Early American Newspapers

Microform Collection

Location: Microfilm PN 4899 B6

Scope: This series, Early American Newspapers, is a large collection of American newspapers published between 1690 and 1820, of which Pickler Memorial Library has five.

The Boston Chronicle, October 22, 1767 - June 25, 1770 (Microfilm PN 4899 .B6 B6)
Boston Gazette, December 21, 1719 - September 17, 1798 (Microfilm PN 4899 B6 B66)
The Censor (Boston), November 23, 1771-May 2, 1772 (filmed with The Boston Chronicle) (Microfilm PN 4899 B6 B6).
Massachusetts Spy, July 17, 1770-April 6, 1775 (filmed with The Boston Chronicle and The Censor) (Microfilm PN 4899 B6 B6).
Rivington's New-York Gazette: or, The Connecticut, New Jersey, Hudson's-River and Quebec weekly advertiser, April 11, 1773-December 31, 1783 (Microfilm PN4899 N5 R6)

Other early American newspapers held in Pickler which are not included in this collection are:
The Maryland Gazette 1745-1839 (Microfilm PN4899 A55 M37)
National Intelligencer and Washington Advertiser (Microfilm PN 4899 W3 N3)
Pennsylvania Gazette 1728-1815 (Microfilm PN 4899 P54 P4)
Virginia Gazette of Williamsburg 1736-1780 (Microfilm PN4899 W54 V57)

How to search the collection: The Boston Chronicle, Vol. 1 (1767-1768) is the only paper that includes a name and subject index. The print is quite small but readable. The index is found at the end of the volume (on Reel 1 of 2).

These newspapers can also be searched in the digital archive of America's Historical Newspapers. which is a full-text collection of over 1000 U.S. historical newspapers. This archive is divided into three collections: Series I (1690-1876), Series II (1758-1900), Series III (1829-1922).

Guides: Brigham, Clarence S.. History and Bibliography of American Newspapers, 1690-1820. Westport, CT.: Greenwood Press, 1976. (Reference PN 4855 .B74, v. 1-2).
This is the bibliography on which the series is based. It is a reprint of the 1947 edition published by the American Antiquarian Society. It is arranged alphabetically by state; then within each state, alphabetically by town or city; then name of newspaper. Each annotation includes dates the newspaper was established and ended publication, publication frequency, and libraries containing holdings of the title. An index of titles is found on page 1193 of volume 2.

Additional Reading: Brigham, Clarence S. Journals and Journeymen: a Contribution to the History of Early American Newspapers. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1950. (General Collection PN 4858 .B7 1971).

Series Title: Early American newspapers

Time Period: 17th Century 18th Century 19th Century

Subject keywords: Journalism, U. S. History

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