Breaking News: Renaissance Journalism and the Birth of the Newspaper: Difference between revisions
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''Breaking News: Renaissance Journalism and the Birth of the Newspaper,'' | [[File:STC 5796.jpg|thumb|right|280px|An early example of breaking news, this account of a vision seen over Mohammad's tomb in 1620 was translated from Italian to English. Folger Digital Image [https://digitalcollections.folger.edu/img16251 16251].]] | ||
''Breaking News: Renaissance Journalism and the Birth of the Newspaper,'' one of the [[Exhibitions at the Folger]], opened September 25, 2008 and closed on January 31, 2009. The exhibition was curated by [[Chris Kyle|Chris R. Kyle]] and [[Jason Peacey]] with Elizabeth Walsh. The exhibition [http://shop.folger.edu/store/165034%21165/Breaking+News%3A+Renaissance+Journalism catalog] can be purchased from the Folger Shop. | |||
The first newspaper arrived in England from an Amsterdam publisher on December 2, 1620. Containing the latest foreign news, this publication immediately sparked a huge demand for up-to-the-minute reports on domestic and world events. From stories of war to lurid accounts of celebrity scandals among the royal families of Europe, journalism exploded into the world of Renaissance England. Gossip in the taverns and conversations among the political classes gave way to the phenomenon of a wide cross-section of the populace reading the events of the days and weeks in cheaply-printed serial publications. | The first newspaper arrived in England from an Amsterdam publisher on December 2, 1620. Containing the latest foreign news, this publication immediately sparked a huge demand for up-to-the-minute reports on domestic and world events. From stories of war to lurid accounts of celebrity scandals among the royal families of Europe, journalism exploded into the world of Renaissance England. Gossip in the taverns and conversations among the political classes gave way to the phenomenon of a wide cross-section of the populace reading the events of the days and weeks in cheaply-printed serial publications. | ||
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Sir Richard Newdigate received his newsletters from London, and each arrived folded into small packets with wax seals affixed. In 1635, Charles I authorized the government postal service to carry private letters at a fixed rate dependent upon the distance traveled. However, many letters went missing en route and important news was often conveyed orally rather than by letter. | Sir Richard Newdigate received his newsletters from London, and each arrived folded into small packets with wax seals affixed. In 1635, Charles I authorized the government postal service to carry private letters at a fixed rate dependent upon the distance traveled. However, many letters went missing en route and important news was often conveyed orally rather than by letter. | ||
News circulating in this manner could easily be misconstrued. In a [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/3sz11w private journal] titled "Strange Reports," the author collected snippets of | News circulating in this manner could easily be misconstrued. In a [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/3sz11w private journal] titled "Strange Reports," the author collected snippets of news—including many items that are hard to believe were true stories. For example, he reports that Mrs. Honiswood of Kent gave birth to over 260 children. Perhaps more feasible, though still astonishing, is his report of a husband, wife, and two children whose combined ages equaled thirty-one years. | ||
Another famous example of news being copied into personal journals is the [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/mw8xn8 final speech of Sir Walter Raleigh]—poet, explorer, scientist, and one-time favorite of Queen Elizabeth—who was convicted in 1603 on flimsy evidence of treason and imprisoned in the Tower. As was customary, those on the scaffold were permitted a final speech. Reports of Raleigh’s final, eloquent words quickly circulated in manuscript and were copied into personal journals. | Another famous example of news being copied into personal journals is the [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/mw8xn8 final speech of Sir Walter Raleigh]—poet, explorer, scientist, and one-time favorite of Queen Elizabeth—who was convicted in 1603 on flimsy evidence of treason and imprisoned in the Tower. As was customary, those on the scaffold were permitted a final speech. Reports of Raleigh’s final, eloquent words quickly circulated in manuscript and were copied into personal journals. | ||
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Listen to co-curator Chris Kyle discuss Sir Walter Raleigh's execution. | Listen to co-curator Chris Kyle discuss Sir Walter Raleigh's execution. | ||
<html5media>http:// | <html5media>http://old.folger.edu/documents/78_Dying%20Words.mp3</html5media> | ||
==== Items included ==== | ==== Items included ==== | ||
* ''Commonplace book''. Manuscript, ca. | |||
* ''Newdigate Newsletter''. June 5, 1680. Call number: L.c. 943 and [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=36157 Key to the dates of the Newdigate collection of newsletters in the MS. collection in the Folger Library compiled by Giles E. Dawson] and [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/r42oqy LUNA Digital Image]. | * ''Commonplace book''. Manuscript, ca. 1650–1670. Call number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=220244 E.a.6] and [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/k4p365 LUNA Digital Image]. | ||
* Sir Walter Raleigh. Speech before his execution, Manuscript, October 19 [i.e. 29], 1618. Call number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=220241 V.b.303]; displayed [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/mw8xn8 p. 271] and [http:// | * ''Newdigate Newsletter''. June 5, 1680. Call number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=245155 L.c. 943] and [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=36157 Key to the dates of the Newdigate collection of newsletters in the MS. collection in the Folger Library compiled by Giles E. Dawson] and [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/r42oqy LUNA Digital Image]. | ||
* Sir Walter Raleigh. Speech before his execution, Manuscript, October 19 [i.e. 29], 1618. Call number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=220241 V.b.303]; displayed [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/mw8xn8 p. 271] and [http://findingaids.folger.edu/dfopolitical.xml Guide to Collection of Political and Parliamentary Documents] and [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/47458b LUNA Digital Copy]. | |||
=== Experiments in Printed News === | === Experiments in Printed News === | ||
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Protestant England delighted in reading scandals about the Pope and the Catholic Church. The author of the newsbook, ''Newes from Rome'' has reproduced a [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/3qyf3y woodcut] which was circulated in Rome attacking corrupt Catholics and the papacy. An empty speech bubble allowed buyers to fill in their own unflattering caption. | Protestant England delighted in reading scandals about the Pope and the Catholic Church. The author of the newsbook, ''Newes from Rome'' has reproduced a [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/3qyf3y woodcut] which was circulated in Rome attacking corrupt Catholics and the papacy. An empty speech bubble allowed buyers to fill in their own unflattering caption. | ||
Listen to co-curator Chris Kyle discuss how [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/hh1033 news of Queen Elizabeth] was shared from the pulpit. | |||
<html5media>http://old.folger.edu/documents/79_God%20Save%20Queen.mp3</html5media> | |||
==== Items included ==== | ==== Items included ==== | ||
* Ludovico Cortano. ''Good newes to Christendome''. London: | |||
* Ludovico Cortano. ''Good newes to Christendome''. London: [G. Purslowe] for Nathaniel Butter, 1620. Call number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=169918 STC 5796] and [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/7ixm3b LUNA Digital Image]. | |||
* ''An order of praier and thankes-giving, for the preservation of the Queenes Majesties life and salfetie: to be used of the preachers and ministers of the dioces of Winchester''. London: [Henry Denham for] Ralfe Newberie, 1585. Call number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=169821 STC 16516] and [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/4doi5c LUNA Digital Image]. | |||
* ''The strange and marveilous newes lately come from the great kingdome of Chyna, which adjoyneth to the East Indya''. London, 1577. Call number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=166705 STC 5141]; displayed [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/6b5d07 title page]. | * ''The strange and marveilous newes lately come from the great kingdome of Chyna, which adjoyneth to the East Indya''. London, 1577. Call number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=166705 STC 5141]; displayed [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/6b5d07 title page]. | ||
* ''Newes from Rome, Spaine, Palermo, Geneuæ and France''. London: | * ''Newes from Rome, Spaine, Palermo, Geneuæ and France''. London: [J. Wolfe?] for Thomas Nelson, 1590. Call number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=161204 STC 21293] and [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/u9y6bo LUNA Digital Image]. | ||
* Roger Ascham. ''A report and discourse written by Roger Ascham, of the affaires and state of Germany and the Emperour Charles his court, duryng certaine yeares while the sayd Roger was there''. London: | * Roger Ascham. ''A report and discourse written by Roger Ascham, of the affaires and state of Germany and the Emperour Charles his court, duryng certaine yeares while the sayd Roger was there''. London: John Day, 1570. Call number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=158250 STC 830 copy 1] and [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/oz843e LUNA Digital Image]. | ||
=== The Newspaper Arrives === | === The Newspaper Arrives === | ||
[[File:STC 82 B2r.jpg|thumb|right|320px|Mid- 17th-century coverage of foreign affairs. Folger Digital Image [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/7v2x1n 64303].]] | |||
The outbreak of the pan-European Thirty Years’ War | The outbreak of the pan-European Thirty Years’ War in 1618 created an insatiable demand in England for news from the Continent. Two enterprising English publishers, Nathaniel Butter and Nicholas Bourne, soon dominated the news market. By 1642, with the breakdown of state control over the printing presses due to the English Civil Wars (1642–1651), newspapers like [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/1pn1rf ''A Perfect Diurnall''] began to print domestic as well as foreign news. This signified the advent of the weekly newspaper. | ||
The advent of the coranto fundamentally changed the way many newsletter writers operated. While pages of news were once laboriously copied by hand, printed news made the spread and the consumption of news much more common. | The advent of the coranto fundamentally changed the way many newsletter writers operated. While pages of news were once laboriously copied by hand, printed news made the spread and the consumption of news much more common. | ||
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Making further strides, and unlike previous news printers who primarily translated foreign news, Samuel Pecke—considered the first English journalist—cultivated his own sources of information and published domestic news gleaned from the proceedings in Parliament. ''A Perfect Diurnall'', published weekly from 1642 through 1655, quickly spawned imitators. | Making further strides, and unlike previous news printers who primarily translated foreign news, Samuel Pecke—considered the first English journalist—cultivated his own sources of information and published domestic news gleaned from the proceedings in Parliament. ''A Perfect Diurnall'', published weekly from 1642 through 1655, quickly spawned imitators. | ||
Listen to co-curator Chris Kyle discuss one of the first examples of a newspaper as we know it. | |||
<html5media>http://old.folger.edu/documents/81_Read%20All%20About%20It.mp3</html5media> | |||
Listen to co-curator Jason Peacey discuss the first journalist. | Listen to co-curator Jason Peacey discuss the first journalist. | ||
<html5media>http:// | <html5media>http://old.folger.edu/documents/82_First%20Journalist.mp3</html5media> | ||
==== Items included ==== | ==== Items included ==== | ||
* ''A perfect diurnall of the passages in Parliament''. [London: William Cook, 1642]. Call number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=132528 P1486.6 nos. 10, 11] and [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/g4mj10 LUNA Digital Image]. | * ''A perfect diurnall of the passages in Parliament''. [London: William Cook, 1642]. Call number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=132528 P1486.6 nos. 10, 11] and [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/g4mj10 LUNA Digital Image]. | ||
* ''May 26, 1623. Numb. 33. A relation of Count Mansfeilds last proceedings, since his entertainement into the service of the French King''. London: | * ''May 26, 1623. Numb. 33. A relation of Count Mansfeilds last proceedings, since his entertainement into the service of the French King''. London: [John Dawson] for Nathaniel Butter, Nicholas Bourne, and William Sheffard, 1623. Call number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=169869 STC 25198.8] and [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/3bkb7q LUNA Digital Image]. | ||
