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Newspaper (redirected from Medicine(s))

Page history last edited by Y.Mahdy@warwick.ac.uk 9 years ago

 

Introduction


 

‘I have an article of news to tell you’ 

 

Often this statement would appear in literature, a saying that meant that a character had something to tell someone, however, now the word article resonates more with a text written in the newspaper. Though the discussion of news remained originating from word of mouth and letters, the reference to newspapers crept into literature by the end of the eighteenth century as part of everyday life, an object men would breakfast with and women would follow the fashions advertised. Defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as ‘a printed publication, now usually issued daily or weekly, consisting of folded unstapled sheets and containing news,’ this form of news blossomed in the eighteenth century after 1695 once the Licensing Act lapsed and formal censorship of the press ceased. Content in the early period of the century, however, was limited to political and foreign news and soon became a political tool to be wielded by the two completing political parties. This indication is noticeable when immediately after the collapse of the Act, the Tories founded The Post-Boy and the Whigs countered later with the Flying-Post. The first successful 'daily' was The Daily Courant, published from 1702 to 1734 by Samuel Buckley and by 1709, there were at least eighteen papers in London that issued about fifty numbers a week, posing such a politically influential threat that in 1712, the Tory ministry introduced a stamp tax of a halfpenny per issue on each paper while Tory papers were secretly subsidized.[1],[2] Embroiled with political influence, the newspapers borne in the early century were composed of content in relation to the parties and advertising, however, the function of the newspaper and the changing social idea of the profession of journalism meant that the content and publication changed over the century in accordance to its readers. 

 

History


 

Pamphlets discovered in the early 16th century indicates that news began to circulate through print in England during the early 16th century, while news periodicals called corantos became established, made up of a single sheet printed on both sides, its contents concerning the Thirty Years War and other continental news. During the civil war, corantos changed from single sheets to small pamphlets, containing domestic rather than foreign news. The Civil War resulted in news books published as propaganda pieces, and the desire for such news during the seventeenth century resulted in over 300 other titled news books appearing. Following the restoration of Charles II to the throne in 1660, control of the press was reasserted through the Printing Act of 1662. Known newsbook to follow was government controlled Oxford Gazette, later renamed the London Gazette in 1666. Its appearance as a single sheet printed on both sides, the distinct characterization of early newspapers, meant it was known to be the first English newspaper[6].

 

 

                                                                                               Image 1

 

It was in the first decade of the eighteenth century that there was an vast increase in the number of newspaper titles. By 1707, eighteen papers were published regularly in London, and there were a number of publications identified by their output: dailies, weeklies and tri-weeklies, which contributed to the increase of publication. The Daily Courant was similar to other newspapers of the period; a single-sheet folio with advertisements on the reverse side. Its publisher Buckley established the reporting of factual news and ensuring credibility of it, and was the first to identity the source of publication on reports. Coffee houses, introduced into Britain in the 1650s, provided the primary readership base for newspapers, the center of gossip, rumors, and debates.[4]  

 

The images below depict two satirical drawings featuring coffee houses, its interior showing that the location 

was mainly male-orientated, readers of the papers over tables discussing or arguing over its contents, perhaps 

over political topics. 

 

                                                   

Image 2                                                                                                                                           Image 3 

 

It was the impact of the Revolution and structure of politics that adhered to a formal constituted two-party system where this environment established public debate as an integral part of the political process. Business and politics were key elements in the development of London newspapers post-1695 as publications were linked to leading Whig and Tory politicians and early in the eighteenth century, money supported propaganda in response to legal action against London papers. As a result, commercial newspapers established political positions for financial reasons, its content and readership influenced by political agenda. Political intervention in newspapers were at its height at the start by of the French Revolution, by use of bribes, and government-approved stories that circulated for free. An example of governmental control over the press that continued late into the eighteenth century was an event in the 1780s, when William Pitt the Younger forced the withholding of official news and advertisements and two-thirds of London's morning newspapers were in his pay, enabling his victory in the 1788 elections.[3][4] The rise of the middle-class sustained the growth of the newspaper, resulting in the demand for daily news and information on commercial and business interests. It meant that behavior and manners, sport, theater and other activities were featured along with the news, information, comment and advertising. Newspapers became a part of society, enabling a public sphere where politics could be debated and an interactive form where the reader could gain access to the text through correspondence, news or advertisements.[3]

 

Stamp Act duties suggested annual circulations of 2.4 million copies in 1713, 7.3 million in 1750 and reaching 16 million in 1801, these figures suggestive of an exponential growth in newspaper circulation.[6]

 

Timeline


 

The British Library's website provides a history of the British newspaper in the eighteenth century, the information provided through a compiled timeline of the printed publications from 1701 to 1800. The timeline shows that in the first half of the century, twenty-one newspapers were founded and published for varying lengths of time. Some of the newspapers referenced the timeline was The Daily Courant in 1702, The Weekly Review founded by Daniel Defoe, the first evening daily, The Evening Post founded in 1706, Tatler founded by Steele and Addison in 1709 and the two would go on to publish The Spectator in 1711. In the second half of the eighteenth century, there was a further fifteen publications from 1754. Some of these publications have survived until today, for example, the Daily Universal Register founded by John Walter I became the Times in 1788. It is Britain's oldest surviving newspaper that remains a current daily publication. Another example is the Observer, founded in 1791, and known to be the oldest surviving Sunday newspaper.[7] Timeline of the newspapers publicized are below in order to provide some clear sense of where the referenced newspapers are situated during the eighteenth century century (provincial newspapers excluded).  

        

  • 1702 - March 11 : Daily Courant 
  • 1704 : Weekly Review founded by Daniel Defoe. 
  • 1706 : Evening Post  founded. 
  • 1709 : Tatler founded by Steele and Addison. 
  • 1710 : Examiner founded
  • 1711 : Spectator founded by Steele and Addison.  
  • 1719 : Daily Post founded, Defoe contributor.
  • 1727 : London Evening Post founded. 
  • 1730 - Feb 3 : Daily Advertiser founded. 
  • 1731 : Gentleman's Magazine founded by Edward Cave.   
  • 1760 - Jan 12 : Public Ledger founded 
  • 1770 : Morning Chronicle founded 
  • 1772 : Morning Post founded by John Bell
  • 1779 : Mrs) E. Johnson's British Gazette and Sunday Monitor
  • 1780 - Nov 1 : Morning Herald founded. Ceased publication in 1869.
  • 1785 - Jan 1 : Daily Universal Register founded by John Walter I
  • 1788 - May 3 : Star and Evening Advertiser founded 
  • 1791 - Dec 1 : Observer founded: 
  • 1794 - Feb 8 : Morning Advertiser founded by the Licensed Victuallers Association.
  • 1796 - May 1 : Bell's Weekly Messenger founded.

