The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1916-06-29


1ished in the Yorkville Enquirer
about eight years ago, is reproduced
because of certain inquiries that were
being made by DR.. Talcott Williams
and members of the State Press asso-
citation during the recent meeting in
York:
While examining some old docu-
/ments not long ago in desk that
was formerly used by the late Capt.
l.. M. Grist, member of the En-
uuirer staff came across some writ
ten pages in the handwriting of that
veteran printer and publisher that
contain some facts that will prove
of some little interest to the younger
printers and publishers of this gene
ration, and probably also to the his
torian as we'll. The pages were writ
ten July 81, 1899, and although not
intended for publication in the form
In which they were found, their con-
tents are reproduced herewith, sub
stantially without change:
"My father was printer. When
he caused me to enter the printing
Office in May, 1910, it was for the
purpose of commencing the publica-
ton of the Yorkville Compiler, a
prospectus for which had been issued
sometime previous. He had arrang-
ed to use press that had been
brought to Yorkville about 1922 for
the purpose of printing the lectures
of Rev. VIM. G.. Davis, a learned and
able Presbyterian minister. The
press was what was known as a
stRamage'' and was similar in style
to that used by Benjamin Franklin,
in his day. The forms of type were
linked by what were technically
known as t'balls," made of buckskin
bags, stuffed with wool. They were
provided with wooden handles and
the ink was distributed by, rubbing
the balls together, and then pound
ing them down lightly on the type.
After a year after this we dispensed
with the balls and instead used a
roller, made by stretching piece OF
wooden blanket over cylinder and
covering it with buckskin. We first
commenced to use composition roll
er in 1849. When I went to the case
in 1910, the only daily papers print
ed in the State we're in Charleston.
They were the Charleston Courier,
the Charleston Mercury, the Southern
Patriot, and the Charleston Evening
Transcript. The Evening Transcript
was issued from the office of the
Southern Patriot. The Courier and
Mercury issued tri-weeklies. making
them up from the first and fourth
pages of two daily issues and send
ing them out on each alternate day.
There was no caption across the
pages as at present. Besides the
dailies there were in Charleston the
following weeklies: Southern Bap-
list, Catholic Missionary, Southern
Christian Advocate. In Columbia
there were three weeklies, as follows:
South Carolinian, Southern Chronicle,
Temperance Advocate. There were
three weekly papers in Edge6eld
county, two at Hamburg and one at
Edgefeld court house. These were
the Edgeield Advertiser, the Ham
burg Journal and the Hamburg Re-
publican. The Edgefeld Advertiser
was published by w. F. Duriso.
There was also the Mountaineer, of
Greenville, the Compiler, of York
vile, the Journal, of Camden, the
Messenger, of Pendleton and the Ca
zette, of Chesterfield. To the best of
my recollection there were no other
papers in the State. There was none
in Chester, Winnsboro, Newberry,
Union, Spartanburg, Abbeville, An
derson, Sumter, Orangeburg, Barn
well, Colleton, Laurens, Horny, Will
liamsburg. The Edgefeld Advertiser
and the Southern Christian Advocate
are the only papers that have been
printed continuously under the same
name. I remember the early num-
bers Of all the other papers in the
State not mentioned above. The
Pioneer was the first paper published
in Yorkville and the date Of the first
issue was August 16, 1928. The first
issue of the Yorkville Enquirer made
its appearance on January 4, 1855.
This was the. first South Carolina
newspaper outside of Columbia and
Charleston to use a machine; press
and steam power
1r