* ''A true report of all the speciall passages of note lately happened in the Ile of Ree, betwixt the Lord Duke of Buckingham his Grace, Generall for the King of England, and Monsieur Thorax, Governour of the Fort in the said Ile, as also betwixt the Duke and the French King, likewise the present state of the Rochellers, and of the Kings Armie lying before it''. London: | * ''A true report of all the speciall passages of note lately happened in the Ile of Ree, betwixt the Lord Duke of Buckingham his Grace, Generall for the King of England, and Monsieur Thorax, Governour of the Fort in the said Ile, as also betwixt the Duke and the French King, likewise the present state of the Rochellers, and of the Kings Armie lying before it''. London: [W. Stansby] for Nathaniel Butter, 1627. Call number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=160870 STC 25201a.2] and [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/r81cmy LUNA Digital Image]. | ||
* ''Gazette de France''. Paris: Bureau d’Adresse, | * ''Gazette de France''. Paris: Bureau d’Adresse, 1631– . Call number: [248336]; displayed [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/li112f no. 47], [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/tt5cui no. 94], and [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/g7j2i8 no. 181]. | ||
* ''Number 1. An abstract of some specially forreigne occurrences, brought down to the weekly newes, of the 20 of December''. London: | * ''Number 1. An abstract of some specially forreigne occurrences, brought down to the weekly newes, of the 20 of December''. London: [T. Harper?] for Nathaniel Butter and Nicholas Bourne, 1638. Call number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=166090 STC 82] and [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/3e1w67 LUNA Digital Image]. | ||
* LOAN from [http://www.bl.uk The British Library]. ''The New Tydings out of Italie''. Amsterdam: George Veseler, to be sold by Petrus Keerius dwelling in Calvert Street, 1620. British Library call number: [http://explore.bl.uk/BLVU1:LSCOP-ALL:BLLSFX1000000000626351 Formerly STC 5745] | |||
=== Journalists at War === | === Journalists at War === | ||
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Once released from prison, Marchamont Nedham resurfaced in September 1647 as editor of the royalist newspaper [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/6aj165 ''Mercurius Pragmaticus''], thus developing a reputation as an unprincipled turncoat. Despite his new political leanings, he retained his biting wit, observing the characters and foibles of parliamentarian grandees in the verses with which he opened each week’s issue. | Once released from prison, Marchamont Nedham resurfaced in September 1647 as editor of the royalist newspaper [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/6aj165 ''Mercurius Pragmaticus''], thus developing a reputation as an unprincipled turncoat. Despite his new political leanings, he retained his biting wit, observing the characters and foibles of parliamentarian grandees in the verses with which he opened each week’s issue. | ||
Listen to Jason Peacey discuss the monarchy's opinion of the newspaper. | Listen to co-curator Jason Peacey discuss the monarchy's opinion of the newspaper. | ||
<html5media>http:// | <html5media>http://old.folger.edu/documents/83_War%20of%20Words.mp3</html5media> | ||
==== Items included ==== | ==== Items included ==== | ||
* Sir John Birkenhead and Peter Heylyn. ''Mercvrivs aulicus, a diurnall, communicating the intelligence and affaires of the Court, to the rest of the Kingdome''. Oxford [London]: | |||
* ''Mercurius britanicus; communicating the affaires af Great Britaine: for the better information of the people''. No. 129. London, | * Sir John Birkenhead and Peter Heylyn. ''Mercvrivs aulicus, a diurnall, communicating the intelligence and affaires of the Court, to the rest of the Kingdome''. Oxford [London]: Henry Hall for William Webb, 1642 [i.e. 1643]–1645. Call number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=132542 235- 953q] and [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/ezub5p LUNA Digital Image]. | ||
* ''Mercurius pragmaticvs. Communicating intelligence from all parts, touching all affaires, designes, humours, and conditions, throughout the kingdome. Especially from Westminster, and the head-quarters''. London, | * ''Mercurius britanicus; communicating the affaires af Great Britaine: for the better information of the people''. No. 129. London, 4–11 May 1646. [London: G. Bishop and R. White], 1643–46. Call number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=195891 262441]; displayed [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/2yhnir no. 129]. | ||
* ''Mercurius pragmaticvs. Communicating intelligence from all parts, touching all affaires, designes, humours, and conditions, throughout the kingdome. Especially from Westminster, and the head-quarters''. London, 1647–1649. Call number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=132544 M1768.49] and [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/mt2178 LUNA Digital Image]. | |||
=== Serving the Republican Regime === | === Serving the Republican Regime === | ||
The end of the English Civil Wars (1642–1651) brought radicalism and political volatility, | The end of the English Civil Wars (1642–1651) brought radicalism and political volatility, which presented new challenges for the fledgling newspaper industry. Journalists needed to navigate uncharted political territory, and their papers very quickly adopted novel ideas and innovative methods for conveying the news. The greatest challenge, involved a republican regime which, like those of earlier and later generations, sought to tame the industry, and exploit its potential for political purposes. | ||
The trial of Charles I in January 1649 was one of the defining events of the seventeenth century. [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/0q53mv This image] depicts the masses of people who crowded into Westminster Hall. Amongst those present during the trial were a number of journalists, who reported on the proceedings in their newspapers. | The trial of Charles I in January 1649 was one of the defining events of the seventeenth century. [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/0q53mv This image] depicts the masses of people who crowded into Westminster Hall. Amongst those present during the trial were a number of journalists, who reported on the proceedings in their newspapers. | ||
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Government interest in the newspaper industry was evident from the work of men like Walter Frost, who had been involved in intelligence gathering and pamphlet-writing for Parliament during the Civil Wars. Frost was employed as secretary to the Council of State, and [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/9155zg his newspaper] was produced by Parliament’s official printers. These favors helped to ensure his reputation as an official “newshound.” | Government interest in the newspaper industry was evident from the work of men like Walter Frost, who had been involved in intelligence gathering and pamphlet-writing for Parliament during the Civil Wars. Frost was employed as secretary to the Council of State, and [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/9155zg his newspaper] was produced by Parliament’s official printers. These favors helped to ensure his reputation as an official “newshound.” | ||
Listen to Jason Peacey discuss King Charles I's trial role in presenting daily news. | Listen to co-curator Jason Peacey discuss King Charles I's trial role in presenting daily news. | ||
<html5media>http:// | <html5media>http://old.folger.edu/documents/84_Kill%20King.mp3</html5media> | ||
==== Items included ==== | ==== Items included ==== | ||
* John Nalson. ''A true copy of the journal of the High Court of Justice, for the tryal of K. Charles I''. London: | |||
* ''A continuation of the narrative being the third and fourth days proceedings of the High Court of Justice; sitting in Westminster Hall Jan. 23. concerning the tryal of the King: with the several speeches of the King, Lord President, & solicitor General. Published by authority to prevent false and impertinent relations. To these proceedings of the tryall of the King, I say, Imprimatur, Gilbert Mabbot''. London | * John Nalson. ''A true copy of the journal of the High Court of Justice, for the tryal of K. Charles I''. London: H.C. for Thomas Dring, 1684. Call number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=155681 144- 155f] and [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/4vksrx LUNA Digital Image]. | ||
* ''The moderate: impartially communicating martial affaires to the kingdome of England''. London | * ''A continuation of the narrative being the third and fourth days proceedings of the High Court of Justice; sitting in Westminster Hall Jan. 23. concerning the tryal of the King: with the several speeches of the King, Lord President, & solicitor General. Published by authority to prevent false and impertinent relations. To these proceedings of the tryall of the King, I say, Imprimatur, Gilbert Mabbot''. London, Jan. 25. 1648. [i.e. 1649], 1649. Call number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=141680 W9a] and [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/2zuo5b LUNA Digital Image]. | ||
* ''A Brief relation of some affairs and transactions, civil and military, both forraign and domestique''. Edited by Walter Frost. No. 35. London, Tuesday April 16 to Tuesday April 23 1650. [London, England]: | * ''The moderate: impartially communicating martial affaires to the kingdome of England''. London, 1648–[1649]. Call number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=132536 M2324.5] and [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/p8yg91 LUNA Digital Image]. | ||
* ''A Brief relation of some affairs and transactions, civil and military, both forraign and domestique''. Edited by Walter Frost. No. 35. London, Tuesday April 16 to Tuesday April 23 1650. [London, England]: M[atthew]. Simmons, 1649–1650. Call number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=132539 B4624.5] and [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/hi481m LUNA Digital Image]. | |||
=== Censorship and the Free Press === | === Censorship and the Free Press === | ||
[[File:M2092 title page.jpg|300px|right|thumb|The title page of ''Areopagitica'', 1644. Folger Digital Image [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/gouc14 16312].]] | |||
Opinions have always differed about the degree to which the media should be controlled by political and religious authorities, and the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries witnessed persistent tension between the forces of order and liberation. Brutal punishment of wayward authors produced stirring calls for press freedom. Few contemporaries adopted entirely straightforward views on this issue, however, and many changed their views depending on their proximity to power. As a result, successive regimes continued to restrict the dissemination of news and opinion. | Opinions have always differed about the degree to which the media should be controlled by political and religious authorities, and the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries witnessed persistent tension between the forces of order and liberation. Brutal punishment of wayward authors produced stirring calls for press freedom. Few contemporaries adopted entirely straightforward views on this issue, however, and many changed their views depending on their proximity to power. As a result, successive regimes continued to restrict the dissemination of news and opinion. | ||
As religious divisions deepened in the 1630s, Elizabethan legislation was deemed insufficiently rigorous to deal with Puritan tracts debating the affairs of church and state. A [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/o189no Star Chamber decree] targeted “seditious, schismatical or offensive” pamphlets, and “secret printing in corners.” | As religious divisions deepened in the 1630s, Elizabethan legislation was deemed insufficiently rigorous to deal with Puritan tracts debating the affairs of church and state. A [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/o189no Star Chamber decree] targeted “seditious, schismatical or offensive” pamphlets, and “secret printing in corners.” | ||
The reforms implemented by critics of Charles I’s government during 1640 and 1641 included the abolition of the Star Chamber and the removal of individual press licensers. By 1643, however, Parliament was determined to try and re-impose order in the face of an explosion in pamphleteering and journalism. One order sanctioned searches for illicit presses and the seizure of any pamphlets which were deemed scandalous either to the king or to the proceedings of Parliament. In June 1643 a roster of clerics and lawyers was established to license new publications. This enabled the punishment of wayward journalists, not least those who attacked prominent members of Parliament and peers, as well as the king. | The reforms implemented by critics of Charles I’s government during 1640 and 1641 included the abolition of the Star Chamber and the removal of individual press licensers. By 1643, however, Parliament was determined to try and re-impose order in the face of an explosion in pamphleteering and journalism. One order sanctioned searches for illicit presses and the seizure of any pamphlets which were deemed scandalous either to the king or to the proceedings of Parliament. In June 1643, a roster of clerics and lawyers was established to license new publications. This enabled the punishment of wayward journalists, not least those who attacked prominent members of Parliament and peers, as well as the king. | ||
