I have recently aquired a version of “the flying post” dated 1687. Its quite interesting and details among other things, the days burning of some wizards and witches. I am usually able to find other examples of old books and leafs I buy, but in this case I havent been able to find a physical example of this or any other early english newspaper. (By early I mean pre 1700). Does anyone out there have one, or know of where one is, perhaps in some museum or collection?
Thanks!
No, but I have a copy of Schema Sacrum (Sacred Scheme) that was reprinted by Francis Bailey (at the printing and post office near the market by Francis Bailey in Boston?) original by Thomas Blackwell 16??. It is “copy righted” MDCCLXXVI (1776). It desribes mans relationship to God and what God expects from man. Very interesting reading. ;j
Which Flying Post?
The Exeter Flying Post is too young:
A vast number of seventeenth-century newspapers survive, particularly in the collections of the major research libraries. Many are now available online at Early English Books Online (subscription required) and it is probably true to say that this is already the main way in which most historians of seventeenth-century Britain now consult them.
It is also sometimes possible, although usually very expensive, to buy examples from antiquarian bookdealers.
Conveniently, there is a standard listing of English-language newspapers for the late seventeenth century, namely Carolyn Nelson and Matthew Seccombe’s British Newspapers and Periodicals 1641-1700 (Modern Language Association of America, New York, 1987). That doesn’t just list every known newspaper but every individual issue, as well as giving details of which major libraries hold that specific issue. IT advances do mean that a few examples Nelson and Seccombe missed have since come to light, but those are, by definition, the extremely rare ones.
I take it then that it’s in English and that it’s printed.
Now here’s the thing. Nelson and Seccombe list only two newspapers with a title similar to The Flying Post - one which appeared in May 1644 and which folded after that first issue; another which appeared from May 1695 and which continued beyond 1700. But none from 1687. Moreover, in their listing of the newspapers that did appear in 1687, none has a title anything like that.
I’ve also just checked an online version of the English Short Title Catalogue - which, among other things, lists every known English printed work of the seventeenth century - and there was no book or pamphlet of that name published in 1687.
You do realise that the burning of witches was extraordinarily unusual (although not completely unknown) in the British Isles in the seventeenth century, especially by the 1680s. Nor was this the sort of news that newspapers of that period usually included.
Given all this, your newspaper will be even more valuable than most, being one of which no other copy is known and which includes an exceptionally sensational story. Collectors will be queuing up to buy it.
Or it’s not real.
I believe APB’s suspicions are correct. This paper sounds like a novelty fake. The kind of thing a heritage site might print. But then, the OP doesn’t sound like they’d be fooled by such an obvious tourist souvenir.
Does the OP have a sample extract from the paper that they could quote? Particularly the witch & wizard burning. Any indication of where it’s from?
Thanks so much for the information. I hope this is helpful to others as well.
Here are some pictures:
http://www.northeastmagic.com/flyingpost
There are 4 pictures, just a single page but I couldnt fit its length on the scanner, so each side is in two parts that overlap.
I apologize I got the date wrong, its 1697, not 1687, and the article about witches doesnt say burning, it says Execution:
“Advertisements. Tomorrow will be published, a Relation of the Diabolical Practices of above twenty Wizards and Witches of the Sheriffdom of Renfrew in the Kingdom of Scotland, contain’d in their Tryals, Examinations, and Confessions; for which several of them have been Executed this present year, 1697.”
Of note, the paper also mentions a couple of murders (including one of a poor gentleman with one hand, having lost the other at Sea and one of the demise of a certain Mr. Slaughter), a break-in, a person guilty of fraud being pelted with Dirt, some quack medical cures for Blindness and information about venerial disease, and discusses Merchant ships from Newfoundland landing at Plymouth. It should be all there in the images.
Thanks!
Yes, that makes more sense.
It’s listed by Nelson and Seccombe (it’s their entry number 156.410), being the 410th issue of the second of the newspapers I mentioned. There are other copies held by the Bodleian Library (the main university library in Oxford) and by Harvard. In fact, the Bodleian and Harvard seem to hold the two most complete surviving runs of the issues for 1697.