      Information lifted from The British Library[7]   

 

Appearance 


 

The Daily Courant, the first daily paper published in London on March 11 1702, survived until 1735, the first of its type for a decade. Produced by Edward and Elizabeth Mallet, it was soon sold to Samuel Buckley. With a single page, at first it struggled with providing enough content, and so would give up to two-thirds of its back page to its advertising notices.[8]

 

 

The image of the first issue on the left gives an idea of what the layout of newspapers looked like in the early eighteenth century. Here, in this issue of The Daily Courant, we can see that all the content is printed on one side of a single folio sheet, though all subsequent issues afterwards would have advertisements printed on the back, a size and format maintained throughout its publication period. The only headlining apparent is 'Advertisement' which is only given at around a quarter of the page. In the first column continuing up to the next before the titled advertisements, the content is concerned with political news from a range of dates. The advertisement section however poses as an advertisement for the newspaper itself, providing assurance to the reader the authors will provide foreign prints from abroad and will not

 

‘impose any Additions of feign’d Circumstances to an Action, but give his Extracts fairly and Impartially.’ 

 

Right at the bottom at the right hand side in italics is the explanation of the newspapers aim and explanation of content:

 

‘This Courant (as the Title shows) will be Published Daily: as being designed to give all the Material  News as soon as every Post arrives’ and ‘to save the Publick at least half the Impertinences of ordinary  News-Papers.’ 

 

The selling language of the paper as seen in the advertisement section and the aims reveal in some way the expectations people had for newspapers; that there was concern with the speed at which news was brought, and the straightforward manner at which was written. The concern with impartiality and fairness may is described as part of the newspapers appeal, however, it is doubtful considering the political allegiances that newspapers took with either the Whigs or the Tories that this assurance was believed by the public.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Image 4

 

 

Over the eighteenth century, the introduction of taxes by the government in an effort to control print altered the resultant publication and appearance of newspapers. The Stamp Acts of 1712 and 1725 forced publications to be subject to taxes of paper and advertisements, and the efforts made to avoid payment affected both the format and content of newspapers.[6] The former Stamp Act meant that whole-sheet newspapers needed to carry a penny stamp or a halfpenny stamp on a half sheet or less. Newspaper proprietors avoided tax by registering newspapers as pamphlets of more than ones sheet, paying the smaller duty of two shillings per sheet on one copy of each edition.[8] Although the latter 1725 Act ended this loophole, due to its failure to establish a standard size, printers were able to treat increasingly larger four-page papers as half sheets. In 1725, this basic physical appearance was set.

 

The four-page format would normally consist of an essay at the front, the news on the next two pages, and finally advertisements on the back which newspapers such as Universal Spectator and Grub Street Journal adopted as well as popular daily newspapers like the Daily Post and Gazetteer. Around the 1750s, there was a newer and smaller format that differentiated from the standard, with eight pages rather than four adopted by the tri-weekly Chronicles.[6][9] 


 

Grub Street Journal (1730-1737)                                                                 London Chronicle (1757-1765)

Image 5                                                                                                        Image 6

 

In one of the four pages of the first issue of the Grub Street Journal, it      In the London Chronicle, the format consists of three distinct columns emphasized by the 

can be seen that the font is smaller, and tan introduction of head-           dividing lines with the additional use of headlining. Emphasis on the beginning letter of  

lining such as the Price of Stocks Yesterday and Foreign News with the    the first word on the page by use of embellished design was a part of newspaper's growing

emphasis of division of content by the use of lining.                                  concern on appearance also reflected on main headlines that would be further differentiated by use of a                                                                                                                              certain design we would now consider logos or branding.   


 

Along with larger pages, the end of the eighteenth century also saw the development of larger columns and smaller print in order for more material to be printed. The increase in a number of words was achieved by smaller print, larger size and more columns, enabling papers to offer other content such as essays, reflective items, or parliamentary reports.[9]  In addition to this, during the 1760s, more papers adopted the format of four columns per page as well as the addition of headlining. The emerging system of sub-headlines helped define the organization of news and became part of the established traditional pattern where the items appeared under the source of the news report. By the 1790s, newspapers resorted to leading and the use of rules across columns so to differentiate between major items. The increasing organization of news into categories meant that later newspapers could provide new types of news or focus on certain aspects of news that they found important. In this last decade, newspapers also offered a distinct editorial through of mode of letters or daily commentaries.[9]

 

There were limitations to how much the appearance of newspapers could change due to the technological constraints of assembling the news, and the production and printing of the newspaper. The speed of access and print of news as well its verification were issues solved in the nineteenth century by the introduction of innovations such as steam-powered transport and the telegraph.[9] Due to the huge amount of choices in papers for the public by the end of the century, more care and concern was taken in consideration of appearance to order to attract readers and compete effectively. However, where appearance may have limitations, there were broad changes to the content offered to readers spanning the century.  


 

The Universal Daily Register (1785-present)

 

In the first issue of The Universal Daily Telegraph, we can see how far the formatting and presentation of newspapers have come to by the end of the eighteenth century from the domestic-news orientated two-column first issue of The Daily Courant. Here, there is an embellished and predominant main headline with the title and emblem with concentration on appearance focused through the layout of the newspaper's name in differing fonts on either side of the page with the corresponding banners underneath that are symmetrical on either side of the emblem. We can also identify an image of a ship within the text itself as part of the headline of the shipping advertisements that further the embellishment and additions to headlining. There are more dividing lines, four distinct columns each with a subheading and the use of large bold font for the first letter of a word to indicate the beginning of a new paragraph or topic. Here, we can identify the increased organization, and concentrated appearance in the development of the newspaper design, with the continuation of increasingly smaller font size to enable the placement of more content in the four-page paper.

 

In the section, To the Public, the writer begins by criticism other publications of their focus on political news and argues that a

 

‘A News-Paper, conducted on the true and natural principles of such a publication, ought to be the Register  

of the times, and faithful recorder of every species of intelligence; it out not to be engrossed by any particular object; but like a well covered table, it should contain something suited to every palate.’

