connection with Green & Russel and T. & J. Fleet, in its publication. A half sheet was printed at each of their printing houses; and they were not disposed to supply booksellers as formerly. The booksellers, immediately on the publication of the Almanack, had it reprinted; and soon after a number of the principal of them set up a printing house for themselves and engaged Daniel Kneeland, and John his brother, to conduct it for them, under the firm of D. & J. KNEELAND. The Kneelands continued to print for these booksellers several years, in part of the building occupied by their father as a printing house; after which some difficulty arising, the booksellers put a stop to their press, and divided among them the printing materials. Daniel Kneeland then dissolved his connection with his brother John; and, being furnished with the press, and a part of the types, which had been owned by the booksellers, he engaged in printing on his own account, but worked chiefly for the trade. About the year 1772, Daniel took, as a partner, a young man by the name of Nathaniel Davis. The firm was Kneeland & Davis. This company was, in the course of two or three years, dissolved by the death of Davis. Kneeland's business before the revolutionary war was inconsiderable, and it afterward became still more contracted. He died in May, 1789, aged sixty-eight years. JOHN KNEELAND was another son of Samuel Kneeland, and he was taught the art by his father. He began printing, in connection with his brother Daniel, for the booksellers; for whom they worked during their partnership, as has been related. When the connection between the brothers was dissolved, John entered into partnership with Seth Adams, under the firm of Kneeland & Adams. 150 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. They opened a printing house in Milk street, at the corner of the alley leading to Trinity church. The principal work of Kneeland & Adams was psalters, spelling books, and psalm books, for booksellers. Their partnership continued only a few years. Adams quitted printing, and became a postrider. J. IEneeland did little, if any, business, after the commencement of the revolutionary war. He died in March, 1795, aged sixty-two years. WILLIAM MACALPINE was a native of Scotland, where he was bred to bookbinding. He came to Boston early in life, and set up the trade of a binder; and, afterward, opened a shop, for the sale of a few common books, in Marlborough street, opposite to the Old South church. His business was soon enlarged by supplies of books from Glasgow. Hte removed several times to houses in the same street. A disagreement taking place between the booksellers and the printers of Ames's Almanack, the principal booksellers, who set up a press for themselves, and reprinted this Almanac, refused to furnish Macalpine with copies either of their Almanac, or of any books printed at their press. Macalpine, being thus denied a supply of Ames's Almanack, both by the original printers of it and by the booksellers who reprinted it, sent to Edinburgh for a press and types, and for a foreman to superintend a printing house. In 1762, he commenced printing; and, annually, furnished himself with Ames's Almanack, and other books for his own sales. John Fleming, previous to his connection with John Mein, was one or two years concerned with Macalpine in printing. 1 Copyrights were not then secured by law in the colonies. MASSACHUSETTS. 151 Macalpine continued in business until the commencement of the revolutionary war; he was a royalist, and remained in Boston during the siege; but he quitted the town with the British army. He died at Glasgow, Scotland, in 1788. JOHN FLEMING was from Scotland, where he was brought up to printing. IHe came to Boston in 1764; and was, for a short time, connected with his countryman William Macalpine. Mein, a bookseller, from Edinburgh, having opened a very large collection of books for sale, Fleming separated from Macalpine, and formed a partnership with Mein. Fleming made a voyage to Scotland, there purchased printing materials for the firm, hired three or four journeymen printers, and accompanied by them returned to Boston. The company then opened a printing house in Wing's lane, since Elm street, and began printing under the firm of MEIN & FLEMING. Fleming was not concerned with Mein in bookselling. Several books were printed at their house for Mein, it being an object with him to supply his own sales; none of them, however, were of great magnitude. Some of these books had a false imprint, and were palmed upon the public for London editions, because Mein apprehended that books printed in London, however executed, sold better than those which were printed in America; and, at that time, many purchasers sanctioned his opinion. In less than two years after the establishment of this company they removed their printing materials to Newbury street. In December, 1767, they began the publication of a weekly newspaper, entitled, The Boston Chronicle. This paper was printed on demy, in quarto, imitating, in its form, The London Chronicle. The Boston Chronicle obtained reputation; but Mein, who edited the paper, soon devoted it zealously to the 152 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. support of the measures of the British administration against the colonies; and, in consequence, the publishers, and particularly Mein, incurred the displeasure and the resentment of the whigs, who were warm advocates for American liberty. The publishers were threatened with the effects of popular resentment. Mein, according to his deserts, experienced some specimens of it. The Chronicle was discontinued in May, 1770, and Mein returned to Europe. Fleming was less obnoxious. He remained in Boston; and as the Chronicle had been discontinued, the popular resentment soon subsided. HIe married a young lady of a respectable family in Boston; and soon after his late partner went to Europe he opened a printing house in King street, and printed books on his own account. He issued proposals for publishing Clark's Family Bible in folio, but did not meet with encouragement. Fleming continued in Boston until 1773, when he sold his printing materials to Mills and Hicks, and went to England with his family. He more than once visited this country after 1790, as an agent for-a commercial house in Europe; and subsequently resided some time in France, where he died. JOHN MEIN, of the firm of Mein & Fleming, was born in Scotland, and there bred to the business of a bookseller. He had received a good education, was enterprising, and possessed handsome literary talents. He arrived at Boston, from Glasgow, in November, 1764, in company with Mr. Robert Sandeman,' a kinsman of Mr. Sandeman of the same Christian name who for a short time was the 1 Mr. Sandeman was the author of the then celebrated letters on the Rev. Mr. Hervey's Theron and Aspasio. A type founder by the name of Mitchelson, I believe, arrived in the same vessel with Mein and Sandeman. MASSACHUSETTS. 153 partner of Mein, and a number of other Scotchmen, on a visit to this country with a view of settling here. Mein brought with him a good assortment of books, a quantity of Irish linens and other goods, and opened a shop in Marlborough street in connection with Sandeman.1 Their shop was an old wooden building at the north corner of the entrance to what is now called Franklin street. Their firm was Mein & Sandeman. They continued in company only a few months; and, when they separated, Mein took a house in King street, at the corner of the alley leading to the market, and there opened a large bookstore and circulating library. He was connected with a bookseller in Scotland, who was extensively in trade; and, by this means, he was supplied, as he wanted, with both Scotch and English editions of the most saleable books. He soon found that a concern in printing would be convenient and profitable. His countryman, John Fleming, who was a good printer, was then in Boston; and with him he formed a connection in a printing establishment. Fleming went to Scotland, and procured printing materials, workmen, etc. On his return they, in 1766, opened a printing house, and printed a number of books for Mein's sales, and published The Boston Chronicle, as has been already mentioned. The Chronicle was printed on a larger sheet than other Boston newspapers of that day, but did not exceed them in price. For a time it was well filled with news, entertaining and useful extracts from the best European publications, and some interesting original essays. Mein was doing business to great advantage, but he soon took a The first Robert Sandeman, above mentioned, was brought up a linen manufacturer. He became a preacher, and adopting the peculiar views of Rev. John Glass, of Dundee, his father-in-law, he established in Great Britain and in this country the sect called after him Sandemanian. IIe was settled in Danbury, Conn., where he died in 1771. — H. 12 154 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. decided part in favor of the obnoxious measures of the British administration against the colonies, and the Chronicle became a vehicle for the most bitter pieces, calumniating and vilifying some of those characters in whom the people of Massachusetts placed high confidence; and, in consequence, it lost its credit as rapidly as it had gained it. Mein, its editor, became extremely odious, and to avoid the effects of popular resentment, he secreted himself until an opportunity was presented for a passage to England. Mein had unquestionably been encouraged, in Boston, as a partisan and an advocate for the measures of government. In London, he engaged himself under the pay of the ministry, as a writer against the colonies; but after the war commenced he sought other employment. SETH ADAMS served his apprenticeship with Samuel Kneeland. He began printing in Queen street, with John Kneeland; they afterwards occupied a printing house in Milk street, at the corner of Boarded alley, since known by the name of Hawley street. They were three or four years in business, and printed chiefly for the booksellers. Adams's father-in-law was the first postrider between Boston and Hartford. When he died, Adams quitted printing and continued the occupation of his father-in-law. IIe died a few years after. EZEKIEL RUSSELL was born in Boston, and served an apprenticeship with his brother, Joseph Russell, the partner of John Green. In 1765, he began printing with Thomas Furber, at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, under the firm of Furber & Russell. Not succeeding in business, they dissolved their partnership, and Russell returned to Boston. He worked with various printers until 1769, when he procured a press and a few types. With these he printed on his own account, in a house near Concert MASSACHUSETTS. 155 Iall. I-Ie afterward removed to Union street, where to the business of printing he added that of an auctioneer, which he soon quitted, and adhered to printing. Excepting an edition of Watts's Psalms, he published nothing of more consequence than pamphlets, most of which were small. In November, 1771, he began a political publication entitled The Censor. This paper was supported, during the short period of its existence, by those who were in the interest of the British government. Russell afterward removed to Salem, and attempted the publication of a newspaper, but did not succeed. He again removed, and went to Danvers, and printed in a house known by the name of the Bell tavern. In a few years he returned once more to Boston; and, finally, took his stand in Essex street, near the spot on which grew the great elms, one of which was then standing, and was called Liberty tree. Here he printed and sold ballads, and published whole and half sheet pamphlets for peddlers. In these small articles his trade principally consisted, and afforded him a very decent support. The wife of Russell was indeed an " help meet for him." She was a very industrious, active woman; and assisted her husband in the printing house. A young woman who lived in Russell's family sometimes invoked the muse, and wrote ballads on recent tragical events, which being immediately printed, and set off with wooden cuts of coffins, etc., had frequently " a considerable run." Russell died in September, 1796, aged fifty-two years. His wife continued the business. ISAIAH THOMAS descended from a respectable family which had settled near Boston not many years after that town was founded. His grandfather carried on mercantile business in that place, in a store which he owned, on the town dock; and died in the year 1746, leaving four 156 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. sons and two daughters, who were all arrived at the age of maturity. His second son, Moses, lived some time on Long Island, where he married and had two children; after which he returned to Boston, and had three more children; the youngest of whom is the subject of this memoir.' Moses Thomas having expended nearly all his patrimony, went away, and died in North Carolina; leaving his widow in narrow circumstances with five dependent children. Her friends on Long Island took the charge of providing for the two who were born there, and had been left in their care; the others she supported by the profits of a small shop she kept in Boston. Her diligence and prudent management ensured success; insomuch that besides making provision for her family, she was enabled to purchase a small estate in Cambridge. This place she afterward unfortunately lost; for being fully possessed with the idea that the continental paper money, issued during the revolutionary war, would ultimately be paid in specie, and having what she thought a very advantageous offer for her house and land in that kind of currency, she sold the same, and became one among the number of unfortunate people who lost nearly the whole of their property from a misplaced confidence in the paper currency of the day. When her son, Isaiah, born at Boston, January 19, 1749, 0. S., was six years of age, he was apprenticed by his mother to Zechariah Fowle; who, as has been already stated, principally made use of his press in printing 1 He was engaged as clerk to an officer in the expedition against Cuba, in 1740, much against the wishes of his father Peter, from whom he absconded and enlisted as a common soldier. The interest of the father placed him in a better situation than he would have held in the ranks, but did not obtain his discharge. IIe afterwards sailed on a voyage to the Mediterranean. IHe owned a farm on Long Island, which he cultivated, while he kept a shop. MASSACHUSETTS. 157 ballads, and by whom he was soon employed to set types; for which purpose he was mounted on a bench eighteen inches high, and the whole length of a double frame which contained cases of both roman and italic. His first essay with the composing stick, was on a ballad entitled The Lawyer's Pedigree; which was set in types of the size of double pica. HI-e remained eleven years with Fowle; after which period they separated, in consequence of a disagreement. On quitting Fowle, in 1765, he went to Nova Scotia, with a view to go from thence to England, in order to acquire a more perfect knowledge of his business. He found typography in a miserable state in that province; and, so far was he from obtaining the means of going to England, that he soon discovered that the only printer in Halifax could hardly procure, by his business, a decent livelihood. However, he remained there seven months; during which time the memorable British stamp act took effect in Nova Scotia, which, if the other colonies, met with a spirited and successful opposition. The HIalifax Gazette was printed by a Dutchman, whose name was Henry. tHe was a good natured, pleasant man, who in common concerns did not want for ingenuity and capacity; but he might, with propriety, be called a very unskilful printer. To his want of knowledge or abilities in his profession, he added indolence; and, as is too often the case, left his business to be transacted by boys or journeymen, instead of attending to it himself. His printing affairs were on a very contracted scale; and he made no efforts to render them more extensive. As he had two apprentices, he was not in want of assistance in his printing house; but Thomas accepted an offer of board for his services; and the sole management of the Gazette was immediately left to him. IHe new modelled the Gazette according to the best of his judgment, and as far as 158 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. the worn out printing materials would admit. It was soon after printed on stamped paper, made for the purpose in England. To the use of this paper, "the young New Englandman," as he was called, was opposed; and, to the stamp act he was extremely hostile. A paragraph appeared in the Gazette, purporting that the people of Nova Scotia were, generally, disgusted with the stamp act. This paragraph gave great offence to the officers of government, who called Henry to account for publishing what they termed sedition. Henry had not so much as seen the Gazette in which the offensive article had appeared; consequently he pleaded ignorance; and, in answer to their interrogatories, informed them that the paper was, in his absence, conducted by his journeyman. He was reprimanded, and admonished that he would be deprived of the work of government, should he, in future, suffer any thing of the kind to appear in the Gazette. It was not long before Ienry was again sent for, on account of another offence of a similar nature; hoxwever, he escaped the consequences he might have apprehended, by assuring the officers of government that he had been confined by sickness; and he apologized in a satisfactory manner for the appearance of the obnoxious publication. But his journeyman was summoned to appear before the secretary of the province; to whose office he accordingly went. He was, probably, not known to Mr. Secretary, who sternly demanded of him, what he wanted? A. Nothing, sir. Q. Why came you here? A. Because I was sent for. Q. What is your name? A. Isaiah Thomas. Q. Are you the young New Englandman who prints for Henry? A. Yes, sir. MASSACHUSETTS. 159 Q. How dare you publish in the Gazette that the people of Nova Scotia are displeased with the stamp act? A. I thought it was true. Sec. You had no right to think so. If you publish any thing more of such stuff, you shall be punished. You may go' but, remember you are not in New England. A. I will, sir. Not long after this adventure occurred, a vessel arrived at Halifax from Philadelphia, and brought some of the newspapers published in that city. The Pennsylvania Journal, published the day preceding that on which the stamp act was to take effect, was in full mourning. Thick black lines surrounded the pages, and were placed between the columns; a death's head and cross bones were surmounted over the title; and at the bottom of the last page was a large figure of a coffin, beneath which was printed the age of the paper, and an account of its having died of a disorder called the stamp act. A death's head, &c., as a substitute for a stamp, was placed at the end of the last column on the first page. Thomas had a strong desire to decorate The Halifax Gazette in the same manner; but he dared not do it, on account of his apprehension of the displeasure of the officers of government. However, an expedient was thought of to obviate that difficulty, which was to insert in the Gazette an article of the following import: "We are desired by a number of our readers, to give a description of the extraordinary appearance of the Pennsylvania Journal of the 30th of October last, 1765. We can in no better way comply with this request, than by the exemplification we have given of that journal in this day's Gazette." As near as possible, a representation was made of the several figures, emblems of mortality, and mourning columns; all which, accompanied by the qualifying paragraph, 160 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. appeared together in The Halifax Gazette, and made no trifling bustle in the place. Soon after this event, the effigy of the stampmaster was hung on the gallows near the citadel; and other tokens of hostility to the stamp act were exhibited. These disloyal actions were done silently and secretly; but they created some alarm; and a captain's guard was continually stationed at the house of the stampmaster, to protect him from those injuries which were expected to befal him. It is supposed the apprehensions entertained on his account were entirely groundless. The officers of government had prided themselves on the loyalty of the people of that province in not having shown any opposition to the stamp act. " These things were against them; " and a facetious officer was heard to repeat to some of his friends, the old English proverb: " We have not saved our bacon." An opinion prevailed, that Thomas not only knew the parties concerned in these transactions but had a hand in them himself; on which account, a few days after the exhibition of the stampmaster's effigy, a sheriff went to the printing house, and informed Thomas that he had a precept against him, and intended to take him to prison, unless he would give information respecting the persons concerned in making and exposing the effigy of the stampmaster. He mentioned, that some circumstances had produced a conviction in his mind that Thomas was one of those who had been engaged in these seditious proceedings. The sheriff receiving no satisfactory answer to his inquiries, ordered Thomas to go with him before a magistrate; and he, having no person to consult, or to give him advice, in the honest simplicity of his heart was about to obey the orders of this terrible alguazil; but being suddenly struck with the idea that this proceeding might be intended merely to alarm him into an acknowledgment of his privity to the transactions in cquestion, lie told MASSACHUSETTS. 161 the sheriff he did not know him and demanded information respecting the authority by which he acted. The sheriff answered, that he had sufficient authority; but on being requested to exhibit it, the officer was evidently disconcerted, and showed some symptoms of his not acting under " the king's authority." However, he answered that he would show his authority when it was necessary; and again ordered this " printer of sedition" to go with him. Thomas answered, he would not obey him unless he produced a precept, or proper authority for taking him prisoner. After further parley the sheriff left him, with an assurance that he would soon return; but Thomas saw him no more; and he afterward learned that this was a plan concerted for the purpose of surprising him into a confession. A short time before the exhibition of the effigy of the stampmaster, Ienry had received from the stamp-office the whole stock of paper that was sent ready stamped from England for the use of the Gazette. The quantity did not exceed six or eight reams; but as only three quires were wanted weekly for the newspaper, it would have sufficed for the purpose intended twelve months. It was not many weeks after the sheriff, already mentioned, made his exit from the printing house, when it was discovered that this paper was divested of the stamps; not one remained; they had been cut off and destroyed. On this occasion, an article appeared in the Gazette, announcing that " all the stamped paper for the Gazette was used, and as no more could be had, it would in future be published without stamps." In March, 1767, Thomas quitted Ialifax, and went to New Hampshire; where he worked, for some time, in the printing houses of Daniel Fowle, and Furber & Russell. In July following he returned to Boston. There he re13 162 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. mained several months, in the employ of his old master, Z. Fowle. Receiving an invitation from the captain of a vessel to go to Wilmington, in North Carolina, where he was assured a printer was wanted, he arranged his affairs with Fowle, again left him, by agreement, and went to Newport. There he waited on Martin Howard, Esq., chief justice of North Carolina, who was then at that place, and was about departing for Wilmington. To this gentleman he made known his intention of going to North Carolina, and received encouragement from the judge, who gave him assurances of his influence in procuring business for him at Cape Fear; for which place they sailedin the same vessel. A gentleman at Newport also favored him with a letter of recommendation to Robert Wells, printer, in Charleston, South Carolina. When he arrived at Wilmington, he, in pursuance of advice from Judge Ioward, and several other gentlemen, waited on Governor Tryon, then at that place. The governor encouraged him to settle there, and flattered him that he would be favored with a part of the printing for government. But as a printer he labored under no inconsiderable difficulty, that is, he had neither press, nor types, nor money to purchase them. It happened that Andrew Steuart, a printer, was then at Wilmington, who had a press with two or three very small founts of letters for sale. I-e had printed a newspaper, and as some work was given him by the government, he called himself king's printer; but at this period he was without business, having given great offence to the governor and the principal gentlemen at Cape Fear. For this reason he was desirous to sell the materials he had then in that place, and to return to Philadelphia, where he had another small printing establishment. MASSACHUSETTS. 163 Pursuant to the advice of several gentlemen, Thomas applied to Steuart, to purchase the press, etc.; but Steuart, knowing he could not easily be accommodated with these articles elsewhere, took advantage of his situation, and demanded about three times as "much for them as they cost when new. After some debate, Steuart lowered his price to about double the value. Several gentlemen of Wilmington offered to advance money, on a generous credit, to enable Thomas to make the purchase. When Steuart found the money could be raised, he refused to let the types go without an appendage of a negro woman and her child, whom he wished to sell before he quitted the place. An argument ensued; but Steuart persisted in his refusal to part with the printing materials, unless the negroes were included in the sale. Thomas, after advising with friends, agreed to take them, finding he could dispose of them for nearly the price he was to give for them. He then thought the bargain was concluded; but Steuart threw a new difficulty in the way. Ie had a quantity of common household furniture, not the better for wear, which he also wanted to dispose of; and would not part with the other articles unless the purchaser would take these also. The furniture was entirely out of Thomas's line of business, and he had no use for it. He, therefore, declared himself off the bargain; and afterward, when Steuart retracted respecting the sale of furniture, Thomas began to be discouraged by the prospects the place afforded; he was not pleased with the appearance of the country; his money was all gone; and his inclination to visit England was renewed. For these reasons he renounced all thoughts of settling at Cape Fear at that time; although a merchant there offered to send to England by the first opportunity for a printing apparatus, which he would engage Thomas should have on a long credit. 164 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. With a view to go to England, he entered himself as steward on board a ship bound to the West Indies; expecting when he arrived there he should easily find an opportunity to go to London. H-e did duty on board the vessel ten days; but imbibing a dislike to the captain, who was often intoxicated, and attempted to reduce him into a mere cabin boy, and to employ him about the most servile and menial offices, he revolted at these indignities, and procured his discharge. On this occasion he remembered the recommendation he had received at Newport to a printer at Charleston; and, finding a packet bound there, he quitted a very kind friend he had gained at Wilmington, and after a long passage, in which he met with many adventures, besides that lamentable one of spending his last shilling, he arrived at Charleston. When he presented the letter of recommendation to Wells, the printer, he had the mortification to learn he was not in want of a journeyman. However, Wells civilly employed him at low wages, and soon put him into full pay. He continued at Charleston two years; and had nearly completed a contract to go and settle in the West Indies; but his health declining, he returned to Boston in 1770, after having visited several of the southern colonies. He now formed a connection with Zechariah Fowle, and began business by publishing The Massachusetts Spy, a small newspaper printed three times in a week. Thomas's partnership with his former master, Fowle, continued but three months. He then purchased the printing materials which Fowle had in his possession, and gave his security to Fowle's creditor for the payment. Fowle had, during nineteen years, been in possession of his press and types, and had not paid for them. The creditor was a near relation by marriage, and had exacted only the payment of the annual interest of the debt. Thomas continued the Spy, but altered the publication of MASSACHUSETTS. 165 it from three times to twice a week. Each publication contained a half sheet. After having published it three months in the new form, he discontinued it in December, 1770. On the 5th of March, 1771, he began another paper with the same title, which was published weekly, on a large sheet folio. It was at first the determination of Thomas that his paper should be free to both parties which then agitated the country, and, impartially, lay before the public their respective communications; but he soon found that this ground could not be maintained. The dispute between Britain and her American colonies became more and more serious, and deeply interested every class of men in the community. The parties in the dispute took the names of Whigs and Tories; the tories were the warm supporters of the measures of the British cabinet, and the whigs the animated advocates for American liberty. The tories soon discontinued their subscriptions for the Spy; and the publisher was convinced that to produce an abiding and salutary effect his paper must have a fixed character. He was in principle attached to the party which opposed the measures of the British ministry; and he therefore announced that the Spy would be devoted to the support of the whig interest. Some overtures had been previously made by the friends of the British government to induce him to have the Spy conducted wholly on their side of the question; and, these having been rejected, an attempt was made to force a compliance, or to deprive him of his press and types. It was known that he was in debt for these articles, and that his creditor was an officer of government, appointed by the crown. This officer, notwithstanding he was a very worthy man, was pushed on to make a demand of payment, contrary to his verbal agreement, under the apprehension that the money could not be raised. When vl 166 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. Thomas assumed the debt of Fowle, he gave his bond, payable in one year, under an assurance that the capital might lay as it had done, if the interest annually due should be punctually paid; and when contrary to stipulation the capital was demanded, he borrowed money, and paid one debt by contracting another. An essay published in the Spy, November, 1771, under the signature of Mucius Scevola, attracted the attention of the executive of the province. Governor Hutchinson assembled his council on the occasion; and, after consultation, the board determined that the printer should be ordered before them. In pursuance of this resolution, their messenger was sent to inform Thomas that his attendance was required in the council chamber. To this message he replied, "that he was busily employed in his office, and could not wait upon his excellency and their honors." The messenger returned to the council with this answer, and, in an hour after, again came into Thomas's printing house and informed him that the governor and council waited for his attendance; and, by their direction, inquired, whether he was ready to appear before them. Thomas answered, that he was not. The messenger went to make his report to the council, and Thomas to ask advice of a distinguished law character. He was instructed to persist in his refusal to appear before the council, as they had no legal right to summon him before them; but, should a warrant issue from the proper authority, he must then submit to the sheriff who should serve such a process upon him. This was a critical moment; the affair had taken air, and the public took an interest in the event. The council proceeded with caution, for the principle was at issue, whether they possessed authority arbitrarily to summon whom they pleased before their board, to answer to them for their conduct. The messenger was, however, the third time sent to Thomas, and brought him this verbal order. MASSACHUSETTS. 167 Mess. The governor and council order your immediate attendance before them in the council chamber. T. I will not go. Mess. You do not give this answer with an intention that I should report it to the governor and council? T. Have you any thing written, by which to show the authority under which you act? Mess. I have delivered to you the order of the governor and council, as it was given to me. T. If I understand you, the governor and council order my immediate attendance before them? Mess. They do. T. Have you the order in writing? Mess. No. T. Then, sir, with all due respect to the governor and council, I am engaged in my own concerns, and shall not attend. Mess. Will you commit your answer to writing? 'T. No, sir. Mess. You had better go; you may repent your refusal to comply with the order of the council. T. I must abide by the result.' The messenger carried the refusal to the council. The board for several hours debated the question, whether they should commit Thomas for contempt; but it was suggested by some member that he could not legally be committed unless he had appeared before them; in that case his answers might have been construed into a contempt of their body, and been made the ground of commitment. It was also suggested that they had not authority to compel his appearance before them to answer for any supposed crime or misdemeanor punishable by law, as particular tribunals had the exclusive cognizance of such offences. The sup1 This conversation with the messenger is taken from a memorandum made at the time. 168 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. posed want of authority was, indeed, the reason why a compulsory process had not been adopted in the first instance. There were not now, as formerly, licensers of the press. The council, being defeated in the design to get the printer before them, ordered the attorney general to prosecute him at common law. A prosecution was accordingly soon attempted, and great effort made to effect his conviction. The chief justice, at the following term of the supreme court in Boston, in his charge to the grand jury, dwelt largely on the doctrine of libels; on the present licentiousness of the press; and on the necessity of restraining it. The attorney general presented a bill of indictment to the grand inquest against Isaiah Thomas for publishing an obnoxious libel. The Court I-ouse was crowded from day to day to learn the issue. The grand jury returned this bill, Ignoramus. Foiled by the grand jury in this mode of prosecution, the attorney general was directed to adopt a different process; and to file an information against Thomas. This direction of the court was soon known to the writers in the opposition, who attacked it with so much warmth and animation, and offered such cogent arguments to prove that it infringed the rights and liberties of the subject, that the court thought proper to drop the measure. Unable to convict the printer either by indictment or information in Suffolk, a proposal was made to prosecute him in some other county, under the following pretext. The printers of newspapers circulate them through the province, and of course publish them as extensively as they are circulated. Thomas, for instance, circulates the Spy in the county of Essex, and as truly publishes the libel in that county as in Suffolk where the paper is printed. The fallacy of this argument was made apparent; the measure was not adopted, and government for that time gave over the prosecution; but, on a MASSACHUSETTS. 169 subsequent occasion, some attempts of that kind were renewed.1 It became at length apparent to all reflecting men that hostilities must soon take place between Great Britain and her American colonies. Thomas had rendered himself very obnoxious to the friends of the British administration; and, in consequence; the tories, and some of the British soldiery in the town, openly threatened him with the effects of their resentment. For these and other reasons, he was induced to pack up, privately, a press and types, and to send them in the night over Charles river to Charlestown, whence they were conveyed to Worcester. This was only a few days before the affair at Lexington. The press and types constituted the whole of the property he saved from the proceeds of five years labor. The remainder was destroyed or carried off by the followers and adherents of the royal army when it quitted Boston. On the night of April 18, 1775, it was discovered that a considerable number of British troops were embarking in boats on the river near the common, with the manifest design to destroy the stores collected by the provincials at Concord, eighteen miles from Boston; and he was concerned, with others, in giving the alarm. At day break, the next morning, he crossed from Boston over to Charlestown in a boat with Dr. Joseph Warren,2 went to Lexington, and joined the provincial militia in opposing the king's troops. On the 20th, he went to Worcester, opened a printing house, and soon after recommenced the publication of his newspaper.3 On account of some essays addressed to the king, published in the Spy in September, 1772, and at other periods. 2Dr. Warren was soon after appointed major general of the provincial troops, and was killed in the battle of Breed's, often called Bunker's hill, June 17, 1775. 'The publication of the Spy ceased for three weeks. It appeared from the press in Worcester, May 3d, 1775. This was the first printing done in any inland town in New England. 14 170 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. The provincial congress, assembled at Watertown, proposed that Thomas's press should be removed to that place; but, as all concerns of a public nature were then in a state of derangement, it was finally determined that his press should remain at Worcester, and that postriders should be established to facilitate an intercourse between that place, Watertown and Cambridge; and at Worcester he continued to print for congress until a'press was established at Cambridge and at Watertown. During the time he had been in business at Boston he had published a number of pamphlets, but not many books of more consequence. Having made an addition to his printing materials, in 1773, he sent a press and types to Newburyport,l and committed the management of the same to a young printer whom he soon after took into partnership in his concerns in that place; and in December of the same year, he began the publication of a newspaper in that town. His partner managed their affairs imprudently, and involved the company in debt; in consequence of which Thomas sold out at considerable loss. In January, 1774, he began in Boston the publication of The Royal American Magazine; but the general distress and commotion in the town, occasioned by the operation of the act of the British parliament to blockade the port of Boston, obliged him to discontinue it before the expiration of the year, much to the injury of his pecuniary interests. [See Worcester- Newspapers, ic.] JonN BOYLE served an apprenticeship with Green & Russell. He purchased the types of Fletcher of Halifax, and began business as a printer and bookseller in Marlborough street in 1771, and printed a few books on his own account. In May, 1774, Boyle formed a partnership with Richard Draper, publisher of The Massachusetts 1 This was the first press set up in Newburyport. MASSACHUSETTS. 171 Gazette, or Boston News Letter. Draper died the following month, but his widow continued the newspaper, &c. Boyle was in partnership with the widow until August following; they then dissolved their connection, and Boyle returned to his former stand. In 1775, Boyle sold his printing materials, but retained his bookstore, which he continued to keep in the same place.' NATIIANIEL DAVIS served his apprenticeship with Daniel Kneeland, and during the year 1772 and 1773 was in partnership with him; soon after which he died. They had a small printing house, where Scollay's Buildings now stand, at the head of Court street.2 They published a number of pamphlets, and did some work for booksellers. [See Daniel Kneeland.] NATHANIEL MILLS was born within a few miles of Boston, and served his apprenticeship with John Fleming. Mills had just completed his time of service when Fleming quitted business. John Hicks and Mills were nearly of an age, and they formed a copartnership under the firm of MILLS & HICKS. The controversy between Britain and her American colonies at this period assumed a very serious aspect, and government was disposed to enlist the press in support of the measures of the British ministry. Mills & Hicks were urged by the partisans of government to purchase Fleming's printing materials, and the right which Green & Russell had in the newspaper entitled The Massachusetts Gazette, and Boston Post Boy, &c. They pursued the advice given them; and being by this purchase 1 Boyle died in 1819. See Buckingham's Reminiscences, r, 42, for further particulars of him.- M. 2 Scollay's Buildings have recently been removed and the land made part of the street,-I-l 172 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. furnished with types and with a newspaper, they opened a printing house in April, 1773, in School street, nearly opposite to the small church erected for the use of the French Protestants.1 The British party handsomely supported the paper of Mills & Hicks, and afforded pecuniary aid to the printers. Several able writers defended the British administration from the attack of their American opponents; and the selection of articles in support of government for this paper as well as its foreign and domestic intelligence displayed the discernment and assiduity of the compilers. Mills was a sensible, genteel young man, and a good printer, and had the principal management of the printing house. The newspaper was their chief concern; besides which theyprinted during the two years they were in Boston only a few political pamphlets and the Massachusetts Register. The commencement of hostilities, in April, 1775, put an end to the publication of their Gazette. Soon after the war began, Mills came out of Boston, and resided a few weeks at Cambridge; but returned to Boston, where he and his partner remained until the town was evacuated by the British troops. They, with others who had been in opposition to the country went with the British army to Halifax, and from thence to Great Britain. After two years residence in England they came to New York, then in possession of the British troops. In New York they opened a stationery store, and did some printing for the royal army and navy. They afterwards formed a partnership with Alexander and James Robertson, who published the Royal American Gazette in that city. The firm was ROBERTSONS, MILLS & HICKS, and so continued until peace took place in 1783. Mills and Hicks then returned to Halifax, Nova Scotia; but their 1 A number of Separatists afterward purchased this church, and settled as their liniister the Rev. Andrew Croswell. MASSACHUSETTS. 173 partnership was soon after dissolved, and Mills went and resided at Shelburne, in that province. JoHN HICKS was born in Cambridge, near Boston, and served an apprenticeship with Green & Russell. H-e was the partner of Nathaniel Mills. [For particulars respecting this company see Nathaniel Mills.] Hicks, previous to his entering into partnership with Mills, was supposed to be a zealous young whig. He was reputed to have been one of the young men who had the affray with some British soldiers which led to the memorable massacre in King street, Boston, on the 5th of March, 1770. Interest too often biasses the human mind. The officers and friends of government at that time, unquestionably gave encouragement to the few printers who enlisted themselves for the support of the British parliament. Draper's Massachusetts Gazette and Boston Weekly News Letter was the only paper in Boston, when, and for some time before, Mills & Hicks began printing, which discovered the least appearance of zeal in supporting the measures of the British administration against the colonies-and Draper was the printer to the governor and council. The Massachusetts Gazette and Post Boy, &c., printed by Green & Russell, was a rather dull recorder of common occurrences. Its publishers, although instigated by printing for the custom house, and by other profitable work for government, did not appear to take an active part in its favor. The dispute with the parent country daily became more and more important; and it evidently appeared that the administration deemed it necessary that there should be a greater number of newspapers zealously devoted to the support of the cause of Great Britain. It was therefore decided that Green & Russell should resign the 174 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. printing of their Gazette to Mills & Hicks; and these were animated by extraordinary encouragement to carry it on with spirit and energy in support of the royal cause. A number of writers, some of them said to be officers of the British army, were engaged to give new life and spirit to this Gazette. Mills & Hicks managed the paper to the satisfaction of their employers until the commencement of the revolutionary war, which took place in two years after they began printing. The father of Hicks was one of the first who fell in this war. When a detachment of the British troops marched to Concord to destroy the public stores collected there by order of the provincial congress, Hicks's father was among the most forward to fly to arms, in order to attack this detachment on its return to Boston, after it had killed a number of Americans at Lexington, and partially executed the design of the expedition to Concord; and in the defence of his country he lost his life. Notwithstanding this sacrifice of his father on the altar of liberty, Hicks still adhered to the British, and remained with the royal army, supporting, as a printer, their cause, until a peace was concluded by the acknowledgment of the independence of the United States. When the British army quitted New York, Hicks, with many other American loyalists, went with them to Halifax. After remaining there a few years, he returned to Boston. Having acquired a very considerable property by his business during the war, he purchased a handsome estate at Newton, on which he resided until his death. JOSEPH GREENLEAF was a justice of the peace for the county of Plymouth, and lived at Abington, Massachusetts. He possessed some talents as a popular writer, and in consequence was advised, in 1771, to remove into Boston, MASSACHUSETTS. 175 and write occasionally on the side of the patriots. He furnished a number of pieces for the Massachusetts Spy. These displayed an ardent zeal in the cause of American liberty, and in the then state of the popular mind, amidst many pungent, and some more elegantly written communications, they produced a salutary effect. Not long after he came to Boston, a piece under the signature of Mucius Scsevola, as has been already mentioned, appeared in the Massachusetts Spy, which attracted the attention of the governor and council of Massachusetts. They sent for Thomas, the printer, but he did not appear before them. Greenleaf who was suspected of being concerned in the publication of that paper, was also required to attend in the council chamber; but he did not make his appearance before that board. The council then advised the governor to take from Greenleaf his commission as a justice of the peace, as he " was generally reputed to be concerned with Isaiah Thomas in printing and publishing a newspaper called the Massachusetts Spy."' Greenleaf was accordingly dismissed as a magistrate. In 1773, Greenleaf purchased a press and types, and opened a printing house in Hanover street, near Concert Hall. He printed several pamphlets, and An Abridgment of Burn's Justice of the Peace. In August, 1774, he continued the publication of The Royal American Magazine begun by Thomas. The revolutionary war closed his printing business. Greenleaf was not bred a printer; but having little property, he set up a press at an advanced period of his life, as the means of procuring a livelihood. A son of his, nearly of age, had learned printing of Thomas,1 and managed his father's printing house during the short time he carried on business. 1Thomas Greenleaf, afterward the publisher of a newspaper in New York. 176 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. MARGARET DRAPER was the widow of Richard Draper. She published the Massachusetts Gazette and Boston News Letter after his death. Boyle, who had been connected with her husband a short time before he died, continued the management of her printing house for about four months; and, during that time, his name appeared after Margaret Draper's in the imprint of the Gazette. At the expiration of this period their partnership was dissolved. Margaret Draper conducted the concerns of the printing house for several months, and then formed a connection with John Howe, who managed the business of the company, agreeably to the advice of her friends, whilst she remained in Boston. She printed for the governor and council; but the newspaper was the principal work done in her printing house. A few weeks after the revolutionary war commenced, and Boston was besieged, all the newspapers, excepting her's, ceased to be published; and but one of them, The Boston Gazette, was revived after the British evacuated the town. It is noteworthy that The News Letter was the first and the last newspaper which was published in Boston prior to the declaration of independence. Margaret Draper left Boston with the British army, and went to Halifax: from thence she soon took passage, with a number of her friends, for England. She received a pension from the British government, and remained in England until her death. JOHN HOWE was born in Boston, and there served a regular apprenticeship at the printing business. His father was a reputable tradesman in Marshall's lane. In the account given of Margaret Draper, mention is made that Howe became connected with her in publishing her Gazette, etc. He had recently become of age, and was a sober, discreet young man; Mrs. Draper, therefore, was MASSACHUSETTS. 177 induced, a short time before the commencement of the war, to take him into partnership; but his name did not appear in the imprint of the Massachusetts Gazette till Boston was besieged bythe continental army. Howe remained with his partner until they were obliged to leave Boston, in consequence of the evacuation of the town by the British troops in March, 1776. He then went to Halifax, where he published a newspaper, and printed for the government of Nova Scotia,' SALEM Was the third place in the province of Massachusetts in which a press was established. The first printing house was opened in 1768, by SAMUEL HALL. He was born in Medford, Massachusetts, served an apprenticeship with his uncle, Daniel Fowle, of Portsmouth, and first began business in Newport, in 1763, in company with Anne Franklin, whose daughter he married. H-e left Newport in March, 1768, opened a printing house in Salem in April following, and began the publication of The Essex Gazette in August of that year. In three or four years after he settled in this town, he admitted his brother, Ebenezer Hall, as a partner. Their firm was SAMUEL & EBENEZER HALL. They remained in Salem until 1775. Soon after the commencement of the war, to accommodate the state convention and the army, they removed to Cambridge, and printed in Stoughton Hall, one of the buildings belonging to Harvard University. In February, 1776, Ebenezer Hall died, aged twenty1A letter from Mr. E. M. MacDonald of Halifax, states that John Howe died in that city in 1835, aged 82. For some years previous to his death lie held the office of postmaster at Halifax, and also that of king's printer for the province, the latter office securing to him all the government printing, including the publishing of the official gazette. He also for some years had an interest as partner with John Munro in the Ilifaex Journal, although his name did not appear in it. — X1 178 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. seven years. He was an amiable young man, and a good printer. He was born in Medford, and was taught the art of printing by his brother. In 1776, on the evacuation of Boston by the British troops, Samuel Hall removed into that town, and remained there until 1781, when he returned to Salem. lIe continued in Salem until November, 1785; at which time he again went to Boston, and opened a printing house, and a book and stationery store, in Cornhill. In April, 1789, he began printing, in the French language, a newspaper, entitled Courier de Boston. This was a weekly paper, printed on a sheet of crown in quarto, for J. Nancrede, a Frenchman, who then taught the language of his nation at the university, and was afterward a bookseller in Boston; but his name did not appear in the imprint of the paper. Courier de Boston was p-ublished only six months. After Hall relinquished the publication of a newspaper, he printed a few octavo and duodecimo volumes, a variety of small books with cuts, for children, and many pamphlets, particularly sermons. He was a correct printer, and judicious editor; industrious, faithful to his engagements, a respectable citizen, and a firm friend to his country. IHe died October 30, 1807, aged sixty-seven years. EZEKIEL RUSSELL has been already mentioned. IIe removed from Boston to Salem in 1774, and opened, in Ruck street, the second printing house established in that place. In the same year he began the publication of a newspaper, but did not meet with success. I-e printed ballads and small books. Having remained about two years in Salem, he removed to Danvers, and opened a printing house; from thence, about the year 1778, he returned with his press to Boston. [See Boston - Portsmouth, &c.] MASSACHUSETTS. 179 JOHN PIRGERS was born in Boston and served an apprenticeship there, with William Macalpine. He began the publication of a newspaper in Salem, at the printing house of Russell, who was interested in the paper; but it was printed only a few weeks. After this failure in the attempt to establish a paper, I do not recollect to have seen Rogers's name to any publication. Ie did not own either press or types. MARY Cuoucr was the widow of Charles Crouch, of Charleston, South Carolina. She left Charleston in 1780, a short time before that city was surrendered to the British troops, and brought with her the press and types of her late husband. She opened a printing house in Salem, near the east church, where she published a newspaper for a short time. When she sold her press, &c., she removed to Providence, Rhode Island, the place of her nativity, and there resided. NEWBURYPORT. At the request of several gentlemen, particularly the late Rev. Jonathan Parsons, a press was first established in that town, in 1773, by IsAIAH THOMAS, He opened a printing house in King street, Newburyport, opposite to the Presbyterian church. The town was settled at an early period. In point of magnitude it held the third rank, and it was the fourth where the press was established, in the colony. Thomas took as a partner Henry Walter Tinges. The firm was THOMAS & TINGES. Thomas continued his business in Boston, and Tinges had the principal management of the concerns at Newburyport. They there printed a newspaper, and in that work the press was principally employed. Before the close of a year, Thomas sold the printing materials to Ezra Lunt, the proprietor of a stage, who was unacquainted with printing; 180 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. but he took Tinges as a partner, and the firm of this company was LUNT & TINGES. They continued their connection until the country became involved in the revolutionary war; soon after which Lunt transferred the press and his concern in printing to John Mycall. Tinges now became the partner of Mycall. The partnership of MYCALL & TINGES ended in six months. The business was then conducted by Mycall, who soon became so well acquainted with it, as to carry it on, and continue it on a respectable footing, for about twenty years; when he quitted printing, and retired to a farm at Harvard, in the county of Worcester, from whence he removed to Cambridgeport.l Tinges was born in Boston, was of Dutch parentage, and served part of his apprenticeship with Fleming, and the residue with Thomas. He went from Newburyport to Baltimore, and from thence to sea, but never returned. Lunt joined the American army, and finally removed to Marietta. He was a native of Newburyport. Mycall was not brought up to printing, but he was a man of great ingenuity. He was born at Worcester, in England; and was a schoolmaster at Amesbury at the time he purchased of Lunt. Some years after he began printing his printing house and all his printing materials were consumed by fire. Those materials were soon replaced by a very valuable printing apparatus. WORCETER. This was the fifth town in Massachusetts in which the press was established. In 1774, a number of gentlemen in the county of Worcester, zealously engaged in the cause of the country, were, from the then appearance of public affairs, desirous to have a press established in Worcester, 1 Thomas Mycall died about the year 1826. These three printers are noticed by Buckingham in his Reminiscences, I, 289-303.- 1. MASSACHUSETTS. 181 the shire town of the county. In December of that year, they applied to a printer in Boston, who engaged to open a printing house, and to publish a newspaper there, in the course of the ensuing spring. ISAIAH THOMAS, in consequence of an agreement with the gentlemen as above related, to send a press, with a suitable person to manage the concerns of it, to this town, in February, 1775, issued a proposal for publishing a newspaper, to be entitled The Worcester Gazette; or, American Oracle of Liberty. The war commencing sooner than was expected, he was obliged to leave Boston, and came himself to Worcester, opened a printing house, and on the 3d of May, 1775, executed the first printing done in the town. Thomas remained at Worcester until 1776, when he let a part of his printing apparatus, and his newspaper, to two gentlemen of the bar, William Stearns and Daniel Bigelow, and with the other part removed to Salem, with an intention to commence business in that place; but many obstructions to the plan arising in consequence of the war, he sold the printing materials which he carried to that town, and, in 1778, returned to Worcester, took into possession the press which he had left there, and resumed the publication of the Spy. IHe received his types worn down, and found paper, wretchedly as it was then manufactured, difficult to be obtained; but, in a few months, he was fortunate enough to purchase some new types which were taken in a vessel from London. After some time he also procured paper which was superior in quality to what was generally manufactured at that period; and thus he was enabled to keep his printing business alive whilst the war continued. During two or three years he was concerned with Joseph Trumbull in a medicinal store. On the establishm'ent of peace, an intercourse was opened with Europe, and he 182 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. procured a liberal supply of new printing materials, engaged in book printing, opened a bookstore, and united the two branches of printing and bookselling. In September, 1788, he recommenced printing in Boston, and at the same time opened a bookstore there. At first, the business was managed by three partners, under the firm of I. THOMAS & Co.; but one of the partners leaving the company, Thomas formed a copartnership with the other, Ebenezer T. Andrews, who had served his apprenticeship with him, and the house took the firm of THOMAS & ANDREWS. In 1793, he set up a press and opened a bookstore at Walpole, New Hampshire, where he began the publication of a newspaper entitled The Farmer's Museum.1 In 1794, he opened another printing house and a bookstore at Brookfield, Massachusetts. All these concerns were managed by partners, and distinct from his business in Worcester; where he continued to reside, and to carry on printing and bookselling on his sole account. At Worcester, he also erected a paper mill, and set up a bindery; and was thus enabled to go through the whole process of manufacturing books. In 1794, he and his partner at Boston extended a branch of their bookselling business to Baltimore. The house there established was known as the firm of THOMAS, ANDREWS & BUTLER; -and, in 1796, they established another branch of their business at Albany, under the firm of THOMAS, ANDREWS & PENNIMAN, and there opened a printing house and bookstore. The books printed by him at Worcester, and by him and his partners in other places, form a very considerable catalogue. At one time they had sixteen presses in use; 1 It was finally abandoned, after several suspensions and revivals, in October; 1810. See B]uckingham's Rleminisc'ezccs, vol. In, p. 174, for an account of its careelr, —.' MASSACHUSETTS. 