THE ATHENIAN MERCURY, London, March 22, 1692 

* Rare 17th century title

This was the very first of the "agony aunt" newspapers (see hyperlink), a newspaper providing personal advice to its readers. In creating this format of responding to questions from readers, the publisher, John Dunton, did so as a result of feeling guilty for cheating on his wife. He thought that people like himself might appreciate confiding anonymously in a stranger & that readers would be titillated by the exchange. It proved to be a success as he was bombarded with queries on everything from marriage to the ethics of slave-trading to why sermons seem longer than they are.
There are 8 questions in this issue, including: "What's your opinion of reading or seeing plays, whether comedy or tragedy?" and "Whether kisses and chaste embraces may be admitted into that friendship between different sexes, which you have formerly mention'd?"
Single sheet, 8 by 12 inches, very nice condition.