 

The content lives up the pledge of the newspaper's intentions, this issue also showing how far the newspaper has broadened its considerations from the specific foreign and domestic political news provided by The Daily Courant. On the far left hand side, there is news on current comedies being released in theaters, The Natural Son and The Follies of the Day, names of plays signified by the altered use of all capital font size. On the second column, identified as the advertisement section, there is shipping, medicinal, and literary advertisements, as well as an apprentice wanted. The following pages provide headlines on political news both in the capital and foreign correspondence, a poem composed by Paul Whitehead, an Ode for the New Year, criminal cases, deaths, a section 'to the ladies' and so on. Advertisements become embedded within the news contents such as advertising for coffee houses or new coats, and so there is more of a fluidity between advertising and news coverage. Here can be located in specified sections a wide variety of news from politics to crime to life and style that we would expect to find in newspapers today.      

 

Image 7 

The Times (London. England, Saturday, Jan 01, 1785; pg 1; Issue 1.

 

 

Aims 


  

As journalism as a profession became recognized as a responsible branch of literature, it attracted writers who had something of value to say such as Addison, Swift, Steele, and Defoe that would bring essays, and broader topics to newspapers. However, although content became distinguished, newspapers remained one-sided, dealing exclusively with politics and at service of the parties until Addison began to consider how the paper’s content could offer different subjects than daily politics.[8]

 

The Tatler 1709-1711                                                                     The Spectator 1711-1712

Image 8                                                                                                 Image 9 

 

Tatler first appeared in 1709, the first issue published on the 12 April beginning with the declaration by Isaac Bickerstaff, the first journalistic persona device that would also be adopted in the Spectator, about what the periodical would offer alongside the information provided that it would be a tri-weekly publication at the price of one penny. Bickerstaff wrote that the paper would offer:

 

‘something, whereby such worthy and well-affected members of the commonwealth may be instructed, after their reading, what to think; which shall be the end and purpose of  this my paper.’

 

The declaration meant that part of its purpose of reporting certain matters would be in return provide a way of instruction for how readers would think, reflecting on the idea of constructing opinion in order to provide a way of thinking opened up the newspaper to the consideration of leading public attitude, as would occur by expressing certain opinions in the paper. The declaration also indicated moving away from what newspapers would usually report on: foreign and politic affairs that Bickerstaff suggested

 

‘we shall not, upon a dearth of news, present you with musty foreign edicts, or dull proclamations, but shall divide our relation of the passages which occur in action or discourse  throughout this town.’

 

Here, the idea of reporting foreign news and reports is unfashionable and uninteresting that only newspapers should be preoccupied with. While the definer of newspapers was consequently expressed through the content of political news, of course, the Tatler can now be considered a periodical that provided news of a different genre and its function meant that as a periodical, it challenged what contents a newspaper should have. Though the quote suggests that this newspaper is offering exactly what its title states, so to ‘tattle’ would be reports revolving around gossip and hearsay, this in the writer’s wording is due in part of being

 

‘resolved to have something which may be of entertainment to the fair sex, in honour of whom I have taken the title of this paper.’

 

This indication, through appropriating women’s interest to that of gossip, opens up the contents of newspaper out of the specified political news in order to include women to count among its readers. So as the declaration stated,

 

‘All accounts of gallantry, pleasure, and entertainment, shall be under the article of White's Chocolate-house; poetry, under that of Will's Coffee-house; learning, under the title of Grecian; foreign and domestic news, you will have from St. James's Coffee-house; and what else I shall on any other subject offer, shall be dated from my own apartment.’

 

The Tatler therefore suggested that through the mode of this fictitious character going into various coffee-houses in order to eavesdrop on rumour and gossip, such news would then be reported thereafter. However, this was not a paper wholly interested in just writing on gossip. Referring once more to the quote of gentleman will be told ‘what to think’ this reveals that this periodical is one not only of involvement with society but instruction for the middle class, and correction of manners. This preoccupation meant that the Tatler presented a new type of news published that which its concern was related to the everyday life of the middle-class, that could be preoccupied with this by the invention of a persona leading similar lives on reflection, and bringing about the genre of a ‘life and style’ paper.


 

The Spectator, a daily publication co-founded by Joseph Addison and Richard Steele that ran for a year from 1711 to 1712, continued this use of the journalistic persona and the tradition of the daily periodical offering subjects not being politic news but on literature and manners. As well as entertaining and informing, The Spectator provided the instruction of morals and aesthetics. The Spectator was narrated by a fictional narrator called Mr. Spectator, who enabled the form of reporting that would result in observation on habits and social faux pas that he witnesses and introduces to the reader. Therefore, he functions as a detached observer watching and reporting on daily affairs. The aim of the paper is introduced

 

‘to enliven morality with wit, and to temper wit with morality,’ additionally hoping that he will be known to have ‘brought philosophy out of closets and libraries, schools and  

colleges, to dwell in clubs and assemblies, at tea-tables and coffee-houses.’

 

Therefore, the aim suggests that The Spectator’s role would be to offer readers not just instruction on manners and morals, but through its mode of publication, provide topics for discussions, equip readers with such knowledge that would normally be found in rooms of education to be fostered in conversations, as well as echo social ideals such as instruction on social interactions and manners. This idea of taking philosophy out of these buildings and into the public sector means the promotion of certain ideas and arguments to be discussed with one another and not just for the sake of being learnt, and that argument would suggest the The Spectator played a role into forming the idea of a public sphere in which written essays on various topics would be spoken and debated out loud. Donald Newman argued that ‘Addison’s and Steele’s aim’ was ‘not simply to disseminate the results of high learning to a wider audience, but to relocate and reconfigure the very institutions of learning’ meaning that the subjects and topics in education that would have only been provided for the aristocracy could now be handed down to those in lower classes such as the emerging middle class. Instead, it is to be brought out into the open, centred in social spaces (clubs, tea-tables, coffee houses) and discussed in ordinary language that all literature persons are able to understand.’ (p. 154) 

 

Additionally, like the Tatler, The Spectator made an appeal for female readers, stating

 

‘There are none to whom this Paper will be more useful, than to the Female World. I have often thought there has not been sufficient Pains taken in finding out proper  

Employments and Diversions for the Fair ones.’ 

 

The Spectator provided reading recommendations for women as well as advice on conduct and commenting on women’s fashion and etiquette. What can overall be observed from its first issue is the consciousness of public knowledge presented through Mr Spectator’s provision of a digestible discourse of reading. With many reading the same paper daily, what occurs is a formation of public opinion through the wider understanding on the topics that have been read about, and these masses of people all reading the same publication results in a kind of community united in the material that they have accessed.  