183 seven of them at his printing house in Worcester, and five at the company's printing house in Boston. They printed three newspapers in the country, and a magazine in Boston; and they had five bookstores in Massachusetts, one in New Hampshire, one at Albany, and one at Baltimore. Among the books which issued from Thomas's press at Worcester, were, in 1791, an edition of the Bible, in folio, with copperplates, and, an edition, in royal quarto, with a concordance; in 1793, a large edition of the Bible in octavo; and, in 1797, the Bible in duodecimo. Of this last size, several editions were printed, as the types, complete for the work, were kept standing. In 1802, he printed a second edition of the octavo Bible. Among the books printed by the company in Boston, were, The Massachusetts Magazine, published monthly, in numbers, for five years, constituting five octavo volumes; five editions of The Universal Geography, in two volumes octavo, and several other heavy works; also, the Bible in 12mo, numerous editions; the types for which were removed from Worcester to Boston. In 1802, Thomas resigned the printing at Worcester to his son Isaiah Thomas, jun., and soon after, transferred to him the management of the Massachusetts Spy. His son continued the publication of that paper, and carried on printing and bookselling. [See Boston- Newburyport — Hist. of Newspapers, in vol. ii.] 184 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. CONNECTICUT. There was no press in this colony until 1709; and, I believe, not more than four printing houses in it before 1775. NEW LoNDON. The first printing done in Connecticut was in that town; forty-five years before a press was established elsewhere in the colony.1 THOMAS SHORT was the first who printed in Connecticut. Iie set up his press in the town of New London in 1709.2 te was recommended by Bartholomew Green, who at that time printed in Boston, and from whom he, probably, learned the art of printing. In the year 1710,3 he printed an original work, well known in New England, by the title of The Saybrook Platform of Church Discipline. This is said to be the first book printed in the colony. After the Platform he printed a number of sermons, and sundry pamphlets on religious 1" The state of the case is thus: Nov. 27th, 1707, Gov. Winthrop died. Dec. 7th, following, the general court was called together, and chose Gov. Saltonstall. He, minding to have the government furnished with a printer, moved to the assembly to have one sent for.' " Timothy Green was first applied to, but declined the invitation. Afterwards an engagement was made with Mr. Short."-Green's Memorial, 1745, in Conn. Archives (Finance, iii, 282).-T. In October, 1708, the general court accepted Mr. Short's proposition to print the Public Acts of the Colony for four years, commencing May, 1709, and "to give a copy for every Town or place in the Colony that hath a Clerk or Register," for ~50 a year; and to print all proclamations, etc., with " all other public business." It was provided, however, that" he shall set up a printing press in this Colony."-CGol. Rec. of Conn., v, 69.- T. Although the title page has the date 1710, the work was not completed before 1711, and the greater part, if not the whole, of the edition remained in the hands of Mi. Short's willow until 1714. —Conn. Couneil Records, 1714, p. 36. —T. CONNECTICUT. 185 subjects, and was employed by the governor and company to do the work for the colony. He died at New London, three or four years after his settlement there.' TIMOTH-Y GREEN has already been taken notice of, as the son of Samuel Green junior, of Boston, and grandson of Samuel Green senior, of Cambridge. He conducted a press in Boston thirteen years. Receiving an invitation from the council and assembly of Connecticut colony,2 in the year 1714 he removed to New London, and was appointed printer to the governor and company, on a salary of fifty pounds per annum.3 It was stipulated that for this sum he should print the election sermons, proclamations, and the laws which should be enacted at the several sessions of the assembly. Besides the work of government, Green printed a number of pamphlets on religious subjects, particularly sermons. It has been said of him, that whenever he heard a sermon which he highly approved, he would solicit a copy from the author, and print it for his own sales. This honest zeal in the cause of religion often proved injurious to his interest. Large quantities of these sermons lay on hand as dead stock; and, after his decease, they were put into baskets, appraised by the bushel, and sold under the value of common waste paper. Miss Caulkins records, that a small headstone in the burial ground at New London bears this inscription:" Here lyeth the body of Thomas Short, who deceased Sept. 27th, 1712, in the 30th year of his age." Two children of Thomas and Elizabeth Short are on record in New LondonCatharine born 1709, and Charles, 1711. His widow married Solomon Coit, Aug. 8, 1714. — 3. 2 He had received a similar invitation before the engagement of Mr. Short in 1708. In a memorial to the general court in 1738, he says: " Thirty years since, this Government sent to me to come to be their printer. I then answered the gentlemen that treated with me, that I was not willing to leave a certainty for an uncertainty; Mr. Short then came up, and died here."-Conn. Archives (Finance Irn, 1, 2). —. 3 Trumbull's Iistory of Connecticut.. 16 186 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. He printed a revised edition of the laws, entitled, Acts and Laws of his Majestie's Colony of Connecticut in New. England. Imprint-" New-London, Reprinted by Timothy Green, Printer to his Honour the Governour and Council, 1715." He published, also, an edition of the laws / from 1715 to 1750. As early as 1727, he printed Robert Treat's Almanack; the celestial signs for which were rudely cut on em quadrates, and raised to the height of the letter. Some years before his death he resigned his printing house and business to his son Timothy, who at the time was a printer in Boston, and the partner of Samuel 1{neeland. Green was a deacon of the church in New London; and as a Christian was held in high estimation. His piety was free from the gloominess and asperity of the bigot, and he was benevolent in his heart, and virtuous in his life. He was of a very facetious disposition, and many of his anecdotes are handed down to the present time. I-le died May 5, 1757,1 aged seventy-eight years. lHe left six sons, and one daughter who died in East Haddam in 1808. Three of his sons were printers; the eldest, who succeeded him; the second settled at Annapolis, in Maryland; and the third who was connected with his father, but died before him. Another of his sons by the name of Thomas, by trade a pewterer, settled in Boston, where he died leaving several children. SAMUEL GREEN, third son of Timothy Green, was born in Boston two years before his father left that town. He was taught printing by his father, and was for several years in partnership with him. He died in May,1752, at forty years of age, leaving a family of nine children, three of them sons, who were printers, and of whom due notice will be taken in course. 11758, Caulkins's Iist. New-London, p. 489, 2d edition.-. CONNECTICUT. 187 TIMOTHY GREEN JUNIOR, was born in Boston, and came to New London with his father, who instructed him in the art. He began printing in Boston,' and was for twenty-five years the partner of Samuel Kneeland, as has been related. On the death of his brother Samuel, his father being aged, and unable to manage the concerns of the printing house, he closed his partnership with Kneeland, and, in compliance with his father's request, removed to New London. The whole business was resigned to him. He succeeded his father as printer of the colony; and, at that time, there was not another printing house in Connecticut. On the 8th of August, 1758, he published a newspaper. This was the second establishment of the kind in the colony. After a life of industry, he died October 3,2 1763, aged sixty years. He was amiable in his manners, and much esteemed by his friends and acquaintances. [See Boston Newspapers.] TIMOTHY GREEN, 3d, was the son of Samuel Green, and nephew to the last mentioned Timothy. He was born in New London, and was taught the art by his uncle, to whose business he succeeded. The newspaper begun by his uncle was discontinued, and he established another, afterwards published by his son. In 1773, he set up a press in Norwich, in company with his brother-in-law, which was afterwards removed to Vermont. Thomas had " seen no printing with his name before 1726." In 1724, Cotton Mather's Memoirs of Remarkables in the Life of Dr. Increase Mather was printed in Boston, in the name of Bartholomew Green. In an " Advertisement" of errata, at the end of the volume, Mather says: "My young printer, the nephew of him whose name stands in the title page, tho' this be the first book that has entirely passed thro' his hand, has bid pretty fair towards the exactness of that honest and careful Christian" [Wechsel, the " faultless printer" of Paris.] The " young printer" was Timothy Jr., the grand-nephew of Barthololnew."-T. 2 August 3, Caulkins's History of New London, p. 655, 2d ed.- M. 188 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. Green was printer to the colony. In his profession, and as a citizen, he was respectable; a firm and honest whig, he was attached to the federal constitution of the United States. He died on the 10th of March, 1796, aged fiftynine years. He had eleven children, eight sons and three daughters. Two sons were printers, one of whom, Samuel, succeeded his father, the other settled at Fredericksburg, Virginia, and, in 1787, first printed The Virginia Herald. Two of his sons, Thomas and John, were booksellers and binders; another son, named William, was an Episcopal clergyman. NEW HAVEN. The second printing house, established in Connecticut, was in this town. JAMES PARKER & COMPANY. At the commencement of the war between England and France, in 1754, Benjamin Franklin and William Hunter were joint deputy postmasters general for America. As the principal seat of the war with France, in this country, was to the northward, the establishment of a post office in New Haven became an object of some consequence. James Parker, in 1754, obtained from Franklin the first appointment of postmaster in that place, associated with John Holt, who had been unfortunate in his commercial business, and was brother-in-law to Hunter. Having secured the post office, Parker, who was then the principal printer at New York, by the advice of Franklin established a press in New Haven at the close of the year 1754. The first work from his press was the laws of Yale College, in Latin. On the first of January, 1755, he published a newspaper. Holt directed the concerns of the painting house and post office in behalf of James Parker & Co. Parker CONNECTICUT. 189 remained at New York. Post riders were established for the army, and considerable business was done at the post office and printing house during the war. Parker had a partner, named Weyman, in New York, who managed their affairs in that city until the year 1759, when the partnership was dissolved. This event made it necessary that a new arrangement should take place. Holt went to New York in 1760, took the direction of Parker's printing house in that city, and conducted its concerns. The press and post office in New Haven were left to the agency of Thomas Green; Parker & Co. still remaining proprietors, and continuing their firm on the Gazette till 1764, when they resigned the business to Benjamin Mecom. BENJAMIN MECOM, who has been mentioned as a printer, first at Antigua, and afterward in Boston, removed to New Haven in 1764, and succeeded Parker & Co. Franklin appointed him postmaster. He revived the Gazette which had been discontinued, but did very little other printing. He remained in that city until 1767, and then removed to Philadelphia. [See Philadelphia, etc.] SAMUEL GREEN was the third son of Samuel Green, and grandson of the first Timothy Green, both printers in New London, where he was born. I-e was taught printing by his uncle Timothy, who succeeded his father and grandfather, in New London; and was the successor of Mecom, at New Haven, in 1767. He was joined by his brother Thomas, from Hartford, and they became partners, under the firm of TIIOMAS & SAMUEL GREEN. The newspaper, which was begun by Parker & Co., and continued by Mecom, had again been discontinued. These brothers established another. Their partnership remained until dissolved by the death of Samuel, one of the parties, in February, 1799, aged fifty-six years. 190 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. After the death of Samuel, the son of Thomas became a partner with his father, under the firm of THOMAS GREEN & SON. This son was also named Thomas. The establishment continued ten years. In 1809, a nephew of Richard Draper, Thomas Collier, who had been a printer at Litchfield, was connected with Green and his son; but the same year Thomas Green the father retired from business. On this occasion he published a very affectionate and pathetic address to the public. He died May, 1812, aged seventy-seven years. The newspaper established by Thomas and Samuel Green was continued by Eli Hudson. HARTFORD. Printing was first introduced into Hartford, in the year 1764. THoMAs GREEN, who has been just mentioned as the partner of Samuel Green in New Haven, was born at New London. He was the eldest son of Samuel Green, printer, in that place. His father dying, during the early part of his life he was instructed in printing by his uncle. Green first commenced printing in Hartford, in 1764. Until that time New London and New Haven were the only places in the colony in which presses had been established. He began the publication of a newspaper, which was the third printed in Connecticut; he remained there till 1767, when he removed to New Haven, and went into a partnership with his brother. Previous to his leaving Iartford, he formed a connection with Ebenezer Watson, and conducted the press two years under the firm of GREEN & WATSON. Thomas Green was a great-great-grandson of Samuel Green, who printed at Cambridge, Massachusetts. He died in 1812, aged 73. CONNECTICUT. 191 Frederick Green, printer of the Maryland Gazette, at Annapolis, was from the same stock, and also a great-greatgrandson of the same Samuel Green. Samuel Green, printer of the Connecticut Gazette at New London, and Thomas Green junior, one of the publishers of the Connecticut Journal, at New Haven,were of the sixth generation of the name of Green, who had been printers in this country, being great-great-great-grandsons of Samuel Green of Cambridge. EBENEZER WATSON succeeded Thomas Green, in Hartford, from whom he learned printing. He continued the newspaper established by Green. Publishing this paper was his principal employment, and he became its proprietor at the close of the year 1769. It does not appear that Watson was a thoroughly taught printer, though he practised the art ten years. HIe died September 16, 1777, aged thirty-three years. He was remarkable for his humanity, and anxious for the safety of his country, then contending for its independence, devoted his press to her cause. He was an ensign in the governor's company of cadets. This company attended his funeral, and he was buried with military honors. Watson's widow continued the Connecticut Courant in company with George Goodwin, until she married Barzillai Hudson. Goodwin served his apprenticeship with Watson, and was a correct printer. Hudson was not bred a printer, but came into the business by marrying the widow of Watson. Goodwin became the partner of Hudson, and they were very respectable printers under the firm of HUDSON & GOODWIN. 192 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. NORWICH. This is the fourth town in Connecticut where a press was established before the revolution. Two printing houses were opened in the same year. GREEN & SPOONER. Timothy Green the third, printed in New London. Judah Paddock Spooner was his brotherin-law, and served his apprenticeship with him. Green took Spooner into partnership and furnished press and types; and they opened a printing house in Norwich in 1773. Spooner, by agreement, managed the concerns of the firm. Their business not answering their expectations, after the trial of a few years, they removed their press to Westminster in Vermont.' ROBERTSONS & TRUMBULL. Alexander and James Robertson were sons of a respectable printer in Scotland. I have mentioned them as at Albany, where they began printing and remained for several years. John Trumbull was, I believe, born in Charlestown, Massachusetts; he served an apprenticeship with Samuel Eneeland in Boston. Trumbull entered into partnership with the Robertsons, and in 1773 they opened a second printing house in Norwich, and soon after published a newspaper. This connection was not dissolved until after the British troops took possession of the city of New York in 1776. The Robertsons were royalists; and, soon after that event, they left Norwich, and went to New York. Trumbull remained at Norwich, and continued printing. lie differed in his politics with his partners, one of whom, James, had been in the political school of Mein & Fleming of Boston, for whom he worked two or three years as a 1Spooner established himself first at Hanover, in 1778, and removed to Westminster in 1781. See H-story of Norwfich, 364, 2d ed. — M. CONNECTICUT. 193 journeyman; but, politics apart, James was a worthy man and a very good printer. Of Alexander I had no knowledge; but I have been informed that he was, unfortunately, deprived of the use of his limbs, and incapacitated for labor. HIe was, however, intelligent, well educated, and possessed some abilities as a writer. Trumbull was an honest, well meaning man, and attached to his country. His printing was chiefly confined to his newspaper, and small articles with which he supplied country chapmen. He died in August, 1802, at the age of fifty-two years. Alexander and James Robertson remained in New York till 1783, when the royal army and the refugees quitted the city. The Robertsons went to Shelburne, in Nova Scotia, where they published a newspaper. Alexander died in Shelburne, in December, 1784. James returned to Scotland, his native country, and began business as a printer and bookseller in Edinburgh. 1 Miss Caulkins, in her History of Norwich has additional facts relating to these partners. She says of Trumbull: "He was remarkable forhis genial humor, and always had a merry turn or witty remark at hand." —L. 17 194 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. RHODE ISLAND. Printing was introduced into Connecticut about twentytwo years before a press was established in Rhode Island. There were but three printing houses in the colony before 1775, and only two newspapers. GREGORY DEXTER, a printer in London, was a correspondent of the celebrated Roger Wiliiams the founder of Providence. Dexter printed, in England, in 1643, Williams's Key into the Language of America, and the first Almanack for Rhode Island and Providence Plantations in New England. Soon after, Dexter quitted printing, left his native country, and joined Williams in Providence, where he became a distinguished character in the colony. He was one of the parties named in the charter, and for a number of years one of the assistants under the authority granted by that charter. He was one of the first town clerks, and wrote an uncommonly good hand. IHe possessed handsome talents, and had been well educated. From him descended the respectable family of the Dexters in Rhode Island. It is said that after Samuel Green began printing at Cambridge, Dexter went there, annually, for several years, to assist him in printing an Almanac. NEWPORT. The press was first established in this town in the year 1732; and was the only one in the colony till 1762. JAMES FRANKLIN. It has been stated that Franklin was the publisher of The New-England Courant. Soon after I Manuscript papers of President Stiles, of New Haven. RHODE ISLAND. 195 that paper was discontinued he removed from Boston with his printing materials to Newport, and there set up his press in a room " under the Town School-IHouse." He did some printing for government, published a newspaper a few months, and an Almanac annually. He was the first who printed in Phode Island; but only published a few pamphlets, and other small articles, beside those mentioned above. He died in February, 1735. [See Boston.] ANNE FRANKLIN, the widow of James Franklin, succeeded her husband. She printed for the colony, supplied blanks for the public offices, and published pamphlets, &c. In 1745, she printed for government an edition of the laws, containing three hundred and forty pages folio. She was aided in her printing by her two daughters, and afterward by her son when he attained to a competent age. Her daughters were correct and quick compositors at case; and were instructed by their father whom they assisted. A gentleman who was acquainted with Anne Franklin and her family, informed me that he had often seen her daughters at work in the printing house, and that they were sensible and amiable women. JAMES FRANKLIN JUNIOR, the son of James and Anne Franklin, was born in Newport: and, as soon as he was of age, became the partner of his mother, and conducted their concerns in his own name. He began printing about the year 1754, published The Mercury in 1758, and died August 22, 1762. He possessed integrity and handsome talents, which endeared him to very respectable associates. After his death, his mother resumed the business; but soon resigned the management of it to Samuel Hall, with whom she formed a partnership under the firm name of 196 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. FRANKLIN & HALL.' This firm was of short duration, and was dissolved by the death of Anne Franklin, April 19, 1763, at the age of sixty-eight. They printed an edition of the laws in folio, which was completed about the time that Anne Franklin died. SAMUEL IALL. After the death of his partner, Hall printed in his own name. An account of him has already been given among the printers of Massachusetts. IHe remained at Newport five years, continued the publication of the Mercury, and found considerable employment for his press. In March, 1768, he resigned the printing house in Newport to Solomon Southwick, and removed to Salem, Massachusetts. [See Salem.] SOLOMON SOUTHWICK was born in Newport, but notbrought up to the business of printing. He was the son of a fisherman; and, when a lad, assisted his father in selling fish in the market place. The attention he paid to that employment, the comeliness of his person, and the evidences he gave of a sprightly genius, attracted the notice of the worthy Henry Collins, who at that time was said to be the most wealthy citizen in Newport, one of the first mercantile characters in New England, and greatly distinguished in the colony of Rhode Island for philanthropy and benevolence. Mr. Collins took a number of illiterate boys, whose parents were poor, under his patronage, and gave each an education suited to his capacity; several of whom became men distinguished in the learned professions. Among the objects of his care and liberality was young Southwick, who was placed at the academy in Philadelphia, and there 1 Anne Franklin's brother-in-law, the celebrated Benjamin Franklin, who then printed in Philadelphia, had, at that time, a partner by the name of Hall; and the firm in Philadelphia was likewise Franklin & Hall. RIHODE ISLAND. 197 provided for till he had completed his studies. Mr. Collins then established him as a merchant, with a partner by the name of Clarke. Southwick and Clarke did business on an extensive scale. They built several vessels and were engaged in trade to London and elsewhere; but eventually they became bankrupts, and their partnership was dissolved. After this misfortune, Southwick married a daughter of Colonel John Gardner, who for several years had been governor of the colony, and by this marriage he became possessed of a handsome estate. About this time Samuel Hall, who had a desire to leave Newport and remove to Salem, offered his printing establishment for sale. Southwick became the purchaser in March, 1768, and succeeded to the business of Hall. He continued the publication of The New York Mercury, and made some attempts at book printing. He published for his own sales several small volumes; but the turbulence of the times checked his progress in this branch of printing. Southwick discovered a sincere and warm attachment to the interests of the country. He was a firm whig, a sensible and spirited writer, and in other respects was qualified to be the editor of a newspaper, and the conductor of a press in times of revolutionary commotion. The severity of the British government, to the province of Massachusetts particularly, was manifested by several acts of parliament which were passed in 1774. By one of these acts the people were deprived of many of their chartered rights and privileges. By another the port of Boston was shut, and the transaction of every kind of commercial business on the waters of this harbor was interdicted. These arbitrary edicts aroused the indignation of the people in all the colonies. They loudly expressed their resentment in various ways, and the press became the organ through which their sentiments were energetically announced. 198 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. Southwick was among the number of printers who were not backward to blow the trumpet in our Zion, and to sound an alarm in the holy mountain of our liberties. He wrote and printed an address to the people of Rhode Island, which was headed with the motto, " JOIN OR DIE!" This motto had appeared in several of the newspapers, as will be mentioned hereafter. In this appeal, Boston was represented as in a state of siege; which was actually true; for the harbor was completely blockaded by ships of war, and a large number of troops were quartered in the town. It was also further stated that these measures of the British government were a " direct hostile invasion of all the colonies." The address was concluded by observing, that " the generals of despotism are now drawing the lines of circumvallation around our bulwarks of liberty, and nothing but unity, resolution and perseverance, can save ourselves and posterity from what is worse than death, slavery." Southwick, by his publications and exertions in the cause of the country, became very obnoxious to those who were of the opposite party; and he, with other zealous whigs, were marked as objects for punishment. When the British fleet and army took possession of Newport, in 1776, he barely eluded the threatened evil. As soon as a part of the army had landed, detachments of both horse and foot were sent into all parts of the town to arrest the patriots, who were endeavoring to effect an escape. Southwick, his wife, with a child in her arms, and some other persons, had got on board an open boat, and were just putting off from the shore into a very rough sea, occasioned by a high wind, when a party of soldiers who were in pursuit of them came in sight. Southwick's wife had a brother who was a royalist, and as such was known to the British officers; who however, wished to secure the retreat of his sister and her husband. Aware of their danger, this brother put himself in the way of RHODE ISLAND. 199 their pursuers, and for a few moments arrested their attention, by giving them information of the several parts of the town whence the proscribed whigs would probably attempt to make their retreat, &c. This friendly interference gave Southwick and his friends time to get a few rods from the shore before the party arrived at the spot they hadjust quitted. The boat was yet within reach of their shot. The soldiers fired at them but without effect. The passengers fortunately received no injury, and were soon wafted to a place of safety.l Southwick was,.at this time, a member of the general assembly of Rhode Island. He owned two new houses in Newport, that, with other property which he left at that place, were destroyed. He sought an asylum in Attleborough, on the frontier of Massachusetts, and there erected a press; but being soon after appointed commissary-general of issues for the state of Rhode Island, he removed to Providence. As soon as the British troops evacuated Newport he returned to that town and resumed the publication of his newspaper, which he continued till the year 1787, when, by ill health, and embarrassed circumstances, he was obliged to relinquish business, and to place the Mercury in other hands.2 His pecuniary concerns were greatly impaired by the rapid depreciation of the paper currency, before the estaMr. Southwick escaped with his wife and eldest son Solomon, but a younger child and its nurse were captured.- Ml 2In a historical sketch of the Mercury, published in that paper when it had completed a century of its existence, June 12, 1858, it is asserted that Southwick did not return to resume his paper, but that Henry Barber revived its publication in 1780. As yet no copies of the Mercury have been found that were published from 1776 to 1780, when Barber's name appears; but it is mentioned by Mr. Thomas in the second volume of this work, that Southwick resumed its publication at Attleborough, Mass. Copies of the Mercury are preserved in the library of the American Antiquarian Society at Worcester, which show that Southwick was associated with Barber in May, 1785; that he was printing' it alone in 1787; and that Barber was 200 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. blishment of peace. He, like many others, cherished a belief that the nominal sum specified in the bills would eventually be made good in specie. The impracticability of the thing was not considered, even when one hundred dollars in paper would purchase but one of silver. The delusion was not discovered by some till they found themselves involved in ruin. The government of the union were indebted to Southwick both for his services and for money loaned. This debt, like others of the kind, was liquidated by notes known by the name of final settlement. In the course of some months after they were issued, they were sold in the market for one-eighth part of their nominal value. To this depreciated state was national paper reduced before the assumption of the public debt by the new government; and, when it was in that state, Southwick was compelled to sell his final settlement notes for the support of himself and family. He was engaged in the cause of his country in the times of her adversity and danger, but he had no portion of the benefits resulting from her prosperity. Assailed by poverty, and borne down by again printing it in his own name in 1788. Southwick's monument is still seen in the cemetery at Newport. A copy of the inscription has been furnished by Mr. Fred. A. Pratt, the present editor of the Mercury, as follows: " In memory of I Solomon Southwick, Esq., I a gentleman of liberal I education and expansive mind, I for many years I editor and proprietor of the | Newport Mercury I and commissary general for the I state of Rhode Island I in the Revolutionary war. I He died Dec. 23, 1797, i in the 66th year of his age. Just, generous, benevolent and sincere, Was he whose hallowed dust reposes here If e'er a partial prayer he breathed to heaven, That prayer was for his country's glory given." The house which Mr. Southwick occupied on his return to Newport, with his printing office, is that in which the Newport Bank is now located. Children of his son, Henry C., reside in Albany, and preserve volumes of the Miercury and other mementos of their ancestor, among which is a diploma from the College and Academy of Philadelphia for proficiency in Philosophy and Mathematics, 1757, conferring upon him the degree of B.A.-M. RHODE ISLAND. 201 infirmity, he lived in obscurity from the year 1788 to the time of his death; and, being unable to provide for his children, he left them to make their own way in the world. He lost his wife, who was an excellent woman, in 1783; and he died himself December 23, 1797, aged sixty-six years. His son who bore his name, settled at Albany, and was for many years the publisher of The Albany Register.l PROVIDENCE. For many years the principal part of the trade of the colony was carried on at Newport. At length Providence rose to eminence and became the successful rival of Newport. Printing was introduced there in 1762. WILLIAM GODDARD, the son of Doctor Giles Goddard, postmaster at New London, in Connecticut, was the first who established a printing press in Providence, and was soon after appointed deputy post-master. 1 Mr. Southwick left five children: Solomon, H-enry C., Wilmarth, Eliza, and John. Solomon became editor of The Albany Register, which was began in 1788 as a democratic paper, and with which he was connected for a period of nearly thirty years. He was successively clerk of the house of assembly at:Albany; clerk of the senate; sheriff of the county; manager of the state literature lottery; state printer; regent of the university; postmaster of the city; and president of the Mechanics and Farmers' bank. For a considerable time he was at the head of the democratic party, wielding almost unlimited influence upon the political destinies of the state. Besides the Register, which he published in his own name from 1808 to 1817, he also published The Christian Visitant, in 1815, and The Plough Boy, an agricultural paper, in 1819. He edited the National Democrat, in 1817; the National Observer, in1826; the Family Newspaper, in 1838. He was twice nominated for governor, but his party was at the time in the minority. He was a voluminous writer, and left several published volumes. He died suddenly Nov. 18, 1839, aged 66. His brother Henry C., was a practical printer, and was sometime associated with him in the business. IIe married Jane, a sister of John Barber who established the Register, and whom he succeeded as its proprietor. She survived him several years. Of six sons but one left posterity. The Albany Barbers were of a different family from those of Newport. —M. 18 202 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. Goddard served his apprenticeship with James Parker, printer in New York. He opened a printing house in Providence in 1762, and soon after published a newspaper. There was at that time but one other paper printed in the colony, viz. at Newport; yet after a trial of several years, Goddard did not meet with such encouragement as to induce him to continue his Gazette. He left his printing house, &c., in the care of his mother, and sought for himself a more favorable place of residence. On leaving Providence he was for a short, time concerned with Holt, in New York, in publishing Parker's Gazette and Post Boy; and as a silent partner drew a share of the profits. After the repeal of the stamp act, in 1766, he closed his concerns with his friends Parker and Holt, and went to Philadelphia, and there printed a newspaper, &c. I shall have occasion again to mention Goddard, who was in business several years in Philadelphia; and afterwards at Baltimore, where he finished his professional labors. As a printer he was ingenious and enterprising. Ile made several strong efforts to acquire property, as well as reputation; but by some means his plans of business frequently failed of success. Ie was most fortunate in his concerns for a few years after the termination of the war. At length he supposed that he had become possessed of a competency to carry him through life "' without hard rubbing." In this apprehension he quitted business, returned to New England, and resided several years on a large farm near Providence, of which he was the proprietor, and died Dec. 23, 1817, aged 77. Major General Charles Lee, an officer in the American army during the revolutionary war, owned a landed estate in Berkeley county, Virginia, and left by will one-third part of this estate to Goddard and Eleazar Oswald, to whom he professed himself to have been under obligations. RHODE ISLAND. 203 Few could conduct a newspaper better than Goddard. tie was a capable editor, and his talents were often drawn into requisition. He, like many others, was a laborious agent in the cause of his country, and in many instances where he had neither honor nor profit for his reward. When the loaves and fishes were to be divided, aspiring, interested, nominal patriots, crowded him into the back ground, and his services were in a great measure forgotten. Goddard, however, received from the postmaster general the appointment of surveyor general of post roads; and, in this instance, fared better than many others, whose public services were never rewarded by any office whatever, either of profit or honor. [See Philadel]phia- Baltimore- Newspaper.] SARAH GODDARD, the mother of William Goddard, was the daughter of Lodowick Updike, whose ancestors were among the first settlers of Rhode Island, and her brother was for some years attorney general of the colony. She received a good education, acquired an acquaintance with several branches of useful and polite learning, and married Dr. Giles Goddard, of New London, who left her a widow. After her son had been a few years in business, she became his partner. He left the management of the printing house and newspaper to her, and she conducted them with much ability for about two years, when John Carter supplied the place of her son; the firm was then SARAH GODDARD & COMPANY. She resigned the businessto Carter in 1769, removed to Philadelphia the same year, and died there in January, 1770. [See Newspapers in vol. ii.] JOIHN CARTER was born in Philadelphia, and served his apprenticeship with Franklin & Hall, in that city. He was the partner of Sarah Goddard from 1766 to 1768 inclusive; and, in 1769, he became the successor of William 204 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. and Sarah Goddard, and proprietor of the Providence Gazette. For more than twenty yearg his printing house was "at Shakespear's Head, opposite to the Court House;" after which it was near the bridge, and opposite to the market. He was postmaster before the revolution, and for many years subsequent to it. He was well acquainted with the art which he practised, and the productions of his press exhibit evidence of a good and correct workman. lie was a staunch supporter of the cause of our country, before its independence; and after that important event took place, he did not lose sight of her best interests. Ite prosecuted printing in an accurate manner for forty-six years. His character as a man of honor and integrity was well established: he died in August, 1814, aged sixty-nine years. JOHN WATERMAN was bred a seaman, and became the master of a vessel. Preferring the mechanic arts, he left the pursuits of commerce, and built a paper mill two miles from Providence, which probably was the first erected in the colony. In 1769, he purchased the press and types which were, for many years, owned and used by Samuel Kneeland of Boston; with these he opened a printing house near his paper mill, but made little use of them. -NEW HAMPSHIRE. 205 NEW HAMPSHIRE. The printing for this colony was executed in Boston, Massachusetts, until 1756. Only two printing houses were opened in New Hampshire before the year 1775, and one of these had for several years been shut. The productions of the press were few: the largest work printed was the laws of the province. PORTSMOUTH. Although this place was the capital of the colony, and had been settled a long time, yet no means had been used to introduce printing into it until about the year 1755, when several of the influential inhabitants exerted themselves for this purpose; and, in the year following, the press was established there, at which was executed the first printing done in New Hampshire. DANIEL FOWLE, who had been arrested and imprisoned in Boston, on a charge of having published a libel against the government of Massachusetts, was, as has been stated, solicited by several gentlemen in Portsmouth, and afterwards encouraged by the government, to set up a press in that town. He accordingly removed from Boston to Portsmouth in July, 1756, and soon after published a newspaper. Fowle did but little at book printing; it being his principal business to publish the newspaper. He was appointed printer to the government; and the laws, &c., were issued from his press. In September, 1764, he took his nephew Robert Fowle as his partner. The firm of the company was DANIEL & ROBERT FOWLE. They remained together until 1774, when they separated, and Robert soon after removed to Exeter. Daniel Fowle continued in business until his death, but 206 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. did not acquire much property. He married into a very respectable family in Boston, some years before he removed from that town, but had no children. He received the commission of a magistrate a short time after he settled at Portsmouth. lie was a correct printer and industrious. He was mild in his disposition, agreeable in his manners, liberal in his sentiments, and attached to the cause of his country. He died in June, 1787, aged 72 years. [See Boston —Hist. Newsp.] THOMAs FURBER was born in Portsmouth, and served his apprenticeship with Daniel Fowle. Some zealous whigs, who thought the Fowles were tob timid in the cause of liberty, or their press too much under the influence of the officers of the crown, encouraged Furber to set up a second press in the province. He in consequence opened a printing house in Portsmouth, toward the end of 1764, and soon after published a newspaper. In 1765; he received as a partner Ezekiel Russell. Their firm was FURBER & RusSELL. Excepting the newspaper, they printed only a few hand-bills and blanks. The company became embarrassed, and in less than a year its concerns terminated, and the partnership was dissolved. Upon tie dissolution of the firm, the press and types were purchased by the Fowles. Furber became their journeyman, and Russell went to Boston. Furber had been taught plain binding, and undertook to connect it with printing. Although he was not very skillful, either as a printer or as a binder, he began the world under favorable circumstances; and, had he been attentive to his affairs, he might have been successful. He was good natured and friendly, but naturally indolent and, like too manyothers, gave himself up to the enjoyment of a companion, when he should have been attending to his business. He died in Baltimore, at the house of William NEW HAMPSIIRE. 207'.Goddard, who had employed him for a long time and shown him much friendship. He left a widow and several children. EXETER. A difference in the political sentiments of D. and I-. Fowle, printers and copartners at Portsmouth, was the cause of their separation in 1774; and probably the reason of the establishment of a press in Exeter. ROBERT FOWLE was the son of John Fowle, who was several years a silent partner with Rogers & Fowle in Boston, and afterwards an Episcopal clergyman at Norwalk in Connecticut. He served his apprenticeship with his uncle, at Portsmouth; and when of age became his partner, as has been mentioned. This copartnership being ended they divided their printing materials. Robert, who was neither a skillful nor a correct printer, took the press and types which had been used by Furber, and settled at Exeter. He did some work for the old government, and, in 1775, some for the new. He made several attempts to establish a newspaper, and in 1776 began one, which he published more than a year. The new paper currency of New Hampshire had been printed by Fowle, and it was counterfeited; and suspicion rested on him as having been concerned in this criminal act. He was a royalist, and fled within the British lines in New York. By this step the suspicion, which might not have been well founded, was confirmed. Thus ended the typographical career of Robert Fowle. With other refugees from the United States, he was placed upon the British pension list. Some time after the establishment of peace, he returned to this country, married the widow of his younger brother, who had succeeded him at Exeter, and resided in New Hampshire until he died. Robert Fowle had very respectable connections. 208 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. PENNSYLVANIA. This was the second English colony in America, where the press was established. The charter of the province was granted to William Penn, in the year 1681; and, about the year 1686, a printing press was established " near Philadelphia." PHILADELPHIA. This city was laid out, and the building of it begun by its proprietor, in 1683. In less than six years after the city was founded printing was practiced here. WILLIAM BRADFORD was the first printer who settled in this colons. He was the son of William and Anne Bradford, of Leicester, England, at which place he was born in the year 1660.1 IHe served his apprenticeshipin London, with Andrew Sowle, printer in Grace Church street, and married his daughter Elizabeth. Sowle was intimately acquainted with George Fox, a shoemaker of Nottingham, and the founder of the English sect of quakers. Sowle was one of this sect, and printed for the society. Bradford adopted the principles of the quakers, and was among the first emigrants from England to Peniisylvania in 1682, and landed at the spot where Philadelphia was soon after laid out before a house was built. Thenext year his wife arrived.2 The inscription on Bradford's tombstone, in Trinity church yard, New York, says: " I-e was born in Leicestershire, in old England, in 1660." Buit The American Almranaclcfor 1739, printed by him, has in the record of events which have occurred in the month of May: " The printer born the 20th 1663." That day was accordingly selected for commemoration in 1863. (See Wallace's Address).- -l. 2Thomas IIolme, who was William Penn's surveyor general, drew a plan of the city of Philadelphia, which was engraved and printed in PENNSYLVANIA. 209 At what place he first settled is rather uncertain; but it was, as he expresses it, 'near Philadelphia." The Swedes had begun a colony in Delaware as early as 1626, and made a settlement at Chester, now a part of Pennsylvania. The Dutch conquered the Swedes and attached Delaware to the government of New York. By agreement with the Duke of York, Penn, after his arrival, assumed the government of Delaware, and united it, in matters of legislation, with Pennsylvania. The general assembly was holden at Chester, and this borough became for a time a place of consequence. It is probable that Bradford resided there until Philadelphia assumred the appearance of a city. Ile might, however, have set up his press at Burlington, which is but eighteen miles distant from Philadelphia, and was then the capital of New Jersey. The l first work printed by Bradford, which has reached us with a date, is, " An Almanack for the year of the Christian account 1687. Particularly respecting the Meridian and Latitude of Burlington, but may indifferently serve all places adjacent. By Daniel Leeds, Student in Agriculture. Printed and sold by William Bradford, near Philadelphia in Pennsilvania pro Anno 1687." This is a sheet almanac in twelve compartments for the twelve months. The year begins with March and ends with February, as was usual in the seventeenth century. At the bottom of the sheet are an explanation of the almanac, an account of the eclipses for the year, courts and fairs at Burlington and Philadelphia, and short rules in husbandry.' London, in 1683, and had this title and imprint, viz: "A portraiture of the city of Philadelphia in the Province of Pennsylvania in America, by Thomas Holme, surveyor-general. Sold by Andrew Sowle in Shoreditch, London." By this it appears that in 1683, Sowle either lived or had a shop in Shoreditch. 1 Mr. Wallace, in his Commermorative Address, says:" The earliest issue of Bradford's press, known to me, is an A.lmanack for the year 1686, pro19 210 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. It appears that at the time Bradford printed this almanac he lived near Philadelphia, and Chester, as I have said, was near this city.1 In 1689, Bradford lived in the city. I possess a quarto pamphlet by George Keith, respecting the New England churches, printed by Bradford in Philadelphia that year. It is the oldest book I have seen printedinthe city. Ihave another pamphlet, of seventy-four pages, printed by him in 1690, entitled, " A Refutation of Three Opposers of Truth by plain Evidence of the holy Scriptures, viz: Pardon Tillinghast, B. Keech, and Cotton Mather; and a few Words of a Letter to John Cotton. By George Keith."-Imprint "Philadelphia, Printed and Sold by William Bradford Anno 1690." I have another quarto pamphlet, of seventyduced of course in 1685. It was calledl Kalendariumn Pennsylvaniense or America's Messenger, an Almnanacl. "In 1686 lie produced LBarnyeat's Epistle. The title is 'An Epistle from John Burnyeat to friends in Pennsylvania, to be by them dispensed to the Neighboring Provinces, which for Convenience and Dispatch was thought good to be Printed, and so ordered by the Quarterly meeting of Philadelphia the 7th of 4th Montl 1686. Printed and Sold by William Bradford, near Philadelphia, 1686." "Of an Alm.anack which was issued in 1687, more than one copy is extant."- Address, pp. 26-29. The fact that in 1688, Bradford issued proposals for printing " a large Bible," was accidentally discovered by Mr. Nathan Kite of Philadelphia, one hundred and fifty years afterwards, he having found a copy of the proposals in print serving as the inner lining paper of the cover of a book. The proposals are given in full in the appendix to Mr. Wallace's address.- H. It has been suggested that Br:adford first settled at Kensington, about two miles to the eastward of Philadelphia, on the banks of the Delaware; at which place there were at that time two or three houses, and where remained the great oak tree, under which William Penn held a treaty with the Indians, until the 3d of March, 1810, when it was overthrown by a tornado. Proud, in his History of Pennsylvania, observes in a note: " The quakers had meetings for religious worship, and for the economy of their society, as early as the fore part of the year 1681, at the house of Thomas Fairlamb, at Shakamaxon, near or about the place where Kensington now stands, nigh Philadelphia." This fact renders it, in a degree, probable, that Bradford did settle at Kensington. The creek at the north end of the city is known to this day by the Indian name Shakamaxon. PENNSYLVANIA. 211 two pages, written by George Keith, entitled: " A Serious Appeal to all the more Sober, Impartial and Judicious People of New England, to whose Hands this may come."? It is a vindication of the quakers from the attack of Cotton Mather, etc. u Printed and Sold by William Bradford at Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, in the year 1692." In the year 1692, much contention prevailed among the quakers in Philadelphia, and Bradford took an active part in the quarrel. George Keith, by birth a Scotchman, a man of good abilities and well educated, was surveyor general in New Jersey; and the society of Friends in the city employed him in 1689, as the superintendent of their schools. Keith having attended to this duty nearly two years became a public speaker in their religious assemblies; but being, as the quakers asserted, of a turbulent and overbearing spirit, he gave them much trouble. They forbade him speaking as a teacher, or minister, in their meetings. This, and some other irritating circumstances, caused a division among the Friends, and the parties were violently hostile to each other. Bradford was of the party which was attached to Keith, and supported him; their opponents were the majority. Among them were Lieutenant Governor Lloyd, and most of the quaker magistrates. Keith and Thomas Budd wrote against the majority, and Bradford published their writings. Keith was condemned in the city meetings, but appealed to the general meeting of the Friends; and, in order that his case might be generally known and understood, he wrote an address to that body which he caused to be printed, and copies of it to be dispersed among the Friends previous to their general meeting. This conduct was highly resented by his opponents. The address was denominated seditious, and Bradford was arrested and imprisoned for printing it. The sheriff seized a form containing four quarto pages of the types of the address; 212 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. and also took into his custody a quantity of paper, and a number of books, which were in Bradford's shop, with all the copies of the address which he could find. The civil authority took up the business; and, as Keith and Bradford state the facts, they who persecuted them in the religious assemblies condemned and imprisoned them by civil process; the judges of the courts being the leading characters in the meetings. Several of Keith's party were apprehended and imprisoned with Bradford; and among them, Thomas Budd, and John McComb. The offence of the latter consisted in his having two copies of the address which he gave to two friends in compliance with their request. The following was a warrant for committing Bradford and MacComb: "' Whereas William Bradford, printer, and John MacComb, taylor, being brought before us upon an information of Publishing, Uttering and Spreading a Malitious and Seditious paper, intituled An Appeal from the twentyeight Judges1 to the Spirit'of Truth, &c. Tending to the disturbance of the Peace and the Subversion of the present government, and the said Persons being required to give Securitie to answer it at the next Court, but they refused so to do. These are therefore by the King and Queens Authoritie and in our Proprietarys Name, to require you to take into your Custody the Bodies of William Bradford and John MacComb, and them safely keep till they shall be discharged by due Course of Law. Whereof fail not at your Peril; and for your so Doing, this shall be your sufficient Warrant. Given under our Hands and Seales this 24th of August, 1692. " These to John White Sheriff of Philadelphia or his Deputies." 1 " Twenty-eight," meaning those who condemned Keith, in what he called " their Spiritual Court." PENNSYLVANIA. 213 Signed by Arthur Cook, and four others. The day after the imprisonment of Bradford and his friends, a "Private Sessions," as it was called, of the county court, was holden by sixjustices, all quakers, who, to put a better complexion on their proceedings, requested the attendance of two magistrates who were not quakers. This court assembled, it seems, for the purpose of convicting Keith, Budd, and their connections, of seditious conduct, and of condemning them without a hearing; but the two magistrates who were not quakers, if we credit Keith and Bradford, reprobated the measure, and refused to have any concern in it, declaring that the whole transaction was a mere dispute among the quakers respecting their religion, in which the government had no concern. They, however, advised that Keith, and others accused, should be sent for, and allowed to defend themselves, and affirmed that if any thing like sedition appeared in their practice, they would join heart and hand in their prosecution. To this the quaker magistrates would not consent, and the others in consequence left the court. The court then, as is stated in a pamphlet,1 "proceeded in their work, and as they judged George Keith in their spiritual court, without all hearing or trial, so in like manner, they prosecuted him in their temporal court without all hearing." The pamphlet further states that "one of thejudges declared that the court couldjudge of matter offact without evidence, and therefore without more to do proclaimed George Keith, by the common cryer, in the market place, to be a seditious person, and an enemy to the king and queen's government." [Appendix H.] 1 This pamphlet is entitled, "N ew England Spirit of Persecution, transmitted to Pennsilvania, and the Pretended Quaker found Persecuting the True Christian Quaker in the Tryal of Peter Boss, George Keith, Thomas Budd and William Bradford, at the Scssyons held at Philadelphia the Ninth, Tenth, and Twelfth Days of December, 1692. Giving an account of the most Arbitrary Proceedings of that Court." 214 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. Bradford and MacComb, who had been imprisoned, appeared at this court, and requested that they might be brought to trial; pleading that it was very injurious to them and their familes to remain in confinement. They claimed, as free born English subjects, the rights secured by Magna Charta, among which was the prompt administration of justice; and Bradford, in particular, desired that his trial might then take place, "because, not only his person was restrained, but his working tools, and the paper and books from his shop, were taken from him, and without these he could not work and maintain his family." At this court the following conversation took place between the judges and the prisoners, all of whom were quakers: " Justice Cook. What bold, impudent and confident men are these to stand thus confidently before the Court? " Mac Comb. You may cause our hats to be taken off if you please. "Bradford. We are here only to desire that which is the right of every free born English subject, which is speedy justice, and it is strange that that should be accounted impudence, and we impudent fellows therefore, when we have spoke nothing but words of truth and soberness, in requesting that which is our right, and which we want; it being greatly to our prejudice to be detained prisoners. 4 Justice Cook. If thou hadst been in England, thou would have had thy back lashed before now. "4 Bradford. I do not know wherein I have broke any law so as to incur any such punishment. '" Justice Jenncigs. Thou art very ignorant in the law. Does not thee know that there's a law that every printer shall put his name to the books he prints, or his press is forfeited? " Bradford. I know that there was such a law, and I know when it expired. PENNSYLVANIA. 215 " Justice Cook. But it is revived again, and is in force and without any regard to the matter of the book provides that the printer shall put his name to the books he prints, which thou hast not done." The prisoners continued to press for a trial. "Justice Cook. A trial thou shall have, and that to your cost, it may be. "Justice Jennins. A trial thou shalt have, but, for some reason known to us, the court defers it to the next sessions, and that is the answer we give, and no other you shall have." The trial was, accordingly, put over to the next term. The only offence which appeared against MacComb was his joining with Keith and his party, and disposing of two copies of Keith's printed address to his quaker brethren. For this he was not only imprisoned, but also deprived by Lieutenant Governor Lloyd of a license to keep an ordinary, or house of public entertainment, for which he had, a few months before his confinement, paid the lieutenant governor twelve pieces of eight, or three pounds twelve shillings of the then currency. At the next session of the court, on the 6th of the following December, Bradford was placed at the bar. " The presentment was read," the substance of which was, that the 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th articles of the pamphlet called " An Appeal," had a tendency to weaken the hands of the magistrates; and William Bradford was presented as the printer of that seditious paper. The following proceedings of the court are extracted from the pamphlet above mentioned: " Clerk. What say you William Bradford, are you guilty as you stand presented, or not guilty? " Bradford. In the first place, I desire to know whether I am clear of the mittimus, which differs from the presentment? 216 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. " The clerk and the attorney for the government read and perused the mittimus and presentment, and finding them to differ, said, that when William Bradford was cleared according to law he was cleared of the mittimus. Bradford insisted on knowing whether, on the issue of the presentment, he was clear of the mittinmus. After a long debate on the subject, Bradford was told that he was clear of the mittimus on the issue of the presentment. " Bradford. What law is the presentment founded on? " Attorney for the Gorrinrent. It is grounded both on statute and common law. " Bradford. Pray let me see that statute and common law, else how shall I make my plea? Justice Cook told us last court, that one reason why ye deferred our trial then, was that we might have time to prepare ourselves to answer it; but ye never let me have a copy of my presentment, nor will ye now let me know what law ye prosecute me upon. "Attorney. It's not usual to insert in indictments against what statute the offence is, when it's against several statutes and laws made. " Justice White. If thou wilt not plead guilty, or not guilty, thou wilt lose thy opportunity of being tried by thy country. C" The court then ordered the clerk to write down that William Bradford refused to plead; which he did; but as he was writing it down, Bradford desired they would not take advantage against him, for he refused not to plead, but only requested that which was greatly necessary in order to his making his own defence. Several in the court requesting on the prisoner's behalf that the court would not take advantage against him, they admitted him to plead, and he pleaded not guilty. " The jury were then called over, and attested; but before they were attested, Bradford was asked if he had PENNSYLVANIA. 