20 



^\)c Jarmcr's illontl)!!) iMMtor. 



as between great and liberal uien ; and tlie point 

 at tbe close is cliuracteristic of the liglitning in- 

 8|iiration of that mind whicli lind long liabitiiuteil 

 itself to strip fulseliood and injustice of every snb- 

 erfuge : 



Phitadu., July 5, 1775. 

 Mr. Straiian : 



Villi are a Member of I'ailiament, and one of 

 that Miijority which has doomed my Connlry to 

 Desiniction. — Yon have begun to liiirn oin' 

 Town.", and murder our People.— Look upon 

 your hands! — They are staiLied with llie JJIood 

 of your Keliitions !— Von and I were long Friends : 

 — You are now my Enemy, — and 

 1 am, Yours, 



B. Franklin. 



No representative of the United States in Eu- 

 rope could boast of equal weight and influence 

 with 15eiijamin Franklin. He needed none of 

 the paraphernalia or glittering end)lcnis or splen- 

 dors of the representatives of monaichies, there 

 to secin-e for his own young country its due 

 weight and influence. Doctor Franklin's iiaiiie 

 there was synonymous with true dignity and 

 grcatnes?. As is indicaterl in his own composed 

 epitaph, his earthly glory was lo be distinguish- 

 ed only in the hundile profession of which he 

 was the true type and ornament. Franklin's 

 birth-day is an anniversary as common for cele- 

 bration, by printers in the United Stales, as the 

 birthday of American Inilependence to those who 

 glory in our free institutions. 



A copy of the American Weekly Mercury (co- 

 tempornry with Franklin) pidjlished in I'liila- 

 delphia, Nov. 30, V7'i'i, now in the Library of 

 Congress, contains the following: 



" On Mon<lay ne.M the northern po.st sets out 

 from New York in order to perfoi'Mi his slagc Imt 

 once a forinight during the winter quarter. The 

 Sontlierii post changes also, which will canw; 

 this paper to come out on Tuesdays during thai 

 time. The colds which have infested the norlli- 

 ein ciiloiiies have also been tioublesomc here: 

 few fajuilies li.'ive escaped the same. Several 

 Iiave been c.irried off by the cold, among whom 

 was Diivid Britnall in the 77tli year of his age: 

 be was the first man that had a brick bouse in 

 the city of Philadelphia. 



" Price corn- lit in Philadelphia: 



" Wheat, a.» mi per bush. 



" Indian Corn, a«." 



High Caine was among the early printers of 

 New York who lived down to the present centu- 

 ry. Me came to New York in 1745, and worked 

 as a journeyman about six years in I'arkei's 

 piintingofiice — (irst at nine Yoik shillings or one 

 dollar and one-eighth prir week, and f 'iind liini- 

 self. He used to cat his meals, of ihe exiremc 

 simples, in the printing office; and \m- have 

 heard it remarked liy a (irinler who knew him, 

 be boiisled after he had gained an csliilc, that 

 upon a Saturday night, when through with his 

 week's work he used to wash atid dry liis oidy 

 shirt himself, to enable liini to appear decent at 

 church on the following Sunday. Having accu- 

 mulated from his small pay the sum of se\eniy- 

 five pounds, he (iiuiid a liiend who iiiiportcil fiir 

 liim a press and a few types, the cost of which 

 exceeded the sum he had .saved about one hun- 

 dred dollars. With these iTiaterials he opened a 

 printing bouse, and by persevering industry and 

 economy, he was soon able to discharge the debt 

 he bad contracted fur his press anil lyjies, and to 

 ojien a bookstore. Eventually he acijiiired a 

 liandsome fortune. 



Gaine established the New ^'ork Mercury in 

 1752: it became the New York G'azette and Mer- 

 cury afterwards, under which name it came down 

 to the present century. Oaine's paper, during 

 the revolution, while New York was in the pos- 

 tjcesion of tlie British, appeared rather of a neu- 



tral cheiacter. Gaine seemed, desirous to side 

 with whoever should be the successfid party. 