 

 Content


 

Newspapers contents represented how a socially diverse proportion of the population read the papers. The growth of the middle class was an important part of newspaper’s readership, studies of literacy indicating that high levels and craftsmen and traders in London in these commercial classes were literate. Though the price of newspapers may have alienated the lower classes from newspapers, there were other methods of contact such as the role of coffee-houses providing access to newspapers, and practices of lending, hiring and public reading. Studies of London advertisements in the papers also indicate the readers the papers attempted to attract.[5] With the growth of consumerism during the century, the rise of national sentiment, the development of the polite culture, and popularity in politics, these developments reflected in the chosen content published.

 

One topic of content already mentioned were both domestic and foreign politics expressed through parliamentary reporting and coverage of parliamentary debates[5]   after the lifting of restrictions on parliamentary debates, enabling further scrutiny of politicians through accounts of scandals and campaigns and reports on petitions, demonstrations, public meetings, and economic reforms. Despite its inevitable clashes with the government, newspapers expressed the importance of the content of politics, as it meant it could be a way to reveal the behaviour the country’s rulers who, by being judged or criticized, could be kept in check. Enforcing the right to comment and criticize on political affairs and how they were conducted, the press made several arguments for its role [5] Newspapers considered to be important by many politicians, and for members of the political elite, in turn considered newspapers a major weapon that had the potential to wield political influence. Political allegiance in newspapers was expressed in editorial sections and letters published, where content would consist of comments on current political debates, and on individual politicians. Letters especially were indicative of the paper’s political stance, reinforcing ideological beliefs and allegiances. More balanced newspapers in comparison would provide letters of difference stances, such as the Morning Chronicle, and the Gazetteer.[5]

 

However, by the end of the century, political affairs were not just focused on Europe but provided a broader focus due to the newly independent state of America and later on the 1780s war with France. Papers were devoted to the latter conflict, and the extended coverage of European news meant improvement for sources, and stressing speed to compete with other newspapers, with headlines and announcements used to increase attention.[9] Newspapers also provided more economic coverage, such as shipping news, reflection on industries such as the East India Company, businesses, trade, prices and stocks and shares.[5] Tristam Shandy’s Uncle Toby is reflective of a reader concerned with economic repercussions, and commercial life.

 

Also popular were reports on the activities of criminals, usually its coverage domestic, and interest considerable on reflection of regular coverage of assizes and executions.  Another item of news introduced was sport in the 1780s, reporting on horse racing, boxing, cock fighting, and cricket.[9]Instruction on social behavior became a matter of discussion in newspapers content, the concern with moral righteousness, religious conviction and the need for improvement reflecting the interests of the rising middle class. Instructive information came in the form of items occupied with social habits and etiquette, developing with this conformity of certain fashions advised to be followed.[9] By the end of century, as The Universal Daily Register showed, new content provided the wide variety of news today from the concern on what we could characterize as the life and style section that began with The Tatler and the Spectator in branching out of just releasing political news, where content could then include scientific or philosophical editorials, new releases of literature and theater, and specific news for women. 

 

Advertising


 

As the circulation of newspapers increased, so did the volume of advertising during the eighteenth century. In the early 1700s, newspapers had very few advertisements that were subject to taxation at the rate of one shilling each, a duty renewed in 1743, and doubled in 1757. In 1789 the duty was set at three shillings which helped push up the price charged for advertisements. Luxury products began to be advertised as goods of sale such as tea, coffee, wine, medicine and even bottled water as they were most suitable to absorb the costs of the advertising. However, not all advertisements were relegated to items for sale; some would make a political point such as referencing economic controversies, appeals for support, and declarations of intentions to stand in parliament or called for moral actions such as work houses, setting up schools and provision of useful employment. Medical advice was additionally offered in advertisements in the form of warnings such as gunpowder accidents, and precautions against fires. Advertising and news were not always separate; sometimes newspapers would publish a report about a certain product, advertising camouflaged as news.[9] The types of goods advertised such as books, magazines, medicines, alcohol, perfume, dentistry, and fashion products could be linked to appealing towards the growing commercial middle class, however, newspapers such as the Morning Herald with its specialized advertising of servants wanted and servants seeking employment indicates that newspapers were not confined to a certain class boundary.[5]

 

Examples of adverts:

 

Bottled Water                                                                                      Tea                                                                                          Servant Wanted

                           

 Public Advertiser (London, England), Wednesday,    London Evening Post (London, England), January 6,     Morning Herald (London, England), Wednesday,

June 6, 1759; Issue 7667.                                        1750-January 9 1750); Issue 3462                                December 5, 1792; Issue 4282                         

 

 

Medicine                                                                            Perfume 

 

Classified ads 
Daily Gazetteer (London Edition) (London, England), Saturday, February 6, 1742; Issue 2072

 

More information can be found on the some of the advertised objects such as Perfumes and  Tea

 

Newspapers in Literature 


 

The final two decades of the eighteenth century saw the greatly increased feature of printed newspapers, its production rise to over three million London newspapers dispatched in 1782, which doubled a decade later. By 1795, the annual postal distribution of London newspapers were 8.6 million copies.[8] The growing production coincides with the rise of the subject of newspapers in literature in late eighteenth century, as indicated by Google's Ngram viewer which graphs the usage of a word or phrase in literature.[13] 

 

                                                                    Image 10

 

Following from this, it is not unexpected to find that the majority of literary texts that mentioned newspapers were published in the late eighteenth century, although Low-Life, or One Half of the World Knows Not How the Other Half Lives, published in 1752, is exception. The topic of newspapers came up in literary texts such as The School for Scandal published in 1777, A Simple Story in 1791, The Adventures of a Black Coat in 1760,  and Adventures of a Silk Petticoat in 1773. Though newspapers are not prominently featured in the texts, the references provide an insight into how they were situated and what characteristics or views were held about the newspaper. One of the ways that some of the literary texts have presented newspapers is as an object occupied with the reviling and exposing of scandals. For instance, in School for Scandal, published in 1777, the beginning of the play starts with the Prologue on the subject of scandal. Discussing the object of scandal as a mode of which has become as natural as eating or drinking, the Prologue states,

 

     'Caused by a dearth of scandal, should the vapours

     Distress our fair ones—let them read the papers;'[12]

 

Later on in the Prologue, it describes a scene where the gossip  Lady Wormwood:

 

     'Just risen at noon, all night at cards when threshing

     Strong tea and scandal—"Bless me, how refreshing!

     Give me the papers, Lisp—how bold and free!  [Sips.]

     Last Night Lord L. [Sips] Was Caught with Lady D.