217 any exceptions to make against any of them that were returned for the jury. '" Bradford. Yes, I have, and particularly against two of them, Joseph Iirle and James Fox; for at the time when I was committed to prison, Arthur Cook[one of the judges] told me, that Joseph Kirle had said, that if the proceedings of the magistrates were thus found fault with, that they must not defend themselves against thieves and robbers, merchants would be discouraged of coming here with their vessels, &c.; and I except against James Fox, because the first day after Babbit and his company were taken, I being at Sam Carpenter's, there was Governor Lloyd, James Fox, and several others, and in discourse concerning the taking of the said privateers, James Fox greatly blamed William Walker, because he found fault with some justices that were quakers for commanding men, and as it were pressing them to go against the said privateers; and also James Fox joined with Thomas Lloyd in saying he would mark them as enemies to the government and well being of the province, who were neutral in the case of going against Babbit and his crew; by which instances I think it appears that these two persons have prejudged the cause that is now to come before them. "Joseph Kirle acknowledged that he had spoken such words, and desired to be discharged; but the court would not allow of the exceptions. " Clerk. These are no exceptions in law.."Attorney. Hast thou at any time heard them say that thou printed that paper? for that is only what they are to find. " Bradford. That is not only what they are to find, they are to find also, whether this be a seditious paper or not, and whether it does tend to the weakening of the hands of the magistrates. 20 218 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. " Attorney. No, that is matter of law, which the jury is not to meddle with, but find whether William Bradford printed it or not, and the bench is to judge whether it be a seditious paper or not, for the law has determined what is a breach of the peace, and the penalty, which the bench only is to give judgment on. "Justice Jennings. You are only to try, whether William Bradford printed it or not. "c Bradford. This is wrong, for the jury are judges in law as well as the matter of fact., " The attorney again denied it; whereupon some of the jury desired to know what they were to try, for they did believe in their consciences, they were obliged to try and find whether that paper was seditious, as well as whether Bradford printed it; and some of them desired to be discharged. " A great noise and confusion among the people. "Some on the bench showing their willingness to allow of Bradford's exceptions to the two jurors, Justice Cook said, 'I will not allow of it; is there four of us of a mind?' Then the attorney read the 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th articles of the said printed appeal, &c., and commented thereupon, and then said, William Bradford is presented for printing and publishing this seditious paper, whereof you of the jury are to find him guilty, if it appears to you that he has printed it. "Bradford. I desire you of the jury, and all men present to take notice, that what is contained in this paper is not seditious, but wholly relating to a religious difference, and asserting the quakers' ancient principles, and it is not laid down positive that they ought not to have proceeded against the privateers, but laid down by the way of query for the people called quakers to consider and resolve at their yearly meeting, whether it was not a transgression PENNSYLVANIA. 219 of the quakers' principles to hire and commissionate men to fight? " Justice Cook. If it was intended for the yearly meeting at Burlington, why was it published before the meeting? "Bradford. Because it might be perused and considered of by Friends before the meeting, even as the bills that are proposed to be passed into laws, they are promulgated a certain number of days before the assembly meets, that each may have opportunity to consider them. " Then the attorney read the act1 against printing any book without the printer's name to them; and he said, That was one act which they prosecuted William Bradford upon. " George Keith answered the attorney. It may be observed the singular and extraordinary severity of those justices, called quakers, who will pick out a statute made in Old England, and prosecute a man upon it here, which might ruin him and his family, though it's not certain whether that act be in force; most of William Penn's and the quakers' books were printed without the name of the printer when that act was in force, and yet we never heard that any printer in England was prosecuted for that; these here because they cannot fix the matter to be any breach of the peace they'll prosecute the printer for not putting his name to what they suppose he printed.' " Note. That all the time those persons were on trial, the grand jury sat by them, overawing and threatening them, when they spoke boldly in their own defence, and one of the jury wrote down such words as they disliked, signifying that they would present them. Justice Cook bid them take notice of such and such words, thereby overawing the prisoners, that they had not liberty to plead freely. When Thomas Harris, at the request of the prisoners, 1 An act of the British parliament. 14 Car. 2 cap. 33. 220 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. began to say something to the matter, they stopt him and. bid an officer take him away, and Arthur [justice] Cook said that he should plead no more there. " After a long pleading, D. Lloyd, their attorney, began to summons up the matter to the jury, and concluded by saying, it was evident William Bradford printed the seditious paper, he being the printer in this place, and the frame on which it was printed was found in his house. " Bradford. I desire the jury and all present to take notice, that there ought to be two evidences to prove the matter of fact, but not one evidence has been brought in this case. " Justice Jennings. The frame on which it was printed is evidence enough. " Bradford. But where is the frame? There has no frame been produced here; and if there had, it is no evidence, unless you saw me print on it. " Justice Jennings. The jury shall have the frame with them; it cannot well be brought here; and besides the season is cold, and we are not to sit here to endanger our health. You are minded to put tricks upon us. "Bradford. You of the jury, and all here present, I desire you to take notice, that there has not one evidence been brought to prove that I printed the sheet, called An Appeal; and, whereas they say the frame is evidence which the jury shall have; I say, the jury ought not to hear, or have any evidence whatsoever, but in the presence of the judges and prisoners. "Yet this was nothing minded, but Sam [justice] Jennings summoned up to the jury, what they were to do, viz: to find, first, whether or not that paper, called the Appeal, had not a tendency to the weakening the hands of the magistrates, and the encouragement of wickedness? 1 Called by printers form, containing the pages in types. PENNSYLVANIA. 221 Secondly, whether it did not tend to the disturbance of the peace? and, thirdly, whether William Bradford did not print it, without putting his name to it as the law requires? The jury had a room provided for them, and the sheriff caused the frame to be carried in to them for an evidence that William Bradford printed the Appeal. The jury continued about forty-eight hours together, and could not agree; then they came into court to ask whether the law did require two evidences to find a man guilty? To answer this question, the attorney read a passage out of a law book, that they were to find it by evidences, or on their own knowledge, or otherwise; now, says the attorney, this otherwise is the frame which you have, which is evidence sufficient. " Bradford. The frame which they have is no evidence for I have not seen it; and how do I, or the jury, know that that which was carried in to them is mine? "Bradford was interrupted; the jury were sent forth again, and an officer commanded to keep them without meat, drink, fire, or tobacco. In the afternoon tie jury came into the court again, and told, they were not like to agree; whereupon the court discharged them. ' Bradford then said to the court, that seeing he had been detained so long a prisoner, and his utensils with which he should work had been so long kept from him, he hoped now to have his utensils returned, and to be discharged from his imprisonment. "Justice Jennings. No! Thou shalt not have thy things again, nor be discharged; but I now let thee know thou stand in the same capacity to answer next court, as before. " Next court being come, Bradford attended, and desired to know, if the court would let him have his utensils, and he be discharged? 222 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. " Justice Cook. Thou shalt not have thy goods until released by law. " Bradford. The law will not release them unless executed. ' Justice Cook. If thou wilt request a trial, thou may have it. "Whereupon Bradford queried, whether it be according to law to seize men's goods, and imprison their persons, and to detain them under the terror of a gaol, one six months after another, and not bring them to trial unless requested by the imprisoned? Whether, when a jury is sworn, well and truly to try, and true deliverance make between the proprietor and prisoner, it is not illegal to absolve them from their oaths, dismiss them, and put the cause to trial to another Jury?" Soon after this session of the court Bradford was by some means released from his confinement. It is said, that in the examination of the frame, the jury, not being acquainted with reading backwards, attempted to raise it from the plank on which it was placed, and to put it in a more favorable situation for inspection; and that one of them assisting with his cane, pushed against the bottom of the types as the form was placed perpendicularly, when, like magic, this evidence against Bradford instantly vanished, the types fell from the frame, or chase as it is termed by printers, formed a confused heap, and prevented further investigation.2 1 These extracts from the printed contemporaneous account of Bradford's trial are not literal transcripts of the original; but the forms of expression were sometimes condensed, and sometimes paraphrased, by Thomas, while meaning always to preserve the sense.-H. 2Proud, in his Histoory of Pennsylvania, mentions, that George Keith had published several virulent pieces, one of which indecently reflected on several of the principal magistrates in their judicial capacity, whereby their authority with the lower classes of the people was lessened. The printer, William Bradford, and John MacComb who had published it, were apprehended by a warrant from five magistrates, and examined, PENNSYLVANIA. 223 Bradford having incurred the displeasure of the dominant party in Pennsylvania, and receiving encouragement to settle in New York, he, in 1693, removed to that city; but it is supposed he had a concern in the press which was continued in Philadelphia. [See New York.] RELNIER JANSEN. At this distance of time, it cannot be ascertained how long before or after 1699 Jansen printed in Philadelphia; nor is it certain that he owned a press. It has been supposed by some, that after William Bradford differed and seceded from his quaker brethren who had the principal concern in public affairs, they procured and set up another press; and by others, that Jansen was either an apprentice, or a journeyman to Bradford; that after Bradford had removed to New York, in 1693, he left Jansen to manage a press in Philadelphia; and that, for prudential reasons, Jansen conducted the press in his own name, and had a share in the profits of the business. Some arrangement of this kind, probably, took place, and continued during the minority of Andrew, the son of William Bradford. Whatever was the nature of this connection, it is certain that there was little business for the press in Philadelphia, excepting the disputes among the quakers; but there was more employment for that in New York; and that the materials of both the printing houses united would not have formed a large apparatus. and upon their contemptuous behavior, and refusal to give security, were committed. He adds, "But they were soon discharged, without being brought to a trial." This does not altogether agree with the account of the trial printed at the time, and which it is probable had not come to the knowledge of Proud. Respecting Keith and Budd, Proud says, they were also presented by the grand jury of Philadelphia, as authors of another book of the like tendency, entitled, The Plea of the Innocent, in which they defamed Samuel Jennings, "a judge and a magistrate." This presentment was prosecuted; " so the matter was brought to a trial, and the parties fined 51. each; but the fines were never exacted." 224 IIISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. I have met with only one book with Jansen's name in the imprint. The title of that one, at large, is, '" God's Protecting Providence Man's surest Help and Defence in the Times of the greatest difficulty and most Imminent danger, Evidenced in the Remarkable Deliverance of Divers Persons from the Devouring Waves of the Sea, amongst which they Suffered Shipwreck. And also from the more cruelly devouring jawes of the inhumane Canibals of Florida. Faithfully related by one of the persons concerned therein. Printed in Philadelphia by Reinier Jansen, 1699." JACOB TAYLOR. I have not met with any thing printed by him, and doubt his having been a printer. As it appears by the journals of the assembly that he was consulted about printing the laws of the province in 1712, some persons have been of opinion that at that time he printed in Philadelphia. I can find no other evidence of this fact than what appears in the following extracts from the journals of the assembly of Pennsylvania, viz: In 1712, "on the ninth of the third month," the assembly determined that it would " be of great use and benefit to the country to have the laws printed, and thereupon sent for Jacob Taylor, to treat with him about the same. IIe informed the house, that according to the best of his judgment, the charges thereof would amount to one hundred pounds besides paper." It was this circumstance, I am led to suppose, that induced Andrew Bradford, who was connected with his father in New York, to leave that city, and commence printing in Philadelphia; for on the '" twenty-fourth of the ninth month," the assembly chose a committee, " to treat with Jacob Taylor, and the other printers in town, about the charge it will require to print the laws of this province, and report the same to this house this afternoon." The printers PENNSYLVANIA. 225 then in town' were doubtlessWilliam and Andrew Bradford from New York, as it cannot be discovered that, at that time, there were any other professors of the art nearer than New London and Boston. It is possible that Jansen might have been of the number, but it is believed that he died, or had left Philadelphia, before this time. However this may have been, the committee performed the service which was required of them, and made their report in the after part of that day. Seven persons were then immediately chosen, who " with the speaker's assistance, were appointed trustees on behalf of the province to employ one or more persons in printing five hundred volumes of the laws thereof, and that 50 pounds of the province stock shall be paid by the treasurer as money comes into his hands, (after paying 5001. to the lieutenant governor, &c.), unto the said trustees, towards defraying the charges aforesaid; and, that what it amounts to more by a true account of the whole expense, and due credit given for the sales made of the said books, produced to the assembly for the time being, the same shall be a debt chargeable on this province, to be paid out of the public stock thereof." As there would not be sufficient money in the treasurer's hands for the use of printingthelaws, after paying the 5001. to the lieutenant governor, and the members of the assembly for their services, it was, on the " seventh of the fourth month, Ordered, That the trustees appointed to get the laws I conceive that this expression, to correspond with others in the extracts from the journals which follow, should read thus, "to treat with Jacob Taylor, and others who are printers in town "-meaning the printers who came to town on this business. This remark is justified, in some measure, by the delay of the assembly, which it seems waited a fortnight after they took up the subject before they proceeded farther with it. This gave time for the printers in New York to get information of what was transacting relative to printing the laws, and to come to Philadelphia; and, it appears that as soon as they arrived, a committee was chosen to consult with them and Taylor, and was directed to make a report the same day. 2l1 226 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. printed may take up money at interest to defray the charges thereof, which shall be allowed a debt upon this province, to be discharged with the first public money that comes to the treasurer's hands, after the aforesaid payments are discharged, and that the note issued for the said fifty pounds be made payable accordingly." Notwithstanding all these preparatory measures for printing the laws, the trustees did not proceed with the business. On " the thirteenth of the eleventh month in 171-," the subject was again brought forward in the assembly, and a committee of three persons was appointed, "to treat with any printer, or other person or persons of this city, about the charge and method of printing the said laws, and bring their proposals in writing to this house." On the "fifteenth of the eleventh month," the same year, " the committee appointed to treat, &c., brought in a proposal in writingfrom Jacob Taylor, which was read, and ordered to lie on the table." On the " third of the twelfth month, a proposal from Andrew Bradford, printer, was read and ordered to lie on the table." And on the tenth of that month, another committee was chosen to contract "with such printer as they shall think fit to print the laws;" and were authorized to "employ such clerks as they shall find necessary, to procure a correct copy of the said laws for the press." The committee had power, " where they shall observe any two or more laws of the same tenor or effect, (unless they be supplementary to each other) to omit such of them as shall appear to be redundant, only taking care that their titles be printed." Andrew Bradford was employed to print the laws;, and, it is probable that it was at this time he established himself in Philadelphia. Although the following extract from the journals of the assembly relates to Bradford, I will insert it in this place as it is the conclusion of the business respecting this PENNSYLVANIA. 227 edition of the laws, which made a volume of one hundred and eighty-four pages,folio, viz: 1 1714. 6th mo. 4. A petition from Andrew Bradford, setting forth that by order of the governor and assembly he has printed the laws of this province; that the repeal of several laws by her Majesty, has put a stop to the sale of them; and desiring to be relieved by this house; was received, and ordered to lie on the table." " 1714. 6th mo. 5. Resolved that the speaker issue his warrant unto Richard Hill, to pay unto Andrew Bradford, printer, thirty pounds for fifty bound volumes of the laws of this province. If Taylor was not a printer, it is not improbable that he might be desirous to contract for printing the laws, with a view of having the work executed in Boston, and making a profit thereby. There was a Jacob Taylor, who for about thirty years annually calculated an almanac, which was published in Philadelphia, by Andrew Bradford; he was probably the same person; he died in 1746. I can learn nothing farther of him. ANDREW BRADFORD, was the son of William Bradford, who firstprinted in Pennsylvania. He was born in Philadelphia, went to New York with his father, and of him learned the art of printing. When his minority ended, he was one year the partner of his father. About the year 1712, he returned to Philadelphia, and from that time to 1723, was the only printer in the colony. His printing house was " in Second street, at the sign of the Bible." He sold pamphlets and school books, and till 1730 frequently advertised other articles for sale, such as whalebone, live geese feathers, pickled sturgeon, chocolate, Spanish snuff, &c., and executed common binding. He printed for the government, and published polemical pamphlets, which, during many years, afforded employment 228 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. for the press wherever it was established. In 1732, he was postmaster, and, in 1735, became a considerable dealer in books and stationery. December 22, 1719, Bradford published the first newspaper printed in Pennsylvania, The American Mercury. John Copson appears to have been a partner in this publication for about two years.2 In 1739, his foster son, William, was his partner; this connection lasted about eleven months, and ended in 1740. When Franklin made his first visit to Philadelphia in 1723, a second printing house was opening by Keimer. Franklin, although a journeyman in this rival printing house, boarded some time with Bradford. It is evident from Franklin's statement, that Bradford was not merely civil, he was friendly to this young stranger; and, although he had no employment for him, yet he made him welcome to his house, " till something better should offer." When mentioning Bradford, and his rival Keimer, Franklin observes, they were both ' destitute of every qualification necessary to their profession." The first was very illiterate,3 and the latter " ignorant of the world." In 1738, Andrew Bradford purchased the house, in South Front street, which was kept in possession of the family, and long after occupied as a printing house by Thomas Bradford, publisher of The True American, a daily newsI paper. IHe printed three or four Almanacs annually,4 viz: In the Discourse on Andrew Bradford before the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, in 1869, by Horatio Gates Jones, Esq., it is said that Bradford's paper, the Weekly Mercury of April 4th, 1728, has a statement that "the Post Office will be kept at the house of Andrew Bradford." He may therefore have had the appointment thus early.- H. 2Bradford, in 1720, calls Copson a bookseller; but, in 1721, Copson styles himself a merchant. 3 Mr. Jones, in his discourse, controverts this charge of illiteracy against Bradford — H 4 Mr. Jones, p. 21, enumerates seven almanacs printed by Bradford, rivals of Poor Richard, besides a sheet almanac.- M. PENNSYLVANIA. 229 Jacob Taylor's, Titan Leeds's, John Jerman's, and William ~ Birkett's; these he published many years. Bradford increased his property, and became easy in his circumstances. He was postmaster; and retained the office for several years after Franklin opened a third printing house in Philadelphia. However correct Franklin's opinion of him may be, itis certain that Bradford possessed, in a considerable degree, the confidence and esteem of his fellow citizens; as he was chosen one of the common council of the city, and was in this office at the time of his death. In 1741, he published a periodical work, entitled, The American Mlagazine, or Monthly View of the Political State of the British Colonies. This work was soon discontinued. His wife died in December, 1739; and, in 1740, he married Cornelia Smith, a native of New York, who was related to his father's second wife. He died November 23, 1742,1 aged about fifty-six years; and was buried in Christ church burying ground. On this occasion The American Mercury appeared in mourning six weeks. [See Newspapers - Philadelphia.] SAMUEL EEIMER was bred to printing in London, where he married; and leaving his wife in England, he came to this country and opened a printing house " in High street, near the Market-House, at Philadelphia," in 1723. Until that time Bradford was the only printer in the colony. Keimer's printing materials consisted " of an old damaged press, and a small cast of worn out English types, contained in one pair of cases."' He soon made a small addition to his types, which enabled him to print pamphlets, and other small works. He was bred a compositor, and 1Mr. Jones in his discourse on Andrew Bradford, says he died " on the night of the 24th of November." —XM 2Franklin's Life. 230 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. like other European compositors, knew little of the management of the press. When he wanted to use this small printing apparatus, he had neither man nor boy to assist him. His press was found to be deficient in some of its parts, and it had not been put together. At this time Franklin arrived in Philadelphia, and sought employment. Keimer engaged him to put his press in order, and hired him as a journeyman. The first production of Keimer's press was an elegy of his own on the death of Aquilla Rose, printer, a young man of excellent character, secretary to the general assembly, and the principal workman in Bradford's printing house. Keimer was engaged on this elegy mentally and manually when he first saw Franklin, who observes that Keimer was a poet, but " could not be said to write in verse, for his method was to set the lines in types as they flowed from his muse.' 1 Soon after printing this elegy he published a small pamphlet, which he called A Parable. This was said to be the joint work of himself and Franklin. It gave offence to the quakers, and produced the following advertisement in The American Mercury, viz: "Whereas one Samuel Keimer, who lately came into this Province of Pennsylvania, hath Printed and Published divers Papers, particularly one Entituled A Parable, &c., in some Parts of which he assumes to use such a Stile and Language, as that perhaps he may be Deemed, where he is not known, to be one of the People called Quakers. This may therefore Certifie, That the said Samuel Keimer is not one of the said People, nor Countenanced by them in the aforesaid Practices. Signed by Order of the Monthly Meeting of the said People called Quakers, held at Philadelphia, the 29th Day of the Ninth Month, 1723. " SAMUEL PRESTON, Cl." 1 See the article Barbadoes, for a specimen of Keimer's poetry. PENNSYLVANIA. 231 Keimer kept a small shop and sold blanks, and a few other articles. Among other things, in July, 1724, bayberry wax candles, and fine white Liverpool soap. He printed pamphlets, and " rubbed along " for some time, till Franklin left him. His business, thus far, had not been very productive of profit; but, during the absence of Franklin, he took a larger house, procured new types, opened a shop which was well supplied with stationery, employed four or five hands in his printing house, and improved his condition in life. Franklin found Keimer in this situation when he returned from England; and having been disappointed in his expectations he again became a journeyman to his former employer. Among other small works printed by Keimer, was a spurious edition of Jacob Taylor's Almanac for 1726, of which all but the calculations were compiled and written by Keimer. Taylor disowned the work in a long poetical essay, not of the most delicate kind, which he published in Bradford's paper, and it was soon after followed by an advertisement of the following purport: "Whereas there hath been lately Published and Spread abroad in this Province and elsewhere, a lying Pamphlet, called an Almanack, set out and Printedby Samuel Keimer, to reproach, ridicule, and rob an honest Man of his Reputation, and strengthening his Adversaries, and not only so, but he hath Notoriously Branded the Gospel Minister of the Church of England with ignominious Names, for Maintaining a Gospel Truth, and reproacheth all the Professors of Christ and Christianity, as may be seen in his Almanack in the Month of December; now all judicious Readers may fairly see what this Man's Religion Consisteth in, only in his Beard and his sham keeping of the Seventh Day Sabbath, following Christ only for Loaves and Fishes. This may give Notice to the Author of this Mischief, that if he do not readily Condemn what he hath done, and 232 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. Satisfy the Abused, he may expect to be Prosecuted as the Law shall direct. " AARON GOFORTH, Senior." The following year he printed another Almanac for 1727, which he called Titan Leeds's, and sent a parcel of them to Boston, New York, &c., for sale, where they met a good market. The publication of this Almanac was the cause of a quarrel between him and Bradford, who pronounced it to be a forgery. Keimer made a contract with the legislature of New Jersey, to print the money bills for that province; and he sent Franklin with a press to Burlington to execute this business; who, having accomplished the job, returned to Philadelphia. He soon after quitted the employment of Keimer, and, with a partner, opened another printing house. No friendship appeared to exist between Keimer and Franklin, who soon became a powerful rival to Keimer, whose affairs were in an embarrassed state. Franklin intended to publish a newspaper, and kept, as he thought, his intention secret, until he could make the necessary preparation for the undertaking. The design, however, came to the knowledge of Keimer, who immediately published a prospectus of one which would speedily issue from his own press; and, notwithstanding Franklin's endeavors to prevent it, the paper made its appearance December 21, 1728. Franklin, being thus anticipated in the execution of a favorite plan, under a borrowed signature ridiculed Keimer and his paper in Bradford's Mercury; and by this and other means, succeeded in counteracting the circulation of the paper. Keimer soon found that he was unable to continue his gazette. Franklin well knew his situation, and offered to pay him a small sum, if he would resign the paper to him. The offer was accepted. PENNSYLVANIA. 233 Soon after this transaction, Ieimer became inattentive to business; and, in consequence, involved himself in debt and was obliged to sell his stock and his printing materials to satisfy his creditors; which having done, he went to Barbadoes and settled there. Franklin mentions Keimer as " having been one of the French prophets," andthat " he knew how to imitate their supernatural agitations." 1 He characterizes him as "' a perfect novice, and totally ignorant of the world;" but, afterward observes, that "he was a great knave at heart, that he possessed no particular religion, but a little of all upon occasion.f' It does not appear that he was destitute of all worldly knowledge, but he was unfortunate. He might possibly have been more successful in business, had not his exertions been counteracted by those who in pecuniary concerns possessed more sagacity than he did. [See West Indies.] BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. A sketch of the early part of the life of Franklin, as one of the printers in Boston, has already been given. We left him, after his return from England, employed for a second time in the printing house of Ieimer. Hugh Meredith was then an apprentice in the same house, but his apprenticeship had nearly expired. Dissentions took place between Keimer and Franklin, and they parted. Franklin was about returning to Boston; but Meredith persuaded him to remain in Philadelphia. He represented to him that Keimer was embarrassed in business and must soon fail; and observed that this event would make an opening for Franklin, who said he could not go into business for the want of capital. Meredith proposed a connection, and mentioned that his father, who had a high opinion of Franklin, would advance whatever sum was necessary to establish them in business. 1 The visionaries he referred to appeared about the year 1724. ' 22 234 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. Franklin closed with the proposal. Meredith's father approved of the partnership; and engaged with a merchant in the city to send to England for a press and types. Franklin, in consequence of this arrangement, compromised his difference with Keimer and returned to his employment. The agreement was kept secret, until the printing apparatus arrived. At this time Meredith's indentures expired; and he and Franklin immediately completed articles of association. They took a house near the market, set up their press, and began to use it under the firm of MEREDITH & FRANKLIN. Their first work was forty sheets of foolscap, folio, of the History of the Quakers, printed for the use of those of that sect who resided in or near Philadelphia. Franklin daily completed at case the work of a sheet and distributed the forms; Meredith did the press work. The text was on a pica type, and the notes, which were long, on smaller letter. After they had been in business twelve months, they became, as has been mentioned, the proprietors of Keimer's newspaper; and were appointed printers to the general assembly. These advantages resulted from the management of Franklin, who soon after succeeded in his plan of supplanting Bradford in the post office. Before the complete revolution of two years, this partnership was dissolved, and Franklin came into possession of the whole business, which he conducted with skill and reputation. By means of his industry and economy he soon paid his debts, and began to accumulate property. He opened a shop well filled with stationery, and did some/ thing at bookbinding and bookselling. I-Ie annually published Poor Richard's Almanack, which became celebrated; / likewise a neat pocket almanac; and in 1741, he commenced the publication of a magazine, which was continued six months. In 1741, he printed Cicero's Cato Major on old Age, with numerous notes in octavo and PENNSYLVANIA. 235 quarto. This work was translated by J. Logan of Philadelphia, and is, probably, the very first translation of a Latin classic, made and published in British America.' The Greek words were printed from Italic characters. After this he became a considerable bookseller. Franklin remained fifteen years without another partner, but being much engaged in public life, he, in January 174k, entered into a connection with David Hall. The firm was FRANKLIN & I-ALL. At this time the Gazette had an extensive circulation in Pennsylvania and in the neighboring colonies, and the business of the printing house was very lucrative. Hall took the sole management of the concern; and, as I am well informed, Franklin received ~1,000. currency per annum, for a number of years, as a relinquishment of his share of the profits of the business. In 1765, Franklin sold out all his interest in the printing house to Hall, and the partnership was dissolved February 1, 1766. Besides his connection with Hall, Franklin had a copartnership with Anthony Ambruster,2 the printer of a newspaper in Philadelphia, in the German language. This concern began ill 1754 or 1755, and ended in 1758. In 1730, he married the daughter of Mr. Read.3 She was the young woman whom he saw standing at the door of her father's house, when he walked the streets of Philadelphia with a roll of bread under each arm, while eating a third. 1 The reader will call to mind the fact that a translation of the last ten books of Ovid's Metamorphoses was made in Virginia by George Sandys, the colonial treasurer, between 1621 and 1626. It was printed in London in 1626.- II. 2See Anthony Ambruster, further on. 3The birthday of Deborah Read cannot now be ascertained; she was married to Franklin 1 Sept., 1730, and died 19 Dec., 1774. The head-stone of John Read, who died 2 Sept., 1724, found under the Franklin monuments, is supposed to be that of her father. The two are always mentioned as Mr. and Miss Read in the notices of them. There is a pedigree of Franklin's descendants in the NV. E. Gen. Register, vTII, 374.- M. 236 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. In 1753, Franklin was appointed a deputy postmaster general for the colonies. In 1755, he received a commission as colonel of a regiment of militia, and after the defeat of General Braddock, he raised, by order of government, a body of troops, and marched them to the western frontier, then invaded by the enemy. He built a fort, and placed a competent garrison in it, and then returned to Philadelphia. In 1757 he was appointed agent for the province of Pennsylvania, and in this capacity went to England, with a petition to the king. He remained in England until 1762, when he returned to Philadelphia. In 1764 he again went to London as agent for the province. In 1766 he visited Holland, and the next year went to France. While in England, he was appointed agentfor the province of Massachusetts Bay. Soon after the commencement of the revolutionary war he returned to America, and was employed in her councils. In 1776 he was appointed to assist in the negotiations at the court of France, and went to IParis for that purpose; and in 1778 he concluded a treaty of alliance between that cabinet and the United States of America. In September, 1783, he, with Mr. Jay and Mr. Adams, signed at Paris the articles of peace on the part of the United States, with Mr. David Hartley on the part of Great Britain. He afterward signed articles of amity and commerce between this country and Sweden, and Prussia. In 1784 he returned to Philadelphia. In 1786 he was elected president of the supreme executive council of Pennsylvania, and was soon after chosen president of several distinguished societies formed in Philadelphia, some of which had, by his former exertions, been greatly aided in their establishment. Franklin was celebrated as an electrician; but as my principal object is only to take notice of him as a printer, I must refer those who wish to be acquainted with him as a philosopher, to his Life and Works. PENNSYLVANIA. 237 His son, William, was postmaster in Philadelphia in 1754; clerk of the assembly of Pennsylvania in 1756; appointed governor of New Jersey in 1762, and was in that office when the revolutionary war began. The following anecdote, which has been published on both sides of the Atlantic, discovers the spirit with which Franklin edited his paper, and marks his pointed dislike of prostituting the press to purposes of defamation and scurrility. Soon after the establishment of his paper, a person brought him a piece, which he requested him to publish in the Pennsylvania Gazette. Franklin desired that the piece might be left for his consideration until next day, when he would give an answer. The person returned at the time appointed, and received from Franklin this communication: I have perused your piece, and find it to be scurrilous and defamatory. To determine whether I should publish it or not, I went home in the evening, purchased a two penny loaf at the baker's, and with water from the pump made my supper; I then wrapped myself up in my great coat, and laid down on the floor and slept till morning, when, on another loaf and a mug of water, I made my breakfast. From this regimen I feel. no inconvenience whatever. Finding I can live in this manner, I have formed a determination never to prostitute my press to the purposes of corruption, and abuse of this kind, for the sake of gaining a more comfortable subsistence." 1 The following facts will show that Franklin retained a regard for the trade until the close of his life. In 1788, about two years before his death, a number of printers and Bills of lading formerly began with " Shipped by the Grace of God," &c. Some people of Philadelphia objected to this phraseology as making light of serious things. Franklin therefore printed some without these words and inserted in his paper the following advertisement: " Bills of Lading for sale at this office, with or without the Grace of God." 238 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. booksellers met together in Philadelphia, to form some regulations for the benefit of the trade. Bache, grandson of Franklin, and myself, were of the number. After the first meeting, I conversed with Dr. Franklin on the subject of our convention. He approved the measures proposed, and requested that the next meeting might be at his house, as he was unable himself to go abroad. The meeting was accordingly holden there; and although he was much afflicted with pain, he voluntarily took minutes of the proceedings, and appeared to be interested in them.1 He evidently had much at heart the success of his grandson, who was then printing, at the recommendation of his grandfather, an edition of the minor classics. Franklin, after the commencement of the war, brought from Europe a very valuable printing apparatus, which he purchased in London. He also imported the materials of a type foundery, which had been used in Paris. These articles for a foundery, though extensive, did not prove very valuable. He put the whole into the possession of his grandson, Benjamin Franklin Bache, who for some time carried on book printing, but eventually published a newspaper well known by the name of The Aurora; and made litttle use of the materials for the foundery. In 1788, Franklin retired from public business. He had, for several of the preceding years, been troubled with a calculus, which increased to such a degree as, during a few months preceding his death, to confine him to his bed. In April, 1790, he was seized with an inflammation of the breast, attended with a fever, which terminated his earthly existence on the 19th of that month, at the age of eightyfiveyears.2 He left by will 1,0001. to the city of Philadelphia, Several attempts have been made to establish rules and regulations for the benefit of the trade, but they have generally not proved successful. 2 On the 30th of April, 1800, ten years after his death, " a fete was celebrated in the Temple of Victory, at Paris [France] in nlemory of Ben PENNSYLVANIA. 239 and the same sum to his native town Boston. These sums were to be loaned annually to young mechanics of a certain description in the manner and on the conditions by him prescribed for one hundred years, a certain part of the proceeds then to be applied to particular public uses, and the other part again loaned for another hundred years, after which the final amount to be appropriated for the benefit of the public in the manner directed in his will. He bequeathed to the Pennsylvania Hospital the old debts due to him as a printer, stationer and postmaster previous to the year 1757. The sums are small, and although numerous, have produced little or nothing. Long before his death, he wrote the following epitaph upon himself: The Body of Benjamin Franklin, Printer, (Like the cover of an old Book, Its contents worn out, And stript of its lettering and gilding) Lies here, food for worms! Yet the work itself shall not be lost, For it will, as he believed, appear once more In a new And more beautiful edition, Corrected and amended By its Author. HUGH MEREDITH was the son of a worthy and respectable farmer. He was born in Pennsylvania, and bred to husbandry. Having more taste for books than for agriculture, at the age of thirty he came to Philadelphia, and bound himselffor several years as a pressman to Keimer. He was with him jamin Franklin, one of the benefactors of humanity."- Publiciste Paris paper. Franklin's father died in Boston, January 16, 1745. Peter Franklin, brother to the doctor, and postmaster in Philadelphia, died in July, 1766, aged 74. 240 HIISToRY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. when Franklin returned from his first voyage to London. Franklin, being again employed in Keimer's office, became intimate with Meredith. Their acquaintance produced the copartnership of which an account has already been given. Franklin mentions Meredith as " honest, sensible, having some experience, and fond of reading, but addicted to drinking." Meredith, the father, aware of this propensity in his son, was the more ready to promote his connection with Franklin, and readily helped them, in the hope that Franklin, whom he knew to be temperate, " would cure his son of the too free use of brandy." Franklin, however, in that attempt, did not succeed. He soon considered Meredith as a dead weight, and was desirous to throw him off; which he effected with ease. Meredith was frank and ingenuous. He found that his partner was dissatisfied, and discovered that he himself was not well qualified to be a printer. His father, owing to some recent disappointments, was not able to make the last payment for the press and types, now become due to the merchant who imported them. From these considerations, Meredith was induced to propose a dissolution of the partnership, and offered to relinquish his right in the stock and business, on the moderate condition that Franklin should take upon himself the debts of the company, pay Meredith thirty pounds currency, and furnish him with a new saddle. The offer was gladly embraced; the necessary writings were immediately executed, and the partnership was dissolved. Meredith received the thirty pounds and the saddle, joined a number of his Pennsylvania friends who were farmers, and with them went and settled in North Carolina. DAVID IARRY was born in Pennsylvania. His parents were respectable, and his connections opulent. IHe served an apprenticeship with Keimer, and had just completed it PENNSYLVANIA. 241 when Keimer was obliged to sell his press and types. Harry purchased them, and succeeded his master in business. This took place about July, 1729. Franklin, who had then separated from Meredith, was fearful that in Harry he should find a powerful rival, and was induced to propose a partnership to him. Harry rejected the proposal with some disdain. Franklin observes, that "Harry lived extravagantly, pursued amusements, neglected business, and business neglected him." Before the expiration of the year 1730, he followed his late master, KIeimer, to Barbadoes, and took with him his printing materials. In Barbadoes Harry began printing, and employed Keimer as his journeyman. He had never acquired the habit of industry, and Barbadoes was not a place calculated to cure him of a dissipated course of life. In a few months he became deeply involved in debt, and was induced to sell his press and types to Keimer, who found friends to assist him in the purchase. Harry returned to Pennsylvania, and followed husbandry. WILLIAM BRADFORD Third, was the son of William Bradford Junior, and grandson of the first William Bradford who printed in Philadelphia. Ie was born in New York. When very young, his uncle, Andrew Bradford, who had no children, adopted and educated him as his son and heir, and instructed him in the art of printing. When he was about nineteen years of age, his affectionate foster mother, the wife of Andrew, died, and some time after, his foster father married Cornelia Smith, of New York. She had an adopted niece, whom she was desirous that William Bradford, the adopted nephew of her husband, should marry when he became of age. William's affections being engaged by another object, the plan was frustrated; and, in consequence, she imbibed a settled prejudice 23 242 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. against him, and did not attempt to conceal it. She treated him unkindly, and finally he was obliged to leave the house of his foster father. She prevailed on her husband to revoke the will which he had made in favor of William, and to make one in her own favor. It has been said, that her conduct in general was such as rendered her husband very unhappy. William when about twenty years of age became the partner of Andrew; but the wife caused this partnership to be dissolved, after it had continued one year. It began in December, 1739, and ended in December, 1740.1 In 1741 Bradford went to England; visited his relations there; returned in 1742 with printing materials and a collection of books, and began business on the west side of Second street, between Market and Chestnut streets. In the same year he married the daughter of Thomas Budd who was imprisoned with the first William Bradford in 1692. In December, 1742, he commenced the publication of a newspaper, which was continued by him and his successors until after the year 1800. In 1743, he removed to the southeast corner of Blackhorse alley, where, at the sign of the Bible, he printed and sold books. In 1748 he was chosen lieutenant of a militia company, and in 1756 was made captain. In 1754 Bradford removed to the corner of Market and Front streets, and there opened a house for the convenience of the commercial part of the community, which was called the London Coffee House. In 1762 he opened, in company with a Mr. Kydd, a marine insurance office, where much business was done. In 1766 he took his son Thomas as a partner in the printing business. Their firm was WILLIAM & THOMAS BRADFORD.2 These circumstances were related to me by one of the family. 2 They printed the journals of congress in 1776.-M. PENNSYLVANIA. 243 Bradford was a warm advocate for, and a staunch defender of the rights of his country. He was among the first in the city to oppose the British stamp act, in 1765; and he was equally hostile to the succeeding offensive measures of the British ministry. He literally complied with a resolve of the early revolutionists, " to risk life and fortune for the preservation of the liberty of his country by taking arms in an early stage of the revolutionary war; and, although he had reached the age at which the law exempts men from military service, he encountered the fatigues of a winter campaign, and did duty as a major of militia in the memorable battle of Trenton. tie shared the honors of the day at Princeton, and returned colonel of the regiment of which he went out major. Ile was at Fort Mifflin when it was attacked by the Hessians; and in several other engagements.' A few days before the British troops took possession of Philadelphia, Bradford was entrusted by Governor Wharton with the command of the city, and the superintendence of removing the stores. Having performed this duty, he left the city as the enemy was entering it, and repaired to Fort Mifflin, where he remained until that fortress was evacuated. From that time Bradford remained at Trenton until the British army left Philadelphia, when he returned to the city, and reopened his printing house and coffee room; but the customs and manners of the citizens were changed, and he perceived that business had found new channels. He returned from the hazards of public service with a broken constitution and a shattered He was afterwards appointed deputy commissary general. On September 11, 1777, congress resolved: " That Major General Armstrong be directed, forthwith to cause all the printing presses and types in this city and Germantown, to be removed to secure places in the country, cxcepting Mr. Bradford's press in this city, with English types." But it does not appear that this resolve was carried into effect. 244 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. fortune. He soon lost his affectionate wife. Age advanced upon him with hasty steps, and a paralytic stroke warned him of his approaching dissolution. After a few more feeble attacks, he calmly yielded to the king of terrors. After peace was established, he had consoled himself under his misfortunes; and, in his most solitary hours, reflected with pleasure, that he had done all in his power to secure for his country a name among independent nations; and he frequently said to his children, " though I bequeath you no estate, I leave you in the enjoyment of liberty." He was a very respectable printer. He died September 25, 1791, aged 72. His body was interred in the Presbyterian graveyard, in Arch street; and his obsequies were attended by a large number of citizens, and particularly by those who were the early and steady friends of the revolution. Bradford left three sons, and three daughters. His eldest son, Thomas, has been mentioned as the partner of his father. The second son, William, studied law, became attorney general of the United States, and died August 25, 1793; Schuyler, the third son, died in the East Indies. CORNELIA BRADFORD was the second wife, and eventually the widow of Andrew Bradford. She succeeded her husband in the business of printing and bookselling in 1742. About four months after his death, she took Warner as a partner in the concerns of the printing house. The firm was ISAIAH WARNER & CORNELIA BRADFORD. This partnership lasted only till October, 1744, when the widow resumed the press, and continued printing until 1746, at which time, or soon after, she retired from business. She died in 1755. Her estate was settled by George Smith and Cornelia his wife, who, on the 11th of September of that year, published an advertisement for that purpose in The Pennsylvania,Journal. PENNSYLVANIA. 245 ISAIAH WARNER was born in Philadelphia, and served his apprenticeship either with Bradford or Franklin. In 1742, he opened, in Chestnut street, the fourth printing house in that city; and published Jacob Taylor's Almanack, and several small works, which appear to be well executed. Soon after the death of Andrew Bradford, Warner entered into partnership with his widow. This partnership ended in the autumn of 1744. I have seen none of his printing after that time, and cannot find any further account of him. At the close of this year, three newspapers were printed in Philadelphia, viz.: The Mercury, the Gazette, and the Journal. GEORGE BRINTAL. I am not sure that Brintal was a printer. All that I can gather respecting him, is, that when Warner's partnership with Cornelia Bradford ceased, Brintal managed the concerns of her printing house; and some time after had an interest in the publication of the American Mercury. I have not found his name in the imprint to that paper, of which I have files to 1746. JOSEPH CRELLIUS. In 1743, he lived in Market street, but the same year removed to Arch street. le was a German, and printed a newspaper weekly in his native language. He kept an evening school, and taught the English and German languages grammatically. His was the first German newspaper published in Philadelphia. I cannot learn how long it existed; but it was certainly continued several years. GODHART ARMBRUSTER. He was from Manheim, Germany, where he served his apprenticeship to the printing business. He came to Philadelphia in the year 1743, and soon after began printing in the German language. In 1746, he advertised several small books from his press, to 246 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. be sold by him " at the German printing house in Race street." About this time he began the publication of a newspaper in German. His brother, Anthony Armbruster, was for some time connected with him; but the business appears to have been conducted in the name of Godhart till 1752, when it was carried on by Anthony. A few years after Godhart returned to Europe, where he died. DAVID HALL has been mentioned as the partner of Franklin. He was born in Scotland; and brought up a printer in Edinburgh. From that place he went to London, and worked in a printing house in which Strahan, afterward a famous law printer to the king, was at that time a journeyman. After I-all came to this country he was eighteen years in partnership with Franklin; and, in May, 1766, when that connection was dissolved, he formed another with William Sellers, under the firm of IHALL & SELLERS. Their business was lucrative; they printed for government, and continued the Pennsylvania Gazette. Besides printing, Hall, before, during, and after his partnership with Franklin, conducted a book and stationery store on a large scale, on his own account. H-ad he not been connected with Franklin he might have been a formidable rival to him in the business of printing and bookselling. Hall & Sellers were the printers of the paper money issued by congress during the revolutionary war. I-e died December 24, 1772, aged fifty eight years. Iall was well acquainted with the art of printing; and was an industrious workman, of first rate abilities; a prudent and impartial conductor of the Gazette; and a benevolent and worthy man. JAMES CHATTIN printed in Philadelphia as early as 1752. His printing house was " in Church-Alley, next door to PENNSYLVANIA. 247 the Pipe." He was employed chiefly on pamphlets; and was, I believe, a quaker. In 1755 he advertised his publications at reduced prices, for sale " at the Newest Printing-Office in Market Street, South Side of the Jersey Market." In 1771 he informed the public that he had long been out of employment; and that he proposed to do business punctually, and with secresy, as a conveyancer and bookkeeper, and had taken an office for that purpose in Second street. After being several years a master printer, he was reduced to the condition of a journeyman. ANTHONY ARMBRUSTER was born in Manheim, in Germany and was the brother of Gotthart, alias Godhart, Armbruster, who has been mentioned as a printer of books etc., in the German language, in Philadelphia. Anthony left Germany and came to Philadelphia with his brother, or arrived soon after him, about 1743. Whether he served a part, or the whole of his apprenticeship in Germany, is not known, but he was employed in the printing house of his brother many years after his arrival. Although his name did not at any time appear in copartnership with his brother, they were thought to be connected together in business from 1748 to 1753. A society was formed in London for the benevolent purpose of " promoting religious knowledge among the German emigrants in Pennsylvania." I cannot ascertain the exact time when this society was instituted, but it was, probably, as early as 1740. A press for printing religious tracts, school books, etc., in the German language, was, by this society, established in Philadelphia. From the funds of this society it is supposed Joseph Crellius received some aid in printing a newspaper and some small school books in the German language, in Philadelphia, as early as 1743. Sower of Germantown, about this time, was assisted in 248 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. carrying through his press an edition of the German translation of the Bible. Crellius, in his publication of a German newspaper, was followed by Godhart Armbruster, and he was succeeded by his brother Anthony, all of whom, it is probable, were printers to the society, and made use of their press. The fact is substantiated as relates to Anthony Armbruster.' In 1753 the business was conducted by him, and until 1756, in Third street. He there printed in German, The HIistory of the First Martyrs, 326 pages, 12mo. Also The True Christian's Monument, with copper plates. Anthony understood copper-plate as well as letter-press printing. The latter he could perform, as was then fashionable, with two colors, black and red. In this way he printed, for several years, his German Almanac. Sower of Germantown, at that time, printed his Almanac in like manner, but both discontinued the practice about 1758. Anthony Armbruster, in 1754, entered into a copartnership with Benjamin Franklin, which continued till 1758.2 Part of the time Franklin was in England. In Anthony's books is kept, from 1754 to 1758, an account current with Benjamin Franklin, which relates to the German office. Before, and for the first two or three years of the partnership between Armbruster and Franklin, they were on very intimate terms. Armbruster named one of his children Benjamin Franklin, and on this occasion Franklin stood its godfather. Armbrusterfailed in business whileFranklin was in England, and a general settlement of his printing See farther on, an account of German newspapers published in Philadelphia. 2 This appeared from the account books of Armbruster, in the possession of one of his sons who resided in Philadelphia. In these books Armbruster charges Franklin for translating the Almanac into German, ~200 each year; 4 years, ~800. The almanacs were charged at 5s. per dozen; demy paper is charged at 12s. per ream; calf skins, ls. per pair. PENNSYLVANIA. 249 concern did not take place until after Franklin's return, in 1762. They then differed, and it seems were no longer friends. Armbruster soon after, to ridicule Franklin, published a caricature print, in which, within a group, Franklin was conspicuously represented in a very ludicrous situation. Anthony Armbruster's printing materials, in 1760, passed into the hands of Lewis Weiss and Peter Miller, neither of whom were printers. They were conveyancers, and both Germans. They continued the German paper, and Anthony was their printer during the short time they had the press. In 1762 Anthony again obtained the press and types which had been used by Weiss and Miller, or otherwise procured a printing apparatus, for in July, that year, he opened a printing house " at the upper end of Moravian Alley." There he printed German school books, and some small articles in English. Nicholas Iasselbaugh, it is said, was for a short time the silent partner of Anthony. Whether Anthony continued the publication of the German newspaper in 1763, I cannot learn, but he published one in 1764, when the press was removed to Arch street. Miller at the same time advertised that "he has now set up a new printing office in Moravian Alley, near the Brethren's church." During the time he was in business, Anthony made several removals, and at one time he resided in Race street. Armbruster again failed in business, and could not recover his standing as a master printer. Again his press and types went into other hands. He now became a journeyman, and was employed for several years by printers in the city; after which he was a pressman to Isaac Collins, in Trenton, New Jersey. After remaining some considerable time with Collins, he returned to Philadelphia, and from thence went to Germantown, where he was again employed as a journeyman. He was three times married. His first wife was a good worker at press, and often assisted her husband in that employment. 