Isaiah Thomas, associated with Z. Fowle, is- 

 sued the first nniiiljcr of the Massachusetts Spy^ 

 at Boston, Aug. 7, 1770. Tliis appeared not very 

 regularly until Thomas took it ui) alone and is- 

 sued it weekly, printed upon a whole sheet of 

 royal size. The paper was driven out of lioston 

 in 1775, hIicii Mr. Thomas published the Spy in 

 \\ Orceslcr, being the first paper established in 

 llie interior of Massachusetts. The Spy has 

 been continued in that town with the largest cir- 

 culation up to the present year, 1847. 



Mr. Thomas deserves an extended notice for 

 his great enterprise and perseverance in niulli- 

 plying the nie.ins of information to his cuiniliy. 

 He let a part of bis apparatus for tivo years at 

 Worcester, and established a jires's at S.lem. — 

 Ueturning !o Worcester, he found his types worn 

 down, and met many discouragements: soon do 

 was so fortunate as to purchase new types which 

 were captmeil in a vessel from Loiidin. Al'ier 

 the pe;ice, he oblained new supplies of apparatus 

 fioin Europe, and ui.ited bookselling to printing. 

 In September, 1788, lie commenced business in 

 Boston, in company with Ehenczer T. Andrews, 

 an apprentice of bis, who we believe is still liv- 

 ing, under the well known firm of Thoiiias and 

 Andrews. A great variety of school books, bildes, 

 ia;c. were issued by this firm. We believe we 

 can remember, as our first reading, llobert Bailey 

 Tlioiims' Farmers' Almanac, which has been 

 since annually issued in the name of its author, 

 living moje than half a century: and the very 

 first edition ol' Noah Webster's sjielling-book, 

 with the wide-monilied picture of its author as a 

 (iontispiece, and the milk-maid wiili her pail, the 

 rude boj upon the a|.ple-trec, the ibx and the 

 swallow, in i)ictures, drawing into exercise our 

 first youlhful capacity (or joining letters intowords 

 and making words into sentences. JMr. Thomas, 

 with a relnlivc, also established a newspaper and 

 I ook-slore at Walpole, N. li.: in the Farni'.r.s' Mu- 

 seum of that pkice first went forth liie ebullilions 

 of .losepli Deane, alterw.-irds editor of the Phila- 

 delphia Port Folio, and one of the most beautiful 

 essayists of America. Mr. Thomas also had a 

 printing cstablisluiient at Brookfield, some twen- 

 ly miles out of Woiceslcr. The Boston (jrm, in 

 17!>4, also estalilisbed linns Ibr the book-SLlliii:; 

 at Ballimore and Albany. 



At one time he and his partners had sixle^'ii 

 presses in use — seven at Worcester and five in 

 Boston. They printed three newspapers in llic 

 inlerior, and a very valuabie and inlcresling mag- 

 azine in Boston, condiictetl for a lime by the late 

 Ke\.(ieoige Uichards. Before the days of slert!- 

 otyping, they had a duoilcciiiio school bible set 

 up in a periiKinent minion or norpariel scotch type, 

 witli the long letter s like an f, then always used 

 in the brgiiming and middle of word.s. Web- 

 stin's spi.'lliiig book, set up in types, when worn 

 down to tl»e shouhlei by working, was renew ed 

 several times ; but the Scotch bible ly|ie, alter 

 printing, in the course of twenty-five years, mil- 

 lions of copies at Boston, was brushed over and 

 repaired, and for many years afterwards used 

 first at Haverhill and afierwards at I.uiicnbing, 

 ftlass. While llie lioslon house was busy with 

 one kind of spelling book ami almanac. Perry's 

 spellings and another Thomas' Almanac were 

 lor several years issued from the Worcester press. 

 Ill 17!)l, the great undertaking of printing a 

 large edition of folio and royal ipiarto bibles was 

 acconiplislicd at Worcester. The c.\penditure 

 for paper and work was at this time so largo be- 



fore any thing could be realised, that the late Mr. 