     For aching heads what charming sal volatile!  [Sips.]

     If Mrs. B. will still continue flirting,

     We hope she'll draw, or we'll undraw the curtain

     Fine satire, poz—in public all abuse it,

     But, by ourselves [Sips], our praise we can't refuse it.'[12]

 

Further on, Lady Wormwood continues reading the paper until

 

     'Yes, ma'am—A certain Lord had best beware,

     Who lives not twenty miles from Grosvenor Square;

     For, should he Lady W. Find willing,

     Wormwood is bitter"——"Oh! that's me! the villain!

     Throw it behind the fire, and never more

     Let that vile paper come within my door.'[12]

 

Opening this play therefore is through the object of the newspaper as the access to the scandal, partaking in this gossip that Lady Wormwood adores, and enabling this process. Newspapers consequently in the Prologue have the ability to destroy lives by exposure to rumours or by the written gossip that can then damage reputations. Lady Wormwood is a receiver of the object of rumour and gossip that the newspaper provides her access to.  By the end of the Prologue, the object of the newspaper has entered Lady Wormwood’s life in a very personal manner through the obvious physicality of being in her hands in her home, and by the contents she reads that reveals that the gossip is about her. This interaction with the newspaper especially by the close of the Prologue also suggests how the newspaper provides an access-point between the private and the public spheres, where in the domestic sphere, Lady Wormwood can discover the suggested scandals of the public sphere. However, the participation with the gossip and scandal that feeds into the newspapers results in inevitably being a part of the public sphere meaning there is certain fluidity between the two. The Prologue frames the newspaper as the speaker of the rumours and scandal that provide an overarching creation of society overall that Lady Wormwood is a part of, and enables the audience access to this society through the mode of the newspaper.

 

Later on in the play, in Act 5, Scene 2, the opening of the scene begins with

 

     'Enter Mrs. Candour and Servant

     Servant. Indeed Ma'am, my Lady will see nobody at Present.

     Mrs. Candour. Did you tell her it was her Friend Mrs. Candour——

     Servant. Yes Ma'am but she begs you will excuse her——

 

     Mrs. Candour. Do go again—I shall be glad to see her if it be only for a moment—for I am sure she must be in great Distress

     [exit Maid]

     —Dear Heart—how provoking!—I'm not mistress of half the circumstances!—We shall have the whole affair in the newspapers with the Names of the Parties at length before I      

     have dropt the story at a dozen houses.'[12]

 

In this scene, the newspaper is once more framed as the object that though part of the public sphere has access to the private sphere enabled by the content of gossip and scandal that the characters in the play generate. However, this has limitations by this word of mouth provision as newspapers in School for Scandal can only publish on the rumours heard but not guarantee accuracy of the truth as the example of Mrs Candour describing how the whole affair will be in the papers before she has spread the rumour of her version of what happened between Lady Teazle and Mr. Surface. The newspaper here is placed as the background print continuously updating on the various rumours and gossip reflecting on what is occurring in the society of those in the play, however, are only distortions of reality. Therefore, overall the newspaper is the presenter of social news in the form of gossip and scandal generated by those in society, that though is inaccurate and potentially damaging, help forms in School for Scandal the public sphere by way of access to those who are reading up on up-to-date rumour driven occurrences.  

 

In A Simple Story, the newspaper is similarly an access-point to the general public sphere, and linked to the potentiality of damaging reputations. For instance, when Miss Milner chooses to go to the masquerade without Lord Elmwood knowing, in his discovery of her dishonesty, he first realises when after

 

‘Lord Elmwood laid down the newspaper to attend to her. Sandford, as soon as Lord Elmwood had asked the last question, ran hastily to the table, at the other side of the room,  took something from it, and returned to his place again—and when the maid said, "It was not the night of the masquerade," he exclaimed, "But it is, my Lord, it is—yes, it is," and  shewing a newspaper in his hand, pointed to the paragraph which contained the information.

"Leave the room," said Lord Elmwood to the woman, "I have done with you." She withdrew.

"Yes, yes, here it is," repeated Sandford, with the paper in his hand.——He then read the paragraph: "'The masquerade at the honorable Mrs. G——'s this evening'—This evening,  my Lord, you find—'it is expected will be the most brilliant, of any thing of the kind for these many years past.'"

"They should not put such things in the papers," said Mrs. Horton, "to tempt young women to their ruin.''[13]

 

In A Simple Story, the newspaper functions as the temptation for young women like Miss Milner, providing an advertisement of events to attend and what may be considered as fashionable for those her age. Mrs Horton argues that to provide such information is enticement for women that will lead to their ruin. The newspaper’s content issues popular events that are part of the public realm and fashions not always cohesive to strong moral values or choice rules in the private sphere. Therefore, the newspaper creates a rift between the ideas of the individual and the conformity of the public; what is fashionable for those may be considered dangerous for others, and the significance of these labels are attuned to what is located as public and private. Furthermore, the newspaper additionally acts in this scene as the moment of truth or unraveling of deceit – a turning point that is expected, ramping up the drama in the moment of the unveiling of the truth of the event, and the fallout that is to follow. The newspaper provides this moment of clarity that is expected to come out. More information on public opinion on masquerades in the eighteenth century can read about on this wiki-page: Masquerades  

 

The newspaper is further represented as the organ of truth necessary for the characters in the novel to become accessed to, such as when Lord Elmwood discovers that Miss Milner died as announced in the public papers.

 

‘He was breakfasting by himself, when the newspaper that first gave the intelligence of Lady Elmwood's death, was laid before him—the paragraph contained these words:

"On Wednesday last died, at Dring Park, a village in Northumberland, the right honourable Countess Elmwood.—This lady, who has not been heard of for many years in the fashionable world, was a rich heiress, and of extreme beauty; but although she received overtures from many men of the first rank, she preferred her guardian, the present Lord Elmwood (then Mr. Dorriforth) to them all—and it is said, their marriage was followed by an uncommon share of felicity, till his Lordship going abroad, and remaining there some time, the consequences (to a most captivating young woman left without a protector) were such as to cause a separation on his return. Her Ladyship has left one child by the Earl, a daughter, about fifteen.'' 