These restrictions on the printing of news didn't sit well with many authors and journalists, and in a [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/h5mn2n bold speech] against Parliament’s attempts to re-impose censorship in 1643, poet John Milton famously argued that the authorities might as well “kill a man as kill a good book.” Milton, who himself had faced punishment for his notorious pamphlets defending the practice of divorce, bemoaned attacks upon “the people’s birthright.” | These restrictions on the printing of news didn't sit well with many authors and journalists, and in a [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/h5mn2n bold speech] against Parliament’s attempts to re-impose censorship in 1643, poet John Milton famously argued in his work ''Areopagitica'' that the authorities might as well “kill a man as kill a good book.” Milton, who himself had faced punishment for his notorious pamphlets defending the practice of divorce, bemoaned attacks upon “the people’s birthright.” | ||
Aside from brief lapses in legislation, press licensing remained in force until 1695. Freethinker and polemicist Charles Blount’s religious and [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/j98508 political tracts] were publicly burned on more than one occasion. Blount sought to keep Milton’s ideas alive during the Restoration. | Aside from brief lapses in legislation, press licensing remained in force until 1695. Freethinker and polemicist Charles Blount’s religious and [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/j98508 political tracts] were publicly burned on more than one occasion. Blount sought to keep Milton’s ideas alive during the Restoration. | ||
Listen to | Listen to co-curator Chris Kyle discuss the power of the Star Chamber. | ||
<html5media>http:// | <html5media>http://old.folger.edu/documents/85_State%20Secrets.mp3</html5media> | ||
Listen to co-curator Jason Peacey discuss Milton's speech against government censorship. | |||
<html5media>http://old.folger.edu/documents/86_First%20Amendment.mp3</html5media> | |||
==== Items included ==== | ==== Items included ==== | ||
* John Milton. ''Areopagitica; a speech of Mr. John Milton for the liberty of unlicenc'd printing''. London, 1644. Call number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=142575 M2092] and [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/5z4bw6 LUNA Digital Image]. | * John Milton. ''Areopagitica; a speech of Mr. John Milton for the liberty of unlicenc'd printing''. London, 1644. Call number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=142575 M2092] and [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/5z4bw6 LUNA Digital Image]. | ||
* Richard Overton. ''A remonstrance of many thousand citizens, and other free-born people of England, to their owne House of Commons''. London, 1646. Call number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=139013 R993] and [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/8i6e6b LUNA Digital Image]. | * Richard Overton. ''A remonstrance of many thousand citizens, and other free-born people of England, to their owne House of Commons''. London, 1646. Call number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=139013 R993] and [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/8i6e6b LUNA Digital Image]. | ||
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In [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/sz15fk ''A Rope for Pol''], Roger L’Estrange compares infamous newsman [[#Journalists at War|Marchamont Nedham]] to the devil and calls for him to be “marked” so all could see his faults. Nedham had been one of the chief propagandists for the Republican regime in the 1650s. A friend of John Milton, Nedham edited one of the most influential and widely read newspapers, ''Mercurius Politicus''. | In [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/sz15fk ''A Rope for Pol''], Roger L’Estrange compares infamous newsman [[#Journalists at War|Marchamont Nedham]] to the devil and calls for him to be “marked” so all could see his faults. Nedham had been one of the chief propagandists for the Republican regime in the 1650s. A friend of John Milton, Nedham edited one of the most influential and widely read newspapers, ''Mercurius Politicus''. | ||
John Davies' [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/74kai7 ''A Scourge for Paper-Persecuters''] complains about the abundance of writers now publishing their works and “murdering paper.” Newsletter writers were particularly scorned: “behold the walls buttered with the weekly news composed in Pauls,” is a direct reference to Nathaniel Butter, the publisher of earlier | John Davies' [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/74kai7 ''A Scourge for Paper-Persecuters''] complains about the abundance of writers now publishing their works and “murdering paper.” Newsletter writers were particularly scorned: “behold the walls buttered with the weekly news composed in Pauls,” is a direct reference to Nathaniel Butter, the publisher of earlier corantos. | ||
Perhaps the most famous of these satires on news is Ben Jonson’s [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/60g4t4 play], ''The Staple of News'', written a few years after the introduction of corantos to England. It pokes fun at the news industry and particularly those who wasted their money buying news sheets. In the play, the publisher Nathaniel Butter is lampooned as Cymbal, manager of the ''News Staple'', itself a parody of early corantos. Four Gossips sit on stage making a number of jokes at Butter’s expense, and the industry as a whole is pilloried as a purveyor of untruths and tittle-tattle. | Perhaps the most famous of these satires on news is Ben Jonson’s [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/60g4t4 play], ''The Staple of News'', written a few years after the introduction of corantos to England. It pokes fun at the news industry and particularly those who wasted their money buying news sheets. In the play, the publisher Nathaniel Butter is lampooned as Cymbal, manager of the ''News Staple'', itself a parody of early corantos. Four Gossips sit on stage making a number of jokes at Butter’s expense, and the industry as a whole is pilloried as a purveyor of untruths and tittle-tattle. | ||
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By 1660, newspapers were under sustained criticism and all pretense of objectivity was lost in a wave of bitter invective. | By 1660, newspapers were under sustained criticism and all pretense of objectivity was lost in a wave of bitter invective. | ||
Listen to Elizabeth Walsh discuss Peacham's broadside. | Listen to head of reader services Elizabeth Walsh discuss Peacham's broadside. | ||
<html5media>http:// | <html5media>http://old.folger.edu/documents/87_Poisonous%20Pundits.mp3</html5media> | ||
Listen to exhibitions manager Caryn Lazzuri discuss Ben Jonson's satire. | |||
<html5media>http://old.folger.edu/documents/88_A%20Frivolous%20Pastime.mp3</html5media> | |||
==== Items included ==== | ==== Items included ==== | ||
* Henry Peacham. ''The world is ruled & governed by opinion''. London, 1641. Call number: P949.5 and [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/00dpg8 LUNA Digital Image]. | |||
* Henry Peacham. ''The world is ruled & governed by opinion''. London, 1641. Call number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=154866 P949.5] and [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/00dpg8 LUNA Digital Image]. | |||
* ''Pigges corantoe, or, Nevves from the north''. London, 1642. Call number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=141089 236- 540q] and [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/w58u80 LUNA Digital Image]. | * ''Pigges corantoe, or, Nevves from the north''. London, 1642. Call number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=141089 236- 540q] and [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/w58u80 LUNA Digital Image]. | ||
* John Davies. ''A scourge for paper-persecutors''. London, 1625. Call number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=163328 STC 6340 Copy 1] and [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/74kai7 LUNA Digital Image]. | * John Davies. ''A scourge for paper-persecutors''. London, 1625. Call number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=163328 STC 6340 Copy 1] and [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/74kai7 LUNA Digital Image]. | ||
* ''A rope for Pol. Or, A hue and cry after Marchemont Nedham. The late scurrulous news-writer. Being a collection of his horrid blasphemies and revilings against the King’s Majesty, his person, his cause, and his friends; published in his weekly Politicus''. London, 1660. Call number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=138253 184- 052q] and [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/sz15fk LUNA Digital Image]. | * ''A rope for Pol. Or, A hue and cry after Marchemont Nedham. The late scurrulous news-writer. Being a collection of his horrid blasphemies and revilings against the King’s Majesty, his person, his cause, and his friends; published in his weekly Politicus''. London, 1660. Call number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=138253 184- 052q] and [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/sz15fk LUNA Digital Image]. | ||
* Ben Jonson. ''The workes of Benjamin Jonson. The second volume''. London, 1640 (i.e. 1641). Call number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=164111 STC 14754 Copy 4]; displayed [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/60g4t4 pp. | * Ben Jonson. ''The workes of Benjamin Jonson. The second volume''. London, 1640 (i.e. 1641). Call number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=164111 STC 14754 Copy 4]; displayed [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/60g4t4 pp.6–7]. | ||
=== Formatting the News === | === Formatting the News === | ||
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News reports were regularly recycled during the Civil Wars and nowhere more dramatically than in ''Mercurius Rusticus'' seen [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/b68im6 here]. Compiled from stories in royalist newspapers, ''Rusticus'' was written by the royal chaplain, Dr. Bruno Ryves. Ryves specialized in recounting the brutality of parliamentarian soldiers towards royalists. | News reports were regularly recycled during the Civil Wars and nowhere more dramatically than in ''Mercurius Rusticus'' seen [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/b68im6 here]. Compiled from stories in royalist newspapers, ''Rusticus'' was written by the royal chaplain, Dr. Bruno Ryves. Ryves specialized in recounting the brutality of parliamentarian soldiers towards royalists. | ||
Titles like ''Post'', ''Mercury'' and ''Courier'' quickly became standard, many of them printed in gothic typefaces, like today’s Washington Post | Titles like ''Post'', ''Mercury'' and ''Courier'' quickly became standard, many of them printed in gothic typefaces, like today’s Washington Post. One of the [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/ax8j1s earliest titles] to bear the name “Post,” was the ''London Post'', produced by a leading publisher of civil war journalism, George Bishop. It was written by Parliament’s recently-appointed licenser of newspapers, John Rushworth, with the assistance of his deputy, Gilbert Mabbott. This journal was innovative not merely because of its title, but also because it provided headlines on its front page. | ||
Despite his reputation as a side-changing hack, Marchamont Nedham was one of the most important republican writers of the seventeenth century. His most important innovation was the newspaper editorial. He pioneered journalistic comment before 1650, but perfected the art in ''Mercurius Politicus''. | Despite his reputation as a side-changing hack, Marchamont Nedham was one of the most important republican writers of the seventeenth century. His most important innovation was the newspaper editorial. He pioneered journalistic comment before 1650, but perfected the art in ''Mercurius Politicus''. | ||
Newspaper formats changed dramatically after 1660, shifting away from the smaller quarto size towards the larger folio size with columns that we recognize today. | Newspaper formats changed dramatically after 1660, shifting away from the smaller quarto size towards the larger folio size with columns that we recognize today. | ||
Listen to curator of books Steven Galbraith discuss the printing press process. | |||
<html5media>http://old.folger.edu/documents/89_Pressed%20Into%20Service.mp3</html5media> | |||
Listen to co-curator Jason Peacey discuss the importance of illustration in the work of Bruno Ryves. | |||
<html5media>http://old.folger.edu/documents/91_Picture%20the%20Scene.mp3</html5media> | |||
==== Items included ==== | ==== Items included ==== | ||
* Bruno Ryves. ''Mercurius rusticus: or, The countries complaint of the barbarous out-rages committed by the sectaries of this late flourishing kingdome''. Oxford, 1646. Call number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=140292 R2448] and [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/a2rgo2 LUNA Digital Image]. | * Bruno Ryves. ''Mercurius rusticus: or, The countries complaint of the barbarous out-rages committed by the sectaries of this late flourishing kingdome''. Oxford, 1646. Call number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=140292 R2448] and [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/a2rgo2 LUNA Digital Image]. | ||
* ''The London Post : faithfully communicating his intelligence of the proceedings of Parliament, and many other memorable passages certified by letters and advertisements, from ...'', no.7(October 1, 1644). London, 1644. Call number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=132543 248- 435q] and [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/0v44l0 LUNA Digital Image]. | * ''The London Post : faithfully communicating his intelligence of the proceedings of Parliament, and many other memorable passages certified by letters and advertisements, from ...'', no.7(October 1, 1644). London, 1644. Call number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=132543 248- 435q] and [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/0v44l0 LUNA Digital Image]. | ||
