The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-10-03
FIRST AMERICAN NEWSPAPER
Was Printed in Boston, and Lived
but One Day.
Boston Transcript.


In an article on 1.-THE Prehistoric News
paper" in the National Magazine, Edward
Everett Hale speaks of the Boston News
Letter as 1.-The first newspaper in Amer
lea" We are accustomed TO the saying
that the first newspaper published in Amer
lea was the Boston NEWSLETTER the first
issue of which appeared on April "a, 1704,
and the saying is true If the first perna-
nent newspaper is meant
1t is untrue, however, If it be meant
that no newspaper preceded the News-Let-
ter. because the first newspaper pub
liShed in America was issued on Sept. 70,
$780, or about thirteen years and seven
existence The first newspaper published
on this side of the Atlantic lived only one
be in existence. That specimen sheet =
that curiosity in newspaper literature-is
in the colonial state paper office in Lon
don. The paper consisted of four pages,
one of them being left blank in order
that letter might be written upon that
page and be sent to any distant friend by
mail or otherwise. The paper was print
ed two columns to page, and in size
was II by inches.
The historian of Salem Rev Joseph Il:
Felt, in his researches for facts connected
with that ancient commercial town, dis
covered in the state paper office the only
known copy OF this NJ, the nrst paper pub
Sept. %. 1890. was, as has been said. about
thirteen years and seven months before the
Boston Newsletter began ITS existence,
the latter. as already stated, being first is
sued on April "a, 1704 Until Mr.. telt'S dis
covery of the copy of the previously pub
lished newspaper il was supposed that the
Boston Newsletter was the first gazette
published in America
The first and only issue of this previously
published newspaper had no title, but that
issue contained prospectus beginning with
the words "Publick Occurrences lin large
letters) and it is thought that perhaps it
was the intention Of the proprietor that
that should be the papers title. 1t was not
the fault of the publisher of this newspa-
per- but that of the officials then in power
that the paper was not permitted to live.
but was killed in less than twenty-four
hours after it's birth. Very likely but for
the circumstances that a copy of il was
placed IN the colonial state paper office in
London and thus preserved in spite of the
efforts of the public officials, it might not
now be possible to prove that such q news
paper was ever issued. for the officials de-
cided at the time that the paper was issued
contrary to law and that all copies of II
found should be destroyed; and in order
that the offending publisher should not
print any more newspapers without a IL
vent such an oftense. 1t Is supposed that
the publisher of this first newspaper in
Aemrica had S id something or that the
authorities feared that If he was permitted
20 publish an unlicensed newspaper, he
might say something rejecting upon che
government
Frederick Hudson. in his Journalism in
the United States. expresses himself a.
linking II not unlikely that Boston de-
rived it's sobriQuets of 1.-The Athens OF
America and 1.-The Hub of the Universe"
from the important fact that the first
American newspaper was published here.