Lord Elmwood had so much feeling upon reading this, as to lay down the paper, and not take it up again for several minutes.'[13]

 

Here, the reader finds that there is, instead of the fluidity between the public and the private sphere as pointed out in School for Scandal, a division between the two as well. Here, it is the newspaper instead of Sandford informing Lord Elmwood of Miss Milner’s death, the access to the information on others out of reach provided by the newspaper rather than interaction with other characters. Yet it could be argued that the newspaper functions here in a intimate way, providing close depiction of what goes in the private sphere yet at the same time being in the public sphere as it relates significant portions of what occurred in Miss Milner’s life in the obituary. Therefore, the newspaper could be read as the function to inscribe to the reader the occurrences in society whether outdoors or indoors almost in an omnipresent way that a reader would come to expect from the omniscient narrator, providing an overarching and at times personal source of printed information that access the characters. Furthermore, it enables once again the unveiling of significant truths in the narrative. 

 

In ‘Indusiata’, the it-narrative following the adventures of the petticoat voices the concern of the newspaper in relation to women, describing how

 

‘She never would suffer a person to read the filthy particulars of the news-papers; and If Rape or Ravishment were uttered, she would declare with the most solemn face, that Men were monsters to exert their strengths against the delicate constitutions of the Female Sex.’[14]

 

Here, the narrative’s mention of the newspaper locates the newspaper in the similar domain of scandal and damaged reputation as voiced in School for Scandal and A Simple Story. Here, the newspaper is described in more condemning tones, as its contents are the ‘filthy particulars,’ arguably the fashion or event content that may be masquerades or the gossip columns that are at odds with the morals and manners instruction that ironically newspapers would also provide. When considering the relationship between men and women with newspapers, so far in looking at the texts on the course, it becomes apparent, what appeals to the women in literature is the newspapers contents of fashion, gossip and public events that are equally condemned as immoral and potentially damaging. In comparison, for men so far, the newspaper is the utterance of simple truths to be read and absorbed, a part of reflection and routine, for example, Lord Elmwood who breakfasts with the paper, a situation between the male and the newspaper that will be a recurring motif that is recognizable still today in the media. Following from this observation of the male and the newspaper, The Adventures of a Black Coat has one reference to the paper in the scene with the thief who

 

‘took me through the busy streets into the city, and entering a coffee-house, near the Exchange, almost filled with company, he spent some time before he could resolve where to seat himself; at length he determined on a place, which, to me, appeared the most inconvenient one in the room, it being in a box that was already almost full; here he breakfasted and read the papers, but seemed more intent upon remarking the company, than on the news of the day.’[15]

 

The newspaper is located in the coffee-house, the public area where news was read and discussed, however women were excluded from. Therefore, in the literary texts looked at so far, newspapers are presented with a certain distinctive relationship with men, part of their morning reading over breakfast, and located in male-orientated public arenas while women remain in domestic and private spaces, condemned to do otherwise, Miss Milner’s choice to go the masquerade an example of the differing attitudes to her place in society in interaction with the public. However, here, the newspaper in this described passage is merely used as a prop, a device in order to blend in with the company in order to gain the opportunity to steal an expensive item that the black coat has innocently not realised. 

 

In Low-Life, there is a distinctly similar placement of the newspaper as in this observational narrative on the immoral happenings on the urban street , the newspaper referenced several times in analogous tones of disapproval. The newspaper at one point is situated at the urban landscape the narrative describes through its inhabitants, where

 

‘Politicians, who have been some Time poring over the publick Prints at Coffee-houses, are dropping their Two-pences on the Bars, and returning to their separate Habitations to Dinner. The South-Side of the Royal Exchange in Cornbill, very much crouded with Gentlemen doing Business and hearing News. Frequent Enquiries made at Lloyd’s Coffee-House in Lombard-Street, by the Clerks of Under-Writers to know if any Thing has happened.’[16]

 

Once again, the newspaper as an object is in male hands; however this time it is distinctly politicians who, concerned about their reputation reads what has been said about them in the press while they are at the coffee-house. Furthermore, the Royal Exchange crops up once again, and this suggests that the two seem to constructed to be inhabiting a similar space in this politically-charged urban atmosphere. In Low-Life, the Royal Exchange, the financial institution, is a place of business and urgency as depicted by its inhabitants who are described to be hearing news. A similarity is drawn additionally between the Royal Exchange, a place where gentlemen hear news, and the coffee-house where under-writers are waiting for news.

 

Issue 69 of The Spectator written by Addison about The Royal Exchange can suggest a way of perceiving this repeated building and what it means to be associated with the newspaper. Mr Spectator describes in this issue how much he adores going to the Royal Exchange, professing that

 

‘It gives me a secret satisfaction, and in some measure gratifies my vanity as I am an Englishman, to see so rich an assembly of countrymen, and foreigners consulting together upon the private business of mankind, and making this metropolis a kind of emporium for the whole earth.’[17]  (p. 2650)

 

There is a certain wonder and admiration in this ability for The Royal Exchange to provide connections from those who are local to foreigners, enabling this place to be able to encompass a space globally in the city of London. Mr Spectator is incredibly enthusiastic and optimistic about this space that means that

 

‘I have often been pleased to hear disputes adjusted between an inhabitant of Japan and an alderman of London, or to see a subject of the Great Mogul entering into a league with one of the Czar of Muscovy.’[19]   (p. 2650)

 

This considerable awe that Mr Spectator has for The Royal Exchange and what is provides is very clear in this issue, so much is he affected by this space that at one point he weeps. This sort of emotional attachment makes one consider if this can truly be sincere, or part of Addison’s usual satirical bite, however, at this moment, The Royal Exchange is an entirely new space, one that provides business and trade and commerce that is for Addison, something never done before that can only hold optimism as the beginnings of the idea of globalized world order. On the other hand, Mr Spectator’s concern with the accumulation of objects in this scene of business that then takes up more space than his initial admiration of the multicultural capital, the

 

‘The fruits of Portugal are corrected by the products of Barbados; the infusion of a China plant sweetened with the pith of an Indian cane. The Philippick Islands give a flavour to our European bowls. The single dress of a woman of quality is often the product of an hundred climates. The muff and the fan come together from the different ends of the earth. The scarf is sent from the torrid zone and the tipper from beneath the pole. The brocade petticoat rises out of the mines of Peru and the diamond necklace out of the bowels of Indostan.’[17] (p. 2651)

 

Here, this optimistic vision of mingling cultures and the idea of shared community becomes ingrained with capitalism as countries become signified with the objects that it can bring to trade. Commercial trade itself by the end of this passage become transformed into the empire of trade with countries that have the natural resources, the position of the occupier and the occupied results in the transition between nature and the created object. The representation of The Royal Exchange through the mode of objects also corresponds to the eighteenth century culture of consumerism being brought up here. The two views as articulated by Mr Spectator about The Royal Exchange, as a place of global commerce between people, and consumerism of foreign objects, can be applied to the representation of the newspaper. It can be an object that encompasses the going-ons of public sphere on a global level through the form of its content as politic and foreign news, and on the other hand, can be an organ of printed advertisements and the topics of social instruction, women’s features and current fashions that correspond to a growing consumer culture.     