* LOAN from [http://www.newberry.org The Newberry Library]. ''Mercurius Politicus'', 19. (October | * LOAN from [http://www.newberry.org The Newberry Library]. ''Mercurius Politicus'', 19. (October 10–17, 1650). London: Matthew Simmons, 1650. Newberry call number: [https://i-share.carli.illinois.edu/nby/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?DB=local&v1=1&BBRecID=751823 Case J 5454 .569]. | ||
* LOAN from The Newberry Library. ''Mercurius Politicus'', 442 (November | * LOAN from The Newberry Library. ''Mercurius Politicus'', 442 (November 11–18, 1658). London: Thomas Newcomb, 1650. Newberry call number: Case J 5454 .569. | ||
* Replica Printing Press. Bucknell University. | |||
=== Selling Space === | === Selling Space === | ||
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Advertisements were not only inserted into newspapers but also produced as single sheets that could be displayed publicly, handed out, or even scattered about the streets. [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/s5x914 Playbills] advertising a 1697 revival of John Dryden’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s [[Troilus and Cressida|''Troilus and Cressida'']], are extremely rare due to their ephemeral nature. | Advertisements were not only inserted into newspapers but also produced as single sheets that could be displayed publicly, handed out, or even scattered about the streets. [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/s5x914 Playbills] advertising a 1697 revival of John Dryden’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s [[Troilus and Cressida|''Troilus and Cressida'']], are extremely rare due to their ephemeral nature. | ||
Listen to Jason Peacey discuss advertising in newspapers. | Listen to co-curator Jason Peacey discuss progression of advertising in newspapers from lost animals to snake oil sales. | ||
<html5media>http://old.folger.edu/documents/92_Dr%20Butlers%20Ale.mp3</html5media> | |||
Listen to co-curator Jason Peacey discuss advertising for new books like Cotton Mather's [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/6ab9d0 book] on events in Salem, MA. | |||
<html5media>http:// | <html5media>http://old.folger.edu/documents/93_Salem%20for%20Sale.mp3</html5media> | ||
==== Items included ==== | ==== Items included ==== | ||
* ''At the new theatre in Little Lincolns-Inn Fields, to morrow being Thursday the 28th of October, will be reviv’d, a play call’d Troilus and Cresida, or, Truth found too late ...'' Playbill, London: Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre, 1697. Call Number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=246896 Z.e.37 p.3] and [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/s5x914 LUNA Digital Image]. | * ''At the new theatre in Little Lincolns-Inn Fields, to morrow being Thursday the 28th of October, will be reviv’d, a play call’d Troilus and Cresida, or, Truth found too late ...'' Playbill, London: Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre, 1697. Call Number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=246896 Z.e.37 p.3] and [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/s5x914 LUNA Digital Image]. | ||
* ''A perfect diurnall of the passages in Parliament''. [London: William Cook, 1642]. Call number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=132528 P1486.6 no.9] and [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/79grg0 LUNA Digital Image]. | * ''A perfect diurnall of the passages in Parliament''. [London: William Cook, 1642]. Call number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=132528 P1486.6 no.9] and [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/79grg0 LUNA Digital Image]. | ||
* ''The True domestick intelligence, or News from both city & country''. London, 1679–1680. Call number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=132550 T2689a Bd.w. P3831a Copy 2] and [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/8c8333 LUNA Digital Image]. | |||
* ''The Athenian gazette: or Casuistical mercury, resolving all the most nice and curious questions proposed by the ingenious: from ...'' London, 1693. Call number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=132563 A4111a copy 1] and [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/4vehlk LUNA Digital Image]; displayed 11 (January 17, 1693). | * ''The Athenian gazette: or Casuistical mercury, resolving all the most nice and curious questions proposed by the ingenious: from ...'' London, 1693. Call number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=132563 A4111a copy 1] and [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/4vehlk LUNA Digital Image]; displayed 11 (January 17, 1693). | ||
=== Tabloid Tales === | === Tabloid Tales === | ||
[[File:262606 front.jpg|thumb|right|300px|''England's grand memorial'', 1679. Folger Digital Image [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/kw43k8 17275].]] | |||
Journalists were not entirely preoccupied by the concerns of the political elite, and a high proportion of news coverage involved what later became known as “tabloid” journalism. Both press and public were fascinated by crime and disorder, and the stories they read and reported revealed fears about the dangers of moral decay. By examining these extraordinary tales from the lives of ordinary people, it is possible to observe just how willing contemporaries were to invest such events with political and religious meaning and significance. | |||
Although crime was common in the seventeenth century, murder was rare. This helps to explain the popularity of pamphlets describing unusually violent incidents, often with dramatic and grisly woodcut illustrations of the crimes they described. | |||
The murder of Sir Edmund Berry Godfrey, the magistrate who nervously investigated claims of a “popish plot” in 1678, scandalized the nation. The discovery of his strangled and stabbed body was quickly exploited by Whigs who were critical of the Crown and claimed that he had been killed by Catholic conspirators. They sought to turn Godfrey into a Protestant martyr, especially through [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/o63904 broadsides] such as England’s ''Grand Memorial''. | |||
On some occasions the significance of murder went much further than sensational reporting, as with the story of Enoch ap Evans’ [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/a380mu savage beheading] of both his mother and brother. The crime apparently occurred following a family argument over religious beliefs and practices, and Enoch’s case was quickly exploited in a range of tracts and treatises by those who drew a connection between his Puritanism and his criminal behavior. | |||
Many radical Puritans were demonized for challenging authority through outrageous behavior, as with another gruesome tale of a woman who murdered her baby rather than let it be baptized by her Presbyterian husband. She was reported to have said “now go and baptise it, if you will, you must christen the head without a body.” The culprit apparently repented in prison, after being tormented by visions of headless infants. | |||
Listen to co-curator Chris Kyle discuss the population boom of London. | |||
<html5media>http://old.folger.edu/documents/94_Body%20Count.mp3</html5media> | |||
==== Items included ==== | |||
* ''A true relation of a barbarous and most cruell murther, committed by one Enoch ap Evan, who cut off his owne naturall mothers head, and his brothers''. London: Nicholas Okes, 1633. Call number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=167628 STC 10582] and [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/bo1t50 LUNA Digital Image]. | |||
* ''England's grand memorial: the unparallel'd plot to destroy His Majesty, subvert the Protestant religion: and Sir Edmund burie Godfrey's murder made visible''. London, 1679. Call number: 232606 (broadside) and [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/o63904 LUNA Digital Image]. | |||
* ''A true relation of a most desperate murder, committed upon the body of Sir John Tindall Knight, one of the maisters of the Chancery; who with a pistoll charged with 3. bullets, was slaine going into his chamber within Lincolnes-Inne, the 12. day of November, by one John Barterham Gent: Which Barterham afterwards hanged himselfe in the Kinges-Bench in Southwarke, on Sunday being the 17. day following''. London: Edw: All-de for L. L[isle], 1617. Call Number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=158804 STC 24435] and [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/09oksl LUNA Digital Image]. | |||
* James Cranford. ''The teares of Ireland vvherein is lively presented as in a map, a list of the unheard off [sic] cruelties and perfidious treacheries of bloud-thirsty Jesuits and the popish faction. As a warning piece to her sister nations to prevent the like miseries, as are now acted on the stage of this fresh bleeding nation. Reported by gentlemen of good credit living there, but forced to flie for their lives, as Iobs messengers, to tell us what they have heard and seene with their eyes, illustrated by pictures. Fit to be reserved by all true Protestants as a monument of their perpetuall reproach and ignominy, and to animate the spirits of Protestants against such bloudy villains''. London, 1642. Call number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=151900 166- 401q] and [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/l24mho LUNA Digital Image]. | |||
=== A World of Wonder === | === A World of Wonder === | ||
People in seventeenth-century England were captivated by stories about unusual or sensational events. From stormy weather to conjoined twins, murder, atrocities, and supernatural tales, these “news” pamphlets provided both entertainment and education. Beware of the devil, avoid temptation and be a good Christian and all will be well … or so they believed. | |||
True crime stories, especially tales of murder instigated by the devil, were the stuff of bestselling pamphlets. Descriptive, lengthy titles and vivid illustrations were blazoned on the [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/65v93m title page]. Such publications usually followed immediately after a trial, when all the details had been revealed and the punishment (execution) carried out. | |||
But tabloid stories weren't limited to the grisly details of murders. Unusual occurrences and physical abnormalities provided rich fodder for sensational and popular news stories. In the case of ''Strange Newes of a Prodigious Monster'', expert testimony was sought to authenticate the reporting of the birth of conjoined twins. The [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/s3sm0a title page] prominently notes that a preacher with a Bachelor of Divinity could attest to the accuracy of the news. | |||
One could read the weekly [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/697tlq report of deaths] in London–and their causes. Not every death seems explicable to modern eyes: two perished by “evil,” “suddenly” accounted for one poor soul, and nineteen died as a result of “teeth,” presumably from infection. | |||
[http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/01kwu2 Strange weather] was yet another newsworthy event. England was devastated by storms during the winter of 1612–13. But why? Unlike the complex scientific calculations which meteorologists undertake to predict the weather today, the author of the above pamphlet found the answer in the sinful behavior of the people. God’s punishment for immoral conduct included hundreds of ships lost, whole villages flooded, and goods swept away. | |||
Many radical social and religious groups sprang up in the turbulent times in England after the Civil Wars of the 1640s and the execution of the monarch in 1649. One such group, the Ranters, who were much feared and reviled, was alleged to have believed in nudity, free love, and wife-swapping, as well as many other “ungodly” practices. [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/xp680d One pamphlet] gives prominent status to their myriad sins—including gluttony and dancing. | |||
==== Items included ==== | |||
* ''The wonders of this windie winter''. London: G. Eld for Iohn Wright, 1613. Call number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=159824 STC 25949]; displayed [[http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/2p4h9c title page]. | |||
* ''Strange newes of a prodigious monster borne in the towneship of Adlington in the parish of Standish in the Countie of Lancaster, the 17. day of Aprill last, 1613''. London: I. P[indley] for S. M[an], 1613. Call number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=162129 STC 15428 Bd.w. STC 20863.5] and [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/h2j05e LUNA Digital Image]. | |||
* John Reading. ''The Ranters ranting: with the apprehending, examinations, and confession of John Collins, J. Shakespear, Tho. Wilberton, and five more which are to answer the next sessions''. London: B. Alsop, 1650. Call number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=140212 R450]; displayed [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/xp680d title page]. | |||
* Worshipful Company of Parish Clerks. ''The diseases and casualties this week 6 July to the 13th''. London, 1680. Call number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=116239 252- 868q]; displayed [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/697tlq recto] for week of July 6–13, 1680. | |||
* Thomas Cooper. ''The cry and revenge of blood''. London: Nicholas Okes, for John Wright, 1620. Call number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=162964 STC 5698 Copy 2]; displayed [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/65v93m title page]. | |||
=== Towards a Modern Newspaper === | === Towards a Modern Newspaper === | ||