21 250 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. Anthony was naturally very superstitious, and after he became a journeyman, he was, at times, under a species of insanity. Many accounts are given of his extraordinary conduct when he was afflicted with mental derangement. Like many others, he believed that Blanchard and other pirates had, in their time, hid money and other treasures along the sea coast of the northern part of this continent, and on the shores of the Delaware and other rivers. With a number of associates he spent much time in fruitless searches after that which they could not find. He imagined that he could, by a special charm, raise or lay the devil; notwithstanding which he was often in great fear and dread of a visit from his Satanic majesty. He believed in witchcraft, and was in fear of attacks from witches. Like Baron Swedenborg he apprehended that he had intercourse with invisible spirits. Many stories are related of him as evidence of his mental delusion. HIe died at Germantown, July, 1796, at the age of seventynine years, and was buried in the Dutch church burying ground, in Fifth street, Philadelphia. He left several children. WEIss & MILLER. Lewis Weiss and Peter Miller were Germans. They were both conveyancers, and unacquainted with printing. They appear to have been friends to Anthony Armbruster, and in 1760, when he failed in business, took his press and types, and employed him to conduct the concerns of the printing house. The German Gazette was continued, and the printing of that and other works, done in their names, for about two years, when this connection seems to have dissolved, and Armbruster again began printing on his own account. Whilst this partnership continued, they published the German Almaack that had for many preceding years been printed by Armbruster. The imprint to that for 1762 is, PENNSYLVANIA. 251 in English, thus: "' Printed and to be sold at the High Dutch Printing-House, in Race street, and also sold by Peter Miller, and by distant merchants." At the end of this Almanac is an advertisement of "Peter Miller, in Second street, at the sign of the hand and pen, where he writes deeds, &c., agreeably to the latest forms." In 1762 "Lewis Weiss and Peter Miller" advertise "just published and to be sold by them in Philadelphia, the charters and acts," etc. The same year William Bradford, David Hiand, and Lewis Weiss, advertised to take in subscriptions, at their several places of abode, for an engraved plan of the city and liberties of Philadelphia. In 1764, Armbruster advertises his intention of printing " a new edition of Backmeyer's English and Dutch Grammar," for which subscriptions were received by himself, and several others whose names are mentioned. Among them is that of Peter Miller, in Second street. This Peter Miller was called a man of wit. He was for many years employed by the city proprietors as a surveyor. He died of the dropsy, in 1794, and was buried in the Quaker's burying ground, between Third and Fourth streets. Weiss & Miller, August 12, 1762, advertise" Charters and Acts of Assembly from the first settlement of the province, and collection of Laws that have been in force, etc., in 2 volumes, to be had either in folio or...... price 40s. bound. Published by Lewis Weiss and Peter Miller." ANDREW STEUART was born in Belfast, Ireland, and served his apprenticeship with James Macgee, in that city. He set up a press " in Lsetitia-Court," Philadelphia, in 1758. His business was confined to pamphlets, ballads, and small jobs. He afterwards lived at the Bible-in-Heart in Second street, between Market and Arch streets. 252 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. Steuart was not over nice as it respected the publications of others. In 1762, he reprinted, immediately after its first appearance from the press, Science, a Poem, by Francis Hopkinson, Esq. This poem was published in quarto, price Is. 6d. by Dunlap, Hall, and others. Steuart's edition was in 12mo. and he advertised it for sale " at three pence single, one shilling per dozen, or six shillings a hundred," with this remark, that as his " object was to promote the circulation of this excellent piece, he hoped that neither the author or any one else would imagine that he intended to ---- " Rob him of his gain," Or, that his design was " To reap the labour'd harvest of his brain." About the year 1764, Steuart went to Wilmington, North Carolina, with a press, and part of his types; and he left the other part, and his book shop, in the care of Thomas Macgee and his apprentice Joseph Crukshank. HIe never returned. The business was continued in Philadelphia, in his name, until he died. This event took place in 1769, at Cape Fear. He owned a lot of land in Spruce street, and had accumulated other property. [See North Carolina.] WILLIAM DUNLAP was a native of the north of Ireland. He servedhis apprenticeship in Philadelphia, with William Bradford. In 1754, he began printing at Lancaster; but removed from thence to Philadelphia in 1757, and married a relation of Mrs. Franklin, wife of Benjamin Franklin, in consequence of which connection Franklin appointed him postmaster. He opened a printing house and bookstore in Market street, and did considerable business as a printer, bookseller and stationer, till 1765. His printing was correctly and PENNSYLVANIA. 253 handsomely executed. He also engaged in the study of divinity. In the year 1766, he sold off the principal part of his stock in trade at auction, resigned the management of his printing house to his nephew John Dunlap, as a partner, and went to England. He obtained ordination in the church of England, and returned to America in 1767; and in 1768 became the rector of the parish of Stratton, in King and Queen's county, Virginia. He printed Johna Jerman's Almanack in 1757, and began the publication of Father Abraham's Almanack, which he continued annually. When he settled in Virginia, he resigned his business and his printing materials to his nephew for an ample consideration, to be paid by installments. HENRY MILLER. A friend of his, well acquainted with his history, has informed me his name was John Henry Miller; but that he styled himself in the imprint to the books he published in Philadelphia, Henry Miller only. He was born in the principality of Waldeck on the Upper Rhine, March 12, 1702, where his parents then resided. In 1715, they returned to their native place, a town near Zurich, in Switzerland, and took with them their son whom they apprenticed to a printer in Basle. After his apprenticeship he was at first employed in a printing house at Zurich, but soon set up a press and published a newspaper. Quitting business at Zurich, he traveled to Leipsic and Altona; from thence to London; from London to Amsterdam; then through France; and again to Germany and Holland. In 1741 he came to America, and was for sometime in Franklin's printing house in Philadelphia. In 1742 he returned to Europe; married there in 1743, and in 1744 opened a printing house in Marienburg, Germany, and there published a newspaper. His residence at Marienburg was not of long continuance; as he again set out on his travels, visited England a second, and Holland a third time, and 254 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. returned to Germany. In 1751 he came again to America, and was concerned in a German printing house in Philadelphia or Lancaster; but soon after was employed by William Bradford. In 1754 he once more embarked for Europe, where he remained until 1760, when he returned to Philadelphia with new printing materials and opened a printing house in Second street. In 1762 he began the publication of a newspaper in the German language, which he continued some years after the revolutionary war ended. He published annually a German almanac. He printed school and some other books in the German, and a few in the English language; and dealt considerably as a bookseller. In 1771, his printing house was "in Race Street, opposite Moravian Alley." In 1776, he completed printing in six volumes, folio, The Votes, etc., of the General assembly of Pennsylvania, passed in many of the preceding years. Miller was a good scholar and an excellent printer. IHe corresponded with some literary characters in Germany and Holland. In his religion he was a Moravian, and in politics a whig. He was a warm advocate of American liberty. He removed from Philadelphia at the time the royal army took possession of the city in 1777. He left his printing materials in his house.. These were used by the British in printing proclamations, etc. They carried off part of them when they left Philadelphia. After they evacuated the city, Miller returned to it, and resumed the publication of his newspaper, etc. On the 26th of May, 1779, he discontinued his public journal, and at that time published a farewell address to his readers. In that address he observed, that it was nearly fifty years since he first published a newspaper in Switzerland; that he had been obliged to continue business till that time of life; that he was then approaching the age of PENNSYLVANIA. 255 fourscore; but, that a man, when he arrives to his sixtieth year, should commence his sabbath, or day of rest from the cares and troubles of this life. In 1780, he resigned business altogether; sold his printing materials, and retired to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. He died there March 31, 1782, aged eighty years. His wife died some years before, at the same place. She was a well-bred woman; spoke the French language fluently, and was an excellent painter in water colors. In this employment she was for some time engaged as a preceptress in Bethlehem. Miller was noted as a pedestrian, and frequently went to Bethlehem, fifty-three miles from Philadelphia, and returned on foot. Having no family, he bequeathed, it is said, a part of his property to Melchior Steiner, who had been his apprentice. JAMES ADAMS began printing in Philadelphia about the year 1760; and, in 1761, he removed to Wilmington, Delaware. [See Delaware.] THOMAS BRADFORD was the eldest son of William Bradford, the second printer of that name in Philadelphia, and was born on the 4th of May, 1745. Thomas's mother was daughter of Thomas Budd, who sided with George Keith, etc., in their opposition to Lieutenant Governor Lloyd and his party, in the noted quarrel among the quakers in 1692. Budd, at this time, was arrested and imprisoned with the first William Bradford for writing and publishing against the prevailing party of their quaker brethren. Thomas was named after his father-in-law. I-e was for several years in the college at Philadelphia; butin 1762, his father took him from that seminary, and placed him in his printing house; and in 1766, received him as a partner in business, as has been before related. Their printing house was then at the corner of Front and Market streets. The 256 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. father died in 1791; the son continued the business, and published a daily paper in Philadelphia, till 1814. Thomas Bradford was the great grandson of William Bradford, who first printed in Pennsylvania, and who was one of the first settlers of the colony. WILLIAM SELLERS, the partner of David Hall, was from England, and served his apprenticeship in London. I-e began business about 1764, and kept a book and stationery store "in Arch Street, between Second and Third Street." On the death of David Hall, his sons, William and David, became the partners of Sellers. The firm of HALL & SELLERS was continued, and printing executed, as usual, at the old stand in Market street.l Sellers was a correct and experienced printer, a good citizen, well known, and as well respected. He died February, 1804, aged seventy-nine years. WILLIAM GODDARD has already been mentioned as a printer at Providence. He opened a printing house in Philadelphia, November, 1766. There he entered into partnership with two men of eminence in their line, Joseph Galloway, by profession a lawyer, speaker of the house of assembly, and afterwards a delegate to congress, and Thomas Wharton the elder, a merchant of the sect of quakers; both men of large property and great influence. They were to supply a capital to carry on business extensively, and each of them to own a quarter part of the printing materials, and to draw a proportional part of the profits. Goddard was to pay for and to own half of the materials, to manage the concerns of the printing house in his own name, and to draw one half of the proceeds of "The Newest Printing Office" on the board over the door, remained until 1814. It was placed there by Franklin. PENNSYLVANIA. 257 trade. The last clause in the contract between the parties, was, from the political character of Galloway and Wharton, thought to be singular; it was as follows, viz.: In case Benjamin Franklin, Esq., [then in England] on his return to Philadelphia, should incline to become a partner in the business, he shall be admitted as such; and in that case, the shares, parts and proportions of the expense, charges and profits aforesaid, shall be as follows, viz., two ninths thereof shall belong to Joseph Galloway, two ninths thereof to Thomas Wharton, two ninths to Benjamin Franklin, and three ninths thereof to William Goddard." Galloway and Wharton were strongly attached to the measures of the British ministry, but cautious of expressing their opinions. The firm printed for the assembly of Pennsylvania, and published a newspaper, The Pennsylvania Chronicle, which for some time bore the appearance of impartiality; but at length Mr. Dickinson, author of the celebrated Farmer's Letters, and several other reputable characters on the side of the country, were violently attacked and abused. Galloway and others, behind the curtain, wrote, and Goddard,' who was tied to the pursestrings of his partners, was compelled to publish as they directed. Difficulties soon arose, from various causes, between the members of this partnership. Goddard was dissatisfied with the power which Galloway and Wharton arrogated over him, and they were displeased with his management of the paper, and other concerns of the firm. He stated, in a pamphlet entitled The Partnership, which he published after their separation, that they threatened to ruin him, if he did not follow their directions, and accede to their proposal to admit another partner into the firm, viz., Benjamin Towne, then a journeyman printer. This intended partner Goddard knew See his account of the partnership. 25 258 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. was to be a spy upon his actions, and a check upon his management of the concerns of the company; but he was obliged to submit and receive him in November, 1769. The firm of the company was now GODDARD & TOWNE. In July, 1770, their disagreement grew to a rupture; and after a connection of about nine months with Towne, they separated. A state of hostility ensued, and newspapers, handbills, and pamphlets were filled with the ebullitions of their animosity. Goddard endeavored to prevent the reelection of Galloway to a seat in the house of assembly, but failed; for although Galloway did not succeed in the county of Philadelphia, he obtained his election in the county of Bucks. His real political character was not then known, and his influence continued to be greater than Goddard could counteract, although he fought like a veteran. Goddard was unable to answer the demands of the creditors of the company, who were urged to press him for payment; and he became embarrassed, but was enabled to leave the city honorably in 1773, and go to Baltimore, where he hoped to obtain business more lucrative, and a residence more tranquil. He succeeded in gaining many valuable friends in Maryland and the states adjacent. Goddard's partners, Galloway, Wharton, and Towne, after the establishment of independence, were all proscribed as enemies to the country, by the legislature of Pennsylvania.1 [See Providence-Baltimore-Newspapers.] JOHN DUNLAP was born in the north of Ireland. He was the nephew of William Dunlap, by whom he was taught Galloway fled to England at the commencement of the revolution, and his large estate was confiscated. Wharton, who had more prudence, remained in the country. tHe had many worthy connections, and, politics aside, was not destitute of those amiable qualities which create respect. His estate was not confiscated. PENNSYLVANIA. 259 printing in Philadelphia. When William went to England to take orders for the church, in 1766, he left the management of his printing house to his nephew, who, in his own name, conducted the business for their joint benefit. Book printing had been their object; but, after the uncle was settled in the church at Virginia, he resigned the printing house and its concerns to John, who purchased the printing materials and printed on his own account, and established a newspaper. His printing house was " on the south side of the Jersey Market." In 1778 congress appointed Dunlap to print their journals, and for five years he continued to be their printer. He retired from business in 1795, with a handsome fortune and a good reputation. He received from government, as payment for printing, several lots of land in Philadelphia. This land when it came into his possession was valued at only a few hundred pounds, Pennsylvania currency; but the great increase of buildings soon made it more valuable, and in 1809 he sold one square, extending from Market to Chestnut street, and from Eleventh to Twelfth street, for more than one hundred thousand dollars. Dunlap executed his printing in a neat and correct manner. It is said that, whilst he conducted a newspaper, he never inserted a paragraph which wounded the feelings of an individual! After the war commenced, in 1775, he was appointed a captain of a company of horse in the city militia. In 1808 he resigned his commission. Dunlap died, in Philadelphia, November 27, 1812, of apoplexy, aged sixty five. His funeral was attended by the field, staff and commissioned officers of the first brigade, first division, of Pennsylvania militia, the troop of horse of which he was formerly commander, and by a large concourse of other citizens. 260 HIISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. BENJAMIN MECOM has been mentioned as a printer in Antigua, Boston, and New Haven. He removed from Connecticut, and opened a printing house in Philadelphia, in 1768. He attempted a small periodical work, which will be mentioned with the newspapers and magazines published in that city. Afterwards he was in the printing house of Goddard in Philadelphia, and, in 1774, he left the city, and was employed by Isaac Collins, at Burlington, New Jersey, where he closed his typographical career. He lived some time in Salem county, and finished his earthly pilgrimage soon after the beginning of the revolutionary war. Mecom, though singular in his manners, and deficient in the art of managing business to profit, was a man of ingenuity and integrity; and as a printer he was correct and skillful. He was the first person in this country, as far as I know, who attempted stereotype printing. He actually cast plates for several pages of the New Testament and made considerable progress towards the completion of them, but he never effected it. ROBERT BELL was born in Glasgow, Scotland, where he was brought up to book-binding. He then went to Berwickupon-Tweed, and worked sometime at that business; after which he removed to Dublin and commenced bookseller, and had an extensive trade; but in a few years failed. IHe married in Dublin, and was for some time the partner of George Alexander Stevens, of facetious memory. He came to America about the year 1767, and established himself first as a book auctioneer, and afterwards as a bookseller, in Philadelphia. In 1772, he published Blackstone's Commentaries in four volumes octavo; in which undertaking he was supported by a liberal subscription. He had before published Robertson's Charles Fifth. These two works may be considered as the first fruits of a spirit of enterprise in book printing in that city. Soon after the PENNSYLVANIA. 261 publication of Blackstone's Commentaries, he opened a printing house in Third street, where the Union library had lately been kept, and printed several other works of less magnitude. Bell was the publisher of the celebrated pamphlet entitled Common Sense, written by Thomas Paine. He employed Paine some time afterwards as a clerk, etc. When Common Sense was committed to the press, there was a scarcity of paper; and all the broken quires of paper in Bell's warehouse were collected and culled for the first impression. The work had a very rapid sale, went through several editions in Philadelphia, and was republished in all parts of United America. After the war took place, Bell became celebrated as a book auctioneer; and as such was known from Virginia to New Hampshire. He disposed, in that way, of his "jewels and diamonds," in New York, Boston, Baltimore,,Norfolk, etc.' He was a thorough bookseller, punctual and fair in his dealings; and, as a companion, he was sensible, social and witty. He left Philadelphia in 1784, with an intention to visit Charleston, South Carolina, where he had sent a quantity of books to sell at auction; but on his way was taken sick at Richmond, Virginia, and died there September 23, 1784, aged nearly sixty years. JOSEPH CRUEKSHANK was born in Philadelphia, and served an apprenticeship with Andrew Steuart. He was one of the society of Friends, and printed books for them as well as for his own sales. Ie opened a printing house in 1769, and soon after a book and stationery store, in Third street, near Market street, in company with Isaac 1His advertisements for the sale of books by auction, were commonly headed with " Jewels and Diamonds to be sold or sacrificed, by Robert Bell, humble Provedore to the Sentimentalists." 262 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. Collins. Their firm was CRUKSHIANK & COLLINS. The partnership continued only one year, when it was dissolved, and Collins removed to Burlington. Crukshank took a good stand in Market street, and traded very considerably. In 1772, he printed for Bell Blackstone's Commentaries in four volumes octavo; also several other works of importance. Fair in his dealings, punctual in his payments, and amiable in his manners, he was greatly esteemed by his fellow citizens. WILLIAM EVITT, was born in Pennsylvania, and served an apprenticeship with Andrew Steuart. In 1770, he printed at the Bible-in-Heart, Strawberry-Alley," with the press and types which had been Steuart's, which he purchased. He issued proposals for publishing weekly, on Saturday evening, a newspaper, to be entitled The Pennsylvania Evening Post. This paper never made its appearance; but one of the same title was, afterwards, published by Benjamin Towne. I can find no other particulars of Evitt which will be creditable to the trade. I-e was, for a time, a journeyman; and, afterwards, became a soldier in the American army, and died in the service of his country. WILLIAM IALL & DAVID HALL Junior, were the sons of David Hall, and were taught printing by their father. After his death, in 1772, they became the partners of Sellers; and the firm of HALL & SELLERS was continued until the death of Sellers. The business was then for several years managed in the names of WILLIAM & DAVID HALL. It was, afterwards, transferred to WILLIAM HALL Junior. William Hall Senior, was for several successive years, a member of the Pennsylvania legislature. PENNSYLVANIA. 263 JAMES HUMPHREYS Junior, was the son of James Humphreys, a conveyancer, etc. He was born in Philadelphia, received an education at the college in that city, and was there placed under the care of an uncle, to study physic; but disliking the profession, he became an apprentice to Willianm Bradford, and was by him taught printing. Supplied with good printing materials, he began business " at the lower corner of Black-horse Alley, in Front Street," and in January, 1775, he published a newspaper. Humphreys printed several books before the commencement of the revolutionary war, and among them were Sterne's Works in five volumes, duodecimo, Wettenhall's Greek Grammar, corrected for the use of the college in Philadelphia; and afterwards, Strictures on Paine's Common Sense. Two editions of the last work, consisting of several thousand copies each, were sold in a few months. Humphreys having acted as clerk in the court of chancery, and, as a qualification, taken the oath of allegiance to the British king; he, on that account, refused to bear arms in favor of his country, and against the government of England; and was, in consequence, denounced as a tory. His paper, it has been said, was under the influence of the British government, and he was several times in the hands of the people. He had done no injury to the individuals who were dissatisfied with his political opinions, and from them he received no essential abuse. Among the whigs he had good friends, one of whom was Doctor Rittenhouse, a literary character well known in our country. Benjamin Towne, who began the publication Of The Evening Post, a rival paper, was not friendly to Humphreys, and published a number of pieces calculated to excite the popular resentment against him. November 16, 1776, Humphreys was attacked by a writer in Towne's paper under the signature of A Tory. Niot knowing what might be the consequence of these assaults, in those times of 26{ HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. commotion, Humphreys discontinued his paper, quitted business, and went into the country. At the very time Towne published these pieces, Humphreys had loaned him the paper on which The Evening Post was published, without any prospect of payment. Humphreys, thus driven from Philadelphia, remained in the country till the British army approached the city; and then returned and remained there while it was possessed by the British troops; with whom he again left the city, accompanied the army to New York, and there continued as a merchant until the establishment of peace. He then went to England, procured a supply of good printing materials, and after some time went to Nova Scotia, and opened a printing house in Shelburne, and published a newspaper called The Nova Scotia Packet. Not meeting with sufficient encouragement, the Packet was discontinued; he closed his printing and employed himself as a merchant at Shelburne; in this situation he remained until 1797, when, having suffered loss by French privateers, he again returned to Philadelphia, and there opened a printing house. From that time till he died he was employed in book printing, and a number of valuable works have come from his press. IHe was a good and accurate printer, and a worthy citizen. He died February 10, 1810, aged sixty-three years. His sons, who succeeded to their father's business, relinquished it in 1812, and the stock was disposed of at auction. Several of his daughters were good compositors, and often worked at the case. BENJAMIN TOWNE was born in Lincolnshire, and brought up to printing in England. He was first a journeyman to Goddard, and then his partner. He purchased the right which Galloway and Wharton had in the printing house managed by Goddard. This partnership did not continue PENNSYLYANIA. 265 a year, but ended in 1770. In 1774, Towne opened a printing house on his own account. James Eumphreys had proposed to publish a newspaper, professedly impartial. Towne immediately issued a proposal for another paper. It was supposed that Humphreys's paper would be in the British interest. Towne took opposite ground. Both papers appeared before the public in January, 1775. Suspicion was soon excited against Humphreys's Ledger, and was kept awake by the publications in Towne's cEvening Post. In less than two years Towne succeeded in obliging Humphreys to discontinue the Ledger; and, through fear of popular resentment, to leave the city. Towne remained a whig until the British army took possession of Philadelphia; he then became a royalist. At that time HIumphreys returned and renewed the Ledger. Towne continued The _Evening Post. There was this difference between Humphreys and Towne: the first possessed a candid mind, and was apparently guided by moral principle; Towne appeared to be artful, and governed by self interest. When the British troops evacuated the city, Humphreys went with them. Towne, although proscribed by the state government for joining the royal standard, remained; and again adopted the language of a whig; but his conduct gained no friends among the loyalists, and it lost him the confidence of those who had been his patrons. But he was permitted, without molestation, to pursue his business, and I believe he continued his paper, which was handsomely executed, till 1782. When congress first met in Philadelphia, after the British army evacuated it, Doctor Witherspoon, who was then a member, went into the bookstore of Aitken, where he met with Towne. After some conversation, Towne requested the doctor to furnish him with intelligence and 26 266 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. essays for the Evening Post, as he formerly had done. The doctor refused, and told him that it would be very improper for a member of congress to hold intercourse with a man who was proscribed by law; but he added, "if you make your peace with the country first, I will then assist you." "How shall I do it, doctor?" "Why," answered the doctor, "write and publish a piece acknowledging your fault, professing repentance, and asking forgiveness." " But what shall I say?" The doctor gave some hints; upon which Towne said, " Doctor, you write expeditiously and to the purpose; I will thank you to write something for me, and I will publish it." "Will you? then I will do it," replied the doctor. The doctor applied to Aitken for paper and ink, and immediately wrote, " The humble Confession, Recantation and Apology of Benjamin Towne," etc. It was an excellent production, and humorously ironical; but Towne refused to comply with his promise to publish, because the doctor would not allow him to omit some sentences in it. It, however, made its appearance, some time after, in several newspapers; and, passing for the genuine work of Towne, raised his reputation as a writer. When Doctor Witherspoou's works were published, this recantation was among them. Appendix II. Towne was not deficient in intellect and was a decent workman. He was a bon vivant, but he did not possess the art of accumulating and retaining wealth. He died July 8, 1793. ROBERT AITKEN was born at Dalkeith, in Scotland, and served a regular apprenticeship with a bookbinder in Edinburgh. IHe came to Philadelphia, as a bookseller, in 1769; returned to Scotland the same year, came back to Philadelphia in 1771, and followed the business of bookselling and binding, both before and after the revolution. In 1774, he became a printer. In 1775, he published a PENNSYLVANIA. 267 magazine, and in 1782, an edition of the Bible, small duodecimo, on a brevier'type. This edition, said to be the first printed in America, which is, however, a mistake,1 was recommended to the public by congress, as a pious and laudable undertaking in the existing state of the country. A copy of this resolve of congress is printed at the end of the Old Testament. Imprint - " Philadelphia, Printed and sold by R. Aitken, at Pope's head, above the Coffee House in Market street, MDccLXxxI." After the revolutionary war he printed several valuable works. Among them were the first three volumes, in quarto, of The Transactions of the American Philosophical S)ciety. I-e had a son bred to printing, who was some time his partner. Aitken died in July, 1802, aged sixty-eight years. For thirty-one years he had been a citizen of Philadelphia. He was industrious and frugal. His printing was neat and correct. In his dealings he was punctual, and he acquired the respect of those who became acquainted with him. Jane Aitken, his daughter, continued his business. She had in 1810 a printing house in Philadelphia; and printed Thompson's Translation of the Bible, in four volumes, octavo. The printing was well and handsomely executed. She obtained much reputation by the productions which issued from her press. STORY & HUMPHREYS. Enoch Story, the elder, and Daniel Humphreys, were copartners. They began printing " in Norris's alley, near Front Street," in 1775. The well known Joseph Galloway, once the partner of Goddard, in order to promote his political views, is said to have procured the materials of a printing house for Story, who took HIumphreys, not then engaged in business, into partnership. Their chief employment was a newspaper, which 1 See Printers in Cambridge, Boston and Germantown. 268 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. they had published but a few months when their printing house and materials were burnt, and their partnership was in consequence dissolved. Story was bred a merchant, but was unfortunate in mercantile affairs, and unsuccessful in other business. Daniel Humphreys, son of Joshua Humphreys, served his time with William Bradford, and was a fellow apprentice with James Humphreys; but they were not related. Daniel, some time after his misfortune by fire, opened another printing house; and from June, 1783, to July, 1784, was a partner of Ebenezer Oswald in the publication of the Independent Gazetteer; and afterwards began another newspaper, which he published several years. The typography of this paper was neatly executed. He had a printing house in Philadelphia till 1811; was noted as a good proof reader, and in this business was often employed. He died June 12, 1812. ENOCH STORY, the younger, was the kinsman of Enoch Story, who was the partner of Daniel Humphreys. He served his apprenticeship with William Hall, and began business at Baltimore. In 1775, and for some time after, he was a job printer in Strawberry alley, Philadelphia. He died in Baltimore. JOHN DOUGLAS MACDOUGALL, printed in Chestnut street, in Philadelphia, in 1775, and probably before that time. He was not, I believe, long or largely in trade. He was born in Ireland, and had, previously to engaging in business in this city, worked in the printing house of John Waterman, Providence, Rhode Island. He died in New York, August, 1787. SAMUEL DELLAP, printed several small works, which he sold at his shop "6 in Front street, between Market and PENNSYLVANIA. 269. Arch streets," in 1771, and after. About the year 1792, he sold books by auction in an outhouse belonging to the Black Horse Tavern, in Market street, north side, between Fourth and Fifth streets. In this place he died of the yellow fever in 1793, aged about fifty-three years. He went frequently to New York, where he advertised his publications, and collected old books; these he sold at auction in Philadelphia. MELCHIOR STEINER AND CHARLES CIST. Steiner was born in Switzerland. He was the son of the Rev. John Conrad Steiner, who came to Philadelphia, and was, for some time, pastor of the Dutch Presbyterian church in Race street. He served his apprenticeship with Ienry Miller, and succeeded him in business. Cist was born in St. Petersburgh, Russia, where he received a good education, and was brought up a druggist and apothecary, and afterwards studied physic. He came to America in 1769, and engaged with Henry Miller as a translator of English into German; by continuing in the employment of Miller several years he acquired a considerable knowledge of printing. These two entered into partnership under the firm of STEINER & CIST. They executed book and job work, in both the German and English languages, "in Second street, at the corner of Coat's alley." This copartnership was of short continuance. Not long after the commencement of the revolutionary war, they published a newspaper in the German language; but, for want of sufficient encouragement, it was discontinued in April, 1776. Theyleft Philadelphia when the British army approached it; and returned when it was evacuated in 1778. In 1779 they published a German newspaper. In 1781 they dissolved their copartnership. Steiner continued the paper three or four years, but by neglecting business, became poor. Cist pursued it prudently, and acquired considera 270 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. ble property. When the seat of government was removed to Washington, Cist carried his press there, remained with it several years, and built two or three houses in that city. Cist died near Bethlehem, December 1, 1805, and was buried in the Moravian churchyard, in that place. Steiner ceased to be a master printer, and became a clerk in a public office, in 1791. He died in Washington in the winter of 1807, aged about fifty years. In 1810 there were in the county and in the city of Philadelphia, fifty-one printing houses, one hundred and fifty-three printing presses, and seven paper mills.1 The first press established west of the Allegany, was in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, in 1786, by John Scull, under the patronage of Judge Brackenridge. GERMANTOWN. CHRISTOPHER SAUER, ALIAS SOWER. This eminent printer was born in the town of Lauterburg, in Germany, in the year 1694. The business he was bred to was that of a tailor. He came to America in 1724, and took up his residence in Germantown, where for some time his principal employment was making button molds, which he found to be profitable. He followed various other occupations for fourteen years after his arrival, but had no concern in printing. IHe left Germantown, and was, at one time, engaged as a farmer; at other times was concerned in casting stoves at a furnace near Reading, in Pennsylvania, and discovered great ingenuity in casting. After being several years absent from Germantown,-he returned to that place, and for some time lived with a noted German doctor by the name of Witt, who was commonly called a conjuror. From this man, Sower gained some medical knowledge. At length by accident he became a printer. 1 Mease's Picture of Philadelphia, published 1811. PENNSYLVANIA. 271 The Baptists, or Tunkers, in Germany, raised by subscription, a sum of money, in order to purchase religious books and disperse them among their poor friends in Pennsylvania, and to establish a press there to print for the same purpose. Accordingly a press and types, with a quantity of books, were sent out and intrusted to the management of a German Baptist by the name of Jacob Gaus. He was to have the use of, and the emolument arising from the press, on condition that he should distribute a certain number of copies of each of the religious books he should print, among the poor Germans. This person did not possess the ability necessary for the undertaking, and no other person who was thought to have sufficient ability for the purpose was found to take his place. The business was suspended and the press and types viewed as useless lumber. At length Sower appeared, and was so fortunate as to get the press, types, and the books into his possession, though not without much opposition. He was opposed by the friends of Gaus, and particularly by Alexander Mack, the first minister, and the spiritual father of all the Tunkers, or German Baptists, at that time in Pennsylvania. The transfer of the property being made to Sower, he immediately began business according to the benevolent intentions of those who were at the expense of the establishment. The German books sent over were distributed gratuitously among the poor. The press was set to work on religious tracts, and a proportion of them given away. Others were sold, and produced a profit to the printer. In a short time, Sower so managed the concern as to gain the 1 It is uncertain whether these were from the society formed in England for diffusing religious information among the German settlers, or from a similar society in Germany, but there can be no doubt that one or more presses were established in Pennsylvania by pious friends in Europe; and that not only the press at Germantown, but that at Ephrata, was supported for this purpose. 272 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. approbation even of his opposers. The ingenuity of Sower, his great attention to the establishment, with the aid of some good workmen whom he procured from Germany, soon placed the business on a respectable footing, and it became profitable to him. In 1738 he published a German Almanac. This was the first in that language printed in the country. It was continued annually by him and his successors, for forty years. In the year 1739 he published a small newspaper in German; and in 1743, he issued from his press, on a German long primer type, and in that language, an edition of the Bible, in 4to. This was the second Bible printed in British America. The first was the Indian translation, from the press in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as early as 1663. Sower's edition of the German Bible was nearly three years in the press. The price to subscribers was only fourteen shillings currency, bound; but it was to others twenty shillings. This was the largest work that had issued from any press in that colony, and it was not equalled for many years after. The edition consisted of a thousand copies.l Sower printed a number of minor works in German, and Juvenal in English. For those in English he employed a proof reader, as he never could acquire the correct orthography of the language. After he printed the Bible, he erected a mill for manufacturing paper, and was, for a short time, concerned in that business; and also in that of book binding. When particular sorts of his types were deficient, he contrived to cast new ones as they were wanted. In short, his ingenuity enabled him to complete the manufacture of any article which he undertook. It is said he was sufficiently adroit at sixteen different trades or avocations, by 1 For a bibliographical account of this edition of the German Bible, see O'Callaghan's List of Editions of the Holy Scriptures, pp. xii, 32. et seq.- M.A PENNSYLVANIA. 273 following either of which he could secure a maintenance. Among them were thfose of stove caster, farmer, clockmaker, tailor, distiller, farrier, apothecary, paper maker, tanner, tin plate worker, lampblack maker, printers' inkmaker, bookbinder and printer. To the last of these he was particularly attached; as an evidence of which, he desired on his death bed, that the printing business might always continue among his descendants; and that some one or other of them would acquire and practice the art. He was religious in the temper of his mind, and quiet in his deportment. Although inclining to Mennonism, he was called a Separatist; but in fact, did not join any particular sect. He married in Germany. His wife died December 24, 1752. He died September 25, 1758, aged sixty-four, and was buried in his own land, at the back of his dwelling house in Germantown. He had but one child, a son, who succeeded him in business. CHRISTOPHER SOWER JUNIOR, was born in Witgenstein, near Marburg in Germany, and was only three years of age when he arrived in Philadelphia with his father, by whom he was employed in various occupations until 1738, when his father commenced printing; he was then instructed in that art. He commenced business as a bookbinder some years before the death of his father, but at his decease he succeeded him in the printing house. This was in 1758, when he was thirty-seven years old. He continued the establishment on an enlarged scale, printed many valuable books, and published a weekly newspaper. In 1763, he finished a quarto edition of the Bible, in German, on a pica type; and completed another in 1776.' The types for 1 For a particular account of Bibles and Testaments printed in America, see O'Callaghan's List of American Bibles.-It. 27 274 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. that last mentioned, were cast at his own foundery. This foundery was the first of the kinfd in British America. The materials for it he received from Germany in 1772.1 In 1773 he built a paper mill on the Schuylkill, and manufactured both writing and printing paper. He had previously established a bindery. He made printing ink of the best quality, and excellent lampblack for this purpose. His presses were made under his own inspection, in his extensive establishment. Thus the various branches of business necessary to complete a printed book were executed by him, or by his own immediate workmen. Most of these branches he could perform himself, and at some of them he was a first-rate workman. He possessed in this respect the genius of his progenitor. The printing executed at his German press was both neat and correct. His ink was remarkably good. Besides the various branches of bookmaking, he dealt in drugs and medicines. Of these articles he imported and sold large quantities. He conducted his business with high reputation. His influence in the community, especially among the Germans, was very extensive. No medicines could be esteemed effectual, unless procured at Sower's apothecary shop; no almanac, unless published by him, could be correct in time and weather; and no newspaper promulgated truth but Christopher Sower's German Gazette. As an instance of his popularity among his neighbors, it is mentioned that at the time when there was a warm contention between the people of Pennsylvania and the proprietors, the quakers, who were desirous of obtaining some exclusive privileges, had an ascendency in the legislature, to which body they had petitioned. A new election was approaching. The petition of the quakers was unpopular with those who were not of that sect. 'See Type Founderies in America, vol. i, p. 28. PENNSYLVANIA. 275 Sower, in his German Gazette, zealously opposed the petition, and at the time of the election of new members, at the head of three hundred qualified voters, proceeded in regular order from Germantown to Philadelphia, and successfully supported the candidates opposed to the quakers. This happened about the year 1760, and appears to be tile only instance of his taking such an active part in political affairs. In 1777 he gave up the management of the printing house to two of his sons. He possessed by inheritance from his father, and from his own exertions, an independent estate, and was inclined to quit the fatigues of business and the further pursuit of wealth, and pass the remainder of his life in religious repose. He is represented as well balanced in his temper; in his disposition, pacific; in his habits, industrious and plodding; in conduct, exemplary; and in religion a saint, commanding respect, and the silent and sullen veneration even of the most profligate. " Such was the even tenor of his way." But " man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward." The days of his affliction approached. Often does the mariner, after a long and successful voyage, approach within view of his desired haven, when suddenly, by adverse gales, on an unseen rock, he suffers shipwreck. Sower now began to experiience such trying scenes as would prove his fortitude as a man, and test his virtue as a Christian. It does not appear that he actually declared himself, during the revolutionary struggle, either for or against the colonists. It rather seems that he was disposed " to submit to the powers that be for conscience sake." The Tunkers, or German Baptists, were generally rich. Men of property are at all times generally opposed to a revolution. It was supposed that Sower and his Christian brethren wished to remain neutral, and that they consented " rather to bear the ills they had, than to fly to those they knew 276 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. not of." His property was greatly injured by the war; particularly by the battle of Germantown. The war had commenced in favor of the British, and it was uncertain how the contest would end. His son Christopher had rendered himself obnoxious to the whigs, and had fled to the enemy. He and other friends of Sower had alarmed his fears, and strongly insisted on his going for safety to Philadelphia, then in possession of the British troops. Whatever might lead him to the measure, true it is that on the nineteenth of October, 1777, fifteen days after that battle he deserted his home, and went into the city. He remained there till May 23, 1777, [? 8], when he returned to Germantown. This was twenty-four days before the enemy evacuated Philadelphia. After his arrival he was arrested in his own house. This measure was justified by his having been with the British army. With an inflamed and exasperated populace this was sufficient proof of his being a traitor. They went to him and demanded his signature to the oath prescribed by congress. He replied that he would cheerfully swear allegiance to the state, but could not, consistently with his religious faith, engage to perform all which that oath required. He was therefore made a prisoner and taken to the American army and confined five days. He was afterwards released on parole, and allowed to reside in Mathatchen, twenty-one miles from Germantown. While in durance, before he reached the army, some ill-disposed persons deprived him of his remarkable and full grown beard, and otherwise maltreated him. Whilst a prisoner with the army he had to endure other indignities from the soldiers. He bore all, however, with Christian resignation. One circumstance, rather extraordinary, took place at this time, which has often been mentioned, and the fact attested, both by his friends, and those who were then PENNSYLVANIA. 277 his political enemies. He was denuded at the camp by the soldiers, then arrayed in tattered regimentals, and paraded. His pantaloons were seized by a soldier who put them on his own limbs. A short time after, this soldier was seized with agonizing pains in all parts of his body, and exclaimed: " I can neither live nor die! I am in torment. Take off the old man's trowsers, that I may die!" They were taken off, and the soldier presently expired. The cause that produced the pains and sudden death of the soldier is not stated. By some of the friends of Sower, who esteemed him a saint, this incident was thought to be a judgment of God for the cruelty with which he had been treated. He returned to Mathatchen on the twenty-third of June, 1778. While he remained there, the court for the confiscation of estates opened its session in the town of Lancaster, whither all those concerned were, by public advertisement, notified to appear during the month of June, and show cause, if any they had, why final proceedings as to their estates should not be taken. His case came on at this court the very day he arrived in Germantown. A newspaper was rarely seen in Germantown at that time, and not having seen the notification he knew nothing of the sitting of the court until it was too late for him to make his appearance. His estate was confiscated, and neither he nor his friends had faith enough to petition the court on the subject. This was a fatal blow to the fortunes of Sower. Had he appeared in court this stroke might have been arrested. As no overt act could be alleged against him, his property to the amount of 90,000 dollars, might have remained in his hands' It was now seized, and soon after sold at auction at a very low rate. Besides his house, lands, drugs, medicines, paper, and types, all his books, bound and in quires, were sold. Among the books in sheets was the greater part of his 278 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. edition of the German Bible, consisting of a thousand copies. These went off by the hammer for less than a quarter of the price of a like quantity of ordinary wrapping paper. The books were in the German language, with which the very few persons who attended the sale in order to make purchases were acquainted, and they placed but little value on the articles. His printing materials and book stock were purchased by a printer from the city, who did not know their value. Instead of having the book stock bound, he sold a part of it to be used as covers for cartridges, proper paper for that purpose being at that time not to be obtained. Thus what was, at first, intended for the salvation of men's souls, proved eventually the destruction of their bodies. Sower's property was seized on the twenty-seventh of July, 1778. When the officers came to his house for this purpose he was at breakfast. They began to take an inventory of his property, and demanded his keys. He delivered them with much composure, only observing that if they had a better right to them than himself, they must take them. The day following he received notice to quit the premises, and he took a final leave of his home and of his effects, and went to the house of his brother-in-law, Henry Sharpnach, in the same town. Here Sower resided two years, and employed himself in binding books. In addition to his misfortunes, having been in extensive trade, he had many debts due to him, which were now cancelled in continen-tal bills. These were a lawful tender, but had depreciated in value at the rate of ninety dollars in bills to one dollar in specie. But he was otherwise treated by some of his Christian brethren. He had considerable sums in their hands and they paid him the full value of the sums which they had borrowed. His type foundery, having been in the possession of Justin Fox, the master workman, and kept and used in PENNSYLVANIA. 279 buildings in the neighborhood occupied by him, was on this account supposed to be his property, and thus escaped confiscation.1 It was the opinion of many of Sower's friends, that when the war should end he would be indemnified for the loss he sustained. For this reason neither he nor his friends interfered in the sales of his confiscated property. A German bookbinder in Germantown, by the name of Siebert, and his son-in-law Michael Breemeyer, who shortly after established himself as a printer in that place, hearing that the Bible sheets were selling for the use already mentioned, went to Philadelphia and repurchased what remained, and also a part of the printing materials. They recommenced the printing business in Germantown. They reprinted such parts of the Bible as had been destroyed, and having completed the purchased copies, they bound and sold them. The greater part of Sower's types had been wantonly mixed and thrown together in heaps. Several thousand pounds weight were afterwards sold by the person who purchased -them at auction, to Justin Fox, Sower's type founder in Germantown. He had, cast and standing in his printing house, types for the whole of the German hymn book. After he completed his last issue of the quarto edition of the Bible, his foundery was engaged in casting types sufficient to keep the whole Bible standing. The battle of Germantown put a stop to this proceeding when the work was nearly complete. Sower removed from the house-of his brother-in-law in 1780 to Mathatchen. He kept house at this place, assisted by his daughters. He was fond of walking, and preferred that mode of 1 See the article, Type Founderies. 280 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. traveling to riding. It is said he usually progressed on foot four miles an hour. Within a fortnight before his death, he walked on a sabbath morning, twelve miles from his home, up to Shippack, to supply the pulpit for his Christian brethren in that place. After the religious services for the day were over, he returned home on foot. On this day, it has been said, he appeared to have a presentiment of his approaching dissolution, as he observed to the congregation, in the course of his preaching, that this was the last time he could perform that service for them. At the request of a worthy member of congress, the Hon. Frederick Augustus Muhlenburgh, afterwards speaker, he drew up a statement of his sufferings. This was completed eight days before his death, when he observed that he had "now finished nearly all he had to do." The minister who preached his funeral sermon mentioned that to him Sower had foretold his death, and that two of his sons would speedily follow him.' His working hours at Mathatchen were employed in binding books; and this business, it appears, was to be the means by which his pilgrimage on earth was to be ended. He had undertaken to bind some of the same quarto Bibles which he had last printed, and which had been repurchased. He began the process of binding these books by the laborious employment of beating them, as is usual, and imprudently completed as much of this work in half a day as is usually done in a whole day. The weather was warm, and by this exertion he became overheated. He went out to a spring where he drank so freely of water as to produce a fit of apoplexy, which soon after terminated his mortal existence. He was a rigid and exemplary member of the society called Tunkers, a sect of the German Baptists, and em'This prediction was fulfilled. PENNSYLVANIA. 281 braced their creed, not by education, but by conversion, and was ordained a minister in their religious assemblies, June 10, 1753. His wife and some of his children were church members of the same society. He, with a number of his friends of this sect, had at one time agreed not to marry, but to devote their time as much as possible to religious duties. Sower, however, was the first to annul this agreement, and married in 1751. His wife died in 1777. The rapid emigration of Germans to Pennsylvania may in considerable degree be attributed to Sower and his father. The letters which they wrote and sent to the land of their nativity, gave such a favorable representation of the climate of the province, where land was so easily to be obtained, as induced great numbers of their countrymen, with their families, to emigrate, and settle there. Sower was a very conscientious printer. The Associate Presbytery of Pennsylvania (or, Seceders, as sometimes called) ordered, about the year 1765, that some of their actions, or something of the kind, should be published, and deputized John Fulton, a papermaker of Oxford township, near Lancaster, to engage the printing. Fulton called on Sower to have it done. " My friend," replied Sower," I do not print everything. If irreligious, or otherwise - dangerous, I always refuse; but if you will leave the piece for my perusal I will give you an answer." Fulton called again, and Sower informed him he would gladly print the piece. Sower was remarkably temperate and regular in his habits. He never drank ardent spirits, was very economical, rose at four in the morning, and spent an hour in devotional exercises. At five his whole family were called up and proceeded to their various employments. He died August 26, 1784, aged sixty-two years, leaving eight children -five sons and three daughters. On his 28 282 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. tombstone in the burying ground of the Mennonists in Mathatchen, the following lines are sculptured, viz: "Death, thou hast conquered me, Twas by thy darts I'm slain; But Christ shall conquer thee, And I shall rise again. "Time hastens on the hour, We just shall rise and sing, 0 Grave! where is thy power? O Death! where is thy sting? CHRISTOPHER SOWER THIRD, was brought up a printer by his father, Christopher Sower Junior, and was for some time concerned with him in business. He was a member of the German Baptist church, and of the sect called Tunkers, from which he withdrew, and left the United States with the British army, at the close of the revolutionary war. In 1777, his mother dying, his father resigned the management of the printing house to Christopher and his brother Peter. Soon after this connection in business commenced, the troubles occasioned by the war increased, especially in the neighborhood of Germantown, and caused at first temporary suspension, and soon after a total end to their business in Germantown. On the fourth of October, of this year, the day on which the battle was fought in this place, they fled to Philadelphia. Till this time they continued the German newspaper, and had printed the German Almanack for 1778. This was the 40th number of this annual publication which had issued from the press of the Sowers. This ended the partnership of these brothers. They had both become obnoxious to their countrymen by speaking and acting in favor of the enemy. Peter remained in Philadelphia till it was evacuated by the British army. He then went to New York, and be PENNSYLVANIA. 283 came a student in physic. At the close of the war he left that city in a vessel for New Providence, where he died soon after his arrival. Christopher the third did not possess the prudence of his father or his grandfather. At the beginning of the war he warmly espoused the cause of the country, and thus became popular; but he soon turned to the opposite side, and so conducted as to endanger the safety of his person. It is said this change in him was effected by the instigation of Joseph Galloway, who was an intimate in the family, and a notorious adherent to the cause of the British government. He was a man of influence, a member of the Pennsylvania legislature, and had for some years preceding been the silent partner of William Goddard in the publication of the Pennsylvania Chronicle.l He was a man who was possessed of handsome talents, and he conducted his Gazette with ability, though with severity against his countrymen. Christopher resumed the publication of the Germantown Gazette, in Philadelphia, as soon as he could get his press and German types for the purpose. This business was speedily accomplished, and the paper was published till the British army removed from that city to New York. Sometime after the battle of Germantown, a detachment of the British army left Philadelphia, and for some forage, or other purpose, proposed to pass through Germantown, and return by the ridge road. Sower 3d, having some private business to transact, took advantage of this escort to proceed to his former residence, to obtain some papers of family importance. He stepped into his house, obtained the papers, and was proceeding to join the detachment, when, unapprehensive of danger, he was apprehended opposite the market house, by Capt. Coleman, an officer in See an account of that public journal in the second volume. 