As you presumably now realise, the reference to the witches is actually an advert for a book about the witchcraft trials in Renfrewshire. As I said before, witchcraft persecutions are not really the type of story newspapers of this period covered. Indeed, this particular issue is a good example to show the type of stories they did print - mostly news reports from abroad, recycled from foreign newspapers, often via the official government newspapers. Originally this was because foreign stories were seen as less controversial, especially by the English government which had exercised considerable control over what got published. It was only in 1695 that the Licensing Act had been allowed to lapse and in 1697 journalists were still adjusting to the greater freedom to print domestic stories that they now enjoyed.
The book being advertised did exist and is available on EEBO. If you’re really interested, the American libraries that have copies of it include the Henry E. Huntington Library (San Marino), the University of Illinois (Urbana), Harvard, Cornell, the New York Public Library and the University of Texas (Austin).
What its publication reflects is that whereas newspapers tended to be rather staid (except during the 1640s and the early 1680s, when there had been no licensing), it was pamphlets which publishers used to print the more sensational material. A newspaper was ephemeral, whereas a book or pamphlet could keep selling for months or years.
If it’s a fake, it’s a pretty good one-- not your average museum replica. The foxing is an indicator that it’s probably not a recent fake if it is one.
How does the paper feel?
I must add one thing, though:
ACK!!! :eek: :eek: :eek:
I see Scotch Tape on it!!!
That is the* WORST* thing in the world for any document. It will stain and damage the paper as it breaks down.
I strongly recommend that you have it removed professionally.
I was kind of wondering what Scotch tape was doing on a 300-year-old newspaper. (Not that I’m suggesting that the paper is a fake. If it’s authentic, it’s bad for the paper, as Lissa suggested.)
OOG! Tape!
Makes my stomach lurch.
I hope you didn’t put that there.
Is there a noticable ordor of decay or mustiness about the paper?
Does it seem to be rag paper, or modern wood pulp?
It doesn’t surprise me. I work in a museum, and we get donations of old books and newspapers all the time which have Scotch Tape. To our horror, people often do “repairs” to items before they donate them to us, thinking they’re being helpful.
As an example, we recently got a donation of some very important letters from the late 1700s which had been laminated. I thought our archivist was going to shit bricks.
APB, very helpful information, thank you, Ill try to track it down there at the British Library.
Lissa…the “tape” is not Scotch® Brand tape, it is archival tape and is quite simple to remove with mineral spirits and commonly used as a temporary strengthener for old papers. I did not put it there, I tend to leave tears as they are but Im not too worried about it, unless the tear is at a hinge where not repairing it will likely result in further damage. You are correct in pointing out that normal plastic tape contains acid and will literally “burn” the paper causing browning over time, and is also quite difficult to remove without causing significant damage to the paper underneath. Acid free tape is available, but it too is difficult to remove without damage.
How to tell a fake:
I believe it is unlikely that someone in the 18th century would produce a fake newspaper, not only would it be a laborious and expensive task to set up, but as earlier noted in this thread, something more sensational probably would have been printed in it, such as an actual account of a witch burning or some revisionist politically motivated message (like holocaust denial). Before the 19th century, paper was hand made, and very expensive, so it tended to be only utilized by more official publishers. Finally, the value of such an item in 1700’s dollars would be so low that it would hardly be worth the effort.
In this case I bought this item from a dealer who guarantees the authenticity and has been selling antiquities and rare documents for 35 years.
The paper has a high rag content and is heavily texured, it is clearly at the latest 18th century. Early 19th Century paper is smooth and tends to be quite brittle and thin, as the effects of various bleaching techniques was largely unaccounted for in production.
Another way to tell its genuine, using a magnifying glass, you see that the letters actually are “impressed” into the paper, meaning the only way to produce it would have been by laying out all the letter blocks and running it through a printing press. A lithograph is pressed, but doesnt tend to create individual letter impressions because the system doesnt depend on the same amount of pressure to make an “impression”. Modern printers “spray” the ink onto the page, meaning on the microscopic level the edges will have an even blur to the edges, and you will likely see faint lines running across the black ink parts showing where a printer head has moved across the page. Also, since the printer head is “spraying” the ink on to the paper, small bumps or crevices will alter the shape of the lines, making them appear a bit crooked where the bump is, whereas squishing the paper with a press will force the exact shape of the typographer’s block regardless of bumps or whatever in the paper. This is how you tell if someone printed something recently on an old piece of paper.
Thanks again to all for the information. This is a great forum!