The final phase of the Renaissance witnessed rapid change within the newspaper industry, and the period after the collapse of censorship in 1679 saw the appearance of titles and trends which would shape the modern newspaper. It is to this period that we owe the idea of the topical magazine, as well as the very first attempt to produce the daily newspaper. | |||
In March 1702 the first regular daily national newspaper—''The Daily Courant''—was produced. The early eighteenth century witnessed the emergence of new kinds of serial publications, whose titles are familiar today. The first of these, ''The Tatler'', was founded in 1709 by Richard Steele along with his close friend, Joseph Addison. Together they adopted the pseudonym “Isaac Bickerstaff” in order to provide satirical and moral essays, as well as theater criticism, three times a week. | |||
After the closure of ''The Tatler'' by the Tory government, Addison and Steele quickly re-emerged with a daily journal titled ''The Spectator.'' In its [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/4h2y3v first issue], Addison promised to “observe” rather than comment, and to maintain “an exact neutrality between the Whigs and Tories.” As a regular visitor to London’s coffeehouses, he boasted about his ability to provide gossip that had been gleaned by “thrusting my head into a round of politicians.” | |||
Another milestone was the publication of ''The London Gazette''. Originally begun as the ''Oxford Gazette'' in 1665, this was an official newspaper run by under-secretary of state Joseph Williamson, and written by a series of leading journalists and authors. Renamed and relocated in 1666, ''The London Gazette'' has been “published by authority” and run [https://www.thegazette.co.uk uninterrupted ever since]. | |||
Listen to co-curator Chris Kyle discuss the origins of ''The London Gazette''. | |||
<html5media>http://old.folger.edu/documents/95_Surviving%20Centuries.mp3</html5media> | |||
==== Items included ==== | |||
* ''The London Gazette'', no. 85, September 3–10, 1666. London: Tho[mas]. Newcomb, 1666. Call number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=132574 Bd.w. L2895a Vol. 1] and [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/09v9t0 LUNA Digital Image]. | |||
* ''The Spectator'', no. 1, March 1, 1711. London, 1711. Call number: PR1365 S6 Cage vol. 1; displayed [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/4h2y3v front of issue]. | |||
* ''The Daily Courant'', no. 1992. Wednesday 7 July 1708. Call number: 187474, no. 1992 and [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/l945b1 LUNA Digital Image]. | |||
* ''The Tatler'', no. 193, July 1–4, 1710. Isaac Bickerstaff. London, 1710. Call number: PR1365 T2 no.193 Cage and [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/802jjk LUNA Digital Image]. | |||
=== Elections and Party Politics === | === Elections and Party Politics === | ||
It is hard to imagine, but national elections once took place without extensive media coverage and in the absence of well-oiled party machines. The seventeenth century witnessed key experiments and innovations in the election process. Integral to the upheavals were issues regarding who should be able to vote, and what power the electorate ought to have over their representatives. Many pamphlets and prints were produced not only to inform and influence voters, but also to record the election proceedings. | |||
As the seventeenth century progressed, parliamentary elections were increasingly dominated by political divisions rather than gentlemanly agreements. One result of this change was the increased need to win over the electorate by force of argument. Short tracts, distributed freely among electors, remain as the earliest surviving pieces of electoral propaganda. | |||
''Englands Remembrancers'' was a [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/2io062 controversial tract] pursuing a clear agenda: without naming specific candidates, it opposed the regime of Oliver Cromwell and advocated a policy of religious toleration. By scattering copies about the streets in towns and cities, and encouraging voters to organize meetings to discuss individual candidates and issues, its authors and publishers caused serious concern within the government. | |||
The emergence of political parties made elections tense and fractious, and London’s 1710 contest was particularly controversial. Some commentators alleged that the press exerted undue influence in order to ensure that the Tories took all four seats. [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/83av5i This “poll book”] revealed the votes—one for each of the available places—cast by individual voters, as well as the final outcome. It reflected a high turnout (around eighty percent), and a highly polarized electorate. | |||
Listen to co-curator Jason Peacey discuss the role of "poll books" in elections. | |||
<html5media>http://old.folger.edu/documents/97_Polls%20Closed.mp3</html5media> | |||
==== Items included ==== | |||
* ''The poll of the livery-men of the City of London, at the election for Members of Parliament: begun Munday, October 9th, 1710, ... The whole being a compleat list of the livery''. London, 1710. Call number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=74670 134- 644.5q] and [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/7cx1bf LUNA Digital Image]. | |||
* ''A list of one unanimous club of members of the late Parliament, Nov. 11. 1701. that met at the Vine-Tavern in Long-Acre. Who ought to be opposed in the ensuing elections, by all that intend to save their native country from being made a province of France: ...'' London, 1701. Call number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=130394 148- 350q]; displayed [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/k09vg1 sig A1v– A2r]. | |||
* ''Englands remembrancers. Or, a word in season to all English men about their elections of the members for the approaching Parliament''. London, 1656. Call number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=141702 144- 687q]; displayed [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/2io062 title page]. | |||
* ''A speech made at Nottingham, April 2. 1660 at the election of Arthur Stanhope Esquire, and Collonel John Huchinson, their burgesses to serve in the next Parliament''. London. 1660. Call number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=154960 185- 960q]; displayed [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/wz9k20 title page]. | |||
* ''Some advertisements for the new election of burgesses for the House of Commons. Anno 1645''. [London, 1645]. Call number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=138677 178- 721q]; displayed [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/undl2i title page]. | |||
== Supplemental materials == | == Supplemental materials == | ||
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Listen to a segment from [http://www.onthemedia.org ''On the Media''] about this exhibition or [http://www.onthemedia.org/story/131269-the-news-then-and-now/transcript/ read the transcript]. | Listen to a segment from [http://www.onthemedia.org ''On the Media''] about this exhibition or [http://www.onthemedia.org/story/131269-the-news-then-and-now/transcript/ read the transcript]. | ||
<html5media>http:// | <html5media>http://old.folger.edu/documents/otm010909h.mp3</html5media> | ||
=== [[Breaking News children's exhibition]] === | === [[Breaking News children's exhibition]] === | ||
=== Audio Tour === | === Audio Tour === | ||
Hear insights on a selection of items from the exhibition. Additional audio can be found within the above [[#Contents of the exhibition|exhibition material]] descriptions. | |||
==== The Wrong Foreign Policy ==== | |||
Listen to co-curator Chris Kyle discuss an article many believed to be journalism at its best. | |||
<html5media>http://old.folger.edu/documents/80_Wrong%20Foreign%20Policy.mp3</html5media> | |||
* Thomas Scott. ''Vox populi. Or, Newes from Spayne, translated according to the Spanish coppie''. London?, 1620. Call number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=166767 STC 22100.3 copy 1] and [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/0w4o14 LUNA Digital Image]. | |||
* Thomas Scott. ''Copy of Vox populi, or, Newes from Spaine translated accordinge to the Spanish copie''. Manuscript, ca. 1620. Call number: [http://hamnet.folger.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=235288 V.a.310, leaves 54–64] and [http://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/11p55z LUNA Digital Image]. | |||
==== Frost Fair ==== | |||
Listen to co-curator Chris Kyle discuss a map made by printer Joseph Moxon for a winter fair on the Thames. | |||
<html5media>http://old.folger.edu/documents/90_Frost%20Fair.mp3</html5media> | |||
* LOAN from the [http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk Bodleian Library], University of Oxford, UK. Joseph Moxon. ''A map of the river Thames, merrily cal'd Blanket fair, as it was frozen in the ... year 168<'3/4'>''. [London]: Joseph Moxon, [1684?]. Bodleian call number: [http://solo.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/primo_library/libweb/action/dlDisplay.do?vid=OXVU1&docId=oxfaleph014466668 Gough Maps 21]. | |||
==== Boston News Strangler ==== | |||
Listen to co-curator Chris Kyle discuss the arrival of the newspaper in the United States. | |||
<html5media>http://old.folger.edu/documents/96_Boston%20News.mp3</html5media> | |||
* LOAN from [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk The National Archives], London, UK. ''Publick Occurrences Both Forreign and Domestick, 1 (September 25, 1690)''. Boston: R. Pierce for Benjamin Harris, 1690. | |||
[[Category: Public programs]] | |||
[[Category: Exhibitions]] | |||
[[Category: 16th century]] | |||
[[Category: 17th century]] | |||
[[Category: 18th century]] | |||
[[Category: Collection]] | |||
[[Category: Manuscripts]] |
Revision as of 09:18, 22 July 2024
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Breaking News: Renaissance Journalism and the Birth of the Newspaper, one of the Exhibitions at the Folger, opened September 25, 2008 and closed on January 31, 2009. The exhibition was curated by Chris R. Kyle and Jason Peacey with Elizabeth Walsh. The exhibition catalog can be purchased from the Folger Shop.
The first newspaper arrived in England from an Amsterdam publisher on December 2, 1620. Containing the latest foreign news, this publication immediately sparked a huge demand for up-to-the-minute reports on domestic and world events. From stories of war to lurid accounts of celebrity scandals among the royal families of Europe, journalism exploded into the world of Renaissance England. Gossip in the taverns and conversations among the political classes gave way to the phenomenon of a wide cross-section of the populace reading the events of the days and weeks in cheaply-printed serial publications.
The early English newspaper has left an indelible mark upon modern news culture. Even in its earliest manifestation, we see the emergence of the dramatic headline and the editorial, the development of tabloids and advertising, and the advent of attempts at state censorship and control over the presses. The content of the newspapers on exhibit reflects not only politics but the wider cultural, social and economic life of the times they covered.
This exhibition traces the development of journalism and the newspaper in England, from the manuscript antecedents of the coranto form to the introduction of newspapers in America in the late seventeenth century, and the birth of the first daily newspaper in England in 1702.
Contents of the exhibition
News Before Newspapers
In sixteenth and seventeenth century England, when the printing of domestic news was banned by the government and the newspaper had not yet been invented, letters were the most common form for the transmission of news. People also copied news reports into their personal diaries. One of the most popular ways to obtain information was to purchase separates. These were manuscript copies of speeches and reports of events of high political drama. Avidly collected and read, they were often circulated among family and friends.
Sir Richard Newdigate received his newsletters from London, and each arrived folded into small packets with wax seals affixed. In 1635, Charles I authorized the government postal service to carry private letters at a fixed rate dependent upon the distance traveled. However, many letters went missing en route and important news was often conveyed orally rather than by letter.
News circulating in this manner could easily be misconstrued. In a private journal titled "Strange Reports," the author collected snippets of news—including many items that are hard to believe were true stories. For example, he reports that Mrs. Honiswood of Kent gave birth to over 260 children. Perhaps more feasible, though still astonishing, is his report of a husband, wife, and two children whose combined ages equaled thirty-one years.
Another famous example of news being copied into personal journals is the final speech of Sir Walter Raleigh—poet, explorer, scientist, and one-time favorite of Queen Elizabeth—who was convicted in 1603 on flimsy evidence of treason and imprisoned in the Tower. As was customary, those on the scaffold were permitted a final speech. Reports of Raleigh’s final, eloquent words quickly circulated in manuscript and were copied into personal journals.
Listen to co-curator Chris Kyle discuss Sir Walter Raleigh's execution.
Items included
- Commonplace book. Manuscript, ca. 1650–1670. Call number: E.a.6 and LUNA Digital Image.
- Newdigate Newsletter. June 5, 1680. Call number: L.c. 943 and Key to the dates of the Newdigate collection of newsletters in the MS. collection in the Folger Library compiled by Giles E. Dawson and LUNA Digital Image.
- Sir Walter Raleigh. Speech before his execution, Manuscript, October 19 [i.e. 29], 1618. Call number: V.b.303; displayed p. 271 and Guide to Collection of Political and Parliamentary Documents and LUNA Digital Copy.