284 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. the American army, who was lurking for stragglers. Sower was then taken to the American camp, detained five weeks, and then exchanged. Captain Coleman was an active partisan. He lived many years after the war, in Third street, opposite to the Golden Swan tavern. When Sower 3d was brought to headquarters, General Washington, after some interrogatories, addressed him thus: " Well, Mr. Sower, you will be likely now to -get some sour sauce." Sower would not have been exchanged at all, or at least not so soon as he was, but for the occurrence of a fortunate incident. He had somehow received information of George Lusk, a powder manufacturer, being at a certain place unprotected. Lusk had been a next door neighbor to Sower, and was now the principal person on whom the Americans depended for a supply of gunpowder. Sower knew the estimation in which he was held, and instantly formed the plan for making him a prisoner, in order to effect his own release. The plan succeeded and Lusk was taken prisoner, and some time after exchanged for Christopher, who returned to Philadelphia. Threats were given out against the lives of both;but an even exchange was at length effected. They, perhaps, owed their lives to each other. Christopher went to New York with the British army, and sometime after embarked in a ship of war for England. He returned to New York, where he remained till the war was ended. He visited England again; after remaining there two years, he went with his family to New Brunswick, and there published The Royal Gazette. He was appointed postmaster for that province, and he obtained a colonel's brevet from the British government, which entitled him to half pay for life. In 1779 he left that colony, and went in search of health, and to visit his brothers, to Baltimore, where, shortly after his arrival, he was attacked with apoplexy and died on the third of July of that year, aged forty-six. PENNSYLVANIA. 285 DANIEL SOWER, another brother of Christopher 3d, was by profession, a papermaker, and after his apprenticeship was ended, conducted the mill built by his father. This mill was given to Daniel by his father, but the legal conveyance not having been made, the property was confiscated and sold as the property of the father. Daniel purchased another mill, but within a short time after, sold it, and turned his attention to agriculture in Chester county, Pennsylvania. DAVID SOWER was also brother to Christopher 3d. He acquired a knowledge of the art of printing, and established a printing house in Norristown, Pennsylvania, and there published a newspaper, which he relinquished to his son Charles in 1711.? (1811.) After which David opened a store in Mathatchen; besides which he now pursued the business of a farmer. SAMUEL SOWER, the youngest brother to Christopher, was brought up a housewright, and settled on Chestnut hill, near Germantown. He then became a printer, and also an apothecary. In 1794, he removed to Baltimore, where he attended to the business of printing and bookselling till 1804, when he commenced a type foundery in copartnership with William Gwynn. He afterwards purchased the foundery which had been owned by his father and worked by Justus Fox. He continues now, [1815] the type making business in Baltimore, under the firm of S. Sower & Co. Samuel is an ingenious mechanician. He cast the diamond type for a small pocket Bible which was lately printed in that city. To this type he added an italic. Diamond italic has not been, I believe, attempted in Europe, unless very recently. Of Christopher's three sisters, one died in infancy, another in two or three years after her father, and the third is now [1815] living. 286 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. The treaty of peace in 1803 would have enabled Christopher Sower, the second of that name, to have recovered a part of his landed estate, but as the Tunkers will not, in any case, commence lawsuits, he received no benefit from the provision made in the treaty for those in his situation; and it is added that several of the children received some compensation from the British government. See note at the end of the volume in relation to Christopher Sower, 3d. LANCASTER. MILLER & HOLLAND were copartners in a printing establishment in Lancaster in 1751. They printed some small works in the German language, and, in 1752, published a newspaper in German and English. This firm was of short continuance. In 1753 I find that a book, then lately published, was advertised for sale " by Samuel Holland, printer in Lancaster, and no mention was made of Miller.1 WILLIAM DUNLAP, began printing in Lancaster in 1754, in the English and German languages. He remained there till the beginning of the year 1757, when he removed to Philadelphia. [See Philadelphia.] LAHN, ALBRIGHT AND STIEMER, mentioned in the first edition of this work, I am informed did not begin business until the conclusion of the revolutionary war. FRANCIS BAILEY began business in 1771, in company with Stewart Herbert, but they did not continue a long time in partnership. In 1772, and after, Bailey's printing house was in Spring street, Lancaster. The types with 1This was probably Henry Miller, then lately returned from Europe, and who went again to Europe in 1754, but previously worked about twelve months for Bradford in Philadelphia. [See Henry Miller.] PENNSYLVANIA. 287 which he began business, were manufactured in Germantown. Afterwards he manufactured types for himself and others. As a mechanician he was celebrated. Bailey was instructed in printing by Peter Miller at Ephrata, Lancaster county. He removed to Philadelphia in 1778 or 1779, and published a newspaper in that city. He eventually returned to Lancaster. His daughter-in-law in 1818 conducted a press in Philadelphia. STEWART HERBERT began printing with Francis Bailey in 1771. A separation appears to have taken place soon after, and Herbert opened a printing house " in Queen street, Lancaster," and printed there in 1774. He afterwards printed a small newspaper in Hagerstown, Maryland. Andrew Steuart in 1761, had a shop in Lancaster; but I do not find that he had a press there. EPHRATA. This place, situated near Cocalico creek in Lancaster county, has been called Dunkardtown, and Tunkardtown, but is now known by the name of Ephrata. It was settled in 1733, by a sect called, by some, Tunkers, and by others, Dunkers or German Baptists, most of whom were from Germany, or of German extraction. They believe in the general redemption and salvation of the human race. They are generally well informed, peaceable in their disposition, simple in their language, and plain in their dress. They neither swear nor fight, nor go to law, nor take interest for money loaned. They commonly wear their beards. At first they kept the first day sabbath, but afterwards the seventh day. PETER MILLER, a venerable and pious leader and teacher among the Tunkers, began with them the settlement 288 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. of Ephrata. About the year 1746, Miller opened a printing house, and he and his associates erected a paper mill. Miller printed a number of books in the German language, and a few in English; all on religious subjects, and written chiefly by himself. In 1748 and 1749, he wrote and printed in Dutch, a work entitled lutieqen (ccaU c[ atkeG.' Itmade fourteen hundred and twenty-eight pages, which he published in two volumes, and then translated it into German. The paper on which it was printed, was manufactured at Ephrata village. This work gave employment to Miller for more than two years. During that time his bed was a bench; his pillow a wooden block of about four inches in thickness and width, and ten inches in length; and he slept but four hours in twenty-four.2 " Miller was born in Germany in 1709; had his education in the university of Heidelberg; came to this country 1 In the title page of each volume is an impression from a cut. One cut is enclosed with a circle, and engraved on wood; the other on type metal. 2This information I received from Mr. Francis Bailey, of Lancaster, Pa., an ingenious and very respectable printer, taught by Miller. Mr. Bailey mentions that he has often witnessed Miller resting in the manner I have represented, and that he has slept in the same room with Miller in a similar way. He also informs me " that during the time Viltigein acT)alt Slate53 was in the press, particular sorts of the fonts of types on which it was printed ran short. To overcome this difficulty, one of the workmen constructed a mold that could be moved so as to suit the body of any type not smaller than brevier, norlarger than double pica. The mold consisted of four quadrangular pieces of brass; two of them with mortices to shift to a suitable body, and secured by screws. The best type they could select from the sort wanted, was then placed in the mold, and after a slight corrosion of the surface of the letter with aquafortis to prevent soldering, or adhesion, a leaden matrix was cast on the face of the type, from which, after a slight stroke of a hammer on the type in the matrix, we cast the letters which were wanted. Types thus cast answer tolerably well. I have often adopted a method somewhat like this to obtain sorts which were short; but instead of four pieces of brass, made use of an even and accurate composing stick, and one piece of iron or copper having an even surface on the sides; and instead of a leaden matrix, have substituted one of clay, especially for letters with a bold face. PENNSYLVANIA. 289 in 1730; settled with the Dutch Presbyterians in Philadelphia; and was the same year ordained a preacher among them. In 1735 he embraced the principles of the Baptists; and in 1744 he received another ordination to be the prior or head of the society at Ephrata.7' After Miller left the Presbyterian society in Philadelphia, he removedto Berks county, where he discovered a valuable quarry of agate, and he, in company with one Conrad Weiser, a celebrated Indian interpreter, became concerned in working this quarry, and in exporting large quantities of the agate to Germany. But Miller's religious impressions soon ledhim to believe that his time and talents should be more usefully employed; and Weiser dying, Miller forsook the business of the quarry, and then associated with the Dunkers, and began the settlement of Ephrata. Among the brethren of his religious sect, Miller went by the paternal name of Jabez, alluding to I Chronicles, chap. iv, verses 9 and 10. His chin bore that dignified and characteristic mark of manhood given by the creator, a beard, flowing over his bosom. His countenance, it is said, was continually so serene that all who saw him might pronounce that he had not only made a treaty of peace with himself, but with all the world. It is not supposed that Miller was bred to printing; but it is understood he obtained a knowledge of the art after he arrived in Pennsylvania from the second Christopher Sower of Germantown. They were of the same religious sect, and in some way associated in the general government of the church of which they were members. Miller was a good classical scholar, a man of most amiable manners, and highly respected. He died about the year 1790, aged eighty years. 1 Edwards's History of Baptists, printed 1770. 29 290 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. NEW YORK. This colony was settled by the Dutch, and remained in their possession until 1664, when it was surrendered to the king of England, and by him granted to the duke of York. No press was established under the Dutch government. In 1665, The Conditions for New Planters in the Territories of His Royal Highness the Duke of York, who was afterwards king of England, were printed on one side of a foolscap half sheet. A gentleman,1 who possessed one of the printed copies of these conditions, informed me that, on its margin, in ancient writing, were these words, "I This was printed at Boston in May 1665." Cambridge was undoubtedly meant, as a press was not established in Boston till some years after this time. This writing is, however, proof that in 1665 there was no printing press in New York. The small quantity of printing necessary for the colony was probably done at Cambridge, or at Boston, until about 1684, when William Bradford began printing in Pennsylvania. It does not appear that any printing was executed in New York until 1693. In 1700, some gentlemen in Boston applied to Bartholomew Green of that town, to print a pamphlet, entitled, " Gospel Order Revived, Being an Answer to a Book lately set forth by the Reverend Mr. Increase Mather, President of Harvard College, &c. entituled, The Order of the Gospel, &c. Dedicated to the Churches of Christ in New-England. By sundry Ministers of the Gospel in New-England." Green declined printing the pamphlet before it had been submitted to the licensers of the press, to which the authors would not consent. Some months after, the pamphlet 1 Hon. Ebenezer Hazard, of Philadelphia; late postmaster general. NEW YORK. 291 was published, and appeared without the name of the printer, or the place of his residence. The imprint was, "Printed in the year 1700." To the pamphlet was prefixed the following advertisement, viz. The Reader is desired to take Notice, that the Press in Boston is so much under the aw of the Reverend Author whom we answer, and his Friends, that we could not obtain of the Printer there to print the following sheets, which is the only true Reason why we have sent the Copy so far for its Impression." The pamphlet, on its appearance in Boston, particularly the advertisement attached to it, produced considerable agitation. Green to clear himself of the aspersion, as he termed it, of his press being under control, etc., published a handbill, a newspaper was not then published in English America. In this handbill, Green asserts that the pamphlet was printed at New York. Appendix. 1 This pamphlet, of which I have a copy, contains fifty two pages, small quarto, incorrectly and badly printed, and is, the laws excepted, the only book printed in New York as early as 1700, which I have seen, that contained more than thirty-eight pages.1 NEW YORK. The first press in the colony was erected in that city, in the year 1693. WILLIAM BRADFORD, the first who printed in Pennsylvania, introduced the art into New York. He continued his printing in Philadelphia until some time in the year 1693, when he set up a press in New York, and was appointed printer to the government. The first book from The first printing done in New York was Gov. Fletcher's proclamation, printed by Bradford in 1693, and dated Aug. 25. The Laws noticed above were printed the same year.- Al 292 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. his press was a small folio volume of the laws of the colony, bearing the date of that year. In the imprint he styles himself "Printer to their Majesties," and directs to his printing house, " at the Sign of the Bible." In 1698, he printed " The Proceedings of His Excellency Earle Bellemount, Governor of New York, and his council, on the 8th of May 1698," one sheet folio. Imprint-" New York, printed by William Bradford, printer to the King, 1698." His imprint to "an account of the illegal trial of Nicholas Bayard in 170k," is, " Printed by William Bradford at Sign of the Bible New York, 1702." In 1709, November 12, the general assembly of the colony ordered, " that Mr. Bradford do print all the acts of the general assembly of this colony now in force." A warrant from the speaker, of the same date, " appoints and orders William Bradford" to print the laws in conformity to the resolve of the general assembly. The laws were printed by him accordingly, and he completed them in the year following, with this imprint. "Printed by William Bradford, printer to the Queen's most excellent majesty for the colony of New York, 1710."1 I have a pamphlet printed in that city in 1711, by " William and Andrew Bradford," from which it appears that, at that time, there was some connection in business between Bradford and his son Andrew; but that concern could have been only for a year or two, for Andrew, in 1712, removed to Philadelphia. I Smith in his HIistory of New York, pp. 109, 110, mentions that in 1703, the governor proposed to the assembly to lay a duty of ten per cent. on certain articles, but they resolved to the contrary. On which " the very printer, clerk, and door keeper, were denied their salaries." He also says, p. 117, " the assembly of 1709, agreed to raise money for several designated purposes, among which were small salaries to the printer,clerk of the council, and Indian interpreter." NEW YORK. 293 Franklin' mentions that when he first visited New York about 1723, William Bradford was a printer, and it appears the only printer, in that city. Franklin applied to him for work; Bradford having but little business could not employ him; but he recommendedhim to his son, who then printed in Philadelphia, and Franklin accordingly went there. Franklin observes, thatBradford was the first who printed in Pennsylvania, but had " quitted that province on account of a quarrel with George Keith, the governor," etc. He must have made a mistake; there had been no governor of Pennsylvania by the name of George Keith. Sir William Keith was appointed governor in 1717; but Bradford had settled in New York twenty four years prior to that event. There was a George Keith,2 who has already been taken notice of as a man of abilities, a schoolmaster, and preacher among the quakers, and the author of several tracts in their defence, which were printed by Bradford when he resided in Philadelphia. This George Keith was violently hostile to President Lloyd, who governed Pennsylvania in the absence of the proprietor. Bradford as has been stated became interested in the quarrel, and he, with Keith and others, seceded from the quakers, which eventually caused Bradford's removal to New York. 1 Life of Franklin. 2 George Keith repelled the attack of Increase and Cotton Mather upon the quakers, and then differed with his brethren, who in consequence disowned him; afterwards he went to England, took holy orders, returned to America, as a missionary from the Society for propagating the gospel in foreign parts, and, in 1702, preached a sermon " at her Majesties Chapel, at Boston in New England," entitled " The Doctrine of the Holy Apostles and Prophets the Foundation of the Church of Christ." This sermon was printed, at Boston, the same year. -Ie again returned to England, and in 1706, published " a journal of [his] travels from New Hampshire to Caratuck, on the continent of America." At this time he was rector of Edburton in Sussex, England. It was posterior to this event that he became a Baptist, and the founder of a sect called Keithian Baptists, 'See William Bradford, under the head of Philadelphia. 294 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. Bradford continued to print for the government of New York; and during thirty years was the only printer in the province. On the 16th of October, 1725, he began the publication of the first newspaper printed in that colony. Bradford is characterized by Franklin as " a cunning old fox." Be this as it may, he was very kind to Franklin when the latter was a young and needy adventurer, as is apparent from the account which Franklin himself gives of their first and second interviews. He had two sons, Andrew and William, and a daughter, all by his first wife; both sons were brought up to printing. Andrew, who was named after his grandfather Andrew Sowles, printer in London, settled in Philadelphia. William not enjoying health on land, soon after he became of age adopted the life of a seaman. Tacey, his daughter, who was named after her grandmother, the wife of Andrew Sowles, was married to Mr. Hyat, who was several years sheriff of Philadelphia county. Bradford, having buried his first wife, married a widow in the city of New York, of the name of Smith, who had several children by her former husband. This marriage, it has been said, was attended with no small injury to his pecuniary interests. lie continued his residencein the city, and enjoyed a long life without experiencing sickness or the usual infirmities of age. Several years before his death he retired from business, and lived with his son William, in Hanover square. As early as 1728, he owned a papermill at Elizabethtown, New Jersey. When this mill was built, I cannot determine; but probably it was the first that was erected in New Jersey. On the morning of the day which closed his life, he walked over a great part of the city. He died May 23, 1752, aged ninety two years. The New York Gazette which announced his death on the Monday following, mentions, "that he came to America seventy years ago; was NEW YORK. 295 printer to the government upwards of fifty years, and was a man of great sobriety and industry; a real friend to the poor and needy, and kind and affable to all. His temperance was exceedingly conspicuous; and he was almost a stranger to sickness all his life. He had left off business several years past, and being quite worn out with old age and labor, his lamp of life went out for want of oil." He was buried in Trinity churchyard, where his tombstone yet remains. The inscription on this stone concludes thus. " Reader, reflect how soon you'll quit this stage, You'll find but few attain to such an age; Life's full of pain; lo, here's a place of rest; Prepare to meet your God, then you are blest. "Here also lies the body of Elizabeth, wife to the said William Bradford, who departed this life July 8, 1731, aged 68 years." [See Philadelphia —Hist. of New.spapers.] JOHN PETER ZENGER was established in New York as early as 1726, and printed in Smith street. Afterwards, in 1734, he removed " to Broad-Street near the upper End of the Long Bridge." It appears that his business for several years was confined to printing pamphlets for the authors of them, and some small articles for himself. In the latter part of the year 1733 he began the publication of a newspaper. Until this time only one had been printed in the city, and there was no other paper issued from any press between Philadelphia and Boston. Zenger's Jottural soon assumed political features which excited general attention in the colony; several writers in this paper attacked the measures of government with a boldness which was unusual in those days. Zenger was, in consequence, arrested, confined in prison for several months, debarred the use of pen, ink and paper, denied the conversation of his friends, and finally tried upon a 296 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. charge of libellous publications in his Journal; but he was acquitted by the jury, to the great mortification of the officers of the government, and to the no less gratification of the citizens.l Zenger was poor.2 Sometime after his commitmenthis counsel moved that he might be admitted to bail; but the court demanded bail which was deemed to be excessive. Zenger was examined respecting his property; and he made oath " that, his debts being paid, he was not worth forty pounds, the tools of his trade and his wearing apparel excepted." Notwithstanding this oath, the court " ordered that he might be admitted to bail, himself in 4001. with two sureties, each in 2001., and that he should be remanded till he gave it. Zenger " knowing this sum to be ten times the amount of what indemnity he could give to any person to whom he might apply to be his bondsman, declined to ask that favor of his friends, and submitted to further confinement." Zenger was a German. In one of his newspapers, published during his imprisonment, he mentioned, that " tho' he was a poor printer, he should remember that he had good German blood in his veins."3 He and Bradford were, for a number of years, the only printers in New York, and for a long time they carried on a paper war against each other. In December, 1734, a writer in Bradford's Gazette accused Zenger of publishing "' pieces tending to See Newspapers. 2 See Doc. Hist. N. Y., iv, 630; Life Lord Stirling, 45; Smith's Hist. N. I., I, 16, et seq. —X Among the Palatines that arrived in New York in 1710 were Johanna Zangerin aged 33, and her son John Peter aged 13. On the 26th Oct. of that year, the latter was apprenticed to William Bradford, the printer, by Gov. Hunter, when his mother's name was written Hannah Zenger (in being a common termination to feminine names in German.) See N. Y. Doe. Jtist., 4to, III, 340, 341. His indentures are to be found in Hist. Mag., 1864, pp. 35, 36.- M. NEW YORK. 297 set the province in a flame, and to raise sedition and tumults;" and deridingly upbraided him with being brought to America at the expense of government, etc. Zenger, in his Journal, refutes the charges of criminality brought against him. He was then in confinement, and dates "_ From my prison, December 20, 1734." Respecting his being sent to America at the expense of the government, he observes: "That I was brought over at the charitable expense of the crown is the only truth that groaping fumbler found when he studied that clumsy performance.I acknowledge it; thanks to Queen Anne, whose name I mention with reverence, her bounty to me and my distress'd country folks will be gratefully remembered," etc. The writer in the Gazette had made some remarks on Zenger's sword; and stated that the sheriff had no private orders relative to his confinement. To these remarks Zenger replied-" My sword was never intended to protect me against a sworn officer in the discharge of his duty: But since this scribbler must needs make himself merry with it, I think it may not be amiss to tell my readers a serious but true story. About eight weeks ago the Honorable Francis Harrison [one of the council] came to my house, and swore by the God that made him he would lay his cane over me the first time he met me in the street, with some other scurrilous expressions more fit to be uttered by a drayman than a gentleman. Against such Assaults my sword not only could but would have protected me, and shall while I have it against any man that has impudence enough to attempt any thing of that nature. - Vim vi repellere licet. What private orders the sheriff had concerning me are best known to himself. This I know that from the time of my being appehended till the return of the precept by virtue of which I was taken, I was deny'd the use of pen, ink, and paper; alterations were purposely made on my account, to put me into a place by myself, 30 298 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. where I was so strictly confined above fifty hours that my wife might not speak to me but in presence of the subsheriff; to say this was done without orders is lybelling the sheriff, and I hope he will resent it." It appears that Zenger was a good workman, and a. scholar; but not a correct printer of English. He had a family, and two of his sons were his apprentices. He continued in business till about August, 1746, when he died, and was succeeded by his widow. One of his daughters was mistress of a tavern in New York in 1758, and her house was frequently resorted to by printers who respected her father. JAMES PARKER was born' in Woodbridge, New Jersey, and served his apprenticeship with William Bradford in New York. He began business about the year 1742, when Bradford quitted it. Bradford's New York Gazette being discontinued, Parker established another newspaper of the same title, with the addition of Post Boy. Parker was well acquainted with printing, a neat workman, and active in business.1 By the aid of partners, he established a press at New Haven; and, conducted one in New York, and another in Woodbridge. In 1752, he began the publication of a periodical work, entitled, The Refiector.' In January, 1753, Parker commenced a partnership in New York with William Weyman, under the firm of PARKER & WEYMAN. Weyman managed the concerns of the firm. They published several books, and printed for government. Their newspaper was in good repute; it had an extensive circulation, and they acquired property.2 Gov. Clinton, by a written order,under his hand, dated 20 Oct., 1747, forbade James Parker, who usually printed the journals of the house of assembly, to publish the assembly's remonstrance to his message and proceedings.- Smith, I, 150.-M. 2 See Newspapers, and other periodical works, under the head of New York. NEW YORK. 299 Parker purchased the press and types which had been owned by Zenger; and, in 1755, he opened a printing house in New Haven, in partnership with John Holt. During his connection with Weyman, Parker resided for the greater part of his time at Woodbridge, and managed the press in that place on his own account. In January, 1759, Parker and Weyman dissolved their partnership. Parker continued the business a few weeks, and then assigned it over to his nephew Samuel Parker. In July, 1760, James Parker resumed his printing house and newspaper in New York. Holt, having closed his concerns at New Haven, came to New York, and Parker and he formed a partnership under the firm of JAMES PARKER & COMPANY. This partnership ended in April, 1762, when Parker, who still resided in New Jersey, leased his newspaper and printing house to Holt. In 1766, Holt quitted the premises, and Parker again resumed them, and carried on the business of the printing house, in connection with his son, until a few months before his death. He had long been an invalid. It was his intention when he separated from Holt, to have resided wholly in the city; but his declining health obliged him to be a great part of his time at Woodbridge, and finally to retire from business. In 1770, he closed all his earthly concerns,1 [See ltistory of Newspapers, New Jersey.] CATHARINE ZENGER. She was the widow of John Peter Zenger. Her printing house was " in Stone-street, near Port George. Catharine Zenger continued the printing business, and The New York Weekly Journal, after her husband's death in 1746. In December 1748, she resigned her printing house to her son John Zenger; and, about two years after, removed to " Golden-Hill, near Hermanus Rutgers," where she sold pamphlets, etc. 1 For a more extended sketch of Parker see New York Col. Doc., vim, 221, note by Dr. O'Callaghan; also N. Y. Doe. Hist., 4to, in, 323. —M 300 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. HENRY DE FOREEST was born in New York,1 and served his apprenticeship with either Bradford or Zenger, probably with the latter. I can learn but little respecting him. In 1746, he published a newspaper, entitled, The New York Evening Post. I cannot ascertain how long before or after 1746, this paper was published. But De Foreest was not many years in business. He printed several pamphlets, which I have seen advertised for sale by him in Zenger's Journal; also, The Whole Book of Forms, and the Liturgy of the Dutch Reformed Church, etc., an octavo volume of 216 pages. JOHN ZENGER was the eldest son of John Peter Zenger, and was taught printing by his father, who died before he became of age, and he completed his apprenticeship with his mother. His mother resigned her printing house to him in 1748. He published a few pamphlets, and printed blanks for his own sales; but it does not appear that his press was employed in any thing of more consequence than the newspaper, which was begun by his father, continued by his mother, and now published by him. He printed the Journaltill January 1751. How long after that time he remained in business, I cannot determine. His printing house was " in Stone-Street." I-e printed with the types that were used by his father, which, in 1750, appeared to be much worn. His work is not so well executed as that done by his father. HuIG GAINE was born in Ireland. He served his apprenticeship with James Macgee, printer in Belfast, by whom Andrew Steuart, who has been mentioned as a a printer in Philadelphia, was also taught printing. After 1I formerly heard that he was a foreigner, but a grandson of his name, now living in Philadelphia, has since informed me, that his grandfather was born in New York, although he can give no account of him as a printer NEW YORK. 301 his arrival in New York he worked several years as a journey-man to James Parker. Gaine set up a press in New York, about the year 1750, and in 1752 published a newspaper, entitled, The New York Mercury. Ie was industrious and economical, and he experienced the advantages which usually result from such habits. Having acquired a small property, he took a house in Hanover square, opened a book and stationery store, and increased his printing, etc., until his business soon became extensive and lucrative. He kept the stand in Hanover square above forty years, where he published several duodecimo and octavo volumes for his own sales, and a number of pamphlets for himself and others. In 1764 and 1765 he printed for government, the Journal of the Votes and Proceedings of the House of Assembly, from 1691 to 1765, in two large folio volumes of one thousand pages each. He continued to print and sell books until the close of a long life. Gaine's political creed, it seems, was to join the strongest party. When the British troops were about to take possession of New York in 1776, he left the city, and set up his press at Newark; but soon after, in the belief that appearances were against the ultimate success of the United States, he privately withdrew from Newark, and returned to New York. At the conclusion of the war, he petitioned the state legislature for leave to remain in the city, and having obtained permission, his press was employed in book printing, etc., but his newspaper was discontinued when the British army left. Gaine was punctual in his dealings, of correct moral habits, and respectable as a citizen. He began the world a poor man, but by close application to successful business through a long period of time, he acquired a large property. He died April 25, 1807, aged eighty-one years.1 [See Ist. of Newspapers.] See N. Y., Doc,. HIidwy, iv, 384 —7. —i 302 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. WILLIAM WEYMAN, born in Pennsylvania, was the son of an episcopal clergyman, who was rector of the church in Oxford, county of Philadelphia. IHe served his apprenticeship with William Bradford, in Philadelphia. He has already been taken notice of as the partner of James Parker. Parker was the proprietor of the newspaper published by the company, and the owner of the printing materials. They printed for the government six years; and, in the various branches of their profession, did more business than any other printers in the city. Weyman was the principal manager of their press from the commencement of their connection, and of course was well known to the public. These circumstances rendered it easy for him to form an establishment of his own. The partnership of Parker and Weyman ended in 1759, and Weyman, having provided himself with new types and other necessary materials, opened a printing house; and, in February of that year, introduced another newspaper to the public, by the title of The New York Gazette. It appears that Parker and Weyman were not on friendly terms after they separated. Weyman's business was principally confined to his newspaper, and it. yielded him only a maintenance. IIe died July 18, 1768. His death was thus announced in the Mercury. " Died at his house in this city, of a lingering illness, which had for some time rendered him incapable of business, Mr. William Weyman, for many years past a printer of note." 1 [See Parker - fist. of Newspapers.] 1In 1763 Weyman began the printing of a new edition of the Indian Common Prayer Book, under the patronage of Sir William Johnson, the Rev. Dr. Barclay having undertaken to superintend it. It absorbed certain sorts to such an extent, that after borrowing all he could get fron the other offices, he was enabled to set up but half a sheet, and the work went on with the safest haste. The death of Dr. Barclay in 1764 brought the work to a stand. In a letter to Sir William, dated March 25, 1764, he wrote that the work " still lies dead," and suggested that the Rev. Mr. Ogilvic should be engaged to go on with its supervision. Mr. Weyman having NEW YORK. 303 JOHN HOLT was born in Virginia. He received a good education, and was instructed in the business of a merchant. He commenced his active life with commercial concerns, which he followed for several years, during which time he was elected mayor of Williamsburg, in his native province. In his pursuits as a merchant he was unsuccessful, and in consequence he left Virginia, came to New York, and formed a connection with James Parker, who was then about setting up a press in New Haven. Holt went to New Haven, and conducted their affairs in that place under the firm of James Parker & Company, as has been related. After the business at New Haven was discontinued, Holt, in the summer of 1760, returned to New York, and there, as a partner, had the direction of Parker's Gazette about two years. During the four succeeding years he hired Parker's printing materials, and managed The New York Gazette and Post-Boy, as his own concern. In 1765, he kept a bookstore. In 1766, he left Parker's printing house, opened another, and began the publication of The New York Journal, in the October following, and retained a large number of the subscribers to the Gazette. Holt was a man of ardent feelings, and a high churchman, but a firm whig, a good writer, and a warm advocate of the cause of his country. A short time before the British army took possession of New York, he removed to Esopus, and thence to Poughkeepsie, where he remained and published his Journal during the war. He left at died in July, 1768, Hugh Gaine was induced to investigate the condition and progress made by Weyman, who reported that 74 pages had been printed; that by reprinting two sheets, 400 copies could be made up; that Weyman was indebted to him ~300, and was involved several hundred pounds more than his estate could pay. (See N Y. Doe. Hist. Iv, 327 - 84.) Weyman also printed for the Rev. Theodorus Frielinghuysen, of the Dutch Reformed church at Albany, a Catechism in Low Dutch, without date of publication, but bearing the date to the preface of 1747.- M. 304 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. New York a considerable part of his effects, which he totally lost. Another portion of his property, which had been sent to Danbury, was pillaged or burnt in that place by a detachment of the British army; and a part of his types, with his household furniture, etc., were destroyed by the enemy at Esopus. In the autumn of 1783, he returned to New York, and there continued the publication of the Journal. He was printer to the state during the war; and his widow, at his decease, was appointed to that office. Holt was brother-in-law to William Hunter, printer at Williamsburgh, who was deputy postmaster general with Franklin. Soon after his death, his widow printed the following memorial of him on cards, which she dispersed among her friends and acquaintances, viz. "A Due Tribute To the Memory of JOHN HOLIT, Printer to this State, A Native of Virginia, Who patiently obeyed Death's awful Summons On the 30th of January, 1784, In the 64th year of his Age. To say that His Family lament Him, Is Needless; That His Friends Bewail Him, Useless; That all Regret Him, Unnecessary; For, that He merited Every Esteem Is certain. The Tongue of Slander can't say less, Tho' Justice might say more. In Token of Sincere Affection His Disconsolate Widow Hath caused this Memorial To be erected." NEW YORK. 305 SAMUEL PARKER was the nephew of James Parker, with whom he served his apprenticeship. He was only seventeen months in business which he did not manage to the best advantage. He was, however, an expert workman. His uncle assigned his printing house to him in February, 1759; but resumed it in July, 1760. Parker died at Wilmington, North Carolina, previous to the revolution. SAMUEL FARLEY came from Bristol, England. He was the son of Felix Farley, formerly the proprietor and printer of the Bristol Journal. He settled in New York in 1760, and published a newspaper in 1761, when William Goddard and Charles Crouch were his journeymen. In 1762, his printing house was burnt, in which calamity most of his printing materials were destroyed. Some time after this event, he went to Georgia, and having passed through the preparatory studies, he there commenced the practice of law. He left Georgia about the year 1775. When he died I cannot say. JAMES ROBERTSON & COMPANY had a printing house in Broad street in 1768, and in 1769 removed to " the corner of Beaver street, opposite to his Excellency Governor Gage's." Robertson was the son of a printer in Scotland, and, as has elsewhere been stated, went from thence to Boston with John Fleming. When Robertson was in New York, the firm of the company was altered to ALEXANDER & JAMES ROBERTSON, who were brothers, and, royalists. They published a newspaper; but after a trial of some months it was discontinued; and they removed to Albany, and printed a newspaper in that city. They afterwards, in connection with John Trumbull, opened a printing house in Norwich. The Robertsons returned to New York when it was in possession of the royal army, in the time of the 31 306 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. war. On the establishment of peace, they removed to Shelburne, Nova Scotia. [See Norwich.] SAMUEL F. PARKER, the son of James Parker, had an interest in the printing house and business of his father in New York several years before his father died. Not long after the death of James Parker, Samuel leased his printing house, with the apparatus and the Gazette, to Inslee & Carr, and otherwise disposed of the press and types in Woodbridge. Being infirm in health, he did but little business at printing, after his father's death. In 1773, he, in company with John Anderson, endeavored to reestablish The Gazette and Post Boy, which had been discontinued by Inslee & Carr, but did not succeed. He died some time after. SAMUEL INSLEE & ANTHONY CARR were copartners, and had for some time been in the printing house of James Parker, with whom Carr served his apprenticeship. In 1770, soon after Parker died, they took his printing house and materials on a lease from his son, and continued The New York Gazette and Post Boy for more thantwo years, but did little other printing. Inslee was afterwards employed by Collins at Trenton, and died suddenly in his printing house. JAMES RIVINGTON, was from London. He was bred a bookseller,' and as such went extensively into business in The house of Rivington, still extant in London, was established in 1711 by Charles Rivington, who succeeded Richard Chiswell in Paternoster row in that year, and it has ever since been familiar to the readers of religious books in every part of the world wherever the English language is spoken. He was succeeded in 1742 by his sons John and James, the latter of whom is the subject of this sketch. John died in 1792, and the business is still continued by his descendants. James was the original publisher of Smoliett's History of England, by which it is said that he made ~10,000, a larger sum than had ever before been made by one book.-M. NEW YORK. 307 that city. No man in the trade was better acquainted with it than he. He possessed good talents, polite manners, was well informed, and acquired so much property as to be able to keep a carriage. He formed an acquaintance with many of the nobility, which led him into a dissipated and expensive course of life. Rivington became fond of amusements, and regularly attended the horse races at Newmarket; at one of which he lost so much money as to conceive himself to be ruined. He was, therefore, induced to persuade one of his principal creditors to take out a commission of bankruptcy against him. After due examination into his affairs, his creditor assured him that it was unneccessary, as he possessed property more than sufficient to pay all demands against him. Rivington, however, persisted in his request, and went through the process required by the bankrupt act. IHe eventually paid twenty shillings in the pound, and had something left.' This event determined Rivington to remove to America, where he arrived in 1760, and settled as a bookseller in Philadelphia. The year following he left his business in Philadelphia with a partner by the name of Brown, and went to New York, opened a bookstore at the "Lower end of Wall street," 2 and made that city his place of residence. In 1762, he commenced bookselling in Boston, by an agent, William Miller, who the same year became his partner, but died in 1765; and, in consequence, the bookstore in Boston was discontinued. After some years he failed; but very speedily settling his affairs, he recommenced business, which he confined to New York. He eventually adopted printing; and in April, 1773, published a newspaper, which was soon deThis information was received from one of his assignees by a gentleman, who communicated it to me. 2 In September, 1760, Rivington advertised that he had just opened in Hanover square, and is styled the only London bookseller in America. — 308 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. voted to the royal cause. Rivington printed several books for his own sales, among which was Cooke's Voyage, in two volumes 12mo., and dealt largely as a bookseller and stationer. He knew how to get money, and knew as well how to spend it; being facetious, companionable, and still fond of high living; but, like a man acquainted with the world, he distinguished the guests who were his best customers. Rivington, in his Gazette, fought the Rebels, a term of which he made very frequent use while he entertained the opinion that the Americans would be subjected by the British arms; but, when he despaired of this event, and believed that Great Britain would, herself, acknowledge the independence of the United States, he deemed it prudent to conciliate the minds of some of the leading Americans. To this end, it is said, he sent out of the city such communications as he knew would be interesting to the commanders of the American army, and he ventured to remain in New York when the British troops evacuated it, at the conclusion of the war. Rivington, in consequence of his peace offerings, was protected from the chastisement he might otherwise have received on the part of those whom he had personally abused in his paper; among whom were several officers of the American army.' 1 He used to relate a story of his interview with the noted Ethan Allen, who paid him a visit for the purpose of administering chastisement. He says, " I was sitting alone, after a good dinner, with a bottle of Madeira before me, when I heard an unusual noise in the street and a huzza from the boys. I was in the second story, and stepping to the window, saw a tall figure in tarnished regimentals, with a large cocked hat and an enormous long sword, followed by a crowd of boys, who occasionally cheered him with huzzas of which he seemed insensible. He came up to my door and stopped. I could see no more, my heart told me it was Ethan Allen. I shut my window and retired behind my table and my bottle. I was certain the hour of reckoning had come. There was no retreat. Mr. Staples, my clerk, came in paler than ever, and clasping his hands, said, 'Master, he has come!' 'I know it.' ' He entered the store and asked if James Rivington lived there, I answered yes, sir. Is he at home? I will go and see, sir, I said, and now master what is to be done! There he is in the store and the boys peeping at him from the street.' I NEW YORK. 309 Rivington, at this period, quitted printing; and discontinued his Gazette, which failed for want of customers to support it; but he uninterruptedly, and to a large extent, traded in books and stationery several years after the establishment of peace. Ie finally failed again, and being advanced in years, closed his business, and soon after his life. I-e died at the age of seventy-eight years, in July, 1802.1 It is but justice to add, that Rivington, for some time, conducted his Gazette with such moderation and impartiality as did him honor. To the other qualities of a gentleman he added benevolence, vivacity, and with the exceptions already mentioned, punctuality in his business. Interest often produces a change of opinion, and the causes which induced Rivington to support the measures of the British cabinet were sufficiently apparent. And the visit made to him by a party of men from Connecticut, who had made up my mind. I looked at the Madeira - possibly took a glass. Show him up, said I, and if such Madeira cannot mollify him he must be harder than adamant. There was a fearful moment of suspense. I heard him on the stairs, his long sword clanking at every step. In he stalked. 'Is your name James Rivington?' It is, sir, and no man could be more happy to see ColonelEthan Alien. 'Sir, I have come -- ' Not another word, my dear Colonel, until you have taken a seat and a glass of old Madeira. 'But, sir, I don't think it proper — ' Not another word, Colonel; taste this wine, I have had it in glass for ten years; old wine you know, unless it is originally sound, never improves by age. He took the glass, swallowed the wine, smacked his lips and shook his head approvingly. ' Sir, I come -- ' Not another word until you have taken another glass, and then, my dear Colonel, we will talk of old affairs, and I have some queer events to detail. In short, we finished two bottles of Madeira, and parted as good friends as if we had never had cause to be otherwise."- See Publishers' Circular, xv, 10; N. Y. Col. hIistory, VII, 568; Sabine's Loyalists.-AL. 1 Rivington was twice married, first to Miss Minshull in England, and second to Miss Elisabeth Van Horne, of New York The latter died in July, 1795, leaving descendants. Susan Rivington, daughter of James, died June 16, 1843, aged 74. His portrait is preserved in the gallery of the New York Historical Society, and one of the streets in that city still bears his name.-M. 310 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. destroyed his press, etc., as will be hereafter related, doubtless tended to prejudice his mind against the American cause; and prompted him, after he was appointed printer to the king, and placed under the protection of the royal army, boldly, and without disguise, to carry his resentment beyond the bounds of truth and justice. [See Newspapers, New York.] ROBERT HODGE was born in Scotland, served his apprenticeship with a printer in Edinburgh, and, when out of his time, went to London, where he worked as a journeyman two years. In 1770, he came to America, and was employed in the printing house of John Dunlap, in Philadelphia. Ilodge was industrious, prudent, and a good workman. He became acquainted with a young printer possessing similar qualifications. By their industry and economy they soon acquired sufficient property to purchase printing materials. With these, in 1772, they began business in Baltimore, where they intended to have published a newspaper; but, not meeting with the encouragement they expected, before the end of the year they left Baltimore, and settled in New York. Here they opened a printing house in Maiden lane, and commenced business under the firm of HODGE & SHOBER. Their partnership continued for more than two years. Early in 1775, Hodge sold his part of the press and types to his partner, and they separated. During their partnership they printed the greater part of an edition of Josephus's Works, in four volumes octavo, for a bookseller in Philadelphia. But it appearing in the event, that he was not able to support the expense of the whole of the edition through the press, Hodge completed the impression. On the approach of the British troops, who in 1776 took the city, Hodge removed into the country, but could not take with him all his books; he left in the NEW YORK. 311 city one half of them in sheets, and those he lost. He remained in the country in the state of New York for a year or two, when he went to Boston, and there, in connection with others, opened a printing house. When peace was restored to the country, he returned to New York, and began the business of a bookseller. Soon after he entered into partnership with two other booksellers, who were his countrymen, and they opened a printing house of which he had the management. This company continued in business for more than three years. During this period, Hodge's dwelling house and bookstore were consumed by fire, by which unfortunate event he lost a considerable part of his property; and, soon after, the partnership was dissolved. Hodge continued the business of a bookseller for several subsequent years; he then sold his stock in trade, purchased an estate in Brooklyn, on Long Island, to which he retired. He died in August, 1813, aged 67 years. FREDERICK SHOBER was born in Germany, but served an apprenticeship with AnthonyArmbruster, a German printer, in Philadelphia. lie worked as a journeyman for two or three years, was attentive to business, and very prudent. In 1772, he entered into partnership with Robert Hodge, and they opened a printing house in Baltimore. They remained in Baltimore a few months, and then removed to New York. In 1775, they closed the concerns of the company. Shober purchased the property of Hodge in the printing house, and sold it to Samuel Loudon, who became his partner. The name of the company was, SIIOBER & LOUDON. The confusion into which business of every kind was thrown by the commencement of hostilities alarmed Shober; and, before the close of the year 1775, he sold his right in the printing materials to Loudon, retired to the country, purchased a farm, engaged in the business of 312 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. agriculture, and never resumed printing. Ie died about 1806, at, or near, Shrewsbury in New Jersey. SAMUEL LOUDON, was born in Ireland, and settled in New York some years before the revolution as a ship chandler. In 1775, he purchased a part of the printing materials owned by Shober; in company with whom he began printing. They were but a few months together before Shoberjudged it prudent, from the existing situation of public affairs, to leave New York, and retire to a farm. London purchased the remainder of the printing materials, and opened a printing house " in Water street, between the Coffee house and the Old Slip." Loudon was decidedly a whig, and in the first week in January, 1776, published a newspaper devoted to the cause of the country. -iA short time before the British army took possession of the city, in 1776, he removed with his press to Fishkill, and there published The New York Packet until the establishment of peace; when he returned to the city, and remained in business long after. London printed a few books, and kept a book store; he was an elder in ' the Scotch Seceder church." He died at Middletown Point, New Jersey, February 24, 1813, aged eighty-six years. JOHN ANDERSON, was the partner of Samuel F. Parker in 1773; and, having made an unsuccessful attempt to revive Parker's New York Gazette, they separated; after which Anderson opened a printing house " on Beekrnan's-Slip;" and issued some inconsiderable articles from his press. In 1775, he published a small newspaper. I have been informed that he was from Scotland. NEW YORK. 313 ALBANY. ALEXANDER AND JAMES ROBERTSON. James Robertson first set up his press in New York, in 1768. After remaining there a short period, he entered into partnership with his brother. They published in that city The New York Chronicle, which, after a trial of about two years, was discontinued, and they removed to Albany. Until that time, New York was the only place in the colony where printing had been introduced. The Robertsons were the first who opened a printing house in Albany. They were patronized by Sir William Johnson, then superintendant of Indian affairs, who advanced them money to purchase a press and types. They began business there about the year 1771, and soon after published a newspaper. 3 They set up a press in Norwich, Conn., in 177y, in company with John Trumbull, but continued their printing house in Albany until the commencement of the revolutionary war; when, being detected in publishing and circulating in a private manner, highly obnoxious handbills, etc., in support of the royal cause which they decidedly espoused, they judged it expedient hastily to leave the city, and went to Norwich. They left their press and types in the care of a friend who resided in the vicinity of Albany. This friend removed them privately to his farm, and there buried them. They were afterwards taken up and sold to Solomon Balantine, who began the establishment of a second newspaper in that city in 1782. The Robertsons remained in Norwich until the British army, in 1776, took possession of New York, when they went to that city, and there published The Royal American Gazette. [See New York -Norwich.] 32 314 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. NEW JERSEY. Several presses were occasionally set up in this province by Keimer, and others, from Philadelphia and New York, to printthe bills of credit, orpaper currency, and to do other occasional printing for the government; and, when the particular business was accomplished, the printers returned to the place of their permanent residence with their presses. WOODBRIDGE. The first press established in New Jersey, it appears, was at WAoodbridge, and for many years this was the only one in the colony. The printing which had been done for government by presses set up occasionally, as mentioned above, was executed at Burlington. It was there that Keimer, in 1727, sent Franklin to print the bills of credit; for which, Franklin observes, he " engraved various ornaments, and performed the business to general satisfaction." JAMES PARKER, who has been mentioned among the printers of New Haven and New York, was born in that borough, and there began business about the year 1751. He had for several years conducted a press and a newspaper in New York, but having taken William Weyman as a partner in his concerns in that city, he intrusted the management of the establishment to him, and returned himself to the place of his nativity. There he printed a folio edition of the Laws of the Province,' and, from time to time, the votes and resolves of the legislature, and did The copies of this edition of The Laws of New Jersey, were sold for five dollars each. The editor was Judge Nevill, who had it printed on his own account. NEW JERSEY. 315 other work for goverment. There also he published, monthly, more than two years, a magazine, and otherwise employed his press on his own account. To accommodate the printing of Smith's History of New Jersey, in 1765, Parker removed his press to Burlington, and there began and completed the work, consisting of 570 pages, demy octavo, and then returned with his press to Woodbridge. Parker was a correct and eminent printer. Besides his professional concerns, he was much employed in the public transactions; he was a magistrate, a captain of a troop of horse, in New Jersey, and comptroller and secretary of the general postoffice for the northern district of the British colonies. He possessed a sound judgment, and a good heart; was industrious in business, and upright in his dealings. He died July 2, 1770, at Burlington, where he had resided a short time for the benefit of his health. IHis funeral was attended five miles from Burlington, by a number of gentlemen of that city, and was met at Amboy by others, who then joined the procession to his house in Woodbridge, where a numerous concourse was collected, and accompanied his remains to the cemetery where those of his ancestors reposed. [See N. Haven - New York- Hist. Newspapers.] SAMUEL F. PARKER has been mentioned, as connected with his father in the printing business, during several years; and, afterward, with John Anderson, in New York. After the death of his father, he became possessed of a large printing apparatus; but from it he derived very little benefit, as he leased the establishment at New Y.ork, not much to his advantage, and sold that at Woodbridge, in the course of a few years. He did not improve either his time or his talents; his health decayed; and he slept with 316 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. his fathers, before he had attained the number of years to which they arrived. BURLINGTON. Some suppose that William Bradford introduced printing into that city before the settlement of Philadelphia; but that opinion is so far from being certain it is not even probable. ISAAC COLLINS, was a native of Delaware. His parents were from England, and died in early life. He served his apprenticeship, until he was twenty years of age, with James Adams, at Wilmington. He then went, by the consent of Adams, who had but little business, and finished his apprenticeship with William Rind at Williamsburg, Virginia. When of age, he was employed by Goddard and others in Philadelphia; and for his extraordinary attention to business, received twenty-five per cent. more wages than other journeymen in the same printing house. For a short time he was the partner of Joseph Crukshank, in that city. By the death of James Parker, there was an opening for the settlement of a printer in that colony. Collins embraced the opportunity; and, being supplied with a press, types, etc., by his late partner, he removed to, and began business in Burlington in 1770, and resided there for several years after the commencement of the war. In 1770 he was appointed printer to the government, or, "' to the King's Most Excellent Majesty," as appears from the imprint of proclamations, etc., which issued from his press. In 1777 he began a newspaper. He afterwards removed to Trenton, and there prosecuted his business for a number of years. He continued to be printer to the state, and at Trenton he printed a handsome and very correct quarto edition of the Bible; also, an edi NEW JERSEY. 