 

                                                    Image 11: The Royal Exchange

 

Referring back to Low-Life, newspapers are similarly subjected to heavy criticism of immorality, Hogarth suggesting at points that newspapers collectors are more concerned with selling a good story than its authenticity and so   

 

‘are in Bed, instead of their Prayers, are inventing Stories of Rape, Robberies, Riots, etc, to fill up the News-Papers of the ensuing Week.’[16]

 

The issue with content is therefore not just writing to fulfill the public’s preoccupation with the popular crime reports, but that this is news falsified, bolstered by the choice to fabricate a story in order to get public attention. However, at points, Hogarth is not wholly condemning of the newspapers contents though he certainly takes issue with the political papers ‘filled with bitter Invectives against the Government.’ His describes later on in the narrative that  

 

‘The News-Papers in every little Ale-house, the Subject of much low Conversation, more especially by Persons who neither understand Religion, Geography, Trade or Politicks.’[16]

 

Though Hogarth may be presenting this view in a negative light critical of the topics characterized as low conversation and enacted by people who do not understand the newspapers subjects so considers this an ignorant scene, I would take this last quote to consider it reflective of the wider content and circulation of newspapers by the end of the century. The newspaper provided a means of content that could be accessible to all, and regardless of those who cannot understand such topics, the fact that the paper made it as a foreign correspondent pamphlet to a paper at ‘every little Ale-house’ being spoken about shows how the newspaper was an instigator of public conversation that spanned all classes. The scene described enacts the newspaper's role in creating a public space and a community created by those reading the same content and all voicing their opinions on it.   

 

References


  

[1]https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=vpCYjMh70JkC&pg=PA847&dq=history+of+newspapers+in+england&hl=en&sa=X&ei=kV6pVO2iGcSE7gbuzYHYDg&ved=0CEgQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=history%20of%20newspapers%20in%20england&f=false

[2]https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=B-PKlIqH6EMC&pg=PA160&dq=newspapers+in+eighteenth+century+england&hl=en&sa=X&ei=B1ypVI_dINKR7AaRs4DgCQ&ved=0CC4Q6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=newspapers%20in%20eighteenth%20century%20england&f=false

[3]Harris, Michael. "London newspapers", The Cambridge History of the Book in Britain. Ed. Michael F. Suarez, SJ and Michael L. Turner. 1st ed. Vol. 5. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009. pp. 413-433. Cambridge Histories Online. Web. 13 March 2015. http://0-dx.doi.org.pugwash.lib.warwick.ac.uk/10.1017/CHOL9780521810173.022

[4]https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=w2t_AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA280&dq=history+of+newspapers+in+england&hl=en&sa=X&ei=kV6pVO2iGcSE7gbuzYHYDg&ved=0CEIQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=history%20of%20newspapers%20in%20england&f=false

[5]Barker, Hannah, 'Newspapers, Politics, and Public Opinion in Late Eighteenth Century England', 'Oxford Historical Monographs', New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. Print. 

[6] http://access.gale.com/gdc/documents/Burney%20Early%20Newspaper%20History.pdf

[7]http://www.bl.uk/reshelp/findhelprestype/news/concisehistbritnews/britnews18th/

[8]https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=4BEABQAAQBAJ&pg=PA122&dq=The+Daily+Courant++eighteenth+century+england&hl=en&sa=X&ei=CgXuVL3VMIqtUcCOhJAL&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=The%20Daily%20Courant%20%20eighteenth%20century%20england&f=false

[9]Black, Jeremy, The English Press in the Eighteenth Century, Kent: Croom Helm, 1987. Print.

[10]Newman, Donald J, 'The Spectator: Emerging Discourses' University of Delaware Press, 2005. Web. Google Books.

[11] https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=newspaper&year_start=1700&year_end=1800&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2Cnewspaper%3B%2Cc0

[12] Sheridan, Richard Brinsley. School for Scandal, 1780. Literature Online. Web. 13 March 2015

[13]Inchbald, Mrs. A Simple Story, 1791. Literature Online. Web. 13 March 2015

[14]Thompson, Edward. Industria: Or, The Adventures of a Silk Petticoat, 1773. Blackwell, Mark, Lupton, Christina eds. British It-Narratives, 1750-1830. London: Pickering and Chatto, 2012. Print. 

[15]Williams, J., Burd, J.The Adventures of a Black Coat, 1760. Blackwell, Mark, Lupton, Christina eds. British It-Narratives, 1750-1830. London: Pickering and Chatto, 2012. Print. 

[16]Hogarth, William, Low-life, or, One half of the world, knows not how the other half live, 1752. London: Printed for the Author and sold by T. Leg. Web. Hathi Trust Digital Library

[17] The Norton Anthology of English Literature, 9th edn, gen, ed. Stephen Greenblatt, Vol. C: The Restoration and Eighteenth Century, ed James Noggle and Lawrence Lipking (New York: Norton, 2012)  

 

Annotated Bibliography

 

Primary Resources

 

Daily Courant. London. 11 March. 1702. Web. Burney Collection Newspapers. 13 March 2015

As the first 'daily' paper in England, this first issue of the Daily Courant helped to distinguish what the appearance of the newspapers were at the beginning of the eighteenth century 

 

Grub Street Journal. London. 8 January. 1730. Web. Burney Collection Newspapers. 13 March 2015

This issue helped to show how the newspaper's appearance was developing from the early periodicals with the development of improved division of content by use of columns and layout 

 

London Chronicle. London. 1 January. 1757. Web. Burney Collection Newspapers. 13 March 2015 

This issue helped differentiate between the appearance of the early eighteenth century newspaper and the late eighteenth century newspaper, characteristic of the newspaper during the 1750s 

 

The Times. London. 1 January. 1785. Web. Times Digital Archives. 13 March 2015

This late eighteenth-century paper's first issue helped provide as a visual aid the marked differences in appearances that newspapers became by the last two decades. 

 

Tatler. London. 12 April. 1709. Web. Burney Collection Newspapers. 13 March 2015

The aims of the Tatler helped to evidence how not all newspapers were formerly only about political news, but that there were papers that were trying to identity and communicate with readers different forms of content to be read.  