Experiments in Printed News
Major events and natural disasters provided an opportunity to publish lengthy news pamphlets. Dramatic political events from the courts of Europe, reports of strange weather, attacks on the Pope, and news of far-away and exotic lands were all available for purchase by the reading public. The government also used the news for printed propaganda campaigns, taking full advantage of its ability to reach the populace from the pulpit and the town square.
This title page from 1620 conveys a vision seen over the prophet Mohammed’s tomb in “Arabia” and a depiction of the skies raining blood in Rome. The pamphlet is a good example of how news was transmitted in England before the newspaper. Originally written as a letter, it was translated from Italian into English before being printed.
News which circulated in continental Europe was often translated into English and republished in an effort to satisfy the increasing appetite for exotic news. One report from China marvels at shaven-headed Buddhist priests, the fine quality of Chinese horses, and the small stature of the people. It also laments the lack of grapes to make wine.
Other reports show that for many Elizabethans, news did not have to be current. Roger Ascham was the tutor to Princess Elizabeth and author of The Scholemaster, a popular book on education. In 1550, Ascham traveled to Germany as the secretary to the English ambassador to the Court of Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor. In order to satisfy the demand in England for news from Germany, Ascham began to compile a daily report on affairs of the court. Although written as a series of manuscript newsletters, Ascham’s reports were of sufficient interest to be published after his death and twenty years after the events described.
Protestant England delighted in reading scandals about the Pope and the Catholic Church. The author of the newsbook, Newes from Rome has reproduced a woodcut which was circulated in Rome attacking corrupt Catholics and the papacy. An empty speech bubble allowed buyers to fill in their own unflattering caption.
Listen to co-curator Chris Kyle discuss how news of Queen Elizabeth was shared from the pulpit.
Items included
- Ludovico Cortano. Good newes to Christendome. London: [G. Purslowe] for Nathaniel Butter, 1620. Call number: STC 5796 and LUNA Digital Image.
- An order of praier and thankes-giving, for the preservation of the Queenes Majesties life and salfetie: to be used of the preachers and ministers of the dioces of Winchester. London: [Henry Denham for] Ralfe Newberie, 1585. Call number: STC 16516 and LUNA Digital Image.
- The strange and marveilous newes lately come from the great kingdome of Chyna, which adjoyneth to the East Indya. London, 1577. Call number: STC 5141; displayed title page.
- Newes from Rome, Spaine, Palermo, Geneuæ and France. London: [J. Wolfe?] for Thomas Nelson, 1590. Call number: STC 21293 and LUNA Digital Image.
- Roger Ascham. A report and discourse written by Roger Ascham, of the affaires and state of Germany and the Emperour Charles his court, duryng certaine yeares while the sayd Roger was there. London: John Day, 1570. Call number: STC 830 copy 1 and LUNA Digital Image.
The Newspaper Arrives
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The outbreak of the pan-European Thirty Years’ War in 1618 created an insatiable demand in England for news from the Continent. Two enterprising English publishers, Nathaniel Butter and Nicholas Bourne, soon dominated the news market. By 1642, with the breakdown of state control over the printing presses due to the English Civil Wars (1642–1651), newspapers like A Perfect Diurnall began to print domestic as well as foreign news. This signified the advent of the weekly newspaper.
The advent of the coranto fundamentally changed the way many newsletter writers operated. While pages of news were once laboriously copied by hand, printed news made the spread and the consumption of news much more common.
The most important news of the week served as the title for these early corantos. But in 1632, the government of Charles I banned the publication of corantos. However, fearful of losing a propaganda opportunity, in 1638 the Crown licensed the publishers Nathaniel Butter and Nicholas Bourne to produce newsbooks of foreign affairs, subject to government scrutiny before publication. In an epistle to coranto readers, Butter and Bourne informed their reading public that they could look forward to a resumption of frequent news reports.
Although Nathaniel Butter was imprisoned in August 1627 as a result of the government’s increasingly hostile attitude towards news publication, he continued to publish corantos. Though still not completely standardized, the title pages were updated to reflect the exact dates of the news included in the issue, and included the phrase, “the continuation of our weekly news.”
Making further strides, and unlike previous news printers who primarily translated foreign news, Samuel Pecke—considered the first English journalist—cultivated his own sources of information and published domestic news gleaned from the proceedings in Parliament. A Perfect Diurnall, published weekly from 1642 through 1655, quickly spawned imitators.
Listen to co-curator Chris Kyle discuss one of the first examples of a newspaper as we know it.
Listen to co-curator Jason Peacey discuss the first journalist.
Items included
- A perfect diurnall of the passages in Parliament. [London: William Cook, 1642]. Call number: P1486.6 nos. 10, 11 and LUNA Digital Image.
- May 26, 1623. Numb. 33. A relation of Count Mansfeilds last proceedings, since his entertainement into the service of the French King. London: [John Dawson] for Nathaniel Butter, Nicholas Bourne, and William Sheffard, 1623. Call number: STC 25198.8 and LUNA Digital Image.
- A true report of all the speciall passages of note lately happened in the Ile of Ree, betwixt the Lord Duke of Buckingham his Grace, Generall for the King of England, and Monsieur Thorax, Governour of the Fort in the said Ile, as also betwixt the Duke and the French King, likewise the present state of the Rochellers, and of the Kings Armie lying before it. London: [W. Stansby] for Nathaniel Butter, 1627. Call number: STC 25201a.2 and LUNA Digital Image.
- Gazette de France. Paris: Bureau d’Adresse, 1631– . Call number: [248336]; displayed no. 47, no. 94, and no. 181.
- Number 1. An abstract of some specially forreigne occurrences, brought down to the weekly newes, of the 20 of December. London: [T. Harper?] for Nathaniel Butter and Nicholas Bourne, 1638. Call number: STC 82 and LUNA Digital Image.
- LOAN from The British Library. The New Tydings out of Italie. Amsterdam: George Veseler, to be sold by Petrus Keerius dwelling in Calvert Street, 1620. British Library call number: Formerly STC 5745
Journalists at War
The British Civil Wars (1642–1651) provided an important impetus for innovation and improvement in the newspaper industry. Newspapers became much better established, and a new generation of professional writers, publishers and printers emerged from within social groups that had not previously been involved in literary endeavors. Such men and women were willing and able to report on the progress of the war, and the issues involved with a combination of information and wit, although neither their loyalty nor their reliability could be taken for granted.
Running from January 1643 until September 1645, Mercurius Aulicus was the first truly substantial newspaper printed during the Civil Wars, operating with court backing out of the royalist headquarters at Oxford and reprinted illicitly in London. Aulicus offered military reports, political intelligence, and biting attacks upon parliamentarians. Despite this, it was often read by supporters of both sides.
Mercurius Britanicus was launched a few months later, in the summer of 1643, with the explicit aim of responding to Mercurius Aulicus, and the two newsbooks traded blows and accusations of inaccuracy every week. An extremely influential newspaper that was widely assumed to have had political backing, it launched the journalistic career of Marchamont Nedham, under whose guidance it became witty, acerbic, and scurrilous. His willingness to experiment with editorializing about both king and Parliament ensured a less than smooth relationship with the authorities, who shut the paper down and imprisoned its editor.
Once released from prison, Marchamont Nedham resurfaced in September 1647 as editor of the royalist newspaper Mercurius Pragmaticus, thus developing a reputation as an unprincipled turncoat. Despite his new political leanings, he retained his biting wit, observing the characters and foibles of parliamentarian grandees in the verses with which he opened each week’s issue.
Listen to co-curator Jason Peacey discuss the monarchy's opinion of the newspaper.
Items included
- Sir John Birkenhead and Peter Heylyn. Mercvrivs aulicus, a diurnall, communicating the intelligence and affaires of the Court, to the rest of the Kingdome. Oxford [London]: Henry Hall for William Webb, 1642 [i.e. 1643]–1645. Call number: 235- 953q and LUNA Digital Image.
- Mercurius britanicus; communicating the affaires af Great Britaine: for the better information of the people. No. 129. London, 4–11 May 1646. [London: G. Bishop and R. White], 1643–46. Call number: 262441; displayed no. 129.
- Mercurius pragmaticvs. Communicating intelligence from all parts, touching all affaires, designes, humours, and conditions, throughout the kingdome. Especially from Westminster, and the head-quarters. London, 1647–1649. Call number: M1768.49 and LUNA Digital Image.
Serving the Republican Regime
The end of the English Civil Wars (1642–1651) brought radicalism and political volatility, which presented new challenges for the fledgling newspaper industry. Journalists needed to navigate uncharted political territory, and their papers very quickly adopted novel ideas and innovative methods for conveying the news. The greatest challenge, involved a republican regime which, like those of earlier and later generations, sought to tame the industry, and exploit its potential for political purposes.
The trial of Charles I in January 1649 was one of the defining events of the seventeenth century. This image depicts the masses of people who crowded into Westminster Hall. Amongst those present during the trial were a number of journalists, who reported on the proceedings in their newspapers.
The king’s trial highlighted the difficulty which weekly newspapers had in keeping up with rapidly changing events. A number of journalists responded by producing special issues after each day’s court proceedings had ended. Such reports also offered evocative verbatim accounts of the heated courtroom exchanges between the king and his prosecutors.
The 1640s also witnessed the emergence of increasingly radical political ideas which were well represented in newspapers like Gilbert Mabbott’s The Moderate. Mabbott had strong ties to the parliamentarian army, and perhaps even to groups on the radical republican fringe, such as the Levellers.
Government interest in the newspaper industry was evident from the work of men like Walter Frost, who had been involved in intelligence gathering and pamphlet-writing for Parliament during the Civil Wars. Frost was employed as secretary to the Council of State, and his newspaper was produced by Parliament’s official printers. These favors helped to ensure his reputation as an official “newshound.”
Listen to co-curator Jason Peacey discuss King Charles I's trial role in presenting daily news.
Items included
- John Nalson. A true copy of the journal of the High Court of Justice, for the tryal of K. Charles I. London: H.C. for Thomas Dring, 1684. Call number: 144- 155f and LUNA Digital Image.
- A continuation of the narrative being the third and fourth days proceedings of the High Court of Justice; sitting in Westminster Hall Jan. 23. concerning the tryal of the King: with the several speeches of the King, Lord President, & solicitor General. Published by authority to prevent false and impertinent relations. To these proceedings of the tryall of the King, I say, Imprimatur, Gilbert Mabbot. London, Jan. 25. 1648. [i.e. 1649], 1649. Call number: W9a and LUNA Digital Image.
- The moderate: impartially communicating martial affaires to the kingdome of England. London, 1648–[1649]. Call number: M2324.5 and LUNA Digital Image.
- A Brief relation of some affairs and transactions, civil and military, both forraign and domestique. Edited by Walter Frost. No. 35. London, Tuesday April 16 to Tuesday April 23 1650. [London, England]: M[atthew]. Simmons, 1649–1650. Call number: B4624.5 and LUNA Digital Image.
Censorship and the Free Press
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Opinions have always differed about the degree to which the media should be controlled by political and religious authorities, and the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries witnessed persistent tension between the forces of order and liberation. Brutal punishment of wayward authors produced stirring calls for press freedom. Few contemporaries adopted entirely straightforward views on this issue, however, and many changed their views depending on their proximity to power. As a result, successive regimes continued to restrict the dissemination of news and opinion.