317 tion in octavo of the New Testament; and several other books. Collins was of the society of Friends, and was a correct and neat printer. He received much assistance from the quakers in printing the Bible, particularly from those in Philadelphia, New Jersey, and New York. He subsequently removed to New York, there set up his press, and continued active in book printing for some years. His parents dying when he was very young, he had nothing on which he could depend for his advancement in life, but his own exertions. After an attention to business for thirtyfive years, he was enabled to retire and enjoy, in the society of his friends, the reward of his industry. He brought up, and educated in a reputable manner, a large family, and had a son a printer in New York. He died in March, 1817, in Burlington aged 71 years. [See Newspapers.] 318 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. DELAWARE. Printing had a late introduction into Delaware; it was, Georgia excepted, the last of the thirteen colonies where a press was established. The laws, etc., were printed inl Philadelphia previous to the year 1761. WILMINGTON. The first printing house introduced into that colony was opened in that town only about fourteen years before the commencement of the war, by JAMES ADAMS, who was born in Ireland, and learned the art of printing in Londonderry. When of age, he came to Philadelphia, and was there employed seven years by Franklin & Iall. HIe began business for himself, in that city, about the year 1760; but, in 1761, he removed his press to Wilmington, and established himself there. In 1762, he published proposals for printing a newspaper; but not meeting with encouragement, it was discontinued after being published six months. He printed for government, and although his business was not extensive, he acquired considerable property. Several works on religious subjects, came from his press; and he published one or more almanacs annually, and bound and sold books. Adams was a good workman, an exemplary Christian, and much esteemed. When the British army were approaching Philadelphia, in 1777, he removed his printing materials, family, etc., to the vicinity of Doylestown, Bucks / county, Pa. There he printed an Almanac, but otherwise his press was not employed. When the British DELAWARE. 319 evacuated Philadelphia, in 1778, he returned with his press, etc., to Wilmington. He died near the close of the year 1792, aged sixty three years. He left a large family; four sons and six daughters. The sons were all brought up to printing. Two of them succeeded their father, but were not successful in business. The following anecdote finds a place here. Adams had hired a man to pull a press, while an apprentice was employed to beat the form. The man had engaged at a shilling a token. The boy was repeatedly, in the course of a day, called by the mistress for culinary and house purposes, whereby the man was much injured. Finding his bill, each week, to fall short of his maintenance, he fell upon a plan to augment his wages, and at the same time fulfil his engagement. When the boy was called away he would still pound and pull the sheets as usual, leaving sufficient time between each for the form to be inked. Adams on inspecting the heap, and perceiving so many faintly impressed copies, asked the meaning. "I suppose the boy has not beat them;" replied the man, " and I am sure I leave him time enough and have also performed my duty in pulling." Adams was diverted with the humor of the man, and ordered the boy to be no more called from the press. Adams was the only printer who settled in Delaware before 1775. 320 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. MARYLAND. A printing house was not established in Maryland for more than ninety years after the province was granted by King Charles I, to George Calvert, baron of Baltimore, in Ireland. ANNAPOLIS. The first press was set up in that city, in 1726.1 Before that time the printing for the colony was done at Philadelphia, by Andrew Bradford. WILLIAM PARKS. The earliest book I have met with, printed in Maryland is, A complete Collection of the Laws of Maryland. Collected by Authority. This work is dedicated to Lord Baltimore. Imprint-"Annapolis, Printed by William Parks. 1727." Parks began a newspaper either in 1727 or in 1728, most probably the year last mentioned. This paper, it appears from the best information, was carried on about eight years, when it was discontinued, and Parks established himself in Virginia. He had, in 1729, printed at Williamsburg, the Laws of Virginia, etc. During several years he printed for both colonies, and had a press in each. About the year 1733, he quitted Maryland; and, some time after, the government of the colony procured another printer. By Keimer's account, the government of each 1 Mr. J. Sabin sends the following title: The I Declaration I of the I Reasons and Motives | For the Present I Appearing in Arms I of ] Their Majesties | Protestant Subjects I In the Province of I Maryland. I Licens'd, November28th, 1689. J. F. I [Colophon ] Maryland, Printed by William Nuthead at the City of St. I Aaries. I Reprinted in London, and Sold by Randal Tay- I lor, near Stationers Hall, 1689. 1 Folio, pp. 8. No clue has been found to any press in Maryland so early as this.-M. MARYLAND. 321 colony paid Parks a salary of two hundred pounds per annum in country produce.1 JONAS GREEN was born in Boston; he was the son of Timothy Green, who, in 1714, removed from Boston to New London. The government of Maryland having offered a generous consideration to a printer who would establish a press in Annapolis, he closed with the proposal and in 1740 opened a printing house in that city. He was appointed printer for the colony, and had granted to him an annual salary of 5001. currency. For this sumhe printed the laws as they were made from session to session, proclamations, etc., he being paid the cost of paper used in the work. In 1745 he began a newspaper which was continued by his successors. He printed in 1755 a revised edition of the Laws; and in 1765, Bacon's Laws of Maryland, in a large folio volume. His printing was correct, and few, if any, in the colonies exceeded him in the neatness of his work. Green possessed handsome talents, was respected for his conduct in private life, and, in the circle of his acquaintance, was celebrated for his wit and urbanity. A few years before he died he received William Rind as a partner. The firm of the company was, GREEN & RIND. In 1765, Rind removed to, and settled in, Virginia. Green died April 7th, 1767, aged fifty-six years. < ANNE CATIIARINE GREEN, was born in Holland, and came when an infant, with her parents, to Maryland. She married Jonas Green; and, in 1767, succeeded him in his business. She printed for the colony, and published the Gazette. William Green, her son, became her partner in 1 See Keimer's poetical address to his customers at Barbadoes, extracted from the Barbadoes Gazette of May 4th, 1734. Keimer had been a printer in Philadelphia, and must have been acquainted with the public and private concerns of the few printers then in the colonies. 33 322 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. 1768; the firm was, ANNE CATRARINE GREEN & SON. William died in August 1770, and Anne Catharine continued the business in her own name. She was the mother of six sons and eight daughters. She died March 23, 1775, aged forty-two years. FREDERICK GREEN, the son of Jonas and Anne Catharine, was born in Annapolis, and brought up to printing by his father. tie succeeded his mother as printer to the colony, and in other business, in 1775; and about the year 1777 he entered into partnership with his brother Samuel, under the firm of FREDERICK & SAMUEL GREEN. They then printed, and kept the postoffice, " in Charles-Street." They were the fifth generation of a regular descent.of printers in this country. Their great-great grandfather began printing at Cambridge, Massachusetts, about 1649; as has been mentioned in the account given of him and his other descendants. After the decease of Frederick and Samuel Green, the business was continued by - Green, son of the last mentioned Green, a great-great-great grandson of Samuel Green printer in Cambridge. BALTIMORE. This city was but a small village in 1755. Printing was not introduced there till several years after that time. NICHOLAS HASSELBAUGIH was born in Pennyslvania, of parents who were of German extraction. He was taught printing by Sower, in Germantown, and also acquired a knowledge of papermaking. This last branch of manufacturing he followed some time near that place; but, eventually, removed and established a printing press in Baltimore. He was well supplied with types, manufactured in Ger MARYLAND. 323 mantown, for printing both in the German and English languages; and was the first who printed in that city. He issued school and other small books, etc., from his press, in both languages; and contemplated publishing a German translation of the Bible. The following anecdote, which many ayrs since was circulated in Maryland, gives strength to the supposition that he was actually engaged in that work. A missionary for propagating the gospel among the Indians, was engaged in that benevolent design in the back settlements of Maryland; and, at a time when a number of Indians were assembled to hear him unfold and explain the doctrines of the Christian religion, he had a Bible in his hand, which he held forth, and with much zeal pronounced it to be the gospel -the truth-the work of God!" HTe was interrupted —" What!" said one of them, " did the great all powerful spirit make this book?" " Yes," replied the missionary, " it is his work." The Indian, taking the expression according to the literal import of the words, answered'indignantly -" I believe it to be a great lie! I go to Baltimore last month, where I see Dutchmen make him. Great Spirit want no Dutchmen to help him." With these words the savage took an abrupt leave of his instructor. This anecdote might have given rise to the opinion that Hasselbaughhad printed a part of the Bible. Itwas related when there was no other printer in Baltimore. The fact, after all, might have been, that the Indian, when at Baltimore, had seen some printing performed; perhaps a spelling book was at the time in the press, and probably he did not know one book from another. Hasselbaugh was an inhabitant of Baltimore for several years. He possessed a spirit of enterprise, was fertile in invention, and acquired a handsome property. To facilitate some plan of business which he had newly formed, he 324 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. went abroad and was lost at sea. His widow, in 1773, sold his printing materials to William Goddard, who again sold part of them to Bailey, printer in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. ENOCH STORY, THE YOUNGER, was born in Pennsylvania, and served an apprenticeship with Hall & Sellers in Philadelphia, as has been related in treating of the printers of that city. He began printing in Baltimore previous to the year 1773. Story sold his types to Goddard, returned to Philadelphia, and printed in Strawberry alley. HODGE AND SHOBER opened a printing house in Baltimore, in 1772; and issued proposals for publishing a newspaper; but, before the end of the year, they removed to New York. [See New York.] WILLIAM GODDARD has been mentioned as the first printer in Providence, Rhode Island; and, afterwards, as the publisher of the Pennlsylvaniia Chronicle in Philadelphia. In 1773 he removed to Baltimore. I have already observed that Goddard was a good printer, and an able editor; but he, in many instances, was unsuccessful. The partnership with Galloway and Wharton in Philadelphia proved very unfortunate, and terminated unprofitably for Goddard, and the parties separated much dissatisfied with each other. After two trials to establish himself in business, he began "a anew," as he relates, " on the small capital of a single, solitary guinea." He made interest to purchase the materials in the printing house of Hasselbaugh, and added to them the few owned by Enoch Story. He again began a newspaper, the third attempted in the province; but at this time there was only one published, the Maryland Gazette. After remaining at Balti MARYLAND. 325 more nearly two years, he found it necessary to devote some time to the settlement of his former concerns. Another object at this period attracted his attention. A plan was formed to abolish, in effect, the general postoffice under the direction of the British government, by establishing, in opposition, a line of postriders from Georgia to New Hampshire. This system was to have been supported from a fund to be raised by the subscriptions of individuals. Goddard left his printing house in the care of his sister, and went through the colonies with a view to carry this plan into operation. A large sum was subscribed, and the scheme was in a rapid state of progression, when the revolutionary war began. When congress superseded the British government in the management of the post office, Franklin was continued as postmaster general, with the privilege of giving commissions to all other officers in the department. The services rendered by Goddard to this establishment, led him to believe, and his friends to expect, that he would receive the appointment of secretary and comptroller of the post office; but Franklin thought proper to give this office to Richard Bache, his son-in-law, and tendered to Goddard the choice of surveyorship of post roads, or the office of deputy postmaster for Baltimore and Norfolk. Goddard was greatly disappointed, but the state of his affairs made it expedient that he should accept either the one or the other of these places, and he chose that of surveyor of post roads. In 1776, Franklin was sent on an embassy to Europe; and his son-in-law, Bache, succeeded him as postmaster general. Goddard again expected the office of comptroller, but being again disappointed he resigned his surveyorship; and it was apprehended that there was, from that time, some change in his political principles. Goddard, after having resigned his commission, returned to Baltimore, and there resided; but the business of the 326 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. printing house continued to be under the management, and in the name of his sister. It was, however, well known that he was interested in the Maryland Journal, and had the control of it. A number of zealous advocates for the American cause had associated in Baltimore, and were called the Whig club. Of this club Commodore Nicholson, then conmander of the frigate Virginia, belonging to the United States, was president. In February, 1777, a report was circulated that the British general Howe had offered the most eligible terms of accommodation to congress, which had been rejected and concealed from the people. To ridicule this false and idle report, an ironical piece, signed Tom Tell Truth, written by a member of congress,1 appeared in Goddard's paper, published by his sister; but for fear this piece might be misconceived by some, and produce a serious belief in them that these offers had actually been) made to congress, another piece was published in them same paper to counteract any bad tendencies of the first. Both pieces were written by the same person. The Whig club was alarmed; the members of it believed these pieces would produce dangerous effects, and supposed that they were written by some British emissary. They enquired of Miss Goddard who was the author; she referred them to her brother. Goddard was applied to, and refused to give up the author, who was not in town, and could not then be consulted. Some warm words passed between Goddard and the deputed members of the club. The deputation was renewed, with a written mandate ordering him to appear before them the next evening. Goddard treated the mandate and the deputies who bore it rather cavalierly, and did not obey. The club then deputed a committee of six of its members to bring him before them, and if necesJudge C'e, as I am informed. MARYLAND. 327 sary, to use force. Goddard refused to accompany the committee; some of them were armed, and they seized him, and by violence carried him to the club room; here he was refractory, and would not discover the author. The club, in consequence, passed the following resolution, viz. "In Whig Club, March 4, 1777. "Resolved, that William Goddard do leave this town by twelve o'clock to-morrow morning, and the county in three days. Should he refuse due obedience to this notice, he will be subject to the resentment of a LEGION." Goddard went the next day to Annapolis, where the general assembly was then in session, and presented a memorial to the legislature, detailing his case, and praying for protection. The house referred the case to their committee of aggrievances, which reported, that "the proceedings of the whig club were a manifest violation of the constitution, and directly contrary to the declaration of rights assented to by the representatives of the freemen of the state. The club published a vindication of their proceedings. Goddard, in reply, published a pamphlet, giving an account of the whole transaction, and satirizing the members of the club with some severity. This pamphlet increased the violence of the club, and Goddard thought himself in danger from their resentment. He therefore presented a second memorial to the house of delegates; in consequence of which, the house, on the 11th of April, 1777, passed the following resolutions. "Resolved, That the proceedings of the persons in Baltimore town, associated and stiled, The Whig Club, are a most daring infringement and a manifest violation of the constitution of this state, directly contrary to the Declaration of Rights, and tend, in their consequences, unless 328 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. timely checked, to the destruction of all regular government. " Resolved unanimously, That the governor be requested to issue his proclamation, declaring all bodies of men associated together, or meeting for the purpose, and usurping any of the powers of government, and presuming to exercise any power over the persons or property of any subjects of this state, or to carry into execution any of the laws thereof, unlawful assemblies, and requiring all such assemblies and meetings instantly to disperse. ".Resolved, That the governor be requested to afford William Goddard the protection of the law of the land, and to direct the justices of Baltimore county to give him every protection in their power, against all violence or injury to his person or property." Governor Johnson, on the 17th of April, 1777, issued his proclamation conformably to the above resolutions. The interposition of government in favor of Goddard, did not immediately secure to him a state of tranquility. I-e was accused of toryism, but the accusation did not appear to be supported. It was, however, sometime before his enemies ceased to be troublesome. In June, 1779, Goddard and Eleazar Oswald advertised that they had formed a partnership as printers, booksellers and stationers; but this connection was of very short duration. Goddard's sister continued to publish the Journal. On the 6th of July, 1779, appeared in that paper certain " Queries political and military," written by General Charles Lee. These were sent to the press by Goddard, and when published they occasioned great commotion in Baltimore. An assembly of " the people" was holden, and a committee consisting of about forty was chosen to wait on Goddard and demand the author of the queries. This occasioned a considerable ferment, and the disagreement between Goddard and the Whig Club rose to a very MARYLAND. 329 high pitch. The violence of the clubists was excessive; but he resisted them with much energy. However, after a long and arduous contest, in which Goddard was, agreeably to the language of the day, " several times mobbed, and grievously insulted," the " rage of the people" subsided; and he finally quitted Baltimore on good terms with Legion and the profannum vulgus. Goddard was variously employed until 1784, when he resumed his printing house, and recommenced the publication of the Journal. About this time a rival paper was published by Hayes, which produced, occasionally, a little typographical sparring from each of the editors. In 1787, an almanac published by Goddard was ridiculed by Hayes. This produced a fierce paper war, in which neither party spared the other; but Goddard appeared to be fully a match for his antagonist. Goddard continued in active business until 1792;1 he then sold his printing establishment to his brother-in-law, who, although not a printer, had been in partnership with him. He published, in the Journal, a valedictory address to the citizens of Maryland, whom. he left in friendship, and retired himself in peace to a farm in Johnston, near Providence, in the state of Rhode Island. MARPY KATIIARINE GODDARD was born in Connecticut, and was the sister of William Goddard. She was an expert and correct compositor of types, and ably conducted the printing house of her brother during the time he was engaged in other concerns. For a period of about eight years, the Journal and every work which issued from that press, were printed and published in her name, and partly on her account. She kept the postoffice, and continued the newspaper, until her brother resumed its publication in 1784. Goddard loaned a press and types to George Richards, who first published a newspaper in Richmond, entitled The VirginiaG Gazette. 34 330 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. VIRGINIA. This colony was the first British settlement in America; but it is not the oldest in printing. Printing was not courted, and it would seem not desired, till many years after the establishment of the province. Sir William Berkeley, who was governor of the colony thirty-eight years, in his twenty-third answer to the inquiries of the lords of the committee for the colonies in 1671, sixty-four years after the settlement of Virginia, says, " I thank God we have not free schools nor printing; and I hope we shall not have these hundred years. For learning has brought disobedience and heresy, and sects into the world; and printing has divulged them and libels against the government. God keep us from both." I had heard many years since, that printing, at an early period after the settlement of the colony, had been prohibited. I made many inquiries respecting this fact, which led to a strict search, among the ancient records of the colony, by several of the first law characters, but no trace of any act of government for that purpose was discovered. For this reason some of the most intelligent Virginians were led into the opinion that no such despotic regulation had been made. But the fact is now ascertained. The discovery was made by William W. Hening, a very respectable lawyer of Richmond, who, on the 21st of July, 1810, favored me with a letter on the subject, of which the following is an extract. "I am now, and have been for some time past, engaged in publishing the statutes at large of Virginia, from the first session of the legislature, under the colonial govern1 Chalner's Annals, vol. Ir, p. 328. Gordon's 'Iist. Revolution, American ed., vol. r, p. 53. VIRGINIA. 331 ment, in the year 1619; and I have in my possession not only all the manuscripts of Mr. Jefferson, late president of the United States, but several of my own collection, which contain the laws, and other public documents relating to Virginia, till the period when the art of printing was generally diffused among us. " These manuscripts are so void of method, that I am compelled to read them page by page, in order to select matter proper for my publication. In perusing one of them yesterday, which contains minutes of the proceedings of the governor and council, in their executive character, I found the following entry, which is here transcribed verbatim, from the manuscript. "'Feb. 21st, 1682. John Buckner called before the Ld. Culpeper and his council for printing the laws of 1680, without his excellency's license, and he and the printer ordered to enter into bond in 100~. not to print any thing hereafter, until his majesty's pleasure shall be known.' " I am induced to give you this information the earlier, because, although it had been handed down by tradition, that the use of the press had, at some period of our colonial subjugation, been prohibited in Virginia, the evidence of the fact had eluded all my researches till this time." ' This information makes it sufficiently evident, that there was a press in Virginia as early as 1681; but the name of the printer does not appear; and the record shows, that the press was speedily prohibited. Lord Culpeper was appointed governor of Virginia in November, 1682;2 the old style was then used, which placed February at the end of the year. In 1683, Lord Effingham received a commisSee in N2V; h. Hist. and Gen. Register for Jan. 7, 1872, an article on Early Printing in Virginia, communicated by Col. A. H. Hoyt. It contains the correspondence which grew out of Mr. Thomas's application for information on the subject.-I-. 2 Jefferson's Notes on Virginia, p. 285, Boston edition, 1801. 332 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. sion as governor of the colony and he was ordered expressly, " to allow no person to use a printing press on any occasion whatsoever." 2 And it does not appear that any printing was performed in Virginia from the year 1682 till about the year 1729. Until 1766, there was but one printing house in the colony, and this was thought to be too much under the control of the governor. WILLIAMSBURG. By the foregoing it is evident there was a printing press in Virginia, in or near Williamsburg, as early as 1681, and that it was discontinued in 1682. The printer's name is not known, or if known, I have not been able to ascertain it. The first permanent printing establishment in the colony was made in Williamsburg by WILLIAM PARKS, who at that time, had a press at Annapolis, as already mentioned. He was, by the appointment of each government, printer to both colonies, and received 2001. currency, per alnum, from Virginia, and the same sum from Maryland. Accommodations of this sort were not unusual in provinces south of Connecticut, during the infancy of printing. Parks, it has been said, was bdrn and bred to printing in England. About the year 1733, he left Annapolis and made Williamsburg the place of his permanent abode. His appointment as printer to the government was continued, and his salary enlarged., Soon after he became a resident of that city he published a newspaper;3 and, for many years, his press was the only one in Virginia. Jefferson's Notes on VirVinia, p. 286, Boston edition, 1801. 2Chalmers's Annals, vol. I, p. 345. 3It was claimed by the Williamsburg Gazette in 1870, that it was the oldest paper published in the United States, having been commenced in 1736. It was rejoined that the Gazette had been often suspended, at one time for six years.- M VIRGINIA. 333 Parks was prosecuted by a member of the house of burgesses, for publishing a libel, as appears by the following anecdote, extracted from the newspapers printed more than forty years ago. This was inserted in the journals of that time, as a striking instance of the influence and effect which the press has on public men and officers of government. Some few years ago, a man was convicted of stealing sheep, at Williamsburg, in Virginia, for which crime he was prosecuted; and, on answering the demands of public justice, retired into what was called the backwoods of that dominion, in order to avoid the reproaches of his neighbors. Several years passed away; during which time he acquired considerable property, and that part of the country where he took up his residence being made a new county he was by his neighbors chosen to represent them in the house of burgesses, which then met at Williamsburg. A mischievous ibeller, who remembered the crime formerly committed by the burgess, published an account of it in the Gazette, and although he did not mention the name, he clearly pointed out the transgressor, who, it seems, had defended some measures in the government that were considered as arbitrary, and who was highly offended with the freedom of the printer. The house was also displeased that one of their honorable body should be accused in a public paper of being guilty of such a base transaction. Parks was prosecuted for printing and publishing a libel against Mr. ****, an honorable and worthy burgess; and many members of the honorable house would no doubt have been highly gratified, if, on that occasion, they could have introduced the Star chamber doctrine of libels, and punished Parks for daring to publish an article which, as they observed, scandalized the government by reflecting on those who are intrusted with the administration of public affairs. But Parks begged that the records of the court might be produced, which would prove the truth of the 334 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. I libel. This was allowed, and the records were examined, though contrary to the doctrine of some men, who would impose on the community as law, that a libel is not less a libel for being true, and that its being true is an aggravation of the offence; and, such men observe, no one must speak ill of rulers, or those who are intrusted with power or authority, be they ever so base and oppressive, and daily abuse that power. Now, mark the sequel: the prosecutor stood recorded for sheep stealing; a circumstance which he supposed time had fully obliterated, both from the records of the court, and from the minds of the people; and he withdrew, overwhelmed with disgrace, from public life, and never more ventured to obtrude himself into a conspicuous situation, or to trouble printers with prosecutions for libels. Thus, it is obvious that a free press is, of all things, the best check and restraint on wicked men and arbitrary magistrates." 1 Parks was well acquainted with the art of printing, and his work was both neat and correct. He acquired a handsome property, was a respectable member of the community, extensively known in Virginia and Maryland, and much esteemed by his acquaintances in both provinces. On the 23d of March, 1750, he embarked in one of the trading ships for England. Soon after the vessel sailed, he was seized with pleurisy, which terminated his life on the first of April of that year. Iis remains were carried to England, and interred at Gosport. WILLIAM HUNTER was born in Virginia, and probably served his apprenticeship with Parks, whom he succeeded. in 1751. He printed for the house of burgesses, and published a newspaper. He had a relation who was paymaster to the king's troops in America, by whose influence he t Republished not many years ago. VIRGINIA. 335 was appointed deputy postmaster general, with Franklin, for the colonies; which office he held during life. He died in August, 1761. JOSEPH ROYLE succeeded Hunter in 1761. Ile was bred to printing in England, and had for several years been a foreman in Hunter's printing house. He printed for the government, and continued the Gazette. Hunter at his death left an infant son, and he bequeathed Royle 10001. currency, on condition that he would continue the business for the joint interest of himself and this son, whose name was William. Royle, who married a sister of Hunter, died before his nephew became of age. Young Hunter attained to his majority about the time the revolutionary struggle commenced. He began business, but being a royalist, he soon joined the British standard, and eventually left the country. ALEXANDER PURDIE was born in Scotland, and there brought up to printing. Ile continued the business at Williamsburg after the death of Royle, for the benefit of the widow of Royle, young Iunter and himself. Purdie died in 1779, of the dropsy. IHe possessed talents and integrity. JOHN DIXON, who married the widow of Royle, was not a printer. After his marriage a partnership was formed between him and Purdie. The firm was PURDIE & DIXON. They remained together until the commencement of the war. Purdie was appointed postmaster, and continued to print at Williamsburg until he died. Dixon removed to Richmond, and died there in May, 1791. He was greatly esteemed. WILLIAM RIND opened a second printing house in Wil 336 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. liamsburg in 1766. He served his apprenticeship with Jonas Green of Annapolis, and it appears was a short time his partner. As there was but one newspaper published in Virginia in 1765; and but one press in the proviene, which was judged to have an undue bias from the officers of government, a number of gentlemen who were desirous of having a free and uninfluenced Gazette, gave an invitation to Rind to settle in Williamsburg, with a promise of support; he accordingly opened a printing house in that city, and received satisfactory encouragement.' Rind published a newspaper, and was, soon after his establishment, appointed by the legislature printer to the government. This office was at that time lucrative. October 16, 1766, Rind, and Purdie & Dixon, the printers of the two Virginia Gazettes, were presented for publishing libels, at the instance of John Wayles, and the I-on. William Bird, respecting the bailment of Col. Chiswell; but the grand jury found no bills. Chiswell was supposed to have been under such anxiety of mind, on this account, as occasioned his death.2 Rind died August 19, 1773. CLEMINTINA RIND was born in Maryland. She was the widow of William Rind, and succeeded to his business in 1773, and printed the Gazette, etc. She died within two years after the death of her husband. This fact is corroborated by the following extract of a letter to the author from Thomas Jefferson, late president of the United States, dated July, 1809. "I do not know that the publication of newspapers was ever prohibited in Virginia. Until the beginning of our revolutionary disputes, we had but one press, and that having the whole business of the government, and no competitor for public favor, nothing disagreeable to the governor could be got into it. We procured Rind to come from Maryland to publish a free paper." 2 Rind's Virginia Gazette, Oct. 17, 1766. VIRGINIA. 337 JoHN PINKNEY was the successor. of Clementina Rind; and, probably, was previously her partner. He continued the Gazette in 1775, and did other printing after the war began, but died at Williamsburg, soon after that event. JOHN CLARKSON & AUGUSTINE DAVIS were printers and copartners, in Williamsburg, in 1778. They commenced the publication of a newspaper in April of that year. They were printers to the state in 1779, and, probably, before that time. Clarkson was nephew to Alexander Purdie. Davis was born in Yorktown, and was taught printing by Purdie. He published a newspaper several years in Williamsburg; then removed to Richmond; and was a respectable printer in that place. 35 338 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. NORTH CAROLINA. Printing was introduced into this colony about 1755; before that time, the necessary printing for the public was principally done at Williamsburg, Virginia, and at Charleston, South Carolina. There were only two presses in North Carolina before 1775. NEWBERN. The first press established in the colony was set up at Newbern, about twenty years before the revolution commenced. Until that time, there was only one press in both the Carolinas. JAMES DAVIS was the first printer in this colony. IHe began his establishment in 1754, or 1755. He was, I believe, from Virginia. In December of the year last mentioned, he published a newspaper. IH-e received some encouragement from government, and was appointed post master by Franklin and Hunter. Davis printed for the colony, and, in 1773, completed an edition of the Laws of North Carolina. The volume is in folio, and contains five hundred and eighty pages. His printing appears to have been well executed; but there was not much employment for his press before the declaration of Independence. HEe was a respectable man, and held a commission as a magistrate, which I believe he received during the administration of Governor Tryon. NORTH CAROLINA. 039 WILMINGTON. The second press established in this colony, was set up at Wilmington, near the close of the year 1763, or the beginning of 1764, by ANDREW STEUART, who was from Ireland, as was mentioned when he was taken notice of as a printer in Philadelphia, where he had resided and printed several years. He commenced the publication of a newspaper, but it was soon discontinued. Although he had but few printing materials, his printing shows tokens of a good workman. On settling at Wilmington he was encouraged with a share of the printing for government, and was patronized by gentlemen of the first respectability in the colony; but he soon lost their confidence, and fell into discredit. It was said that he intercepted and opened some private letters to a gentleman of distinction in the colony, and made their contents known. Be this as it may, he no longer received encouragement, and the work of the government was taken from him, so that he was obliged to discontinue his newspaper for the want of customers. The end of Steuart was tragical. In 1769, he was drowned in the river near his own residence, where he went to bathe. [See Philadelphia.] ADAM BOYD was born in Great Britain. He was not brought up to printing. In 1769 he purchased the press and types which had been used by Steuart. Boyd was the second person who printed in Wilmington; he published a newspaper. It has been said that he possessed some classical knowledge, which is not improbable; but his printing was, certainly, that of an unskilful workman. In 1776, he exchanged the press for the pulpit. 340 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. SOUTH CAROLINA. Printing was introduced into South Carolina as early as 1730. The government is said to have offered a liberal encouragement to any printer who would settle in Charleston;1 and that, in consequence of this offer, three printers arrived therein 1730, and 1731, one of whom was appointed printer to the province; another in the year following, published a newspaper. CHARLESTON. The first press introduced into the Carolinas was established in this city. ELEAZAR PHILLIPS was bor in Boston, and served his apprenticeship with Thomas Fleet of that town. He was the son of Eleazar Phillips, bookseller and binder, who lived at Charlestown, near Boston. Phillips opened a printing house in 1730, and executed the printing for the colony. He was but a short time in business, when he was seized by the sickness which prevailed in that city in 1731, and became one of its numerous victims. The following words are a part of the inscription I I am informed that a record of this offer cannot now be found, but the fact can, I believe, be fully authenticated. It was usual for the colonial governments in the new settlements to make such offers. The Barbadoes Mercury of October 16th, 1732, and the Weekly Rehearsal printed at Boston, of December 25, 1732, contain the following paragraph. "We hear from South Carolina, that there has been such a sickness, that near twenty on a day have been buried there; that of the three Printers that arrived there, for the sake of the 10001. Carolina Currency offered by the government, there is but one left; and he that received the premium is one that is lately dead." A similar paragraph appeared in other newspapers, printed on the continent at that time. SOUTH CAROLINA. 341 engraven on his tomb stone — ' Ie was first printer to his majesty." THOMAS WHITMARSH arrived with a press soon after Phillips, and began the publication of a newspaper, the first printed in either of the Carolinas. After Phillips died, Whitmarsh was appointed printer to the government, but was very soon arrested by death. He died in 1733. [See Hist. Newspapers.] Louis TIMOTHEE was the son of a French protestant refugee, who left France in consequence of the revocation of the edict of Nantz, and went to Holland. Timothee came from Holland, where he had acquired the art of printing, to Philadelphia. lie was employed some time in the printing house of Franklin; and was the first who was appointed librarian of the Philadelphia library company.L That office he resigned in December 1733, and removed to Charleston, where he arrived soon after the death of Whitmarsh, succeeded to his business, and accommodated his name to the English language by changing it to Lewis Timothy. In February, 1734, he published a newspaper, which, although not the earliest printed in the colony, was the first which gained permanency. Timothy did the work for government, which with his newspaper formed his principal employment. Iis course was short, as he died in December, 1738. ELIZABETH TIMOTHY, the widow of Lewis Timothy, with the aid of her son, conducted the press for a year or two, and then the son, being of age, carried on the concern in his own name. She died in April 1757. The Philadelphia library company was established in 1731; there was no librarian till November 1732, when Tilmoth('e was chosen. 342 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. PETER TIMOTHY, the son of Lewis, went into business on his own account in 1740; and, in January 1741, he was arrested for publishing a letter written by IHugh Bryan, in which it was asserted, that c" the clergy of South Carolina broke their canons daily." The celebrated George Whitefield and Hugh Bryan were arrested at the same time, by a warrant from Chief Justice Whitaker: Timothy for publishing, Bryan for writing, and Whitefield for correcting Bryan's letter for the press. They were all admitted to bail. Whitefield was then bound to England;1 he confessed the charge, and entered into a recognizance to appear by his attorney, at the next general session. Timothy succeeded his father as printer to the colony, and was, after the revolution, printer to the state. He remained in Charleston during the time that city was besieged; and in 1780, when it was surrendered, he was taken prisoner by the British. In August, 1780, he was sent as a prisoner to St. Augustine. In 1781, he was exchanged and delivered at Philadelphia, where he remained until the autumn of the next year, and then embarked with two daughters and a grandchild for St. Domingo. His ultimate object was to reach Antigua, where his 1 This celebrated itinerant preacher, when he visited America, like a comet drew the attention of all classes of people. The blaze of his ministration was extended through the continent, and he became the common topic of conversation from Georgia to New Hampshire. All the newspapers were filled with paragraphs of information respecting him, or with pieces of animated disputation pro or con; and the press groaned with pamphlets written in favor of, or against, his person and ministry. In short, his early visits to America excited a great and general agitation throughout the country, which did not wholly subside when he returned to Europe. Each succeeding visit occasioned a renewal of zeal and ardor in his advocates and opponents; and, it has been said, that from his example American preachers became more animated in their manner. Whitefield died very suddenly in Newburyport, Mass., Sept. 30, 1770, of an asthmatic fit. His remains were deposited under the pulpit of the Presbyterian church in that town. He was on his seventh visit to that town. SOUTH CAROLINA. 343 widowed daughter, Mrs. Marchant, had some property; but, soon after he left the capes of Delaware, the vessel in which he was a passenger foundered in a violent gale of wind, and every soul on board perished. Timothy was a decided and active friend of his country. He was a very intelligent and good printer and editor, and was for several years clerk of the general assembly. As a citizen he was much respected. ANNE TIMOTHY, the widow of the before mentioned Peter Timothy, after the war ceased, revived the Gazette, which had been established by the elder Timothy, but was discontinued while the British troops were in possession of Charleston. She was appointed printer to the state, and held the appointment until September, 1792, when she died. Her printing house was at the corner of Broad and King streets. ROBERT WELLS was born in Scotland, and there educated as a bookseller. He opened a bookstore and printing house at Charleston in 1758, and published a newspaper. His Gazette was the second established in the colony. Wells had a partner in the printing establishment, by the name of George Bruce, who managed the concerns of the printing house. His name appeared after Wells's in the imprint of their works. Wells was the owner of the press and types, and the business was under his sole control. Bruce remained with Wells several years, and when they separated Wells conducted his printing house by the aid of journeymen. Wells kept a large book and stationery store, well supplied. For many years he was the principal bookseller for both the Carolinas. His business was extensive, and he acquired property. He was marshal of the court of admiralty, and one of the principal auctioneers in the city. 344 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. This last business was very lucrative, especially the sale of cargoes of slaves. He owned a number of negroes; two or three of whom were taught to work at press. It was a common custom in the Carolinas, and in the West Indies, to have blacks for pressmen. Wells's slaves were frequently intoxicated, and unfit for work when they were wanted at press; at such times, he adopted a singular method to render them sober. The water in the city is unfit to drink; and, as on many it operates medicinally, he would take his drunken negroes to the pump, and pour water down their throats until they began to sicken; then shut them up for an hour or two; and, the operation being there completed, they were taken out and put to press. His printing house and bookstore were on the bay, near Tradd street. He was a staunch royalist, but a good editor, active in business, and just and punctual in his dealings. About the time when the revolutionary war commenced, he resigned his establishment to his son, went to Europe, and never returned. GEORGE BRUCE was born in Scotland, learned printing there, whence he came to Robert Wells in Charleston. He managed, several years, the concerns of Wells's printing house, and his name, as has been mentioned, appeared after Wells's in their imprints. When they parted, he opened a printing house on his own account. He lived in Church street, where he commenced a trade in English goods, and paid but little attention to typographical concerns. His printing house was furnished with new types; but he had only those founts which were most in use. He remained in the city, in 1775, after the war began. CHARLES CROUCH was born in Charleston; he was brotherin-law to Peter Timothy, with whom he served an apprenticeship. In 1765, he opened the fourth printing house in SOUTH CAROLINA. 345 the colony. He was encouraged to set up a press, and to print a newspaper in opposition to the stamp act, at the time the act was to have taken effect. He was a sound whig. Crouch printed but little excepting his paper, which was lucrative. He was in business when the war commenced; soon after which, he took passage in a vessel bound to New York, and was drowned. He lived in Eliott street, and his printing house was in Gadsden's alley. THOMAS POWELL was an Englishman, and served his apprenticeship in London. He came to Charleston in 1769, and was employed by Timothy as foreman in his printing house. Powell was a correct printer, his education had been good, and in his manners he was a gentleman. In 1772, Timothy admitted Powell as a partner. The firm was, THOMAS POWELL & COMPANY. Their printing house was near the Exchange. Timothy, as a silent partner, edited the Gazette, and directed the general concerns of the firm. On the 31st of August, 1773, in consequence of a motion made by the chief justice in the council, or upper house of assembly, it was ordered, that Powell should immediately attend that house. Powell accordingly attended, and " was examined if he was the printer and publisher of the South Carolina Gazette," then shown to him. He answered that he was. He was then asked, " by what authority he presumed to print as an article of news in his paper, a matter purporting to be a part of the proceedings of this house, on the 26th of August instant?" To which he replied, " That the copy of the matter there printed was delivered to him by the Hon. William Henry Drayton, one of the members of that house, who desired him to printthe same." The house " Resolved," That as he acknowledged himself to be the printer of a part of their proceedings, without 36 346 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. their order or leave, he was "thereby guilty of a high breach of the privileges, and a contempt of the house." Powell was told to ask pardon; he declined. The house then ordered him to be taken into the custody-of the sergeant at arms, and brought to the bar. This was done; and, when at the bar, he was again informed of the charge against him; and that the house desired to hear what he could say in exculpation of said charge. Powell declared that " he did not know that he had committed any offence." It was again demanded of him, if he would ask pardon; he answered, he would not. The lion. Mr. Drayton, in his place, acknowledged that he was the person who sent the copy of that part of the journals printed by Powell, to the press; but, without intention to offend the house, etc. The house then " Resolved, That Thomas Powell, who hath this day been adjudged, by this house, to have been guilty of a high breach of privilege, and a contempt of this house, be for his said offence committed to the common gaol of Charleston; and that his honor, the president of this house, do issue his warrant accordingly." Before putting the question, Mr. Drayton claimed leave to enter his protest and dissent; which he did accordingly. The president, the IHon. Egerton Leigh, agreeably to the resolution of the house, issued his warrant. Powell was imprisoned, and remained in confinement until the morning of the second of September following. On the second of September, the Hon. Rawlins Lowndes, speaker of the lower house, or " commons house of assembly," and George Gabriel Powell, one of its members, justices of the peace, etc., had Powell brought before them by a writ of habeas corpus, and discharged him. On the same day, Powell published a Gazette extraordinary, in which Drayton's dissent and protest were inserted. The council resolved, that the protest, as pub SOUTH CAROLINA. 347 lished that day, was materially different from that on their journals, and was therefore " false, scandalous and malicious, tending to reflect upon the honor and justice of the house;" and, "that William Henry Drayton was instrumental to the publication." Before putting the question, Mr. Drayton claimed leave to enter his dissent and protest; which he accordingly did. In this protest Mr. Drayton asserted, that the protest as published, excepting some misspelling in copying by the clerk, and the misprinting the word falfilled for published, was expressly the same as the original. The next day the council, styling themselves, " the upper house of assembly," resolved, " That Mr. Drayton had been guilty of a breach of privilege and contempt of that house, in being instrumental to the publication of the protest," etc. Before putting the question, Mr. Drayton entered his dissent and protest. The resolve was passed, and Mr. Drayton directed to withdraw. He withdrew accordingly. The council then passed the following resolve. " That when T. Powell was before this house, his whole deportment and behavior manifested the most insolent disrespect; and, so far was he from discovering any contrition for his offence, that he flatly declared that he did not know that he had committed any, and therefore thought it hard to ask pardon; and, being informed by the president, that the house was of a different opinion, he still obstinately persisted that he could not ask pardon." In the afternoon of the same day, Mr. Drayton, in consideration that the house had not proceeded with him " to the last extremity," informed that body, " that he neither sent the protest to the press, nor ordered any person to carry it, or even desired the printer, or any person to publish it; that Mr. Edward Rutledge sent the copy to the printer." On this information, the house resolved, that 348 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. Mr. Drayton " had purged himself of the contempt and breach of privilege with which he stood charged." On the fourth of September, the sheriff of Charleston district, having attended the council agreeably to order, was directed by the president to make out a copy of the writ of habeas corpus, issued by the Justices Lowndes and G. G. Powell, Esquires, by virtue of which he had two days before removed T. Powell from prison and carried him before said justices, with his return thereon. A committee was appointed to "take under their consideration the nature of the discharge of T. Powell, printer, to report such resolutions as may be necessary for the house to enter into; and to prepare an humble address on the subject to his majesty, and another to his honor the lieutenant governor." The chief justice, and two other members were of this committee, who reported the following resolutions, which were agreed to by the house. "Resolved, That the power of commitment is so necessarily incident to each house of assembly, that without it neither their authority nor dignity can, in any degree whatsoever, be maintained or supported. "Resolved, That Rawlins Lowndes, Esquire, speaker of the commons house of assembly, and George Gabriel Powell, Esq., member of said house, being two justices of the peace, unus quorum, lately assistant judges and justices of his majesty's court of common pleas, have, by virtue of habeas corpus by them issued, caused the body of T. Powell to be brought before them, on the second of this instant September, and the said justices, disregarding the commitment of this house, did presumptuously discharge said T. Powell out of the custody of the sheriff under the commitment of this house. " Resolved, That the said justices have been guilty of the most atrocious contempt of this house, by their public SOUTH CAROLINA. 349 avowal and declaration, made by them in pronouncing judgment, that this house is no upper house of assembly; on which principle alone they did discharge the said T. Powell; they have, as far as in them lay, absolutely and actually abolished one of the branches of the legislature; and, in so doing, have subverted the constitution of this government,'and have expressly sounded the most dangerous alarm to the good subjects of this province. "Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be sent to the commons house of assembly, together with a message, complaining of such conduct and breach of our privilege, by their members; and, setting forth, that, as this house has always been careful to support its own just rights and privileges, so it has always been cautious not to infringe the rights and privileges of the commons house; and, that this house, relying on the justice of the commons house, does expect they will direct Rawlins Lowndes and George Gabriel Powell, Esqrs., two of their members, to waive their privilege, in order that this house may proceed to the cognizance of their said breach of privilege and contempt." The committee reported, also, according to order, a message to the commons house of assembly; an address to the king, and another to the lieutenant governor; with all which the council agreed, and presented and forwarded them according to their respective destinations. The commons house of assembly did not comply with the requisition of the upper house; on the contrary, they justified the conduct of their speaker and Judge Powell, and directed the agent of the province in London, "to 1 The upper house of assembly, in their address to the lieutenant governor, observe, that Powell was discharged by the justices, " by virtue of a power given by a provincial act, passed December 12, 1712, to two justices, one being of the quorum, to put in execution the habeas corpus act, to such intents and purposes, as the said act can be put in execution in the kingdom of England; upon the sole and avowed principle that we are not an upper house of legislature." 350 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. make the most humble representations to his majesty of the conduct of his council [upper house] and to implore their removal; or, such marks of his royal displeasure to them, as may prevent, for the future, such an encroachment on the liberties of his people." The commons house, at the same time, addressed the lieutenant governor, informing him of the conduct of the council, and that they had directed the agent of the province to represent it to the king, etc., and concluded with earnestly requesting his honor, that, as a considerable time must elapse, before their complaint to the king could be heard, etc., he would " be pleased to suspend such members of the council as ordered the said commitment, until his majesty's royal pleasure should be known; and to appoint in their stead men who really have at heart the service of his majesty, and the interest of the province." The governor, as was expected, declined complying with the request of the commons, and in this situation the affair rested, until the pleasure of his majesty should be known. The business remained before the king and council, I presume in an unsettled state, at the commencement of the war, which event, probably, stayed all proceedings upon it, and it was never more agitated. As to what became of Powell, or respecting the part he took in the war, or whether he returned to England, I have not been able to obtain any information. The Gazette was discontinued some time after the war commenced, but was revived by Timothy. MARY CROUCH was born in Providence, Rhode Island. She was the wife of Charles Crouch, and continued the business of printing in Charleston some time after his death. In 1780, she removed with her press and types to Salem, Massachusetts. [See Salem.] SOUTH CAROLINA. 351 JOHN WELLS, the eldest son of Robert Wells, was born in Charleston, and served an apprenticeship at Donaldson's printing house in Edinburgh. He succeeded his father as a printer and bookseller at Charleston, in 1775. Although the father was a zealous royalist, the son took a decided part in favor of the country. He printed and fought in its defence, until the city fell into the hands of the British in 1780. Wells belonged to a military company in Charleston which marched to assist in the siege of Savannah, by the allied American and French armies, in 1779, and during this unsuccessful campaign, he acquired the reputation of a brave and vigilant soldier. When Charleston fell into the possession of the British, he, with many others, to save his property, signed an address to the British commander, and he printed a royal Gazette, which he continued until December 1782. For these offences he was proscribed by the state government, at the close of the war. Apprehending that he could not safely remain in Charleston when the British surrendered the place to the American government, he left the city, and went with his press to Nassau, New Providence, published the Bahama Gazette, and never more returned to the United States. [See New Providence.] Except in Charleston, there was no printer in South Carolina before the revolution. 352 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. GEORGIA. The settlement of this province, named after George II, king of Great Britain, did not begin until the year 1732. The public printing, till 1762, was done in Charleston, South Carolina. There was only one press established in Georgia before the revolution. SAVANNAH. Printing was introduced into this colony at this place, and a printing house was opened early in 1762, by JAMES JOHNSTON, who was born in Scotland, and there served a regular apprenticeship. After his establishment in Savannah, he printed for the government. The government of the colony gave Johnston a handsome pecuniary consideration for settling in that place. He printed an edition of the laws; and, in 1763, began the publication of a newspaper. This newspaper, and printing for the colony, was the chief employment of his press. He did some business as a bookseller; was a very honest, reputable man, acquainted with the art he professed to practice; and in his general conduct was a good and useful member of society. He died in October, 1808, aged seventy years, leaving a widow and six children. NEW STATES, Founded, awd admitted into the Union, since the Revolution; and Territories of the United States. As these states and territories were not settled, or were not located as distinct governments, before 1775, I shall only take notice of the period when the art was introduced into them. VERMONT. 353 VERMONT. This district became a state after the revolution; no press had previously been established in it.1 JUDAI PADDOCK SPOONER and TIMOTHY GREEN, who have been mentioned as printers at Norwich, in Connecticut, removed from that place to Hanoverin New Hampshire, then claimed, with other towns on the east side of Connecticut river, by the people inhabiting Vermont, where, for a short time, they published a newspaper. They then carried their press to Westminister, and were the first who introduced printing into Vermont. In Westminster they published The Vermont Gazette; or, Green Mountain Post Boy. This paper made its first appearance in February, 1781. Spooner had the whole management of their printing house, as Green still prosecuted the printing business in New London. The firm continued only a short time. Green relinquished his interest in it; and the press and types which were owned by him were sold, after the lapse of four or five years. George Hough was the purchaser. He removed them to Windsor in 1783, and there formed a partnership with Alden Spooner. Alden was the brother of Judah. The Vermonters had their printing done at Hartford, and before and during the revolution, were dependent upon the columns of the Connecticut Courant to carry on their warfare with the citizens and authorities of New York, respecting their title to the present territory of Vermont.