The Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1912-1917, 1914-07-07
advertising
Oaks
EARLY NEWSPAPERS
PRINTED WANT ADS
"Heip" and "Situatioa Wanted"
Advertisements Found in Ger
man Publications of 1891.

man Publications of 1891.
Not long after the. first newspapers
were printed the want ad was born.
1t did not take ingenious men long to
see its value, but it did not come into
general use for many years.
What is said to have been the first
newspaper published In England was
the English Mercurie. 1t is doubtful,
however, whether the copies preserved
In England are real ones or forgeries.
This paper was published In 1893, but
newspapers did not become at all COM
mon until the Cromwellian war start
ed.
The first paper In America was the
Boston Newsletter, published In 1704.
Pamphlets or small books of news ap-
peared In Vienna and throughout Ger
many as early as 1924. The French
men, although they had no newspa-
pers until the Journal General DAT
fiches was started on October IA, 1872,
saw the value Of want ads before any
Of the other nations.
The English Mercurie appeared dur
ing the Armada panic and was by au-
thority imprinted at London by Chris
TOPPER Baker, her highnesses print
err" to calm the fears Of the peo-
pie. It was not in a strict sense 8
newspaper.
During the war both sides had
their party organs. The Weekly
News, which was founded in 1922, was
1t did not contain ads.
Mercury seemed to have been the
popular name for the papers that be-
gan to spring up on all sides during
those troubled times. There was a
Mercurius Acheronticus which was
supposed to contain weekly news gath
cred in the Internal region, a Mer-
curry Democritus containing news from
the moon, and Mercury Mastix which
contained nothing but criticisms of
any other newspaper with the name of
Mercury.
Among the titles of enterprising
sheets at that time one finds the Dutch
o. y,
i and the Screech Owle.
Early Newspapers Came High.
The Daily Courant. the first number
Of which appeared In Queen Anne's
reign, was the first of the dailies, and
for a long time had the field to itself.
but In 1924 the Daily Post and the
Daily Journal blossomed forth as RI
walls. During the reign of George l.
publications in England increased rap
idly and in 1853 over 100000 papers
were sold, which number was increased
to over 100000 In 1892.
In the meantime the north country
was entering the journalistic field.
During December OF 1877 the town
council gave to James McEwen the
exclusive privilege to publish a news
paper three times In Edinburgh upon
condition that "the said James should
give ane cope Of his print to the
magistrates" before publication. This
paper is still being published, and ap-
parently the publisher still could be
held to this condition.
The first of the English provincial
papers was the Norwich Postman,
| which contained the Naive statement
| that the price Of the paper was a
| penny, but half penny could not be
| refused.
In 1713 the English government laid
q stamp tax of half penny on papers
! Of half sheet or less. and one penny
for larger publications, In spite OF
| the loud outcries Of the literary men
| and journalists OF England. This duty
was increased from time to time. un.
| til at its highest point it amounted to
| four pence, but the tax was abolished
| In 1855.
The natural result Of such a tax
was that the price of the papers was
high and few people were able to buy
them. At one time 1t was necessary
| for book sellers to rent out the Times
for penny an hour and newspaper
two or three days old was considered
luxury.
] Meanwhile advertising had been
growing. and not to let such good
chance get away from them, the gov
eminent officials laid a tax on adver-
tisements. In 1888 this tax amount.
ed to three shillings six pence for each
| advertisement, and the revenue from
this tax paid by the newspapers was
over $850,000. Four years later the
tax had been reduced to one shilling
six pence an advertisement, but in the
first six months OF that year 400 pa
pers in England paid more than $685..
600 for 27,014,529 stamps required by
| 769,088 advertisements published. In
| 1853 the tax was taken OF Of adver-
| tisements.
The Journal General d Af1lches-ca call.
| ed commonly the 'Petites Af1iche"-
ran real want advertisements almost
from the start. In its columns were
found advertisements of domestics
looking for employers and of EN-.
ployers looking for servants, of public
and private sales, legal notices, and
similar advertising. The title OF this
newspaper never has been changed.
and today it contains many help" and
situation wanted" advertisements al
domestics.
Probably the first want advertise
ment that appeared In Germany wa