As religious divisions deepened in the 1630s, Elizabethan legislation was deemed insufficiently rigorous to deal with Puritan tracts debating the affairs of church and state. A Star Chamber decree targeted “seditious, schismatical or offensive” pamphlets, and “secret printing in corners.”
The reforms implemented by critics of Charles I’s government during 1640 and 1641 included the abolition of the Star Chamber and the removal of individual press licensers. By 1643, however, Parliament was determined to try and re-impose order in the face of an explosion in pamphleteering and journalism. One order sanctioned searches for illicit presses and the seizure of any pamphlets which were deemed scandalous either to the king or to the proceedings of Parliament. In June 1643, a roster of clerics and lawyers was established to license new publications. This enabled the punishment of wayward journalists, not least those who attacked prominent members of Parliament and peers, as well as the king.
These restrictions on the printing of news didn't sit well with many authors and journalists, and in a bold speech against Parliament’s attempts to re-impose censorship in 1643, poet John Milton famously argued in his work Areopagitica that the authorities might as well “kill a man as kill a good book.” Milton, who himself had faced punishment for his notorious pamphlets defending the practice of divorce, bemoaned attacks upon “the people’s birthright.”
Aside from brief lapses in legislation, press licensing remained in force until 1695. Freethinker and polemicist Charles Blount’s religious and political tracts were publicly burned on more than one occasion. Blount sought to keep Milton’s ideas alive during the Restoration.
Listen to co-curator Chris Kyle discuss the power of the Star Chamber.
Listen to co-curator Jason Peacey discuss Milton's speech against government censorship.
Items included
- John Milton. Areopagitica; a speech of Mr. John Milton for the liberty of unlicenc'd printing. London, 1644. Call number: M2092 and LUNA Digital Image.
- Richard Overton. A remonstrance of many thousand citizens, and other free-born people of England, to their owne House of Commons. London, 1646. Call number: R993 and LUNA Digital Image.
- Charles Blount. Reasons humbly offered for the liberty of unlicens'd printing. London, 1693. Call number: B3313 Bd.w. M3014 and LUNA Digital Image.
- A decree of Starre-Chamber, concerning printing, made the eleventh day of July last past. London, 1637. Call number: STC 7757 Copy 2 and LUNA Digital Image.
Satire and Scorn
It did not take long for the news industry to come under attack, and criticism became even more scathing after the explosion of partisan newspapers in the 1640s. Many saw newspapers as vehicles for biased propaganda and outright lies. Ben Jonson in the The Staple of News had ridiculed the foolishness of people wasting their money on salacious and inaccurate news.
In 1641 England was on the brink of civil war and the bookstores were overflowing with “opinions found in every house.” Henry Peacham’s poem laments this sad state of affairs: “The fruit of those idle books and libels be, In every street, in every stall you find.” In the illustration by Wenceslaus Hollar, the figure of opinion is no longer able to distinguish truth from opinion. A jester waters the tree to bring forth more false news as a man looks on in wonder at the proliferation of pamphlets.
In 1642, as civil war erupted in England, the public demand for news was insatiable and newsbooks and pamphlets proliferated. With them came satires on news and newspapers. “The general news is, nobody knows what to make of the World,” the author of Pigges Coranto laments.
In A Rope for Pol, Roger L’Estrange compares infamous newsman Marchamont Nedham to the devil and calls for him to be “marked” so all could see his faults. Nedham had been one of the chief propagandists for the Republican regime in the 1650s. A friend of John Milton, Nedham edited one of the most influential and widely read newspapers, Mercurius Politicus.
John Davies' A Scourge for Paper-Persecuters complains about the abundance of writers now publishing their works and “murdering paper.” Newsletter writers were particularly scorned: “behold the walls buttered with the weekly news composed in Pauls,” is a direct reference to Nathaniel Butter, the publisher of earlier corantos.
Perhaps the most famous of these satires on news is Ben Jonson’s play, The Staple of News, written a few years after the introduction of corantos to England. It pokes fun at the news industry and particularly those who wasted their money buying news sheets. In the play, the publisher Nathaniel Butter is lampooned as Cymbal, manager of the News Staple, itself a parody of early corantos. Four Gossips sit on stage making a number of jokes at Butter’s expense, and the industry as a whole is pilloried as a purveyor of untruths and tittle-tattle.
By 1660, newspapers were under sustained criticism and all pretense of objectivity was lost in a wave of bitter invective.
Listen to head of reader services Elizabeth Walsh discuss Peacham's broadside.
Listen to exhibitions manager Caryn Lazzuri discuss Ben Jonson's satire.
Items included
- Henry Peacham. The world is ruled & governed by opinion. London, 1641. Call number: P949.5 and LUNA Digital Image.
- Pigges corantoe, or, Nevves from the north. London, 1642. Call number: 236- 540q and LUNA Digital Image.
- John Davies. A scourge for paper-persecutors. London, 1625. Call number: STC 6340 Copy 1 and LUNA Digital Image.
- A rope for Pol. Or, A hue and cry after Marchemont Nedham. The late scurrulous news-writer. Being a collection of his horrid blasphemies and revilings against the King’s Majesty, his person, his cause, and his friends; published in his weekly Politicus. London, 1660. Call number: 184- 052q and LUNA Digital Image.
- Ben Jonson. The workes of Benjamin Jonson. The second volume. London, 1640 (i.e. 1641). Call number: STC 14754 Copy 4; displayed pp.6–7.
Formatting the News
Newspapers from the seventeenth century may look very different from those of today, but there are more similarities than might be imagined. Journalists of today owe much to the innovations in formatting made by their predecessors. A number of modern press features can be traced back to early experiments in journalism: standard features of our own newspapers, such as layout, content, arrangement, and regularity were introduced over three hundred years ago.
News reports were regularly recycled during the Civil Wars and nowhere more dramatically than in Mercurius Rusticus seen here. Compiled from stories in royalist newspapers, Rusticus was written by the royal chaplain, Dr. Bruno Ryves. Ryves specialized in recounting the brutality of parliamentarian soldiers towards royalists.
Titles like Post, Mercury and Courier quickly became standard, many of them printed in gothic typefaces, like today’s Washington Post. One of the earliest titles to bear the name “Post,” was the London Post, produced by a leading publisher of civil war journalism, George Bishop. It was written by Parliament’s recently-appointed licenser of newspapers, John Rushworth, with the assistance of his deputy, Gilbert Mabbott. This journal was innovative not merely because of its title, but also because it provided headlines on its front page.
Despite his reputation as a side-changing hack, Marchamont Nedham was one of the most important republican writers of the seventeenth century. His most important innovation was the newspaper editorial. He pioneered journalistic comment before 1650, but perfected the art in Mercurius Politicus.
Newspaper formats changed dramatically after 1660, shifting away from the smaller quarto size towards the larger folio size with columns that we recognize today.
Listen to curator of books Steven Galbraith discuss the printing press process.
Listen to co-curator Jason Peacey discuss the importance of illustration in the work of Bruno Ryves.
Items included
- Bruno Ryves. Mercurius rusticus: or, The countries complaint of the barbarous out-rages committed by the sectaries of this late flourishing kingdome. Oxford, 1646. Call number: R2448 and LUNA Digital Image.
- The London Post : faithfully communicating his intelligence of the proceedings of Parliament, and many other memorable passages certified by letters and advertisements, from ..., no.7(October 1, 1644). London, 1644. Call number: 248- 435q and LUNA Digital Image.
- LOAN from The Newberry Library. Mercurius Politicus, 19. (October 10–17, 1650). London: Matthew Simmons, 1650. Newberry call number: Case J 5454 .569.
- LOAN from The Newberry Library. Mercurius Politicus, 442 (November 11–18, 1658). London: Thomas Newcomb, 1650. Newberry call number: Case J 5454 .569.
- Replica Printing Press. Bucknell University.
Selling Space
As newspapers became more established, and their authors more professional, it was increasingly common for them to sell advertisements as a means of raising money. These ads promoted a variety of products, services, and cultural events, and provided a forum for personal notices. Both informative and entertaining, they shed important light upon the culture of the time, the impact of commercial expansion and the development of capitalism.
The emergence of London as a wealthy commercial powerhouse in the late seventeenth century is mirrored in the newspaper advertisements of the time. A Perfect Diurnall was one of the first newspapers to experiment with advertisements, which were initially dominated by announcements regarding the publication of new books of a serious and scholarly nature. Later ads included not only learned sermons, but also guidebooks for the extermination of vermin, quack medical cures, and beverages such as “Dr Butler’s Ale” and Hinde’s “famous and never-failing cordial drink,” which claim to have remarkable properties.
Newpaper pioneer Marchamont Nedham contributed significantly to newspaper advertising in the 1650s, furthering his image as a mercenary who sought profit alone. His paper, Mercurius Politicus, promoted new books, including biographies of the recently deceased Oliver Cromwell, as well as medicinal lozenges.
The Athenian Mercury, which was designed to answer readers’ queries on any subject, was run by the leading Whig bookseller and publisher, John Dunton. Among advertisements for snuff, elixirs, and medicines, Dunton promoted his book about the trials of Whig rebels at the so-called “bloody assizes,” the trials presided over by the brutal Judge Jeffreys, as well as a book about the Salem witch trials.
Advertisements were not only inserted into newspapers but also produced as single sheets that could be displayed publicly, handed out, or even scattered about the streets. Playbills advertising a 1697 revival of John Dryden’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida, are extremely rare due to their ephemeral nature.
Listen to co-curator Jason Peacey discuss progression of advertising in newspapers from lost animals to snake oil sales.
Listen to co-curator Jason Peacey discuss advertising for new books like Cotton Mather's book on events in Salem, MA.
Items included
- At the new theatre in Little Lincolns-Inn Fields, to morrow being Thursday the 28th of October, will be reviv’d, a play call’d Troilus and Cresida, or, Truth found too late ... Playbill, London: Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre, 1697. Call Number: Z.e.37 p.3 and LUNA Digital Image.
- A perfect diurnall of the passages in Parliament. [London: William Cook, 1642]. Call number: P1486.6 no.9 and LUNA Digital Image.
- The True domestick intelligence, or News from both city & country. London, 1679–1680. Call number: T2689a Bd.w. P3831a Copy 2 and LUNA Digital Image.
- The Athenian gazette: or Casuistical mercury, resolving all the most nice and curious questions proposed by the ingenious: from ... London, 1693. Call number: A4111a copy 1 and LUNA Digital Image; displayed 11 (January 17, 1693).
Tabloid Tales
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Journalists were not entirely preoccupied by the concerns of the political elite, and a high proportion of news coverage involved what later became known as “tabloid” journalism. Both press and public were fascinated by crime and disorder, and the stories they read and reported revealed fears about the dangers of moral decay. By examining these extraordinary tales from the lives of ordinary people, it is possible to observe just how willing contemporaries were to invest such events with political and religious meaning and significance.
Although crime was common in the seventeenth century, murder was rare. This helps to explain the popularity of pamphlets describing unusually violent incidents, often with dramatic and grisly woodcut illustrations of the crimes they described.