- M. 354 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. KENTUCKY. JOHN BRADFORD began printing at Lexington, Kentucky, in 1786. After which presses were set up at Frankfort, and in other towns. TENNESSEE. R. ROULSTONE, from Massachusetts, set up a press at Knoxville, 1793. E011O. S. FREEMAN & SON introduced printing into Cincinnati in 1795. i;::. ~. "; v, MSSISISSIPPI TERRITORY. A press was established at Natchez in 1815. MICHIGAN TERRITORY. Printing is said to have been introduced into Detroit in 1815. LouISIANA. 355 LOUISIANA. Several printing houses were opened at New Orleans, as soon as that country came under the government of the United States. Most of these new states and settlements, at the time of the war were but little known. The white inhabitants were but few, and they were scattered in solitary settlements, or in a few straggling towns and villages through a vast tract of country, where the art of printing had not extended.' 1It may be interesting to notice the gradual extension of printing beyond the region embraced above. A paper was published in Maine at Falmnouth in 1785; in Missouri in 1806; Mississippi, 1808; Indiana, 1808; Michigan, 1809; Illinois, 1814; Wisconsin, 1831; Texas, 1834; Iowa, 1836; Oregon, 1847; California, 1848; Minnesota, 1849,. These will be found more particularly noticed under the account of Newspapers, in, the next volume.- AL. BRITISH COLONIES. NOVA SCOTIA. PRINTING was introduced into Nova Scotia in 1751; but, at that time, there was but little encouragement for the press. HALIFAX. The first press was established at Halifax, and there was not a second in the province until 1766. BARTHOLOMEW GREEN JUNIOR has already been mentioned. He was the grandson of Samuel Green, of Cambridge, and was of the firm of Green, Bushell & Allen, of Boston, He removed to Halifax with a press and types in August, 1751. He died in about six weeks after his arrival, aged fifty-two years. JOHN BUSHELL, who had been the partner of Green in Boston, immediately succeeded him in Halifax. He printed for government, and in the first week of January, 1752, published the first newspaper printed in Nova Scotia. The work for government was inconsiderable, but was the chief support of Bushell. IHe was a good workman, but had not the art of acquiring property; nor did he make the most economical use of the little which fell into his hands. Bushell died in February, 1761. lie left one son and a daughter. The son was sent to New England, and served an apprenticeship with Daniel Fowle, printer in Ports 358 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. mouth, New Hampshire. When of age, he worked as a journeyman in Philadelphia, and at the same time kept a tavern at the Cross Keys in Front street. He died February 4, 1797. The daughter, whose name was Elizabeth, had been accustomed to assist her father in the printing house. She could work both at case and press; and was, in the language of printers, a swift and correct compositor.1 Bushell left little, if any, property to his family. His daughter was handsome, but unfortunate. ANTHONY HENRY succeeded Bushell as a printer au Halifax. He was a German, and had lived some time with a printer, but had left his master, and became a fifer in one of the British regiments. With this regiment he came to America. In 1758, the time for which Henry had enlisted being ended, he was discharged from the regiment, which was then stationed in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. He then went to Woodbridge, and was employed some months in the printing house of James Parker; after which he went to Nova Scotia. There was then no printer in the province, and his pretensions to skill in this art greatly facilitated his introduction to business in Halifax. He began with the press and types which had been used by Bushell. He published the Gazette; and government, ] There have been many instances of women performing the work of the printing house. The nieces of Dr. Franklin, in Newport, [See Newport] were expert compositors; and so were, it is said, the daughters of Mr. D. H. of Philadelphia. Mr. William Me Culloch,of Philadelphia, informs me that he saw in a printing house near Philadelphia, two women at the press, who could perform their week's Work with as much fidelity as most of the journeymen. As compositors, women and girls have not unfrequently been employed, not only in America, but in Europe. Some printers from Scotland have assured us that the daughter of the celebrated typographer of Glasgow, Foulis, was an adept/ at the business. Foulis & Son flourished as printers about 1765. These remarks apply to the year 1815. NOVA ScOTIA. 359 through necessity, gave him some work, which was badly executed. In 1766, a printer with a new and good apparatus, came from London, and opened another printing house in Ialifax. He published a newspaper, and was employed to print for government. Henry, who had been indolent, and inattentive to his affairs, did not despond at the establishment of a formidable rival; but, much to his credit, exerted himselfand did better than he had done before. After a few years trial, his rival, not finding his business so profitable, nor the place so agreeable as he expected, returned to England, and Henry was again the only printer in the province. He procured new types and a workman better skilled than himself. Henry's printing from this period was executed in a more workmanlike manner than formerly; he having employed a good workman in his printing house as a journeyman. He remained without another rival until the British army evacuated Boston in March, 1776, when the printers in that town, who adhered to the royal cause, were obliged to leave that place; and they, with other refugees, went to Halifax. Henry continued printing until his death. He possessed a fund of good nature, and was of a very cheerful disposition. Although not skillful as a printer, he was otherwise ingenious. In 1787, Henry having procured German types from the foundery of Justus Fox, in Germantown, Pa., published a newspaper in the German language, of the same title with that which he continued to publish in English. This German paper was conducted by the journeyman1 before mentioned. 1 This journeyman, named Henry Steiner, arrived at Halifax, in 1782, with the last detachment of Hessian troops that came as auxiliaries to the British in our revolutionary war. He was a corporal. He had been regularly bred to printing. As hostilities ceased soon after his arrival, he obtained a furlough, to work with Henry. When the detachment to 360 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. When Henry arrived in Halifax, he became acquainted with a woman of African extraction, who was a pastry cook, and possessed a small property, the fruit of her industry. To acquire this property, Henry consented to a connection with this sable female. The property which he acquired by this negotiation enabled him to purchase the few printing materials which had belonged to Bushell, and to build a house in which he afterward lived. His companion died, in two or three years, without issue by him. Desdemona, in another case of particolored nuptials, wished: "That Heaven had made her such man." Henry's consort had probably a like desire, for it is said the proffer of marriage came from her. In 1773, Henry married a countrywoman of his, who had been his housekeeper for ten years.1 He died December, 1800, aged sixty-six. ROBERT FLETCHER arrived at Halifax from London, in 1766, with new printing materials, and a valuable collection of books and stationery. He opened a printing house and bookstore near the parade; published a newspaper, and printed for government. Until this time there had which Steiner belonged was about to return to Europe, his officers, according to his account, contracted to sell him to Henry for the term of eighteen months, for thirty-six guineas. Steiner, supposing this sale to be legal, continued with Henry the time stipulated; after which, receiving good wages, he remained with him till 1789. Steiner then went to Philadelphia. When Steiner left Henry, his German paper was discontinued. 1On the occasion, the following paragraph appeared, February, 1774, in the Boston Evening Post. "Married at Halifax, Nova Scotia, Mr. Anthony Henry, aged about 30, to Mrs. Barbary Springhoff, aged about 96; it is said she has two husbands now living, seven children, ten grand children, and fifty great grand children." This statement is not correct. Henry was then forty years old, and Barbary not more than fifty-five. She had several children and grandchildren; but not near the number mentioned. NOVA SCOTIA. 361 been no bookstore in the province. Fletcher executed his printing with neatness, and raised the reputation of the art in Nova Scotia, He remained at Halifax until 1770, then sent his printing materials to Boston for sale, and returned himself to England. JoHN HOWE began printing in Halifax, in 1776.1 After the peace, in 1784, printing found its way into the province of New Brunswick. 1 See ante, p. 176-7, also Sabine's Loyalists of the American Rlevolution, I, 548-50. — M. 38 362 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. CANADA. The art was introduced into Canada soon after its conquest by the British. There was, however, but one press established there before 1775. QUEBEC. Soon after the organization of the government of the province by the British, a printing house was established in Quebec by William Brown and Thomas Gilmore, under the firm of BROWN & GILMORE. They were the first who introduced the art into Canada. They printed in both English and French; and their work was executed in a very handsome manner. Brown, I am informed, was a Scotchman, and had been employed some years in the printing house of William Hunter, in Williamsburg, Va. Gilmore was a native of Pennsylvania, and served an apprenticeship with William Dunlap, in Philadelphia.1 Their partnership continued till 1774. From that time, Brown, the senior partner, carried on the business for himself. 1 The intelligence sent to me from Canada respecting the country where these printers were born, as published in the first edition, I find was erroneous. I have since received more correct information respecting them. ADDENDA. CHRISTOPHER SOWE THIRD. — The following article, handed to the author from a gentleman in Philadelphia, reflects much honor on the character of Christopher Sower, the third. Capt. Coleman, who took Sower prisoner in his excursion to Germantown, was himself, sometime after Sower's release, taken prisoner by the British, and confined on board a prison-ship in New York, with others from Germantown who were acquainted with Sower. Some time after their confinement, Sower, with some of his British friends, went on board of the prison-ship, but did not know of the capture and confinement of his Germantown acquaintance. Sower soon recognized Coleman and the others, who rather shunned than courted an interview with him. However, Sower went to them, familiarly accosted them, and expressed his surprise at finding them in their present situation. lie told them, particularly Coleman, that they had nothing to fear from his resentment, but that, on the contrary, he was disposed to befriend them as much as lay in his power; and for that purpose inquired into their present circumstances. Soon after Sower left the prison-ship he supplied Coleman with linen and other necessaries, and in the course of a few days effected his liberation, and that of the two others, his companions, without an exchange. I / APPENDIX. APPENDIX A. HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. COMMUNICATED BY iHON. JOHN R. B3ARTLETT. The precise date of the introduction of printing into Mexico, was for a long time in doubt. Mr. Thomas is correct in his statement that the art was introduced into that country before the year 1569, the date of the license for printing Molina's dictionary, and he is not far from the mark, after reading what the Abbe Clavigero says, in saying that " We may conclude that printing was introduced into Mexico previous to the year 1540." When Mr. Thomas wrote his History of Printing in America, early works on America were rare, and it is probable that there was not one in the country printed in either America or Europe in the XYIth century, except the copy of Molina's dictionary; now many of the period may be found in our great private libraries. The dictionary of Molina, in Mexican and Spanish, printed in Mexico, in 1571, in folio, was, by many, asserted and believed to be the earliest book printed in America. It was found in several collections, both public and private, and no one here had seen an earlier book until the Doctrina Christiana printed in the house of Juan Cromberger, in the city of Mexico, in the year 1544, was discovered. Copies of this rare work were found in two well known private libraries in New York and Providence. For a long time the honor was awarded to this as the earliest book printed in America. But there is now strong evidence that printing was really introduced in Mexico nine years before that time, and positive evidence, by existing books, that a press was established in 1540. 366 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. Readers familiar with early books relating to Mexico have seen mention of a book printed there as early as 1535. The particulars are given by Padilla, in his work entitled Historia de la Fundacion y Discurso de la Provincia de Santiago de Mexico, de la Orden de Predicadores, etc., 1625, folio. At page 542, speaking of Fr. Juan de Estrada, he says: " Estando en casa de novicios hizo una cosa, que por la primera que se hizo en esta tierra bastaba para darle memoria, cuando el autor no la tuviera como la tiene ganada por haber sido quien fue. El primer libro que en este nuevo mundo se escribio y la primera cosaen que se ejercito la imprenta en esta tierra, fu obra suya. D.abaseles a los novicios un libro de S. Juan Climaco, y como no los hubiese en romance mandaronle que lo tradujese de latin. Iizolo asi con presteza y elegancia, por ser muy buen latino y romancista, y fu6 su libro el primero que se imprimii por Juan Pablos, primer impresor que d esta tierra vino. Bien se muestra la devocion de Sto. Domingo de Mexico en que un hijo suyo haya sido el primero que en este nuevo mundo imprimiese, y cosa tan devota como la Escala espiritual de San Juan Climaco." ' Being in the house of the novices, he did a thing, which, being first done by him in this country, was enough to give him fame, if he had not otherwise gained it, as he has gained it, by being what he was. The first book which in this new world was written, and the first thing in which the art of printing was employed in this land, was his work. There was usually given to the novices a book of St. John Climacus, and as it did not exist in our language, [en romance] he was ordered to translate it from the Latin. He did it with quickness and elegance, for he was a good Latin and Spanish scholar; and his book was the first which was printed by John Pablos, the first printer who came to this country. It shows well the devotion of [the Province of ] San Domingo, of Mexico, that one of her sons was the first who printed in this new world, and that he printed so devout a work as the Spiritual Ladder of St. John Climacus." The next writer who refers to this early translation of Climacus is Fr. Alonzo Fernandez, in his Iiistoria Ecclesiastica de Nuestros Tiempos." Toledo, 1611, folio. Speaking of Fr. Juan de Estrada, (page 122), he says: ' Este padre imprimi6 la traduccion que hizc l APPENDIX. 367 de San Juan Climaco, muy provechosa, etc. Este fue el primero libro que se imprimi6 en Mexico, y fue ano de mil y quinientos y trienta y cinco." " This Father printed the translation which he made of St. John Climacus, very profitable, etc. This was the first book printed in Mexico, and it was in the year 1535." The next authority is found in the Teatro Eclesiastico de la primitiva Iglesia de las indias Occidentales by Gil Gonzales Davila, Madrid, 1649, folio, page 23. He says " En el afno de mil y quinientos y trienta y dos el Virey D. Antonio de Mendoza llevo la imprenta a Mexico. El primer impresor fu6 Juan Pablos: y el primer libro que se imprimio en el Nuevo Mundo, fue el que escribio S. Juan Climaco con el titulo de Escala espiritual para llegar al cielo, traducido del latin al castellano, por el V. P. Fr. Juan de la Magdalena, religioso dominico." In the year 1532, the Viceroy D. Antonio de Mendoza carried printing to Mexico. The first printer was Juan Pablos, and the first book printed in the new world was that written by St. John Climacus, entitled Spiritual Ladder to ascend to Heaven. Translated from the Latin into the Castilian by the Yen. P. Fr. Juan de la Magdelena, Dominican Religious." These three writers who refer to the "' translation of the Spiritual Ladder " of Climacus, agree except in the date. They all state that it was the first book printed in Mexico; and two of them add that Juan Pablos was the printer. Davila, the last author mentioned, says the translation was made by Juan de la Magdalena, while Padilla and Fernandez say that Juan de Estrada was the translator. These names refer to the same person, " Magdalena being the cloister name of Estrada.1 The date of 1532 given by Gonzales Davila is evidently wrong. He says Mendoza carried printing to Mexico in 1532; whereas it is a well known fact that Mendoza was appointed viceroy in April 1535, and did not arrive in Mexico until the middle of October, of the same year. (See Dic. Universal de Hist. y de Geog., tom. v, p. 240, article Mendoza). Brunet notices the same discrepancy in the date of Mendoza's arrival. He does not however 1 See Davila Padilla, p. 542, also Antonio Bibliotheca Nova, tor. T, p. (<85. Bothl in speaking of Estrada say, " Estrada (aias Mlagdalena." 368 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. refer to the work of Fernandez, and says the epoch of the introduction of printing in the new world remains to be fixed. The true date of Mendoza's arrival in Mexico being 1535, the date corresponds with that given by Alonzo Fernandez for the introduction of printing, and with the time when Estrada made his profession after one year's novitiate, during which time he is said to have made his translation. It seems that no copy of the Spiritual Ladder has ever been seen in recent times, and the quoted testimonials are the only ones yet found which refer to it. The disappearance of this book in more than three hundred years after its publication is by no means surprising, for a work of its kind, of which, as Mr. Icazbalceta remarks, [being intended for the use of the novices,] but a small number was probably printed. These, perhaps, were never circulated outside the convent, but used up as school books generally are, sooner than any other class. D. Joaquin Garcia Icazbalceta, of the city of Mexico, has carefully examined the subject of Mexican typography, and published the results in an elaborate article in the Diccionario Universal de Historia y de Geografia. Tom. v. Mexico. 1854. Folio. page 961. This learned writer gives a list of books printed in Mexico prior to 1600, and the places where copies still exist. We quote the titles of those printed before the year 1544, the date of the Doctrina Christiana hitherto supposed to be the first book printed in America.' 1. Manual de Adultos, of which only the last leaves have been saved, bearing the following termination: " Imprimiose este Manual de Adultos en la gran ciudad de Mexico par mandado de los Rev. Seliores Obispos de la Nueva Espana y 'l sus expensas: en casa de Juan Cromberger. Ano del nacimiento de nuestro Senior Jesu Christo de mill y quinientos y quarenta. A xiij dias del mes de Deziembre." 4to. Gothic Letter. [1540.]2 The above description was furnished Seinor Icazbalceta by D. Francisco Gonzalez de Vera, of Madrid. For a note on this book and its claims to being the first book printed in America, see Rich's Jib5liotheca Americana. 2 We regret that we cannot give the number of pages in these several books naCmed, as they are not stated in the work from which we q(uote. APPENDIX. 369 Doetrina Christiana, etc. Mexico. No date. This volume, unknown to bibliographers, was found by Mr. Harrisse in the Provincial Library at Toledo. It is described by him in his Additions to his Bibliotheca Americana Vetustissima, and for reasons there given, placed under the date of 1540. 2. " Relacion del espantable terremoto, que agora nuevamenta ha acontecido en la cibdad de Guatemala: es cosa de grande admiracion y de grande ejemplo para que todos nos emendemos de nuestros pecados y estemos aprescividos para quando Dios fuere servido de nos llamar." At the end " Fue impresa en la gran ciudad de Mexico en casa de Juan Crornberger anio mill y quinientos y quarenta y uno." 4to. 4 leaves. Gothic letter. [1541.] Description furnished by Don Francisco Gonzalez de Vera of Madrid. 3. " Doctrina breve muy provechosa de las cosas que pertenecen a la fe catholica y a nuestra cristiandad en estilo llano para comun inteligencia. Compuesto por el Rev. P. don fray Juan Zumarraga, primer obispo de Mexico, del consejo de su magestad. Impressa en la misrma ciudad de Mexico por su mandado y A su costa. Aino de Mdxliij. [1543] 4to. Gothic letter. Title 1543, colophon 1544. In the possession of Senor Icazbaleeta, of Mexico. 4. " Este es un compendio breve que tracta de la manera de como se han de hazer las processiones: compuesto por Dionisio Richel cartuxano: que esta en latin en la primera parte de sus preciosos opusculos: romanzado para comun utilidad." At the end: "Se imprimio en esta gran ciudad de Tenuchtitlan Mexico de esta nueva Espana por mandado del muy reverendo seilor don Fray Juan Zumarraga: primer obispo de la misma ciudad.... En casa de Juan Cromberger. Ano de M.D.xliiij." [1544] 4to. Gothic letter. In the possession of Senor Icazbalceta, of Mexico. 5. " Este es un compendio " etc., (the same as the previous work). At the end, " Aqui se acaba este breve compendio de Dionysio cartuxano: con la adicion de los argumentos con sus respuestas, etc., que tracta de lo que es mandado y vedado en las processiones: en especial en la de Corpus Christi, por cuya causa se romanzo. Im39 370 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. presso en Mexico per mandado de s. obispo don fray Juan Zumarraga: en casa de Juan Cromberger. 4to. Gothic letter. In the library of the Convent de San Cosme. An edition, Mr. Icazbalceta says, very different and fuller than the one previously mentioned. Mr. I. does not give the (late of this work, but from his placing it with the publications of 1544, this very careful and reliable author doubtless had authority in the book itself for so doing. 6. " Tripartito del Christianissimo y consolatorio doctor Juan Gerson de doctrina Christiana: a cualquiera muy provechosa. Traduzido de latin en lengua Castellana para el bien de muchos necessario. Impresso en Mexico: en casa de Juan Cromberger. Por mandado y a costa del R. S. Obispo de la misma ciudad F. Juan Zumarraga. Revisto y examinado por sa mandado. Ano de M.D.xliiij." [1544] 4to. Gothic letter. In the possession of Senor Icazbalceta. 7. " Doctrina Christiana para instruccion e informacion de los Indios, por manera de hystoria. Compuesta por el muy reverendo padre fray Pedro de Cordova, de buena memoria primero fundador de la orden de los Predicadores en las yslas del mar Oceano: y por otros religiosos doctos de la misma orden.... La qual fue empressa en Mexico por mandada del muy R. S. don fray Juan Zumarraga primer Obispo desta ciudad: del consejo de su Majestad &c. y a su costa. Afio de M.dxliiij." [1544.] At the end: " Impressa en la grande y mas leal ciudad de Mexico: en casa de Juan Cromberger: que santa gloria aya a costa del dicho senor obispo," etc. Acabose de imprimir Afio de M.d.xliiij." [1544] 4to. Gothic letter. Copies are in the possession of Senor Icazbalceta, of Mexico, and of Mr. John Carter Brown, of Providence, R. I. The same doubt which exists as to the first printed book, exists also in regard to the first printer. In 1540, we find a book, the Manual Adultos before referred to, issued from the press of Juan Cromberger, in the city of Mexico. This Cromberger was a celebrated printer in Seville. Other known works bear his imprint with the dates of 1541 and 1544 in Mexico. Before and during the same years, books bearing Cromberger's imprint at Seville also appeared, several of them APPENDIX. 371 (for example the Onzeno de Amadis, 1546, and as early as 1541, Sepulveda's Dialogo llamado Democrates) followed by a remark indicating that he was deceased, viz.: " que santa gloria haya," and difunto que Dies haya." The printing may have been carried on by his family after his death, as was often the case with eminent printers. The Regla Christiana breve, printed in Mexico in 1547, 4to, Gothic letter, has no printer's name; while the Doctrina Christiana en lengua EspaWola&y Mexicana," printed in 1550, bears the name of Juan Pablos as printer, the same one who is said to have printed the Escala Espiritual, and who calls himself the first printer in the new world, at the end of a book printed by him in Mexico, in 1556, folio, Gothic letter, entitled Constitutiones del arzobispado y provincia de la muy insigne y muy leal ciudad de Tenuchtitlan, Miexico, de la Nueva Espana. Mr. Icazbalceta, in his article before referred to, from which we have quoted these titles, makes a very happy conjecture by which the apparent contradiction seems removed. He suggests that Juan Pablos may have been at Seville in the employ of Cromberger, who was charged by Mendoza with the establishment of a printing press in the city of Mexico, and who sent Juan Pablos over to conduct the business in the name and for the benefit of his master. That after the death of Cromberger, Pablos became the owner of the establishment, and was in this way, although not the first owner of a printing press, nevertheless entitled to the honor of calling himself the first printer in Mexico. Although we know of no book with a date as early as that attributed to the translation of Climacus, it remains for us to note two other works of this period which we find mentioned. Gil Gonzales Davila, already quoted, says on page 7 of his Theatro Ecclesiastico, "El primer Catechismo que se imprimio en Lengua Mexicana, para ensenianza de los Indios le escrivio el M. P. Juan Ramires, Religioso Dominico, en el ano 1537, que despues fue dignissimo Obispo de la Santa Iglesia de Guatemala.' Nicholas Antonio, vol. I, p. 765, Madrid ed., mentions only as written by Juan Ramirez Advertencia sobre el servicio personal, etc., and Campo Florido, ejemplos para exhortar a la virtud, etc. Alonzo Fernandes, in his IIistoria Ecclesiastica Ie Nuestros Tiempos. 372 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. Toledo, 1611, folio, where he speaks of the Dominicans who had written and printed religious books for the instruction of the Indians, mentions F. Juan Ramirez having written "' Un libro copiosissimo de ejemplos para exhortar a toda virtud," etc. Fr: Augustin Davila Padilla, before cited, mentions only the Exemplos para exhortar, etc. 8. Cancionero Spiritual en que de contierien obvas muy provechosas y edificantes, etc. Mexico. 1546. Juan Pablos. [From Sr. Pascqual de Gayangos, Spanish translator of Tickncr's fist. of Spanish Literature.] 9. A de Mendoza, Orderanzas, etc. Mexico. 1548. Folio. Juan Pablos. [Harrisse.] Antonio de Leon does not mention our author, but Don Antonio de Alcedo y Bexarano, in his Biblioteca Americana, 1807, Ms. 2 vols. folio (copy in the possession of Mr. John Carter Brown), attributes to him the following: Catecismo en lengua Mexicana para instruir d los Indios en la Religion Christiana, Mexico, 1594, 4to. The actual existence of this catechism of Ramirez we find no where shown. Gonzales Davilla's assertion that it was the first catechism printed in the Mexican language, and the date of 1537 given by the same on page 7, does not interfere with his statement on page 23, as already quoted. We have seen that the date of 1532 has to be changed to 1535, when, according to his assertion, printing was introduced into the new world. The year given by Alcedo may be either a mistake, or it may refer to a later edition. There is yet another statement about a pretended first print of the Mexican press. C. Falkenstein, in his Geschichte der Buch druckerkunst, Leipzig, 1840, 4to, p. 329, says that " Girolamo Paolo Lombardo of Brescia, had been called by the Viceroy Mendoza to Mexico, in order to print the ordinationes legumque collectiones pro convento juridico Mexicano, and that this work, a folio, published in 1549, may be considered as the first American print. He names Gonzales for authority; and part of his quotation answers perfectly to the above extract from Gonzales Davila. But we have not found the given title, year and size in the Teatro Eclesiastico, nor any other reference to such a work. Antonio de Leon, in his APPENDIX. 373 Epitome says, that the Licenciado Antonio Maldonado was the first to undertake a Reportorio de las Cedulas, Provisiones, y Orden anSas Reales, for which work he was authorized by a royal decree issued in the year 1556. It is not known that he ever finished it. Antonio de Leon further says, Dr. Vasco de Puga carried out the same plan in his work entitled Provisiones Cedulas Instrucciones de su Majestad, etc. Mexico; en casa de Pedro Ocharte, 1563. Folio. Black letter. This book exists, but neither in the royal decree ordering the viceroy to have such a collection made, nor in the author's preface is found any indication that an earlier work of the same character was known at the time. Nicholas Antonio does not furnish any additional light as to the first law collections of New Spain. He did not even know of the Cedulario of Puga. A LIST OF BOOKS PRINTED IN MEXICO BETWEEN THE YEARS 1540 AND 1600 INCLUSIVE. 1540. Manual de Adultos, [of which only the last leaves are known, bearing the following termination:] Imprimiose este Manual de Adultos en la gran ciudad de Mexico por mandado do los Rev. Sefiores Obispos de la Nueva Espafia y a sus expensas: en casa de Juan Cromberger. Afio del nacimiento de nuestro Seinor Jesu Christo de mil y quinientos y quarenta. A xiij dias del mes de Deziembre. 4to. Gothic letter. 1540. DORTRINA CHRISTIANA. [No date] assigned to this year by Harrisse. 1541. Relacion del espantable terremoto, que agora nuevamenta ha acontecido en la cibdad de Guatemala, etc. MEXICO. Juan Cromberger. 4to. Gothic letter. *1543. JUAN ZUMARRAGA. Doctrina breve uruy provechosa delas cosas que pertenecen a la f6 catholica y a nuestra cristiandad en estilo llano paracomun inteligencia. MEXICO. Juan Cromberger. 4to. Gothic letter. (Catalogue Andrade, No. 2369.) 1544. DIoNISIO RICHEL. Este es un compendio breue que tracta de la manera de como se han de hacer las procesiones, etc. MEXICO: Juan Cromberger. 4to. Gothic letter. ( Catalogue Andrade, No. 2667.) 374 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. 1544. DIONISIO RICHEL. Este es un compendio, etc. Another edition of the same work. MEXICO: Juan Cromberger [without date] 4to. Gothic letter. (Catalogue Andrade, No. 2666,) this edition is placed by Mr. Icazbalceta among the publications of 1544. *1544. JUAN GERSON. Tripartito del christianissimo y consolatorio doctor Juan Gerson de doctrina Christiana: a cualquiera muy provechosa, etc. MEXICO: Juan Cromberger. 4to. Gothic letter. (Catalogue Andrade, No. 2477.) t1544. PEDRO DE CORDOVA. Doctrina Christiana por instruccion e informacion de los Indios: por manera de historia, etc. MEXICo: Juan Cromberger. 4to. Gothic letter. 1546. JUAN CUMARRAGA. Doctrina cristiana: mas cierta y verdadera pa gete sin erudicio y tetras. MEXICO, [no printer's name.] 4to. Gothic letter. (Catalogue Andrade, No. 2370.) 1546. Cancionero Spiritual en que de contierien obvras muy provechosas y edificantes, etc. MEXICO. 1546. Juan Pablos. [From Sr. Pascqual de Gayangos, Spanish translator of Tickner's list. of Spanish Literature.] 1547. Regla christiana breue: p ordenar la vida y tpo d'l xpiano q. se qere saluar y tener su alma dispuesta: pa q. Jesu xpo more enella. MEXICO: [noprinter's name.] 4to. Gothicletter. (Catalogue Andrade, No. 2658.) 1548. Ordenanzas do Antonio de Mendoza. Folio. Juan Pablos (Haraisse). *1548. Doctrina en Mexicano. MEXICO: Juan Pablos. 4to. Gothic letter. This is said by Mr. Icazbalceta to be the earliest book known, printed in an aboriginal language of America. 1549. F. BRAVO DE ORSUNA. Opera Medicinalia. MEXICO: 4to. *1550. Doctrina christiana en lengua Espanola y Mexicana. MEXICO: Juan Pablos. 4to. Gothic letter. *1553. PEDRO DE GANTE. Doctrina cristiana en lengua Mexicana. MEXICO: Juan Pablos. 8vo. 1554. ALPH. A. VERACRUCE. Recognitio Summularum. MEXICO. Folio. 1554. ALPII. A. VERACRUCE. Dialectica PResolutio. MEXICO. Folio. APPENDIX. 375 1554. F. CERVANTES SALAZAR. Dialogi. MEXICO: 8vo. *1555. ALONZO DE MOLINA. Vocabalario mexicano. MEXICO: Juan Pablos. 4to. 1556. ALPH. A. VERACRUCE. Speculum conjugiorum. MEXICO. Juan Pablos. 4to. 1556. ALPH. A. VERACRUCE. Constituciones del arzobispado de Mexico. MEXICO. Fol. 1556. ALPH. A. VERACRUCE. Ordinarium sacri ordinis hoeremitarum. MEXICO. 4to. 1556. FRANCISCO MARROQUIN. Doctrina Christiana en lengua Utlatleca. MEXICO. 4to. (Reniesal, Iist. de Chiapas, lib. ill, cap. vii, Ternaux, No. 98.) 1556. FREYRE. Sumario de las quentas de plata y oro en los reynos del Pira. MEXICO. 8vo. (Ternaux, No. 73). 1557. ALPH. A. VERACRUCE. Physicaspeculatio. MEXICO. Folio. *1558. MATURINO GILBERTI. Arte en lengua de Mechoacan: MEXICO. Juan Pablos. 8vo. Italics. *1559. MATURINO GILBERTI. Dialogo de doctrina christiana en lengua de Mechuacan. MEXICO, Juan Pablos Bressano. 4to. Gothic letter. *1559. MATURINO GTLBERTI. Vocabulario en lengua de Mechuacan. MEXICO. Juan Pablos Bressano. 1559. MATURINO GILBERTI. Grammatica latina. MEXICO. 8vo. 1559. A. DE LA VERA CRUZ. Carta [without date]. MEXICO. Folio.. 1560. ANDRES DE OLMOS. Grammatica et Lexicon Linguse Nlexicanse. Totonaquse et Huastecae. MEXICO. 2 vols. 4to. (Squier's, Monograph of Authors on the Languages of Central America, p. 38). 1560. Manual para administrar los sacramentos. MExIco. 4to. t1560. FRANCISCO DE CEPEDA. Arte de las lenguas Chiapa, Zoque, celdales y cinacanteca. MEXICO. 4to. 1561. Missale Romanum. MEXICO. Folio. t1563. VASCO DE PUGA. Provisiones, c6dulas, instrucciones de su Majestad, para la buena expedicion de los negocios y administracion dejusticia, y governacion desta Nueva Espania etc. MEXICO. Pedro Ocharte. Folio. 376 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. 1565. Catalogus Patrum Concilii Tridentini. [without date]. MEXICO. 4to. t-1565 ALONZO DE MOLINA. Confessionario mayor en lengua Mexicana y Castellanfa. MEXICo. Antonio de Espinosa. 4to. t1565. ALONZO DE MOLINA. Confessionario breue en lengua Mexicana y C(astellana. MEXICO. Antonio de Espinosa. 4to. 1565. DOMINGO DE LA ANUNCIACION. Doctrina christiana en Castellano y Mexicano. MEXICO. Pedro Ocharte. 4to. (Ternaux, No. 93. Bibliotheca Americana, Le Clerk, No. 467). 1566. B. A. LEDESMA. De Septem nove legis sacramentis. MEXco: 4to. (Rich's Bib. Americana Vetus, No. 46). 1567. Reglas y constituciones de la Confradia de los juramentos. MEXICO. Folio [one leaf]. t1567. PEDRO DE FERIA. Doctrina christiana en lengua Castellana y Capoteca. MEXICO: Pedro Ocharte. 4to. 1567. Instituta ordinis Beati Francisci. MEXICO. 4to. *1567. BENITO FERNANDEZ. Doctrina en lengua Mixteca. MREXICO. Pedro Ocharte. 4to. Gothic letter. *1568. BENITO FERNANDEZ. Another edition of the same work. MEXICO. Pedro Ocharte, 4to. 1568. Manual para administrar los sacramentos. MEXICO. 4to. t1571. ALONZO DE MOLINA. Arte de la lengua Mexicana y Castellana. MEXICO. Pedro Ocharte. 12mo. Gothic letter. t1571. ALONZO DE MOLINA. Vocabulario en lengua Mexicana y Castellana. MEXICO. Antonio de Spinosa. Folio. t1571. ALONZO DE MOLINA. Vocabulario en Castellana y Mexicana. MEXICO. Antonio de Spinosa. Folio. 1573. P. DE AGURTO. Tratado de que se deben administrar los sacramentos a los indios. MEXIco. 8vo. *1574. J. B. DE LAGUNA. Arte y Dictionario en lengua Michoacana. MEXICO. Pedro Balli. 8vo. 1574. Ordenanzas sobre alcabalas. MEXICO. Folio. *1575. MATURINO GILBERTI. Tesoro spiritual de pobres en lengua de Michuacan. MEXICO. Antonio de Spinosa. 8vo. *1575. J. DE LA ANUNCIACION. Doctrina christiana muy complida (en Castillana y Mexicana). MEXICO. Pedro Balli. 4to. APPENDIX. 377 1575. S. J. E. BUENAVENTURA. Misteca Theologia. MEXICo. 8vo. t1576. ALONZO DE MOLINA. Arte de la lengua Mexicana y Castellana. MEXICO. Pedro Balli. 8vo. *1576. M. DE VARGAS. Doctrina Christiana en Castellano, Mexicano, y Otomi. MEXICO. Pedro Balli. 4to. *1577. J. MEDINA. Doctrinalis fidei in Mechuacanensium indorum lingua. MEXICO. Ant. Ricardo. Folio. *1577. J. DE LAANUNCIACION. Sermonario en lengua Mexicana. MEXICO. Antonio Ricardo. 4to. 1577. Commentario a la logica de Aristotles. MEXICO, 8vo. 1577. Ovidii Nasonis tam de tristibus. MEXICO. 8vo. 1577. OmniaDominiAndree AlciatiEmblemata. MEXICO. 8vo. *1578. ALONZO DE MOLINA. Confessionario Mayor en la lengua Mexicana y Castellana. MEXICO. Pedro Balli. 4to. *1578. ALONZO DEMOLINA. Doctrinachristianaen lengua Mexicana. MEXICO. Pedro Orcharte. 8vo. *1578. J. DE CORDOVA. Arte en lengua Zapoteca. MEXICO. Pedro Balli. 8vo. 1579. Ceremonial y rubricas general con la orden de celebrar las mismas. MEXICO. 8vo. 1579. Instruccion y arte para regular el oficio divino. MEXICO. 8vo. *1580. BARTH. ROLDAN. Cartilla y doctrina Christiana breve, en la lengua Chuchona. MEXICO. Pedro Ocharte. 4to. *1582. J. DE GAONA. Coloquio de la paz y tranquilidad, en lengua Mexicana. MEXICO. Pedro 0 charte. 8vo. (Ternaux, No. 155.) 1583. GARCIA DEL PALACIO. Dialogos militares de la formacion e informacion de personas, instrumentos y cosas necessarias para el uso de la guerra. MEXICO. Pedro Ocharte. 4to. 1583. Forma breve administrar ap. Indios S. Baptismi Sacramenturn. MEXICO. 8vo. *1585. BERN. DE SAHAGUN. Psalmodia Xpiana y Sermonario de los Santos del anio, etc. MEXICO. Pedro Ocharte. 4to. 1585. Estatutos general de Barcelona. MEXICO. 4to. 40 378 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. 1587. GARCIA DE PALACIO. Instruccion nautica para el buen uso y regimiento de las Naos su traza y gobierno, conforme I la altura de Mejico. MEXICO. 4to. (Ternaux, No. 167.) 1587. Constitutiones ordin. fratr. cremit. S. Aug. MEXICO. 8vo. 1589. Forma y modo de fundar las cofradias del cordon de S. Fr. MEXICO. Svo. 1592. AG. FARFAN. Tratado breve de Medecina. MEXICO. 4to. 1593. GERONIMODE ORE. Symbolo CatholicoIndiano. MEXICO. (Ternaux, No. 224.) 1593. J. GUIONA. Colloquios en lengua Mexicana. MEXICO. (Ternaux, No. 190.) *1593. ANT. DE LOS REYES. Arte en lengua Mixteca. MEXICO. Pedro Balli. 8vo. (Ternaux, No. 189.) *1593. FRANCISCO DE ALVARADO. Yocabulario en lengua. Misteca. MEXICO. Pedro Bali. 4to. 1594. J. E., DE BUENAVENTURA. Misteca Theologia. MEXICO. 8vo. 1595. Regla de los frailes menores. MEXICO. 4to. u1595. ANTONIO DEL RINCON. Arte de la lengua Mexicana. MEXICO. Pedro Balli. 8vo. (ANTONIO. Bib. Hispan. Nova, torn. I, p. 158.) 1595. Fundacion e Indulgencias de la orden de la merced. MEXICO. 8vo. 1598. ANTONIO DE RINCON. Arte de la lengua Mexicana. MEXICO. 12mo., second edition. (Ternaux, No. 225.) *1599. JUAN BAPTISTA. Confessionario en lengua Mexicana y Castellana. MEXICO: en el convento de SANTIAGO TLATILULCO. Melch. Orcharte. 2 vols. in 1. 1599. JUAN BAPTISTA. Hvehvetlahtolli. MEXICO. 12mo. [This is probably the work noticed by Ternaux, No. 253 as ' Platicas morales de los Indios para la doctrina de sas hijos, en lengua Mexicana intitulade huehuetlatolli." The copy described, which is the only one known, is without the title page, but on its back bears the date of 1599. Beristain gives the date of 1601.] 1599. JUAN BAPTISTA. Platicas antiquas que en la excellentissima lengua Nahuatl enmendo y crecento. MElaXICO 8vo. (Ternaux, No. 234.) APPENDIX. 379 1599. JUAN BAPTISTA. Compendio en las Excelsias, de la Bulla de la Saneta Cruzada, en lengua Mexicana. MEXICO. Enrico Martinez. 8vo. (Catalogue of Mexican books sold by Puttick and Simson. London, 1869. No. 151.) *1600. JUAN BAPTISTA. Advertencias para los confessores de los naturales. MEXICO. M. Ocharte. 8vo. t1600. Relacion Historiadadelas ExequiasFuneralesde Felipe II. MEXICO. Pedro Balli. 4to. As there may be doubts of the existence of some of the books, the titles of which are given above, it has been deemed best to state where they are to be found, or upon whose authority they have been placed in this list. Those marked thus * have been seen by Seior Icazbalceta, of Mexico and Dr. C. HI. Berendt. Those marked thus f are in the collection of Mr. John Carter Brown, Providence. The authorities for many of the others are Ternaux, Rich, and others as stated; the remaining are taken from Mr. Harrisse's Bibliotheca Americana Vetustissima. BOOKS PRINTED IN PERU BEFORE THE YEAR 1600. 1584. Doctrina Christiana (en Quichua y Aymara) En la ciudad de los Reyes. (LIMA). Antonio Ricardo. 4to. (BRUNET, vol. IT, col. 780). LE CLERC, Bib. Americana, No. 462. 1585. Confessionario para los curas de Indios con la instruccion contra sus ritos traducido en las lenguas Quichua y Aymara. LIMA. Ant. Ricardo. 4to. t1585. Tercero Catechismo y exposicion de la Doctrina Christiana, por Sermones. Para los coras y otros ministros prediquen y enseinen a los Indios. En la ciudad de los Reyes. Ant. Ricardo. 4to. 1586. Vocabulario en la lengua general del Peru y en lengua Espaiola. LIMA. Small 8vo. (Ternaux, No. 164). 1594. Ordenanzas que mando hacer D. Garcia Hurtado de Mendoza, para remedio de los excesos que los corregidores de los natu 380 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. rales hacero entratar y contractar con los Indios. LIMA. Folo. (Ternaux, No. 192). 1596. PEDRO DE OnA. Primera parte de Arauco domado. Impreso en la ciudad de los Reyes por Ant. Ricardo de Turin. 4to. (Ternaux, No. 201). 1599. PEDRO DE OnA. Tremblor de Lima del ano 1599. Poema. LIMA. (Ternaux, No. 230). f In the library of Mr. John Carter Brown, Providence. APPENDIX. 381 APPENDIX B. L Page 22.] JACOB RITTENHOUSE, now, in 1818, eighty-six years of age, a grandson of Nicholas Rittenhouse the first papermaker in British America, is living. He has been many years blind, but possesses an excellent memory, which seems to be unimpaired. He received from his father and grandfather many interesting narratives of the settlement of Philadelphia and Germantown, and of the first printers and papermakers in those places. He says that William Bradford, the first printer in Philadelphia, after he left this city, and settled in New York, often visited Philadelphia, and that he would sometimes ride from one of these places to the other in a day. [The connected distance then was one hundred miles.] That when his grandfather and a few others settled in Germantown, there was no gristmill nearer than Chester, fifteen miles southeast of Philadelphia. There was no horse in the settlement for some time afterwards, when an old horse was procured from New York, and this horse was continually employed in carrying sacks of grain to the mill at Chester, to be ground, and bringing it back when ground. This was, at the time, continued Mr. Rittenhouse, the only horse for common use either in the Germantown settlement, or in Philadelphia. The grain for those living in Philadelphia, etc., continued to be ground in Chester, until William Penn built a gristmill in Philadelphia, afterwards called the Globe mill, from a tavern being erected near to it, the site of which is in Third street. This mill was used as a gristmill until a short time before the revolution. He mentions, among other things, the following, which shows the estimation in which land was held in the early settlement of Philadelphia, and the difference between its value then and at the present day. Claus, the grandfather, was something of a carpenter, as well as a papermaker. Ile constructed a kind of batteau on the papermill stream, and occasionally descended with it to the Schuylkill, for the purpose of fishing in its stream. A person from Philadelphia who 382 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. owned a large tract of land on the borders of this river, was one time viewing and examining his possessions, when he espied Claus in his boat fishing. The owner of the ground was so much pleased with the unexpected sight of a boat, the first belonging to a white man which had been seen in that stream, that he became desirous of possessing it, and offered Claus, in exchange, a piece of land bordering on the Schuylkill, of which he described the limits, and which, it is said, contained about two thousand acres. Claus refused the proffer. Jacob Rittenhouse also mentions that his progenitors, when they first arrived at Philadelphia, dwelt in caves dug in the banks of the Delaware, during part of the winter 1687-8. Proud, in his History of Pennsylvania, mentions these caves, and observes that they were for many years reserved for the habitations of new comers, who had not the means of obtaining other lodgings. APPENDIX. 883 APPENDII C. [ Page 42. ] At a County Court held at Cambridge, April 1, 1656. Jn~o Gloverl Gent. Plant. against Mr. Henry Dunster Defft. in an acton of the case for an acct. of an estate of houses, lands, goods, and chattels, debts, legacies, and gifts, or other estate, together with the deeds, leases, and other manuscripts, and evidences thereof; wel by any manner of wayes or means, eyther have been (or at present bee) in the possession of the said Henry, or under his rule, costody or dispose. And of right due and belonging unto the said Jn~' Glover, by the last will and testament of his father Mr. Josse Glover deceased, or Elizabeth his wife, or their, or eyther of their gifts, or by the last will of Wm' Harris deceased or otherwise to him the said Jn~- Glover appteyning and of right due and belonging by any manner of wayes or means whatsoeveir, and, also -for debteyning and with-holding the same, vizt. both the account and estate, with the effects and profits thereof and damages to the said Jno. Glover thereby susteyned. The Plaintiffe appeared by his attorneyes Edw. Goffe, and Thomas Danforth, the defft. appeared personally and pleaded to the case, The Court having heard the Pl't's demands and the proffe thereof, and Mr. Dunster's acknowledgmts and Answrs well are upon file with the Records of this Court, the Jury findes for the plaintiffe, as appeareth by their verdict given into Court in writeing (well is also upon ye file) theis following p'ticrs Imps' The Inventory as it is brought in 140 00 00 It. The Presse and the p'fitt of it 040 00 00 It. The prise of Mr. Dayes house 030 00 00 It. Debts received by Mr. Dunster 143 00 00 He studied medicine, became a practitioner, married, and settled in Boston. 384 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. It. More debts received by Mr. Dunster 015 00 00 It. Recd. of Mr. Humpheries 080 00 00 It. The plate mentioned in the Inventory 448 00 00 It. more acknowledged in the Court by Mr. Dunster one silver tankard, and one tipt Jug, and a silver plate. It. one watch. It. acknowledged by Mr. Dunster 12 Rheam of refuse paper. It. The proffit of the houses and lands in Cambridge. 177 10 00 It. Given by Mr. Harris 040 00 00 It. Household stuffe at Sudbury 005 00 00 It. The house in Boston sould to Theodore Atkinson 200 00 00 It. Rent received for the farme at Sudbury six years 060 00 00 It. the Rent of the stocke of 15 Kine 067 10 00 It. the prise of eight steers and bulls and fiften kine 118 16 00 It. for the rent received for the farme at Sudbury seaven yeares 042 00 00 It. the rent of meadow 010 00 00 It. two swine 002 00 00 It. Lead pans 722 16 00 448' 00 00 1170 16 00 It. the farme that Robert Wilson now occupieth to be Mr. Glover's. It. all the Bookes of Mr. Glover's that came to Mr. Dunster, whereof he promised to give in a Cattologue. It. the farme that Goodman Rice now occupieth to be Mr. Glover's. It. that Mr. Dunster shall give to the Court, an account according to the attachit when the Honoured Court shall require it. Charles Chadwicke in the name of the rest. Execution granted June 17, 1656. The Court orders that Mr. Dunster shall bring in his full account to the Court the 9th of May next. [Midd. Records, vol. I, p. 77, &c.] APPENDIX. 385 At a second Sessions of the County Court held at Cambridge, 9th (3) mo. 1656. In the case between Jno) Glover Plant. against Mr. Henry Dunster Deff- entered at the last sessions of this Court, Mr. Henry Dunster presented his answr to the Juries verdict in writeing, containing his account under his hand, also a Cattologue of the bookes. with some other testimonies in refference to the case, all wch are upon file with the Reccords of the last Court, whereupon the Plaintiffe not being sattisfied with the accounts presented, The Court advised both parties to endeavour a peaceable composure of the whole buissines, eyther between themselves or by able men Indifferently chosen between them. [Midd. Records, vol. I, p. 83.] At a County Court held at Charles-Towne June 19, 1656. Mr. Henry Dunster P1. against Mr. Jno~ Glover Defft.in an action of Review of the suite upon attachmnt' to the vallue of two thousand pounds comenced and prosecuted in the last County Court holden at Cambridge, by the said Jn~. or his attorneyes for accounts and estate pretended to be with-held by the said Henry from the said Jn~ As also for the auditing the accounts, according to the advice of the Honoured Magistrates, and for the ballancing, setling and sattisfying what upon the said Accounts is right and just to be done, according to attachmrt dated 12th 4th mo. 1656. The Jury found a non liquet. [Midd. Records, vol. r, p. 83.] At a County Court held at Cambridge, by adjournment, June 24th, 1656. Mr. Henry Dunster [sometimes husband to Elizabeth the relict widow of Josse Glover deceased] Plant. agt. Jno- Glover Gent. Defft. In an action of the case for debt upon accounts, and for rights and interests in any wise appertayneing to the said Henry from the estate now claimed by the said Jn~O Glover by vertue of the last will of his father Josse Glover deceased. The Plaintive and Deffl appearing in Court legally, They mutually agreed to referre this case to the Hearing and determination of the 41 386 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERTCA. honoured Bench of Magistrates. The Courts determination and judgmt in the said case is as followeth. Whereas there hath been some actions and suites of debt, account, and review, in this Court, between Jno Glover Gent. And Henry Punster his father in Law and Guardian, concerning the estate, under the managermt belonging to the said John Glover by the will of his father Josse Glover deceased, The premises considered, and the parties consenting to issue the whole case, included in the former actions, and judgmts to the determination of this Court. The Court having taken paynes to examine all matters explicitly in refference to the whole case, doe find the estate of Josse Glover is Creditor, One thousand foure hundred forty and seaven pounds, nine shillings and nine pence, and a silver tankard in kinde, also Mr. Glover's bookes according to Cattologue given in to the Court, to be delivered in kinde, also the price of a house at Hingham that was received of Payntree at fifteen pounds. And the estate, is also justly debtor, one thousand thre hundred and thirty pounds, one shilling and seven pence, the particulars whereof are expressed in an account hereunto annexed. The Court therefore do find for John Glover, one hundred and seventen pounds, eight shillings and two pence, due from Henry Dunster, according to the account, leaving some debts explicitly expressed in the account to the vallue of fifty seaven pounds eleven shillings foure pence to be further cleared by the said Henry before any credit be given for him it. Also we find for Mr. Henry Dunster the lands in Sudbury bounds, purchased by the said Henry called the farmne now in the occupation of Wilson. 1656. June 25. The Account in refference to the aforenamed case, being drawn up and examined by the Honoured Court is as followeth. Mr. Henry Dunster is debitor ~. s. d. Imps To plate 030 12 03 To a tipt Jugg' and a watch 006 06 06 To rents of land in Cambrse whiles in Blower's hands 040) 00 00 To rents reed of John Stedman for ditto 070 00 00 To rent of ditto reed of Richard French 012 00 00 APPENDIX. 387,.. d. To rent reed for marsh land all the time 015 15 00 To rent of the slate house all the time 019 14 04 To the house and land at Boston sold Mr. Atkinson 214 00 00 To a Legacy given Jn~O Glover by his Uncle Harris 040 00 00 To utensils at Sudbury five pounds 005 00 00 To rent of fourten Cowes six yeares, at 15s pr. cow 063 00 00 To rent of seaven oxen 6 yeares at 20s pr. ox 042 00 00 To the stocke fourten cowes and seven oxen 118 16 00 To rent for meadow 010 00 00 To two swine 002 00 00 To one lead pan sould for 001 02 06 To sale of Bookes 026 10 00 To so much reed of Mr. Thos Fowle 099 11 04 To rents from Boston and Cambridge 049 06 08 To advance upon the Inventory 020 00 00 To advance upon plate 002 17 06 To so much disbursed in building and other things upon Henry Dunster's land in Sudbury bounds 050 00 00 To the Inventory in Goodes 140 00 00 To printing presse and paper 050 00 00 To Mr. Dayes house sold for 030 00 00 To debts reed of severall persons ~73 and of Peacock and Sill ~8. 081 00 00 To so much received of Mr. Humphery 071 04 09 To plate and other things that I had vies et modies, gift of my wife, not vallued 073 16 11 To plate and bedding for Mr. Harris and Simon Smith 025 00 00 To paper -16 Rheams. 002 00 11 To 2 oxen and one cow killed for the family 020 00 00 To profits of stocke and crop the first yeare of his marriage with Mrs. Glover, not yet accounted for, abating for Servants wages and diet 015 0 00 1447 09 09 To a silver tankard in kind. To all Mr. Glover's bookes unsold, to be delivered according to Cattologue, 3S8 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. To a house at Hingham of Panteryes, the value to be made good Mr. Henry Dunster creditor. Imps. By lands in Sudbury bounds purchased by the said Dunster, called the farme now in the occupation of Wilson, found in kind to belong to the Plantiffe By the diet, apparell and education of Roger and Jn~' Glover two yeares two m~- after their mother's mar- ~. s. d. iage with the said Dunster till her death at ~20. 086 06 08 By disbursemts for the maintenance of Mrs. Glover for diet and apparrell in sicknes and health two yeares and two months, after her marriage with Mr. Dunster, until her death, with a mayd to attend her at ~30 pr. annum 065 00 00 By a bill for physicke payd Mr. Ayres 015 00 00 By funerall charges expended for Mrs. Glover 010 00 00 By disbursements for the diet and app"l of Mrs. Eliza' Glover 7 mo. with her marriage feast', being married to Mr. Adam Winthrop 030 00 00 By diet and apparrall for Mrs. Sarah and Mrs. Priscilla Glover, during their mother's life, being two yeares 2 im~ a peece at ~16 pr. annum 069 06 08 By diet and expences of Mr. Richard Harris two years and two monthes, it being due from the estate to him for the interest of ~250. of his in the estate at ~20 pr. annum 043 03 04 By maintenance of the children after the death of their mother, viz. By Jno- Glover's liberall education for diet, apparell and schooleing mostly at the Colledge for seven years and two months at ~20 pr. anm' 143 03 04 The three Miss Glovers (not Mrs.), viz. Elizabeth, and Sarah and Priscilla Glover, mentioned in the next article of charge, were the three daughters of Mr. Jesse, or Josse Glover deceased. Priscilla married John Appleton, who also commenced in 1655, an action against Dunster for 1001. left to his wife by her father, and detained by Dunster, which sum Appleton recovered. APPENDIX. 389 By diet, apparrell of Mrs. Sarah Glover five years at ~. s. d. sixteen pounds pr. annum 080 00 00 By so much recovered out of the estate by Mr. Appleton, for his wife Mrs. Priscilla Glover, her maintenance after her mother's death, and before marriage with him 088 00 00 By so much paid for extraordinary expences by Mr. Jno. Glover, as by note of particulars 006 15 00 By charges disbursed concerning nine arbitrations, and pd. for writeings to scrivenrs &c., ~2 in all 007 00 00 'By debts paid by Mr. Dunster which were due from the estate, in Mr. Josse Glover's life time 334 12 00 By debts made by Mrs. Glover in the time of her widowhood, payd by Mr. Dunster clerely proved 183 15 09 By losses and damages befalling the estate at Sudbury, payd for fencing on John Glover's farme at Sudbury 034 19 03 By expences, rates and suites concerning lands at Cambrge' 045 19 04 By disbursemnts for reparations of the house at Cambridge in Mrs. Glover's life 016 04 00 By repaires of the said house after her death 016 01 04 By cattle added to the estate, vizt. three cowes, one calf, 2 oxen at 031 16 11 By rates payd to the meeting house 002 00 06 1309 03 07 By so much payd to Mr. Haris for redeeming a tankard, and a porringer of silver, payd him in part of hi det05 80 his debt 005 18 00 1315 01 07 1 To Mr. Harris To Mr. Turner To Cotton Slacke 0250 00 00 0076 12 00 0008 00 00 0334 12 00 390 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. By account of some debts contracted by Mrs. Glover in her widowhood, wch Mr. Dunster alleadgeth he hath payd; not allowed at present for want of cleare proof vizt. ~. s. d. By Mr. King of Lex. 06 12 04 By so much to Mr. Morecroft 25 00 00 By so much to Skidmore Smith 08 00 00 By so much to Mr. Harris 12 19 00 By so much pd. Major Bourne 05 00 00 57 11 04 By so much pd' to Capt. Kaine being a debt due before marriage as appears by bill 0015 00 00 1330 01 07 Mr. Bellingham declared his dissent from this account and departed out of Court before the Court's determination and judgmt. was drawne up. [Midd. Records. vol. I. p. 87, &c.] APPENDIX. 391 APPENDIX D. [ Page 49. ] The author of Wonder Working Providence, page 205, gives the following account of this edition of the laws. " This year [1646] the General Court appointed a Committee of diverse persons to draw up a body of Laws for the well ordering this little Commonwealth; and to the end that they might be most agreeable with the rule of Scripture, in every County there were appointed two Magistrates, two Ministers, and two able persons from among the people, who having provided such a competent number as was meet, together with the former that were enacted newly amended, they presented them to the General Court, where they were again perused and amended; and then another Committee chosen to bring them into form, and present them to the Court again, who the year following passed an act of confirmation upon them, and so committed them to the press, and in the year 1648, they were printed, and now are to be seen of all men, to the end that none may plead ignorance, and that all who intend to transport themselves hither may know that this is no place of licentious liberty, nor will this people suffer any to trample down this vineyard of the Lord, but with diligent execution will cut off from the city of the Lord, the wicked doers, and if any man can show wherein any of them derogate from the word of God, very willingly will they accept thereof, and amend their imperfection (the Lord assisting), but let not any ill affected person find fault with them, because they suit not with their own humour, or because they meddle with matters of religion, for it is no wrong to any man, that a people who have spent their estates, many of them, and ventured their lives for to keep faith and a pure conscience, to use all means that the word of God allows for maintenance and continuance of the same, especially they have taken up a desolate wilderness to be their habitation, and not deluded any by keeping their profession in huggermug, but print and proclaim to all the way and course they intend, God willing, to walk in. If any will 392 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. yet notwithstanding seek to justle them out of their own right, let them not wonder if they meet with all the opposition a people put to their greatest straits can make, as in all their undertaking their chiefest aim hath been to promote the ordinances of Christ, so also in contriving their Laws, Liberties and Privileges, they have not been wanting, which hath caused many to malign their civil government, and more especially for punishing any by law, that walk contrary to the rule of the gospel which they profess, but to them it seems unreasonable, and savours too much of hypocrisie, that any people should pray unto the Lord for the speedy accomplishment of his word in the overthrow of Antichrist, and in the mean time become a patron to sinful opinions and damnable errors that oppose the truths of Christ, admit it be but in the bare permission of them." See in this connection " Remarks on the Early Laws of Massachusetts Bay; with the Code adopted in 1641, and called THE BODY OF LIBERTIES, now first printed. By F. C. Gray, LL.D." Mass. Hist. Coll., 3d se., vIII, p. 192. APPENDIX. 