Constantine republican. [volume] (Constantine, Mich.) 1836-1838, 1837-06-07
LECTURE ON PRINTING.
Delivered before the Portsmouth Lyceun

LECTURE ON PRINTING.
Delivered before the Portsmouth Lyceum,
BY C. W. BREWSTER.
The Periodical Press-Entensir Printing
Observation-Disclosures of the Press
an Increasing knowledge and advancing
the interests Of Mankind.
The first Newspaper published at regu-
lar intervals was issued monthly at Venice,
in Italy about $50 years since. 1t was
called the Notwithstanding little treas.
ury of news. The number of copies is.
sued Of this first paper must have been We.
ry limited-for the jealousy of the Vene.
tian government would not allow the circu.
ation of printed sheet, so that the Gazetta
continued to be distributed in manuscript
for more than thirty years. Files Of this
paper are now extant. In the whole Chi
nese empire, although printing has been so
long practised there, there is but one regu-
lar paper published at the present time. 1t
is sort of court journal, issued at Pekin,
and called Kirgpaou, or the Messenger OF
the capital.
The press had been in operation in Eng
land nearly century before regular PEI
riodcal was published. In November 1865,
the London Gazette was issued weekly, and
has been published to the present time.
The first paper in the British American
colonies. the Boston News Letter, was com.
menced in l704. The BostoE Gazette was
commenced in Ireland the third paper
in the Colonies was commenced the same
year in Philadelphia, entitled the American
Weekly Mercury. The first paper in
New York was published in l725-in Ma
ryand in l72S-Rhode Island and South
Carolina in 1732-Virginia in l737-Con-
necticut and North Carolina in 1175, New.
Hampshire in l756-Delaware in 1761-
and in Georgia in 1868.
In ITS, there had been seventy eight
different newspapers printed-hirty- nine of
which had been discontinued previous TO
that time-so that at the commencement of
the Revolution there were about thirty nine
papers published in the United State-and
Of the number then printed, but eight es-
adjustments are now in existence.
In 1910 the whole number OF newspapers
was three hundred and fifty. There are
now about one thousand two hundred news
papers established in the United States,
from which are issued, at moderate cal
culation, one hundred million printed sheets
annually-which if one continuous Sheet
would reach four times from pole to pole
and if embodied in book form, would be
equal to the issue of six volumes as large as
the bible, every minute in the year.
The advancement in newspapers has moi
only been in numbers but also in size.-
The largest papers published about fifty
years were of the DENY size. In abou
twenty years, some had increased TO the
superroyal. Within few years some
have grown to the elephant size-and las
month New York publisher presented the
public with a full grown mammoth.
We can not better illustrate one of the
causes of the rapid advancement which ha;
been made within few years in the vari
Gus branches of morals, than by drawing
!. aside the curtain and disclosing what the
press is doing in one branch--that of Tenn
perance. We shall look only into the Of
flee, that of the Temperance Recorder il
Albany. Sixty men are there constantly
employed-six presses are kept in opera
ton by steam, and six by hand power
These are in constant operation by steam
and every working minute in the year il
throwing out twenty copies Of some Tenn
perance pubication-each one intended t.
90 forth and do its work in the public rem
ovation. 1t is not surprising that any ny
dra either in the moral or political worl'
upon which the press can be brought t.
bear, is more easily vanqushed now than il
. former times-for the sixty Printers, EN-
poyed in the Office to which we have jus
referred, exert greater Influence on tn
public mind, than sixty thousand scribe
with their greatest industry, possibly cou
hrve exerted 500 years since.
The office of the Harpers in New Yorl
gives employment to l40 persons. The
print on an average an edition of books {
the Family Library size, every day in tn
year. The expenses are about three hur
!, dred dollars per day.
, We do not speak of the establishment O
standing forth above every other; we d
] not know of a more extensive one in ope
ration in our country. At Brattleboroug!
: in our sister state, Vermont, is one whic
is deserving of notice. The printing e'
L Enlistment Of Messrs. Fessendens, keeT
: in operation seven or eight power presse
9 printing not far from twenty thousan
= sheets per day. Connected with the e.
Enlistment is paper mill at one end, an
book bindery at the other, so that like ii
chrysalis changing of vile caterpillar to
beautiful butterfly what enters at one en-
) the cast off covering Of the human body,
: by a regular and rapid process brought o
at the other extremity, beautiful paper fine
printed and bound-o material for pc