Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1852-02-25
WEDNESDAY,. FEBRUARY, as, 1859.
HISTORY OF THE yrAUNTos PREsS.--TaE
"PHENkx'' AND T4SE; "EAGLE."

y
published ia the town of Stsunton. so far as
the memory of men now living runneth.-
Nothing IS more entertaining than to turn
over the pages of these chronicles Of the
nest, and take view Of men and things as
they were in the olden time; and as they
are accessible to but few, We propose to
collate all the information we can in refer
ence to the early history of the Press in
Staunton, and publish such extracts from
the papers we have, as may be interesting
to our readers.
The first paper ever printedin Stauntou,
so far as we have shy information, was es-
tablished in the latter part Of the year 1895.
1t was called The Phenir, and published
every Wednesday, by
"JoHN WISE the old suldier
Who fought under Tippecaroe."
Mr.. Wise, established the Phcnir shortly
after his return from the wars, and associ-
ated with him in the conduct of his journal
one Mr.. |. WOODRUFF. In those days the
art of printing was in comparatively rude
state. The difficulty of procuring suitable
material, was almost insurmountable. We
have it from reliable authority that papers of
that date were frequently printed on the con-
mon brown paper now used III the stores for
wrapping purposes. The labor too, was i'm
mense the old "Ramage" press, construct
ed entirely Of wood requiring great force
and heavy labor to produce readable i'm
preston. Mr., WISE deserves great credit,
them for the size and appearance Of his pa
per, however homely it may seem tous.
We have copy Of the Picnic, Of date
January 10, 1908. 1t contains four col
umns of matter, about eighteen inches long,
to each page. Five Of these columns are
occupied by advertisements, six with the
proceedings of the Legislature, two with
Congressional reports and the remaining
columns with miscellaneous matter. 1t was
published at two dollars per amman, and was
we'll sustained for period of nine years.
If those who are disposed to complain of a
lack of reading matter in the papers now-a-
days, could see the sheet furnished to their
ancestors, at the same price, they would be
much better satifed with their privileges.
Co.emporaneous with the Phenir were
certain newspapers in the County of Rock
bridge, with the names of which we are I'M
acquainted. In the paper of the date refer
red to above, VIC find an account of the
burning of Washington Academy" at Lex
ington, doubtless extracted from some pa
per published in that place. But few now
living were business men them for in look
ing over the advertising columns, we rccog-
nize the names of none. All have depart
ed from our midst-most of them TO anoth-
er world.
1t seems that there was frequent sparring
between the Picnic and the Rockbridge Ed
itors. We find in number before US the
following whitening rejoindcr to some I'M
guarded assault upon the Staunton journal:
Were person to be attacked by some sur
lv Mastiff, it would require defence, but
while Fisie only barks, he IS permitted
TO yelp on unnoticed.-We must inform
the Rockbridge Editors that while their
productions are as insignificant as at pres
ent, we shall not trouble them with an
answer.
This is the only editorial in the paper, with
the exception of the following note oil IN
formation to some aspiring Cincinnatus, who,
il seems, was much better fitted to handle
the plough than the pen:
The augusta Farmer will fill the sphere
of s'muse" better than that of poet, I'M
less his productions are far superior TO the
one received.
In the year 1904, after having "exhaled
its odors" and "blazed' in the literary tr-
mament for nine years, the Phenir expired.
1t is to be regretted that perfect file Of
this paper has not been preserved. as
much information might be gathered that
would be deeply interesting now.
The Phenir was succeeded by the Siam
Ton Eagle, which was established by JACOB
ID. DIETRICH, in the month of July, 1907.
1t was printed on sheet ofinferior quality,
about double the size of ordinary letter pa
per; though, in point of Typography it is su-
perior to the Phsn'r. We have not the
space this week to progress farther in its
history. Next week we shall continue our
account, and present few specimens OF
editorial warfare at that day, and other IN
;isresting extracts.