 Brewer of Springfield, who worked as journey- 

 man on that bible, informed us the workmen bad 

 to dispose of Mr. Thomas' promises to pay in 

 the market for fifty cents on the dollar. To ma- 

 ny country families and some pulpits, Thomas' ^ 

 largo bible has descended iis an heir-loom. He 

 also published, at great expense ,editions o( octavo 

 bibles for the benefit of aged eyes. Mr. Thomas 

 retired from business in favor of his son at Wor- 

 cester in 1802; but the firm of Thomas and An- 

 drews, we believe, was continued until the close 

 of his life at a great age. This gentleman, with 

 great munificence, contributed in the latter |iait 

 of his life lo the foundation of that nidile institu- 

 tion, the American Antiijuarian Society at Wor- 

 cester. 



Benjamin Edes. — Of llie five newspapers pub- 

 lished in Boston in 1775, the Boston Gazette was 

 the most conspicuous and distinguished for its 

 spiriled polilical essays. When the dispute be- 

 iweeii Great Britain and her colonies (snys Thom- 

 as) assiiined a seriims aspect, this paper arrested 

 llie imlilic attention from the part its able writers 

 took in the cause of tJie country : and it gained a 

 very extensive circulation. It was published by 

 Benjamin Bales and John Gill : the Ibrnier "was 

 a warm and firm patriot" — llie latter an '■honest 

 whig." 



When the British royal governor, G.ige, closed 

 the avenues between Boston and the country, 

 Edes made bis escape by night, in a boat, with a 

 press and few types. He open a printing bouse 

 at Waiertown, where be continued his Gazette 

 and |irinted for the provincial congress of Mas- 

 sacliusetls. Here lie found full eiiiploymeiil, and 

 Ills zeal in the cause of his country aiiiniated him 

 to redoubled diligence. In 177li, after the evac- 

 uation, he returned again to Boston. 



This gentleman oblained a handsome estate by 

 his inihistry ; but rapid depreciation of pajier, 

 alter lli<: revolulion, was fatal lo his properly, and 

 he bue.-inie poor. He coininucd lo work, as was 

 bis custom, until llie infirmilies ol age compelled 

 liiiii to cease from labor. His son, Peter Edes 

 printed afterwards a newspaper ut Ilnverbill, 

 Wa.ss., and within our memory the only newspa- 

 per in Maine, at Augusta, eastward of Portland. 

 ■Mr. Thonias .«ays, " No piibli>lier of a newspaper 

 fell a greater interest in the c.-lablisliiueiit of the 

 independence of the United Stales than Benja- 

 min Ede.", and no newspaper was more instru- 

 mental in bringing ibrvvard this ini|iorlaiit event 

 than his Boston Gazette." 



Ol' the early printers in Boston, Mr. Thomas 

 mentions Bkxjash.n Mkcoji, whose mother was 

 a sister of 15. Franklin, with whom he served his 

 ai>prenlicesliip in Philadelphia. Mr. Thomas 

 served his apprenticeship in the oflice of Daniel 

 Fovvle, ill whose oflice Mecoin worked for the 

 booksclliis an cdilion of ten thousand copies of 

 ihe New laiglauil Primer. The form was a small 

 sixliMMis on foolscap paper. Young Thomas^ 

 when not working at case, was employed as a fly, 

 to take oft" the sheets from the lyinpan as they 

 were printed. The urchin viewed the relative of 

 Franklin working at press, lie says, with admira- 

 lion. '• lie put on the usual apron of those days 

 lo save his clothes friiiii blacking, and guarded 

 his rulllcs ; but he wore his coat, his wig, his 

 hat and bis gloves while at the press ; and at 

 case laid aside his apron." 



In the year 1775 there were tliiriy-sevcn news 

 papers published in the then thirteen colonies.— 

 Of these there were one in New Hampshire, 

 (the N. H. Gazette, established in 1700 and still 



