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Plague mention in issue #6 of the rare Oxford Gazette...
Plague mention in issue #6 of the rare Oxford Gazette...
Item # 615057
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December 04, 1665
THE OXFORD GAZETTE, England, Dec. 4, 1665
* Earliest & Rarest of newspapers to be had
* The black plague
This is an extremely famous--and rare--title, being the predecessor of the famous "London Gazette", the oldest continually published English language newspaper in the world. Plus this is the #6 issue.
Because of the Plague at this time, the Royal Court had removed itself from London to Oxford when this newspaper began, so issues #1 thru #23 were published simultaneously in Oxford & London and when the contagion had subsided & the Court returned to London this newspaper went with it and renamed itself "The London Gazette" with issue #24, and the rest is history.
The content is entirely taken up wit reports from various parts of Europe, most with a military theme. The front page has a bit noting: "...The Plague, which doth usually take its course with the summer season, hath this year hitherto been very favourable to Constantinople; but fire, which is another evil incident to this city, hath burnt a considerable part of the Grand Seignors Seraglio..." Also on the ftpg., from Paris: "Since the infection at Calais, all intercourse from hence with that place is interdicted, and the English letters ordered to come to Bologne." (see)
Complete as a single sheet issue, 7 by 11 1/4 inches, a small piece repaired at the middle right margin causes loss to about 5 words on pg. 1 and about 10 words on the pg. 2, otherwise in very nice condition.
Certainly a very scarce newspaper and a cornerstone issue for any early newspaper collection, being an early issue of the world's oldest continually published newspaper.
Category: The 1600's and 1700's
No Longer Available