 

Spectator. London. 1 March. 1711. Web. Burney Collection Newspapers.  13 March 2015

Extracts from the aims of the Spectator in the first issue helped to explain the differing ways that Addison and Steele approached the concept of the news by way of offering different content through the aid of a journalistic persona. 

 

Daily Gazetteer. London. 6 February 1742. Web. Burney Collection Newspapers. 13 March 2015 

The extract taken from this issue provided some examples of some of the forms of advertising that I was discussing and so its use provided the visual image appearance of what advertising looked like and how it was written about. 

 

Sheridan, Richard Brinsley. School for Scandal, 1780. Literature Online. Web. 13 March 2015

This narrative provided an interesting way of perceiving the idea of newspapers from the beginning, classing the paper as both part and generator of the scandalous and gossiping arena the play shows.

 

Inchbald, Mrs. A Simple Story, 1791. Literature Online. Web. 13 March 2015

Newspapers are portrayed in a rather damaging way in A Simple Story as both a purveyor of truth that has consequences for the characters, but also as a possible way of damaging women's reputations by the advertisement of events such as the masquerade.

 

Williams, J., Burd, J.The Adventures of a Black Coat, 1760. Blackwell, Mark, Lupton, Christina eds. British It-Narratives, 1750-1830. London: Pickering and Chatto, 2012. Print. 

Its reference to the newspaper considers its placement in the literary world in one that is male-dominated, usually in urban, modern and public areas like coffee-houses, which made me consider how the newspaper differs in reference to women. 

 

Thompson, Edward. Industria: Or, The Adventures of a Silk Petticoat, 1773. Blackwell, Mark, Lupton, Christina eds. British It-Narratives, 1750-1830. London: Pickering and Chatto, 2012. Print.

Its reference to the newspaper continues that theme of the newspaper in literature being considered dangerous in accordance to reputation for women.  

 

Hogarth, William, Low-life, or, One half of the world, knows not how the other half live, 1752. London: Printed for the Author and sold by T. Leg. Web. Hathi Trust Digital Library

In the narrator, newspapers are framed in the political and global arena found within coffee-shops and The Royal Exchange, offering some insight into the reflection of where newspapers were situated in this urban city. 

 

The Norton Anthology of English Literature, 9th edn, gen, ed. Stephen Greenblatt, Vol. C: The Restoration and Eighteenth Century, ed James Noggle and Lawrence Lipking (New York: Norton, 2012) 

This issue provided an interesting narrated insight into the representation of the Royal Exchange that went some way to explaining why it is that newspapers are occasionally bound up in literature the same location as this place as well as with coffee-shops.

 

Secondary Resources

 

Sherburne, George and Bond, Donald F, eds. The Literary History of England: Vol 3 The Restoration and the Eighteenth Century, 2005. London: Routledge and Kegan. Web. Google Books. 

Its discussion on journalism helped provide some of the context behind the relationship between newspapers and political news in the early eighteenth century 

 

Hickey, Raymond, eds. Eighteenth Century English Ideology and Change, 2010. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Web. Google Books.

Considers the role of politeness in the eighteenth century as expressed in Richardson's Pamela, and this topic led to the development of instruction and moral rules in papers such as the Spectator.

 

Harris, Michael. "London newspapers", The Cambridge History of the Book in Britain. Ed. Michael F. Suarez, SJ and Michael L. Turner. 1st ed. Vol. 5. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009. pp. 413-433. Cambridge Histories Online. Web. 13 March 2015. http://0-dx.doi.org.pugwash.lib.warwick.ac.uk/10.1017/CHOL9780521810173.022

Gave detailed background of the development of the press in London and integral historical events related to newspapers. When reading it, I decided that the focus should be on press from the capital otherwise including provincial press would simply mean far too much content.  

 

Barker, Hannah, Newspapers, Politics, and Public Opinion in Late Eighteenth Century England, 'Oxford Historical Monographs', New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. Print.

Provided very detail information on the development of newspapers in the late eighteenth century, as well as the considerations of the coverage of politics and the newspapers aims suggestive at remaining critical of politicians in order to keep them in check. Downside was inevitably the minimal information of newspapers not in the last two decades of the eighteenth century. 

 

Raven, James, Publishing Business in Eighteenth Century England, Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2014. Web. Google Books. 

Offered specific information on the Stamp Tax, and figures from the costings of newspapers to the numbers in circulation

 

Black, Jeremy, The English Press in the Eighteenth Century, Kent: Croom Helm, 1987. Print.

Its information on the various content that could be found in newspapers throughout the century, as well as its differing appearance and the aspect of advertising were very important and helpful topics that led in to what the wiki-page wrote on about the news content.  

 

Newman, Donald J, The Spectator: Emerging Discourses, Delaware:University of Delaware Press, 2005. Web. Google Books.

The choice quote lifted from this was because in a succint and effective way, it described the process of which the Spectator's aims were challenging newspapers of the past and introducing an new concept of the public sphere by way of introducing education in the form of essays and in various topics that the public could all have access to and read. 

 

Images


Image 1

Anonymous, London Gazette, 1666. Photograph. British Library, London. Learning Timelines: Sources from History. Web. 13 March 2015 

 

Image 2

Anonymous, The Coffee House Politicians, 1733. Photograph. British Museum, London. British Museum Collections Online. Web. 13 March 2015 

 

Image 3

Anonymous, The Coffee Hous Mob, 1710. Photograph. British Museum, London. British Museum Collections Online. Web. 13 March 2015

 

Image 4

Daily Courant. London. 11 March. 1702. Web. Burney Collection Newspapers. 13 March 2015

 

Image 5

Grub Street Journal. London. 8 January. 1730. Web. Burney Collection Newspapers. 13 March 2015

 

Image 6

London Chronicle. London. 1 January. 1757. Web. Burney Collection Newspapers. 13 March 2015 

 

Image 7

The Times. London. 1 January. 1785. Web. Times Digital Archives. 13 March 2015

 

Image 8

Tatler. London. 12 April. 1709. Web. Burney Collection Newspapers. 13 March 2015 

 

Image 9

Spectator. London. 1 March. 1711. Web. Burney Collection Newspapers.  13 March 2015

 

Image 10

Plotted Google ngraph viewer diagram

https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=newspaper&year_start=1700&year_end=1800&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2Cnewspaper%3B%2Cc0

 

Image 11

Girtin, Thomas. The Old Royal Exchange, London, with the dome of St Paul's Cathedral in the distance, 1795. British Musuem. Artstore. Web. 13 March 2015

 

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