The murder of Sir Edmund Berry Godfrey, the magistrate who nervously investigated claims of a “popish plot” in 1678, scandalized the nation. The discovery of his strangled and stabbed body was quickly exploited by Whigs who were critical of the Crown and claimed that he had been killed by Catholic conspirators. They sought to turn Godfrey into a Protestant martyr, especially through broadsides such as England’s Grand Memorial.
On some occasions the significance of murder went much further than sensational reporting, as with the story of Enoch ap Evans’ savage beheading of both his mother and brother. The crime apparently occurred following a family argument over religious beliefs and practices, and Enoch’s case was quickly exploited in a range of tracts and treatises by those who drew a connection between his Puritanism and his criminal behavior.
Many radical Puritans were demonized for challenging authority through outrageous behavior, as with another gruesome tale of a woman who murdered her baby rather than let it be baptized by her Presbyterian husband. She was reported to have said “now go and baptise it, if you will, you must christen the head without a body.” The culprit apparently repented in prison, after being tormented by visions of headless infants.
Listen to co-curator Chris Kyle discuss the population boom of London.
Items included
- A true relation of a barbarous and most cruell murther, committed by one Enoch ap Evan, who cut off his owne naturall mothers head, and his brothers. London: Nicholas Okes, 1633. Call number: STC 10582 and LUNA Digital Image.
- England's grand memorial: the unparallel'd plot to destroy His Majesty, subvert the Protestant religion: and Sir Edmund burie Godfrey's murder made visible. London, 1679. Call number: 232606 (broadside) and LUNA Digital Image.
- A true relation of a most desperate murder, committed upon the body of Sir John Tindall Knight, one of the maisters of the Chancery; who with a pistoll charged with 3. bullets, was slaine going into his chamber within Lincolnes-Inne, the 12. day of November, by one John Barterham Gent: Which Barterham afterwards hanged himselfe in the Kinges-Bench in Southwarke, on Sunday being the 17. day following. London: Edw: All-de for L. L[isle], 1617. Call Number: STC 24435 and LUNA Digital Image.
- James Cranford. The teares of Ireland vvherein is lively presented as in a map, a list of the unheard off [sic] cruelties and perfidious treacheries of bloud-thirsty Jesuits and the popish faction. As a warning piece to her sister nations to prevent the like miseries, as are now acted on the stage of this fresh bleeding nation. Reported by gentlemen of good credit living there, but forced to flie for their lives, as Iobs messengers, to tell us what they have heard and seene with their eyes, illustrated by pictures. Fit to be reserved by all true Protestants as a monument of their perpetuall reproach and ignominy, and to animate the spirits of Protestants against such bloudy villains. London, 1642. Call number: 166- 401q and LUNA Digital Image.
A World of Wonder
People in seventeenth-century England were captivated by stories about unusual or sensational events. From stormy weather to conjoined twins, murder, atrocities, and supernatural tales, these “news” pamphlets provided both entertainment and education. Beware of the devil, avoid temptation and be a good Christian and all will be well … or so they believed.
True crime stories, especially tales of murder instigated by the devil, were the stuff of bestselling pamphlets. Descriptive, lengthy titles and vivid illustrations were blazoned on the title page. Such publications usually followed immediately after a trial, when all the details had been revealed and the punishment (execution) carried out.
But tabloid stories weren't limited to the grisly details of murders. Unusual occurrences and physical abnormalities provided rich fodder for sensational and popular news stories. In the case of Strange Newes of a Prodigious Monster, expert testimony was sought to authenticate the reporting of the birth of conjoined twins. The title page prominently notes that a preacher with a Bachelor of Divinity could attest to the accuracy of the news.
One could read the weekly report of deaths in London–and their causes. Not every death seems explicable to modern eyes: two perished by “evil,” “suddenly” accounted for one poor soul, and nineteen died as a result of “teeth,” presumably from infection.
Strange weather was yet another newsworthy event. England was devastated by storms during the winter of 1612–13. But why? Unlike the complex scientific calculations which meteorologists undertake to predict the weather today, the author of the above pamphlet found the answer in the sinful behavior of the people. God’s punishment for immoral conduct included hundreds of ships lost, whole villages flooded, and goods swept away.
Many radical social and religious groups sprang up in the turbulent times in England after the Civil Wars of the 1640s and the execution of the monarch in 1649. One such group, the Ranters, who were much feared and reviled, was alleged to have believed in nudity, free love, and wife-swapping, as well as many other “ungodly” practices. One pamphlet gives prominent status to their myriad sins—including gluttony and dancing.
Items included
- The wonders of this windie winter. London: G. Eld for Iohn Wright, 1613. Call number: STC 25949; displayed [title page.
- Strange newes of a prodigious monster borne in the towneship of Adlington in the parish of Standish in the Countie of Lancaster, the 17. day of Aprill last, 1613. London: I. P[indley] for S. M[an], 1613. Call number: STC 15428 Bd.w. STC 20863.5 and LUNA Digital Image.
- John Reading. The Ranters ranting: with the apprehending, examinations, and confession of John Collins, J. Shakespear, Tho. Wilberton, and five more which are to answer the next sessions. London: B. Alsop, 1650. Call number: R450; displayed title page.
- Worshipful Company of Parish Clerks. The diseases and casualties this week 6 July to the 13th. London, 1680. Call number: 252- 868q; displayed recto for week of July 6–13, 1680.
- Thomas Cooper. The cry and revenge of blood. London: Nicholas Okes, for John Wright, 1620. Call number: STC 5698 Copy 2; displayed title page.
Towards a Modern Newspaper
The final phase of the Renaissance witnessed rapid change within the newspaper industry, and the period after the collapse of censorship in 1679 saw the appearance of titles and trends which would shape the modern newspaper. It is to this period that we owe the idea of the topical magazine, as well as the very first attempt to produce the daily newspaper.
In March 1702 the first regular daily national newspaper—The Daily Courant—was produced. The early eighteenth century witnessed the emergence of new kinds of serial publications, whose titles are familiar today. The first of these, The Tatler, was founded in 1709 by Richard Steele along with his close friend, Joseph Addison. Together they adopted the pseudonym “Isaac Bickerstaff” in order to provide satirical and moral essays, as well as theater criticism, three times a week.
After the closure of The Tatler by the Tory government, Addison and Steele quickly re-emerged with a daily journal titled The Spectator. In its first issue, Addison promised to “observe” rather than comment, and to maintain “an exact neutrality between the Whigs and Tories.” As a regular visitor to London’s coffeehouses, he boasted about his ability to provide gossip that had been gleaned by “thrusting my head into a round of politicians.”
Another milestone was the publication of The London Gazette. Originally begun as the Oxford Gazette in 1665, this was an official newspaper run by under-secretary of state Joseph Williamson, and written by a series of leading journalists and authors. Renamed and relocated in 1666, The London Gazette has been “published by authority” and run uninterrupted ever since.
Listen to co-curator Chris Kyle discuss the origins of The London Gazette.
Items included
- The London Gazette, no. 85, September 3–10, 1666. London: Tho[mas]. Newcomb, 1666. Call number: Bd.w. L2895a Vol. 1 and LUNA Digital Image.
- The Spectator, no. 1, March 1, 1711. London, 1711. Call number: PR1365 S6 Cage vol. 1; displayed front of issue.
- The Daily Courant, no. 1992. Wednesday 7 July 1708. Call number: 187474, no. 1992 and LUNA Digital Image.
- The Tatler, no. 193, July 1–4, 1710. Isaac Bickerstaff. London, 1710. Call number: PR1365 T2 no.193 Cage and LUNA Digital Image.
Elections and Party Politics
It is hard to imagine, but national elections once took place without extensive media coverage and in the absence of well-oiled party machines. The seventeenth century witnessed key experiments and innovations in the election process. Integral to the upheavals were issues regarding who should be able to vote, and what power the electorate ought to have over their representatives. Many pamphlets and prints were produced not only to inform and influence voters, but also to record the election proceedings.
As the seventeenth century progressed, parliamentary elections were increasingly dominated by political divisions rather than gentlemanly agreements. One result of this change was the increased need to win over the electorate by force of argument. Short tracts, distributed freely among electors, remain as the earliest surviving pieces of electoral propaganda.
Englands Remembrancers was a controversial tract pursuing a clear agenda: without naming specific candidates, it opposed the regime of Oliver Cromwell and advocated a policy of religious toleration. By scattering copies about the streets in towns and cities, and encouraging voters to organize meetings to discuss individual candidates and issues, its authors and publishers caused serious concern within the government.
The emergence of political parties made elections tense and fractious, and London’s 1710 contest was particularly controversial. Some commentators alleged that the press exerted undue influence in order to ensure that the Tories took all four seats. This “poll book” revealed the votes—one for each of the available places—cast by individual voters, as well as the final outcome. It reflected a high turnout (around eighty percent), and a highly polarized electorate.
Listen to co-curator Jason Peacey discuss the role of "poll books" in elections.
Items included
- The poll of the livery-men of the City of London, at the election for Members of Parliament: begun Munday, October 9th, 1710, ... The whole being a compleat list of the livery. London, 1710. Call number: 134- 644.5q and LUNA Digital Image.
- A list of one unanimous club of members of the late Parliament, Nov. 11. 1701. that met at the Vine-Tavern in Long-Acre. Who ought to be opposed in the ensuing elections, by all that intend to save their native country from being made a province of France: ... London, 1701. Call number: 148- 350q; displayed sig A1v– A2r.
- Englands remembrancers. Or, a word in season to all English men about their elections of the members for the approaching Parliament. London, 1656. Call number: 144- 687q; displayed title page.
- A speech made at Nottingham, April 2. 1660 at the election of Arthur Stanhope Esquire, and Collonel John Huchinson, their burgesses to serve in the next Parliament. London. 1660. Call number: 185- 960q; displayed title page.
- Some advertisements for the new election of burgesses for the House of Commons. Anno 1645. [London, 1645]. Call number: 178- 721q; displayed title page.
Supplemental materials
Listen to a segment from On the Media about this exhibition or read the transcript.
Breaking News children's exhibition
Audio Tour
Hear insights on a selection of items from the exhibition. Additional audio can be found within the above exhibition material descriptions.
The Wrong Foreign Policy
Listen to co-curator Chris Kyle discuss an article many believed to be journalism at its best.
- Thomas Scott. Vox populi. Or, Newes from Spayne, translated according to the Spanish coppie. London?, 1620. Call number: STC 22100.3 copy 1 and LUNA Digital Image.
- Thomas Scott. Copy of Vox populi, or, Newes from Spaine translated accordinge to the Spanish copie. Manuscript, ca. 1620. Call number: V.a.310, leaves 54–64 and LUNA Digital Image.
Frost Fair
Listen to co-curator Chris Kyle discuss a map made by printer Joseph Moxon for a winter fair on the Thames.
- LOAN from the Bodleian Library, University of Oxford, UK. Joseph Moxon. A map of the river Thames, merrily cal'd Blanket fair, as it was frozen in the ... year 168<'3/4'>. [London]: Joseph Moxon, [1684?]. Bodleian call number: Gough Maps 21.
Boston News Strangler
Listen to co-curator Chris Kyle discuss the arrival of the newspaper in the United States.
- LOAN from The National Archives, London, UK. Publick Occurrences Both Forreign and Domestick, 1 (September 25, 1690). Boston: R. Pierce for Benjamin Harris, 1690.