THE BOSTON NEWS-LETTER. THE first newspaper established in North-America, was the Boston News-Letter, the first number of which appeared on Monday, April 24, 1704. It was a half sheet of paper, in size about twelve inches by eight; made up in two pages folio, with two columns on each page. Under the title, which is in Roman letters of the size called, by printers, French Canon, are the words "printed by authority," in Old English, or Black letThe imprint is "Boston; Printed by B. Green. Sold by Nicholas Boone, at his Shop near the Old Meeting-House." From the annexed advertisement, — the only one which the paper contains, it is safe to infer that the proprietor was John Campbell : ter. This News-Letter is to be continued Weekly; and all Persons who have any Houses, Lands, Tenements, Farms, Ships, Vessels, Goods, Wares, or Merchandizes, &c. to be Sold, or Let; or Servants Run-away, or Goods Stole or Lost; may have the same inserted at a Reasonable Rate, from Twelve Pence, to Five Shillings, and not to exceed : Who may agree with John Campbel Postmaster of Boston. All persons in Town and Country may have said News-Letter every Week, Yearly, upon reasonable terms, agreeing with John Campbel, Postmaster for the same. 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 traveling with him from Bury Fair, I found him to be the most ingenious and innocent companion, that I had ever met with." * Harris's commission to print the Laws was placed on the page opposite to the title, 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 we the People may be informed thereof. Boston, December 16, 1692. WILLIAM PHIPPS. *History of Printing, vol. i. 287-9. THE BOSTON NEWS-LETTER. THE first newspaper established in North-America, was the Boston News-Letter, the first number of which appeared on Monday, April 24, 1704. It was a half sheet of paper, in size about twelve inches by eight; made up in two pages folio, with two columns on each page. Under the title, which is in Roman letters of the size called, by printers, French Canon, are the words "printed by authority," in Old English, or Black letThe imprint is "Boston; Printed by B. Green. Sold by Nicholas Boone, at his Shop near the Old Meeting-House." From the annexed advertisement, the only one which the paper contains, it is safe to infer that the proprietor was John Campbell: ter. This News-Letter is to be continued Weekly; and all Persons who have any Houses, Lands, Tenements, Farms, Ships, Vessels, Goods, Wares, or Merchandizes, &c. to be Sold, or Let; or Servants Run-away, or Goods Stole or Lost; may have the same inserted at a Reasonable Rate, from Twelve Pence, to Five Shillings, and not to exceed: Who may agree with John Campbel Postmaster of Boston. All persons in Town and Country may have said News-Letter every Week, Yearly, upon reasonable terms, agreeing with John Campbel, Postmaster for the same. From its commencement to November 3, 1707, the News-Letter was printed by Bartholomew Green. From that date to October 2, 1711, it was "Printed by John Allen in Pudding-Lane.* And Sold at the Post-Office in Cornhill." At that time, the post-office and Allen's printing-office were destroyed by fire, and the paper was again printed by B. Green, "for John Campbell, Postmaster," till the end of the year 1722. Of the personal history of John Campbell, I am not aware that any thing is known, except that he "was a Scotchman, a bookseller, and postmaster in Boston." If his literary accomplishments should be estimated by the evidence furnished in the columns of his paper, they were not of a high order. The contents of the News-Letter, during the whole of his proprietorship, are chiefly extracts from London papers. The little, that has the appearance of having been written by the editor, is clumsily composed, with no regard to punctuation or grammatical construction. His own advertisements concerning the business relations between him and his customers form the principal portion of all, that may be considered as original matter. The extracts, which follow, taken almost at random are specimens of the style of his composition. During the several years from its commencement, it is evident, from Campbell's frequent and importunate calls upon the public, that the News-Letter had but feeble support, and limited circulation. The following advertisement is taken from the paper of May 12, 1707, more than three years after the publication was begun :— *Now Devonshire-street. |