393 APPENDIX E. [ Pages 66, 67. ] The New Testament was translated into the Indian language by the Rev. John Eliot, then pastor of the church in Roxbury. Mr. Eliot was called the Apostle of the Indians, and he truly was so. He also translated the Old Testament into their language, and gave them a version of the Psalms. They were all completed at the press in 1663, and were bound together. The Rev. Cotton Mather, in his lMagnalia, mentions that Mr. Eliot wrote the whole of this great work with one pen; if so, we may presume that his pen was not made of a goose quill, but of metal.1 After Mr. Eliot had acquired the Indian language, he taught English to the Indians, and made an Indian Grammar. He went among them and preached the gospel, instituted schools, and formed churches. The colonies of Massachusetts, Plymouth, Connecticut and New Haven,2 in 1643, entered into articles of confederation for their mutual safety and support. Each colony was annually to choose two commissioners, who were to meet yearly and alternately in the several colonies. These commissioners had the power to manage all concerns, in which the colonies were generally interested; comprising those of war as well as peace, and each colony retained the direction of its own internal policy. The commissioners were chosen by the general court, or assembly of the respective colonies, and were called the Commissioners of the United Colonies; to this office, men of the most respectable talents were elected, and, not unfrequently, the governors of the colonies. By the agency of Massachusetts, a society had been formed in London, for propagating the Gospel among the Indians in New England. Some time after the confederation of the colonies took place, 11 have been informed that Edward Gibbon, the celebrated author of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, wrote the volumes of which that work consists with one pen; which, at her request, he presented to the beautiful Duchess of Devonshire, and it was by her preserved in a golden shrine. 2 New Haven was at that time, a distinct colony from Connecticut. 394 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. the society in England for Propagating the Gospel was incorporated by act of Parliament; by which act, the commissioners of the United Colonies were appointed the agents of the society, to manage its concerns, and to dispose of the property which might be forwarded to America, in such manner as might promote, in the most useful degree, the design of the institution. In time, the funds of the Corporation l enabled them to send missionaries among the Indians, to instruct them in the Christian faith, and to build a number of small meeting houses, in which the Christianized Indians might assemble for public worship. An addition was made to the college at the expense of the corporation, to make room for the education of Indian youth. Several small books were written, and others translated into the Indian language; and, eventually, the design was conceived of translating the whole of the Holy Scriptures into Indian, and to print the translation. For this great undertaking the corporation supplied the means, and the commissioners of the United Colonies attended to its execution. Before the New Testament was finished at the press, the corporation in England was, at the restoration of King Charles II, for some reason, deprived of their charter; but after some time it was restored and confirmed by the king.2 Before the charter was restored, the 1 The society in England for Propagating the Gospel among the Indians was so called. It was incorporated in 1649. 2 After the charter was restored, the corporation sent over to the commissioners by their request, as a remittance toward printing the Bible, and in other ways promoting the propagation of the gospel, a quantity of pieces of eight, to be recoined here; which is taken notice of in the following manner in a letter from the corporation to the commissioners: "We have thought good in pursuance of the trust committed to vs and for the Improvement of that little wee have to send you ouer 433 peeces of eight, which costs vs one hundred pounds heer, hauing obtained this priviledge in our Charter that what wee shall send oucr shal be without any charge or custom pay'd for the same, and that the coyning thereof into youer coyne, and according to youer standard will make a considerable aduance for your supply," &c. The commissioners, September 18, 1663, in answer to the corporation observe, " Youer honores accepting our bill of flue hundred pounds, and sending ouer a supply of an hundred pounds in peeces of eight wee humbly acknowledge, and haue Improued the said peeces to the vttermostwee could, whereof by minting or otherwise is 1171b. Os. 07d. by which youer honores may see what aduance there may be made to the stocke by sending of such peeces." - Records of the United Colonies. APPENDIX. 395 New Testament was completed, and the commissioners here, and the late members of the corporation in England, judged it good policy to present to the king one of the first copies of this work, and to make it acceptable to his majesty, a dedication was written, printed and prefixed to the few copies of the Testament which were sent to England. This measure had the effect desired, and the king became interested in the restoration of the charter. The copy for the king and nineteen copies more were forwarded in sheets to the members of the late corporation in England, with a letter from the commissioners of the United Colonies, an extract from which as recorded, follows, viz: " The New Testament is alreddy finished, and of all the old the five bookes of Moses; wee have heerwith sent you 20 peeces [copies] of the New Testament which wee desire may bee thus disposed viz: that two of the speciall being uery well bound vp the one may bee presented to his Majestie in the first place, the other to the Lord Chancellor; and that five more be presented to Doctor Reynolds Mr. Carrill Mr. Baxter and the two vischancellors of the Vniuersities whoe wee vnderstand have greatly Incurraged the worke; the rest to bee disposed of as you shall see cause." The dedication is recorded among the proceedings of the commissioners of the United Colonies, and is there prefaced in the following manner. " Vpon the enformation of the Desolution of the Corporation, and intimation of hopes that his Majestie would [renew and] confeirme the same, &c. The Commissioners thought meet to present his Majestie with the New Testament printed in the Indian language with these presents following," &c. The dedication as printed in the few copies of the Testament sent to England, is in the following words. " To the High and Mighty Prince, Charles the Second, by the Grace of God, King of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, &c. "The Commissioners of the United Colonies in New England, wish increase of all happiness, &c. "Most Dread Soveraign, "If our weak apprehensions have not misled us, this Work will be no unacceptable Present to Your Majesty, as having a greater In 396 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. terest therein, than we believe is generally understood: which (upon this Occasion) we conceive it our Duty to declare. "The People of these four Colonies (Confederated for Mutual Defence, in the time of the late Distractions of our dear Native Country) Your Majesties natural born Subjects, by the Favour and Grant of Your Royal Father and Grandfather of Famous Memory, put themselves upon this great and hazardous Undertaking, of Planting themselves at their own Charge in these remote ends of the Earth, that without offence or provocation to our dear Brethren and Countrymen, we might enjoy that liberty to Worship God, which our own Consciences informed us, was not onely our Right, but Duty: As also that we might (if it so pleased God) be instrumental to spread the light of the Gospel, the knowledg of the Son of God our Saviour, to the poor barbarous Heathen, which by His late Majesty, in some of our Patents, is declared to be His principal aim. "These honest and Pious Intentions, have, through the grace and goodness of God and our Kings, been seconded with proportionable success: for, omitting the Immunities indulged us by Your Highness Royal Predecessors, we have been greatly encouraged by Your Majesties gracious expressions of Favour and Approbation signified, unto the Address made by the principal of our Colonies, to which the rest do most cordially Subscribe, though wanting the like seasonable opportunity, they have been (till now) deprived of the means to Congratulate Your Majesties happy Restitution, after Your long suffering, which we implore may yet be graciously accepted, that we may be equal partakers of Your Royal Favour and Moderation; which hath been so Illustrious that (to admiration) the animosities and different Perswasions of men have been so soon Composed, and so much cause of hope, that (unless the signs of the nation prevent) a blessed calm will succeed the late horrid Confusions of Church and State. And shall not we (Dread Soveraign) your Subjects of these Colonies, of the same Faith and Belief in all Points of Doctrine with our Countrymen, and the other Reformed Churches, (though perhaps not alike perswaded in some matters of Order, which in outward respects hath been unhappy for us) promise and APPENDIX. 397 assure ourselves of all just favour and indulgence from a Prince so happily and graciously endowed? "The other part of our Errand hither, hath been attended with Endevours and Blessing; many of the wilde Indians being taught, and understanding the Doctrine of the Christian Religion, and with much affection attending such Preachers as are sent to teach them, many of their Children are instructed to Write and Reade, and some of them have proceeded further, to attain the knowledge of the Latine and Greek Tongues, and are brought up with our English youth in University-learning: There are divers of them that can and do reade some parts of the Scripture, and some Catechisms, which formerly have been Translated into their own Language, which hath occasioned the undertaking of a greater Work, viz: The Printing of the whole Bible, which (being Translated by a painful Labourer amongst them, who was desirous to see the Work accomplished in his dayes) hath already proceeded to the finishing of the New Testament, which we here humbly present to Your Majesty, as the first fruits and accomplishment of the Pious Design of your Royal Ancestors. The Old Testament is now under the Press, wanting and craving your Royal Favour and Assistance for the perfecting thereof. " We may not conceal, that though this Work hath been begun and prosecuted by such Instruments as God hath raised up here, yet the chief Charge and Cost, which hath supported and carried it thus far, hath been from the Charity and Piety of divers of our wellaffected Countrymen in England; who being sensible of our inability in that respect, and studious to promote so good a Work, contributed large Sums of Money, which were to be improved according to the Direction and Order of the then-prevailing Powers, which hath been faithfully and religiously attended both there and here, according to the pious intentions of the Benefactors. And we do most humbly beseech your Majesty, that a matter of so much Devotion and Piety, tending so much to the Honour of God, may suffer no disappointment through any Legal defect (without the fault of the Donors, or the poor Indians, who onely receive the benefit) but that your Majesty be graciously pleased to Establish and Confirm the same, being contrived and done (as we conceive) in the first year of your Majesties 398 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. Reign, as this Book was begun and now finished in the first year of your Establishment; which doth not onely presage the happy success of your Highness Government, but will be a perpetual monument, that by your Majesties Favour the Gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, was first made known to the Indians: An Honour whereof (we are assured) your Majesty will not a little esteem. " Sir, The shines of Your Royal Favour upon these YVndertakings, will makce these tender Plants to flourish, notwithstanding any malevolent Aspect from those that bear evil will to this Sion, and render Your Majesty more Illustrious and Glorious to after Generations. The God of HIeaven long preserve and bless Your Majesty with many happy Dayes, to his Glory, the good and comfort of his Church and People. Amen." In 1663, when the whole Bible, and a version of the New England Psalms, translated into the language of the aborigines of New England, were completed from the press, a copy, elegantly bound, was presented to the king with another address, or dedication. This address, and that presented to his majesty with the New Testament, were printed together and prefixed to those complete copies of the whole work, which were sent to England as presents. Few of the copies which were circulated in this country contained those addresses. I recollect to have seen, many years since, a copy that contained them; that which I possess is without them, as are all others which I have lately examined. The Rev. Thaddeus M. Harris, some time since, fortunately discovered in a barber's shop, a mutilated copy of the Indian Bible, which the barber was using for waste paper. In this copy the addresses to King Charles are entire. He transcribed the addresses, and afterward published them in vol. VIi of the Collections of the Historical Society. I have extracted them from that volume, finding them exactly to agree with the copies on the Records of the Commissioners of the United Colonies, in every thing but the spelling, which on the records is in a mode more obsolete and incorrect, but doubtless conformable to the originals, which we may well suppose were carefully corrected before they were printed and prefixed to the Bible. APPENDIX. 399 The Second Address, or Dedication, is as follows: " To the Iligh and Mighty Prince, Charles the Second, by the Grace of God, King of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, &c. "The Commissioners of the United Colonies in New-England, wish all happiness, &c. " Most Dread Soveraign, " As our former Presentation of the New Testament was Graciously Accepted by Your Majesty; so with all Humble Thankfulness for that Royal Favour, and with the like hope, We are bold now to Present the W1TOLE BIBLE, Translated into the Language of the Natives of this Country, by A Painful Labourer in that Work, and now Printed and Finished, by means of the Pious Beneficence of Your Majesties Subjects in England: which also by Your Special Favour hath been Continued and Confirmed to the intended Use and Advancement of so Great and Good a Work, as is the Propagation of the Gospel to these poor Brar ians in this (Erewhile) Unknown World. Translations of Holy Scripture, The Word of the King of Kings, have ever been deemed not unworthy of the most Princely Dedications: Examples whereof are extant in divers Languages. But Your Majesty is the First that hath Received one in this Language, or from this American World, or from any Parts so Remote from Europe as these are, for ought that ever we heard of. " Publications also of these Sacred Writings to the Sons of Men (who here, and here onely, have the Mysteries of their Eternal Salvation revealed to them by the God of Heaven) is a Work that the Greatest Princes have Honoured themselves by. But to Publish and Communicate the same to a Lost People, as remote from Knowledge and Civility, much more from Christianity, as they were from all Knowing, Civil and Christian Nations; a People without Law, without Letters, without Riches, or Means to procure any such thing; a people that sate as deep in Darkness, and in the shadow of Death, as (we think) any since the Creation: This puts a Lustre upon it that is Superlative; and to have given Royal Patronage and Countenance to such a Publication, or to the Means thereof, 400 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. will stand among the Marks of Lasting Honour in the eyes of all that are Considerate, even unto After-Generations. "And though there be in this Western World many Colonies of other Europaean Nations, yet we humbly conceive, no Prince hath had a Return of such a Work as this; which may be some Token of the Success of Your Majesties Plantation of New-England, Undertaken and Setled under the Encouragement and Security of Grants from Your Royal Father and Grandfather, of Famous Memory, and Cherished with late Gracious Aspects from Your Majesty. Though indeed, the present Poverty of these Plantations could not have Accomplished this Work, had not the forementioned Bounty of England lent Relief; Nor could that have Continued to stand us in stead, without the Influence of Your Royal Favour and Authority, whereby the Corporation there,for Propagating the Gospel among these Natives, hath been Established and Encouraged (whose Labour of Love, Care, and Faithfulness in that Trust, must ever be remembred with Honour.) Yea, when private persons, for their private Ends, have of late sought Advantages to deprive the said Corporation of Half the Possessions that had been, by Liberal Contributions, obtained for so Religious Ends; We understand, That by an Honourable and Righteous Decision in Your Majesties Court of Chancery, their Hopes have been defeated, and the Thing Settled where it was and is. For which great Favour, and Illustrious Fruit of Your Majesties Government, we cannot but return our most Humble Thanks in this Publick Manner: And, as the Result, of the joynt Endeavours of Your Majesties Subjects there and here, acting under Your Royal Influence, We Present You with this Work, which upon sundry accounts is to be called Yours. " The Southern Colonies of the Spanish Nation have sent home from this American Continent, much Gold and Silver, as the Fruit and End of their Discoveries and Transplantations: That (we confess is a scarce Commodity in this Colder Climate. But (sutable to the Ends of our Undertaking) we Present this, and other Concomitant Fruits of our poor Endeavors to Plant and Propagate the Gospel here; which, upon a true account, is as much better than Gold, as the Souls of men are more worth than the whole World. This is a APPENDIX.. 401 Nobler Fruit (and indeed, in the Counsels of All-Disposing Providence, was an higher intended End) of Columbus his adventure. And though by his Brother's being hindred from a seasonable Application, your Famous Predecessour and Ancestor, King Henry the Seventh, missed of being sole owner of that first Discovery, and of the Riches thereof; yet, if the Honour of first Discovering the True and Saving Knowledge of the Gospel unto the poor Americans, and of Erecting the Kingdome of JESUS CHRIST among them, be Reserved for, and do Redound unto your Majesty, and the English Nation, After-ages Will not reckon this Inferiour to the other. Religion is the End and Glory of Mankinde; and as it was the Professed End of this Plantation; so we desire ever to keep it in our Eye as our main design (both as to ourselves, and the Natives about us) and that our Products may be answerable thereunto. Give us therefore leave (Dread Soveraign) yet again humbly to Beg the Continuance of your Royal Favour, and of the Influences thereof, upon this poor Plantation, The United Colonies of NEW ENGLAND, for the Securing and Establishment of our Civil Priviledges, and Religious Liberties hitherto Enjoyed; and, upon this Good Work of Propagating Religion to these Natives, that the Supports and Encouragements thereof from England may be still countenanced and Confirmed. May this Nursling still suck the Breast of Kings, and be fostered by your Majesty, as it hath been by your Royal Predecessors, unto the Preservation of its main Concernments; It shall thrive and prosper to the Glory of God, and the Honour of your Majesty: Neither will it be any loss or grief unto our Lord the King, to have the Blessings of the Poor to come upon Him, and that from these Ends of the Earth. "( The God by whom Kings Reign, and Princes Decree Justice, Bless Your Majesty, and Est ablish your Throne in Righteousness, in Mercy, and in Truth, to the Glory of Bis Name, the Good of his People, and to your own Comfort and Rejoycing, not in this onely, but in another World." Specimen of the Language of the Indians of New England, taken from the first edition of the Rev. Mr. Eliot's translation of the Bible. Printed at C(ambridge, Massachusetts, 1661. 43 402 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. The LORD'S PRAYER. Mat. vi, 9, &c Nooshun kesukqut, quttianatamunach koowesuonk. Peyaumooutch kukketassootamoonk, kuttenantamoonk ne n nach ohkeit neane kesukqut. Nummeetsuongash asekesukokish assamaiinean yeuyeu kesukod. Kah ahquontamaiinnean nummatcheseongash, neane matchenehukqeagig nutahquontamounnonog. Ahque sagkompagunaiinnean en qutchhuaoonganit, webe pohquohwussinnean wutch matchitut. Newutche kutahtaun ketassootamoonk, kah menuhkesuonk, kah sohsumoonk micheme. Amen. Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen. Some writers have mentioned that the second edition of the Bible in the Indian language was published after the death of the translator, and that it was revised and corrected by the Rev. John Cotton, of Plymouth. Others observe, that to the second edition an Indian Grammar was added by Mr. Cotton. They must have been misinformed, as appears by the statement of Mr. Eliot. In a letter dated Roxbury, Nov. 4, 1680, to the Hon. Robert Boyle, president of the corporation for propagating the gospel in New England, Mr. Eliot mentions, "We are now at the 19th chap. of the Acts; and when we have impressed the New Testament, our commissioners approve of my preparing and impressing also the old." Nov. 27, 1683, Mr. Eliot in another letter to the same person, writes, " The work [second edition of the Bible, which had then been more than three years in the press] goeth on now with more comfort, though we have had many impediments, &c. They [the Indians] have still fragments of their old Bibles [first edition] which they make constant use of." Aug. 29, 1686, Mr. Eliot informs the Hon. Robert Boyle, " the Bible is come forth; many hundreds bound up, and disposed to the Indians, whose thankfulness I intimate and testify to your honor." APPENDIX. 403 And in another letter of July, 1688, he requests that 101. may be given to the Rev. John Cotton, "' who has helped him much in the second edition of the Bible."1 It appears, as has been elsewhere observed, that the second edition was six years in the press. Mr. Eliot died two years after this edition was published; according to Mather,2 in 1690, aged 86. The New England Version of the Psalms was printed with the Bible but I cannot find that the Indian Grammar was published with either of the editions. It accompanied some copies of the Psalter; i e. they were occasionally bound together in one volume small octavo.3 1See the letters at large, Hist. Col., vol. III, p. 177, et seq. Magnalia.- Life of Eliot. 3Since Dr. Thomas's time much more has become known of Eliot's Bible, and the particularities of different copies. For an elaborate account and collation, see O'Callaghan's List of American Bibles.-H. 404 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. APPENDIX F [ Page 69. 1 The following is given as a specimen of the New England version of the Psalms; first, as they were originally printed; and, secondly, as they appeared after being revised and corrected by President Dunster and Mr. Lyon. The first psalm of each edition is selected for the purpose. [No. i- By Eliot and others.] THE PSALMES In Metre. PSALME I. Blessed man, that in th'advice of wicked doeth not walk: nor stand in sinner's way, nor sit in chayre of scornfull folk. 2 But in the law of Iehovah, is his longing delight: and in his law doth meditate, by day and eke by night. 3 And he shall be like to a tree planted by water-rivers: that in his season yeilds his fruit, and his leafe never withers. 4 And all he doth, shall prosper well, the wicked are not so: but they are like vnto the chaffe, which winde drives to and fro. 5 Therefore shall not ungodly men, rise to stand in the doome, nor shall the sinners with the just, in their assemblie come. APPENDIX. 405 6 For of the righteous men, the Lord acknowledgeth the way: but the way of vngodly men, shall vtterly decay. [No. II -Corrected by Dunster and Lyon. THE BOOK of PSALMS. PSAL. I: Blessed man that walks not in th'advice of wicked men Nor standeth in the sinners way nor scorners seat sits in. 2 But he upon Jehovah's law doth set his whole delight: And in his law doth meditate Both in the day and night. 3 He shall be like a planted tree by water brooks, which shall In his due season yield his fruit. whose leaf shall never fall: 4 And all he doth shall prosper well. The wicked are not so: But they are like unto the chaff. which wind drived to and fro. 5 Therefore shall no ungodly men in judgement stand upright. Nor in th'assembly of the just shall stand the sinfull wight. 6 For of yi righteous men, ye LORD acknowledgeth the way: Whereas the way of wicked men shall utterly decay. 406 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. APPENDIfX G. [ Page 112. ] In the Life of Dr. Franklin, written by himself, little attention seems to have been paid to dates, particularly in narrating events which took place during his minority. He informs us that he was born in Boston, but does not mention the month nor the year; he, however, observes,1 that his brother returned from England in 1717, with a press and types; and, that his father determined to make him a printer, and was anxious that he should be fixed with his brother. He also observes, that he himself held back for some time, but suffered himself to be persuaded, and signed his indentures. By the manner in which he mentions these circumstances, we may suppose that they took place within a short period, and as soon as his brother began business, which was within a few weeks after he returned from London. The doctor mentions that when he signed his indentures, he was only twelve years of age; this was in 1717. The New-England Gourant was not published till August, 1721; at this time Benjamin Franklin must have been in his seventeenth year. The first Courant published by Benjamin Franklin, after his brother was ordered to print it no longer, is No. 80, dated February 11, 1723; of course Benjamin must then have been advanced in his eighteenth year. I have seen a file of the Courant from the time it began to be published in the name of Benjamin Franklin to the middle of the year 1726,2 the whole of which was published in the name of Benjamin Franklin. The doctor does not mention how long the paper was published in his name; he only says that it was for " some months." From the doctor's manner of relating this part of his history, we may conclude that he did not leave his brother short of one year after the Courant was printed in his, Benjamin's name; 'In the London 12mo. edit. of 1793, p. 29. Thisr file is in the Historical Library at Boston. APPENDIX. 407 and, if so, he must have been nearly nineteen years of age; but, if 'le remained with his brother till the year 1726, he would then have been twenty-one years old. Yet he states, page 53, that after he left his brother, " he found himself at New York, nearly three hundred miles from his home, at the age only of seventeen years." It is evident from the doctor's account of himself after he left his brother, that he did not remain with him so long as the Courant was published in the name of Benjamin Franklin; for he gives an account of his return to Boston, remaining there some time, his going again to Philadelphia, working with Keimer, and afterward making a voyage to London, where he was near two years a journeyman, and returning back to America, and again arriving in Philadelphia in October, 1726. It is difficult to reconcile all these events with the few dates which the doctor has mentioned. But I leave them with those who are inclined to make further investigation. 408 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. APPENDIX H. [ Page 213. ] The following is a copy of the denunciation of George Keith, and his printed address; proclaimed by the common crier, in the Market place, Philadelphia, August 25, 1692. " At a Private Sessions held for the County of Philadelphia the 25th of the 6th month, 1692, before Arthur Cook, Samuel Jennings, Samuel Richardson, Humphrey Murray, Anthony Morris, Robert Ewer, Justices of the County. " Whereas the Government of this Province, being by the late King of England's peculiar favor vested, and sithence continued in Governor Penn, who thought fit to make his and our worthy friend Thomas Lloyd his deputy governor, by and under whom the Magistrates do act in this Government —And whereas it hath been proved before us, that George Keith being a resident here, did, contrary to his duty, publickly revile the said Deputy Governor, calling him an Impudent man, telling him he was not fit to be Governor, and that his name would stink, with many other slighting and abusive Expressions, both to him and the Magistrates; and he that useth such exorbitaney of speech towards the said Governor, may be supposed will easily dare to call the Members of Council and Magistrates Impudent Rascals, as he hath lately called one in an open Assembly, that was constituted by the Proprietary to be a Magistrate —and he also charges the Magistrates who are Ministers here, with engrossing the Magistratical Power into their hands, that they might usurp Authority over him, saying also, he hoped in God he should shortly see their Power taken from them; and otherwise conducted in a most undecent manner. And further the said G. K. with several of his adherents, having some few days since, with an unusual insolency, by a printed sheet, called An Appeal, &c. Traduced, and vilely misrepresented the Industry, Care, Readiness and Vigilancy of some Magistrates and others here, in their late Proceedings against some Privateers, viz. Babit and his Crew, in order to bring them to condign punishment, whereby to discourage such attempts for the future; and hath thereby also defamed and arraigned the Determinations of APPENDIX. 409 Provincial Judicatory against Murderers; and not only so, but by a wrong insinuation, have laboured to possess the readers of their Pamphlet, that it is inconsistent for those who are Ministers of the Gospel to act as Magistrates. Now, forasmuch, as we, as well as others, have borne, and still do patiently endure from the said George Keith and his adherents many personal Reflections against us, and their Gross Revilings of our Religious Society; yet we cannot without the violation of our trust to the King and Governor, as also to the inhabitants of this Government, pass by or connive at such part of the said Pamphlet and Speeches, that has a tendency to sedition and disturbance of the peace, as also to the subversion of the present Government, or to the aspersing the Magistracy thereof.- Therefore for the undeceiving of all people we have thought fit by this Publick Writing, not only to signify that our Procedure against the persons now in the Sheriff's custody, as well as what we intend against others concerned, in its proper place, respects only that part of the said printed sheet, which appears to have the tendency aforesaid, and not any part relating to Differences in Religion. But also, these are to Caution such who are well affected to the Security, Peace and Legal Administration of Justice in this Place, that they give no countenance to any Revilers and Contemners of Authority, Magistrates or Magistracy; as also, to warn all other persons, that they forbear the future publishing and spreading of the said Pamphlet, as they will answer the contrary at their peril. Given under our Hands and County-Seal, the Day, Year and Place aforesaid. ( ARTHUR COOK, HUMPHREY MURREY, SAMUEL JENNINGS, ROBERT EWER, SAMUEL RICHARDSON, ANTHONY MORRIS." George Keith published an answer to the foregoing, in which he denies that he blamed Governor Lloyd and the magistrates, for their proceedings against the privateers [pirates;] or, that he called in question their power, as magistrates, respecting that business; that their conduct, as magistrates, relating to the pirates, was commendable, &c.; that he only asserted, " that as quakers and ministers, the magistrates in hiring and fitting out men to fight, had acted diametrically opposite and contrary to the often declared and known principle of the quakers, not to make any use of the carnal sword." 44 41.0 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. APPENDIDX H2. [ Page 266. ] Towne's recantation first appeared in Loudon's New York Packet, published at Fishkill, October 1,1771; and, afterwards, in the works of Dr. Witherspoon, of Philadelphia, by whom it was written, Recantatwon of Benjamin Towne. " The following facts are well known: 1st. That I Benjamin Towne, used to print the Pennsylvania Evening Post, under the protection of Congress, and did frequently and earnestly solicit sundry members of the said Congress for dissertations and articles of intelligence, professing myself to be a very firm and zealous friend to American Liberty. 2d. That on the English taking possession of Philadelphia, I turned fairly round, and printed my Evening Post under the protection of General Howe and his army, calling the Congress and all their adherents, Rebels, Rascals, and Raggamuffins, and several other unsavoury names, with which the humane and Polite English are pleased to honor them -neither did I ever refuse to insert any dissertation however scurrilous, or any article of intelligence sent to me, altho' many of them I well knew to be, as a certain gentleman elegantly expresses it, facts that never happened. 3d. I am now willing and desirous to turn once more, to unsay all that I have last said, and to print and publish for the United States of America, which are likely to be uppermost, against the British Tyrant; nor will I be backward in calling him, after the example of the great and eminent author 1 of Common Sense, The Poyal Brute, or giving him any other name more opprobrious, if such-can be found. The facts being thus stated, (I will presume to say altogether fully and fairly) I proceed to observe, that I am not only proscribed by the President and supreme executive Council of Pennsylvania, but that I Tlhomas Paine. APPENDIX. 411 several other Persons are for reprobating my paper, and allege that instead of being suffered to print, I ought to be hanged as a Traitor to my Country. On this account I have thought proper to publish the following humble confession, declaration, recantation, and apology, hoping that it will assuage the wrath of my enemies, and in some degree restore me to the favor and indulgence of the Public. In the first place then, I desire it may be observed, that I never was, nor ever pretended to be a man of character, repute or dignity. I was originally an understrapper to the famous Galloway 1 in his infamous squabble with Goddard,2 and did in that service contract such a habit of meanness in thinking, and scurrility in Writing, that nothing exalted, as brother Bell,3 provedore to the sentimentalists, would say, could ever be expected from me. Now, changing sides is not any way surprising in a person answering the above description. I remember to have read in the Roman History, that when Cato of Utica had, put himself to death, being unable to survive the dissolution of the Republic, and the extinction of Liberty, another senator of inferior note, whose name I cannot recollect, did the same thing. But what thanks did he receive for this? The men of reflection only laughed at his absurd imitation of so great a personage, and said - he might have lived tho' the Republic had come to its period. Had a Hancock or an Adams changed sides, I grant you they would have deserved no quarter, and I believe would have received none; but to pass the same judgment on the conduct of an obscure Printer is miserable reasoning indeed. After all, why so much noise about a trifle? what occasion is there for the public to pour out all its wrath upon poor Towne; are turncoats so rare? do they not walk on every side? have we not seen Dr. S, J ---A -, T- C 4 —, and many others who were first champions for Liberty; then friends to government- and now discover a laudable inclination to fall into 1Joseph Galloway, Esq., formerly speaker of the house of assembly of Pennsylvania, and partner of William Goddard, &c. 2 William Goddard, a printer of The Pennsylvania Chronicle, to whom Towne had been a journeyman. 3 Robert Bell, a well known book auctioneer of Philadelphia. 4 Supposed to mean Doctor S - h, John A - n and T- C - e, of Philadelphia. 412 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. their ranks as quiet and orderly subjects of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The rational moralists of the last age used to tell us that there was an essential difference between virtue and vice, because there was an essential difference to be observed in the nature and reason of things. Now, with all due deference to these great men, I think I am as much of a Philosopher as to know that there are no circumstances of action more important than those of time and place, therefore, if a man pay no regard to the changes that may happen in these circumstances, there will be very little Virtue, and still less Prudence in his behavior. Perhaps I have got rather too deep for common readers, and therefore shall ask any plain Quaker in this city, what he would say to a man who should wear the same coat in summer as in winter in this climate? He would certainly say, "Friend thy wisdom is not great." Now whether I have not had as good reason to change my conduct as my coat, since last January, I leave to every impartial person to determine. 2dly, I do hereby declare and confess, that when I printed for Congress, and on the side of Liberty, it was not by any means from principle, or a desire that the cause of Liberty should prevail, but purely and simply from the love of gain. I could have made nothing but tar and feathers by printing against them as things then stood. I make this candid acknowledgment not only as a penitent to obtain pardon, but to show that there was more consistency in my conduct than my enemies are willing to allow. They are pleased to charge me with hypocrisy in pretending to be a Whig when I was none. This charge is false; I was neither whig nor tory but a Printer. I detest and abhor hypocrisy. I had no more regard for General Howe or General Clinton,' or even for Mrs. Lowring,2 or any other of the Chaste Nymphs, that attended the fete Chanmpftre,:3 alias Mischianza when I printed in their behalf, than for the congress on the day of their retreat. It is pretended that I certainly did in my heart incline to the English, because that I printed much bigger lies and in greater number for them, than 1 Two British generals, sent over to subjugate the colonies. 2 A married lady, said to have been the mistress of the British Genecral H-e. 3 A public exhibition in honor of the British General IIowc. APPENDIX. 413 for the Congress. This is a most false and unjust insinuation. It was entirely the fault of the Congress themselves, who thought fit (being but a new potentate upon the earth,) to be much more modest, and keep nearer the truth than their adversaries. Had any of them bro't me in a lie as big as a mountain it should have issued from my press. This gives me an opportunity of showing the folly as well as malignity of those who are actuated by party spirit; many of them have affirmed that I printed monstrous and incredible lies for General Howe. Now pray what harm could incredible lies do? the only hurt, I conceive, that any lie can do, is by obtaining belief, as a truth; but an incredible lie can obtain no belief, and therefore at least must be perfectly harmless. What will those cavillers think, if I should turn this argument against them, and say that the most effectual way to disgrace any cause is to publish monstrous and incredible lies in its favor. In this view, I have not only innocence, but some degree of merit to plead. However, take it which way you will, there never was a lie published in Philadelphia that could bear the least comparison with those published by James Rivington,l in New York. This in my opinion is to be imputed to the superiority not of the Printer, but of the Prompter or Prompters. I reckon Mr. T 2 to have excelled in that branch; and he had probably many coadjutors —What do you think of 40,000 Russians and 20,000 Moors, which Moors too were said by Mr. Rivington to be dreadful among the women? as also the boats building at the forks of the Monongahela to carry the Congress down the Ohio to New Orleans? these were swingers.- As to myself and friend H ---- -s.3 we contented ourselves with publishing affidavits to prove that the king of France was determined to preserve the friendship that subsisted between him and his good brother the King of England, of which he has given a new proof by entering into and communicating his treaty with the United States of America. Upon the whole I hope the public will attribute my conduct, not to disaffection, but to at1 "Printer to the King's Most Excellent Majesty," in New York. 2 Supposed to refer to a former governor of North Carolina, and afterwards governor of New York. James I --- s, printer in Philadelphia, whilst the British troops were in possession of that city, and before that time. 414 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. tachment to my own interest and desire of gain in my profession; a principle, if I mistake not, pretty general and pretty powerful in the present day. 3dly. I hope the public will consider that I have been a timorous man, or, if you will, a coward, from my youth, so that I cannot fight - my belly is so big that I cannot run - and I am so great a lover of eating and drinking that I cannot starve. When those three things are considered, I hope they will fully account for my past conduct, and procure me the liberty of going on in the same uniform tenor for the future. No just judgment can be formed of a man's character and conduct unless every circumstance is taken in and fairly attended to; I therefore hope that this justice will be done in my case. I am also verily pursuaded that if all those who are cowards as well as myself, but who are better off in other respects, and therefore can and do run whenever danger is near them, would befriend me, I should have no inconsiderable body on my side. Peace be with the Congress and the army; I mean no reflections; but the world is a wide field, and I wish everybody would do as they would be done by. Finally, I do hereby recant, draw back, eat in, and swallow down, every word that I have ever spoken, written or printed to the prejudice of the United States of America, hoping it will not only satisfy the good people in general, but also all those scatterbrained fellows, who call one another out to shoot pistols in the air, while they tremble so much they cannot hit the mark. In the mean time I will return to labor with assiduity in my lawful calling, and essays and intelligence as before shall be gratefully accepted by the Public's most obedient humble servant, "BENJAMIN TOWNE." APPENDIX. 415 APPENDIX I. [ Page 291. ] Green's HIandbill, and the depositions consequent thereon, which were all published at the time, will give the reader some idea of the state of the press in New England in 1700. I have taken them from a copy in my possession; they are as follow. " The Printers Advertisement." " Whereas there is Prefixed unto a late Pamphlet, Entituled, Gospel Order Revived, Printed at New- York, An Advertisement, which runs in these words, viz. The Reader is desired to take Notice, that the Press in Boston is so much under the aw of the Reverend Author, whom we answer, and his Friends, that we could not obtain of the Printer there to Print thefollowing Sheets, which is the only true Reason why we have sent the Copy so far for its Impression, and where it is Printed with some Difficulty. I count my self bound in Justice unto all Persons aspers'd by that Advertisement, to Declare and Publish to the World the Truth of the matter, which briefly is this: Certain Persons bringing to the Press, the Pamphlet above mentioned, after some Discourse concerning the number of Copies and Price, I Consented to its being Published: But when they insisted upon doing it with Secresy, I considered that for aught I knew Good men in the Country might be Offended at it: Therefore I only proposed this Reasonable thing, That before I proceeded, I might mention to His Honor the Lieutenant Governour, what was offered to the Press; This they denied me; But when they angrily went away some of my last words to them were, That Idid not refuse to Print it. And neither the Reverend President of the Colledge, nor any of his Friends, ever spoke one word unto me to Discourage my Printing of it. " BARTIOLOMEW GREEN. cc Boston December 21st, 1700. 416 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. REMARKS. 1 <" The Printer having by this Advertisement Vindicated those that were unworthily reflected on in the Advertisement, Prefixed to the above mentioned Libellous Pamphlet, (which no man is as yet so Hardy as to own himself to be the Author of) the world may Judge of other things contained therein by this. It will in due Time appear, that besides the Profane Scoffs and Scurrilities, (not only on particular persons, who never deserved such Treatments, but also on the Holy Churches of the Lord, and on the most Sacred Actions performed in them, which is the Spirit of their whole Pamphlet - as if they had designed to have that Scripture fulfilled upon them. 2. Tim. 2.9. They shall proceed no further, for their folly shall be manifest to all men - besides all this, it will appear that there are other more Impudent Falsehoods than that in their Advertisement, which the Printer in Boston, has (as became an Honest and Just man) made a discovery of. "Dated in Boston, December 24th, 1700." "The depositions of Thomas Brattle, Gent. and Zechariah Tuthill, Merchant. "These Deponents say, That on Saturday, the 13th of July last, they went to Bartholomew Green's to Treat with him about Printing an answer to Old Mr. Mather's Book, called, The Order ofthe Gospel: Who, after he had taken said Answer into his hands, and seen both what it was, and how much there was of it, told them he reckoned Three Sheets of Paper might contain it, and seven Ream of Paper Print about a Thousand of them; for which they agreed with him for Twenty Shillings the sheet. He made not any Objection to them against Printing said Answer; only said he could not go about it, till he had Printed off the Laws, which would not be till the Tuesday following. They further say, There was never any other person that brought said Answer to the Press, but the deponents; and they never brought it, but at this time. But neither did the said Green propose to them the mentioning to his Honour the Lieutenant Gover'lThese remarks were written by Cotton Mather. APPENDIX. 417 nour, what was offered to the Press, nor did they deny it him; nor did they go away in any Anger from him, nor did they hear him say any such word: (That he did not refuse to print it), all which the said Green in his late Advertisement of 21th Instant most unfairly Declares, That certain persons bringing to the Press the Answer above mentioned, did. "THO. BRATTLE. "Boston, Dec. 27, 1700. " ZECH TUTHILL. The Subscribers offering to make Oath to what is above written, the same being several times distinctly read over in the hearing ofBartholomew Green, he owned the same to be whatpassed between him and them. "Coram, ISAAC ADDINGTON, ) Justices of NATHANIEL BYPIELD. the Peace." "The Depositions of John Mico & Zechariah Tuthill, Merchants. "These Deponents say, That on or about the 16th of July last, they went to Bartholomew Green's to see if he were ready to Print the Answer to Old Mr. Mather's Gospel Order, but he was then unwilling to Print it because (as he said) it would displease some of his Friends; and to the best of their remembrance, he mentioned particularly the Mathers. They told him it was strange he would Print any thing for the said Mathers, and particularly the said Gospel Order, and nothing in Answer to it or them, by which means the World might think those Principles to be approved by all, which were abhorred by sundry Worthy Ministers in the Land. The unfairness of which practice they laboured to convince him of, yet he still declined to Print it; but at length said, if they would admit the Lieutenant Governor to be askt, to give his Approbation to it, he would Print it; which they were unwilling to for this reason: Because they conceived it a new Method, not practised heretofore, and which the said Green would not have required of them now, but to put off the Printing of this Book which answered the Mathers, whom he seemed loth to displease. These Deponents hereupon asked said Printer, whether 45 418 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. he had his Honours leave to Print the Gospel Order? he said, he had not. They then asked him if he would Print this, if Young Mr. Mather would be Imprimatur to it? he readily said, he would. Then they told him, it was a shame so Worthy a Minister as Mr. Stoddard must send so far as England to have his book printed, when young Mr. Mather had the Press at his pleasure? To which he replied, he hoped Mr. Mather was another guess man than Mr Stoddard. At length they told him, if he would not Print it, they would have it Printed elsewhere; but did not hear him say those words in his Advertisement of the 21st Instant, namely, That he did not refuse to print it. " JOHN MIco "Boston, December 27, 1700. ZECH. TUTHILL." " Sworn by the twopersons Subscribing, Bartholomew Green being present, and excepting against those words in the Evidence; particularly the Mathers, and that he would Print it, if young Mr. Mather would be Imprimatur to it: Also affirming he said those words, He did not refuse to Print it, and nothing further. '" Coram, ISAAC ADDINGTON, Justices of NATHANEL BYFIELD. the Peace." " Mr. Green the Printer, being by these Depositions Convicted of sundry Mistakes in his late Advertisement, so that his Folly and theirs who set him on work is manifest unto all men; there is just reason to suspect the truth of what he saith in the Fag-end of his Advertisement, that neither the Reverend Prwsident, nor any of his Friends ever spoke a word to him to discourage his printing the Answer to the Order of the Gospel. But whether that be true or false, concerns not the Advertisement prefix'd to said Answer, which saith nothing of any one speaking to the Printer, to discourage him; but only that his Press was so much under the aw of the Reverend Author and his friends, that we could not obtain of him to Print it; Than which nothing can be more evident from these Depositions, which say, The said Printer after he had positively agreed for the Printing said Answer, fell offfrjom his Bargain, and declin'd to Print it, because it would displease some of his Friends; and particularly the APPENDIX. 419 Mathers, who are known by all to have been his particular Friends and Imployers. So that the Reverend Author of that Libellous Scribble, at the tail of said Green's Advertisement (to which the Reverend Author was not yet so Hardy as to set his Name) had no reason to Reflect as he did on the Advertisement prefix'd to said Answer, or to Boast of the Printer's Vindication, but might be asham'd of both. As for the prophane Scoffs and Scurrilities not only on particular persons, but on the Holy Churches of the Lord, and the most Sacred Actions therein performed (by which are meant 0 ItORRIBLE! his two dear and precious Creatures, RELATIONS and the CHURCH COVENANT,) which that infamous Scribble saith, is the Spirit of the whole Answer, and those other Falsehoods it is threatened shall appear therein; they are but Bruta Fulmina to fright and scare the poor deluded, bigotted people withal, which is the very Spirit and Quintessence of the Reverend Scribler. But all these little Artifices and Cavils were plainly foreseen, and so fully provided against by the Ingenious Authors of said Answer, that there's no need of taking any further notice of them here. " I shall therefore at present say no more, but that the World may Judg what base and injurious 'treatment that Answer must expect from its Enraged Adversaries, by what is contained in that one little Canting, Scandalous Libel, wherein there are far more profane Scoffs, Scurrilities and Impudent Falsehoods, than are in all that GREAT and NOBLE and EXCELLENT ANSWER. THO. BRATTLE." "Boston, December 27, 1700. "Boston, printed by J. Allen." THE DEPOSITION OF BARTHOLOMEW GREEN PRINTER. "Who Testifies and Says, That on Saturday, some time last Summer, Mr. Thomas Brattle, and Mr. Zech. Tuthill came to my Work House in Boston, and brought with them a Manuscript of small Writing for me to Print; and calling me aside to one end of the Room, desired me to be private in it, and to keep it from the Mathers; informing me that it was an Answer to Old Mr. Mathers Book, of the Order of the Gospel. And after I had taken it into my hand, Mr. Brattle told me, it was not yet ready, he would Trans 420 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. cribe it. They asked me how much I thought it would make: I answered, Three Sheets, or something more, in Octavo; and told them I could not do it before the Laws were Printed, which would be next Monday or Tuesday. They asked me how much Paper Three Sheets would take to Print a Thousand: I answered about Seven Ream. They asked me how much I would have a Sheet; I answered, Two and Twenty Shillings. They said, I could do it cheaper. I reply'd, Mr. Brattle was very curious in Correcting. They told me, That would be for my Credit, or to that purpose. After some other words I consented to do it for Twenty Shilling Per Sheet: Whereupon they told me, they would have the Paper of Mr. George; and so went away, taking the Copy with them. After they were gone, it came into my mind what great disturbance the fflanifeto had made (which I Printed very privately at said Tuthill's desire) which made me the more thoughtful, lest this might give more Offence. Yetfor all, I went not to the Reverend President; neither did I receive any Discouragement from him, or any of his Friends, as to my Printing of it. " The Monday or Tuesday following, Mr. Zechariah Tuthill came alone to my Printing House, where I was, and guessing at his Business, I desired him to walk out with me. Then I told him, I was much concern'd about the Book, and prayed him to tell me who was the Author of it. What? said he, Now you have been with Mr. Mather. To which I replied, I have not. Whereupon he said, There are three or four that are the Authors of it. Then I desired only that I might mention it to the Lieutenant Governour, or ask his Approbation; which said I, I ought to do in Books of Controversy. Mr. Tuthill seem'd to be willing I should; which greatly satisfied me. And understanding His Honour was to be in Town that day,.I was to wait on him for that end. This is the substance of what pass'd between Mr. Tuthill and me. "( A little while after, in the same day, Mr. John Mico, and the said Mr. Zechariah Tuthill came to me to my Printing Room, and charged me by no means to go to the Lieutenant Governour, for they would not have him know of it. After this, there passed some discourse concerning Mr. Increase Mather's Book, the Order of the Gospel, and of Mr. Stoddard's Book, of Instituted Churches, as I APPENDIX. 421 understood. Mr. Mico asked me if it were not pity, or a shame, that such a man as Mr. Stoddard should send so far as England to have his Book Printed. The Answer to which I do not justly remember, nor for what reason he spake it to me: for Mr. Stoddard's Book was never offered me to Print; by himself or any other person. Afterward Mr. Mlico said to me, Well! you do refuse to Print it, meaning the Manuscript that was an Answer to Mr. Increase Mather's Order of the Gospel. I answered No, I do not refuse to Print it: but am not willing to do it without the Lieutenant Governor's Leave, or to that purpose. Whereupon they said they would have it printed elsewhere; and went away in some Anger.. Boston Jan. 4th, 1700,- 1. BARTHOLOMEW GREEN." " Boston Jan. 4th, 1700, -1. Sworn by BARTHOL. GREEN, Printer; Mr. Thomas Brattle, Mr. John Mico, and Mr. Zechariah Tuthill, being Notified and Present. SAMUEL SEWALL. ) Justices "( Coram Nobis. PETER SERGEANT. of the PENN TOWNSEND. Peace The Deposition of John Allen and Timothy Green, Printers. "These Deponents can and do Testify, That being at Bartholmew Green's Printing house at or about the 13th of July 1700. Where Mr. Thomas Brattle and Mr. Zechariah Tuthill came, and call'd the said Green aside to another part of the Room, where they had some Private Discourse; which said Green afterwards informed us, that it was to Print an Answer to Mr. Mather's Order of the Gospel. Some few days after, the aforesaid Zechariah Tuthill came alone to the aforesaid Printing-House, where we also then were. And the said Green and Tuthill went out together, and had some discourse together. After the said Tuthill was gone, the said Green told us that he had proposed to the said Tuthill the acquainting the Lieutenant Governour with it before he proceeded in doing it; which the said Green said, that the said Tuthill was willing to: Whereat the said Green seem'd mightily well pleased. But some time after in the same day, came the aforesaid Tuthill with Mr. John Mico to the aforesaid Printing house; and we do Testify that we heard the said Mico forbid the said Green acquainting the Lieutenant Governour with it; but that he should say nothing of it. Other dis 422 HISTORY OF PRINTING IN AMERICA. course happened, which we took not much notice of. But this we can, and do Testify to, That we heard the said Mr. John Mico, or Tuthill, one of them say, Well! or What, then you Refuse to Print it. Unto which the said Green Replyed, No, I do not Refuse to Print it: but am unwilling without the Lieutenant Governour's Leave, or Approbation. Hereupon they went away seemingly Angry, saying, We will have it Printed elsewhere. " Boston January 4th. " JOHN ALLEN. "1700. TIMOTHY GREEN." 1701. [N. S.] " Boston Jan. 4, 1700, 1. Sworn by the Subscribers, John Allen, and Timothy Green; Mr. Thomas Brattle, and Mr. John Mico, and Mr. Zechariah Tuthill being Notified and Present. C SAMUEL SEWALL. Justices " Coram Nobis PETER SERGEANT. of the PENN TOWNSEND. Peace." To the Candid READER. "' THE shortness of my Advertisement of the 21st of December, 1700, having rendred it less intelligible, & given Occasion for some Exceptions that have been since taken against it: for this reason I have explained it in the Foregoing Depositions. As also because there being no mention made in the Deposition of Mr. Thomas Brattle and Mr. Zechariah Tuthill of the 27th of December, of their speaking to me to Print their Copy privately; some might happily think, I Owned that they did not speak to me to do it privately: Whenas I declar'd to the contrary. And some might think and boast, that I had Owned that I had most untruly, or at least most unfairly declared in my said Advertisement: Which I never did Own; neither doth the Attestation of the Honourable Justices import I did. "And because what pass'd between Mr. Zechariah Tuthill & me singly, is wholly Omitted in both the Depositions said Tuthill was concerned in. "The Sum is, Whenas no Name appeared in the Title Page; nor so much as the Name of any Author was told me, when I requested it; & I had no opportunity to read it over my self; the Piece APPENDIX. 423 being also Controversal: I concluded it would be altogether inconvenient for me to Print it upon my own head without asking advice; for which I referr'd myself to the Honourable WILLIAM STOUGHTON, Esq; our Lieutenant Governour, who became Commander in Chief of the Province before the Week was out. For His Excellency the Lord BELL OMOINT, our Governour, began his Voyage to New York, upon Wednesday the 17th of Jul y, 1700. the very next day after Mr. Mico and Mr. Tuthill were with me. Nor was it a new thing to show Copies to the Lieutenant Governour in order to their being Printed. Mr. Sewall's Phenomena Apocalyptica was taken off the Press, and carried to the Lieutenant Governour for his Allowance. By the same Token, one Half Sheet being wrought off too soon: the Author was at the Charge to Print it over again, to gratify His Honour in some Alterations that could not otherwise be made. Besides other Instances that might be given. And considering the Lieut. Governours Eminent Qualification to judge of Books; the Station God has given him in the New English Church; and the good Offices he has done for Mr. Benjamin Colman and his Church in particular: Every one that is not a Stranger in Boston may wonder at it, that a Book Dedicated to the Churches of Christ in N. England, a motion to have it first view'd by his Honour, should be rejected with so much Disdain. For my own part, The obstinate Refusal of so fair an Arbiter, made me fear some foul Play: which is the principal Aw that I remember my self to have been under. " In fine, the Maintenance of my self & Family of small Children, depending under God, upon the good will of them that please to set me on Work, I have no intent to provoke or affront any person or Order of men; but to oblige them so far as is consistent with clearing of my Reputation; which (as little and low as I am) ought to be more eligible to me than much gainful business. And now having truly and uprightly given an Account of my doing in this matter, I humbly submit it to the Charitable Censure of every judicious & Impartial Reader. "Boston, Jauuary 10, 1700, - 1. B. GREEN." I , \ :ii THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN GRADUATE LIBRARY DATE DUE 'ill o~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~il 9 i~~~~~~~~~~~ Ed ist4:N4 ^te^T'?~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~'"aP ' A, ^-;1: ' " *<1 111; ' ^wSSM iB-.I # 4.. I,+ '.'D'?74i.......- ia *Tq5: -A 1, ~,,,1 ij.." MAR 7P, 2. L.. Mf 2~.... I I I J a t. i. VEA~-r ~6;11 1 OUND: uOiUN U N D3 NOV A~ 1949 )JNiq f MICOH.11 AP I UVER Y OF MICHIGAN III/ L -ll..-l —. —,1 1 3, /1 DO NOT REMOVE OR MUTILATE CARD