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Radical newspaper printed while the publisher was in jail...
Radical newspaper printed while the publisher was in jail...
Item # 609670
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October 28, 1769
THE NORTH BRITON, London, Oct. 28, 1769 This was a radical newspaper , very much associated with the name John Wilkes.
In one of his issues criticized a royal speech in which King George III praised the Treaty of Paris ending the Seven Years' War. Wilkes was charged with libel (accusing the King of lying), and imprisoned for a short time in the Tower of London. Wilkes challenged the general warrant for his arrest and seizure of his paper, eventually winning the case. His courtroom speeches launched the cry "Wilkes and Liberty!", a popular slogan for freedom of speech and resistance to power.
Issues from May 10, 1768 through May 11, 1771 were published by William Bingley. Bingley was jailed but was released after two years without trial. This issue is not only from the Bingley era but is from the period when he was in jail, as the imprint at the bottom of the bkpg. begins: "Printed for W. Bingley, a prisoner in the King's Bench..." (see).
Also of significance is the content in this issue, most of which deals with the growing discontent in the American colonies. The front page has a note: "The spirit of popular discontent...The ministry...would persuade us that the spirit is confined to the metropolis of Old England, and to the metropolis of New England in America. But that this insinuation is absolutely false...is abundantly evident from the great number of petitions sent up from the most distant corners...no less false with regard to the latter, will manifestly appear from the two first of the following papers which we have transcribed from the Virginia Gazette..." and what follows is a letter datelined from Williamsburg, Virginia, June 1, 1769 as printed in the "Pennsylvania Gazette". The full text is great reading and is shown in the photos. The American content continues to take all of page 2, 3 and 4, and includes a second letter with a Williamsburg dateline.
A 6 page newspaper measuring 7 1/2 by 12 inches. Slightly irregular at the blank spine margin, very nice, clean condition. Such American content is rarely found in this title.
Category: The 1600's and 1700's
No Longer Available
