THE PENNSYLVANIA CHRONICLE & UNIVERSAL ADVERTISER, Philadelphia, Sept. 26, 1768  

* Pre Revolutionary War tensions

This newspaper was a primary means of voicing the anti-British sentiment that was rapidly spreading throughout the colonies prior to the American Revolution. The paper gained much notoriety when Goddard printed an article voicing his support for the Boston Tea party. The paper's sympathies and general revolutionary message were a cause of great concern to the British. Soon the newspaper was heavily taxed for its delivery by the Crown Post (the colonial mail system in use at the time), and later the Crown Post simply refused to deliver the publication, driving the newspaper out of business in 1773. This prompted Goddard and Benjamin Franklin to establish an alternative mail system independent of the Crown Post authorities. This alternative system ultimately became the basis of a postal system that would later become the US Post Office. (Wikipedia)
Complete in 8 pages, 9 1/4 by 11 inches. Note: the engraving in the masthead had been cut out, since replaced in photocopy. The reverse of this photocopy (on page 2) is blank. Otherwise the condition is good.

Background: The September 26, 1768, issue of The Pennsylvania Chronicle and Universal Advertiser represents a critical flashpoint in the pre-Revolutionary weaponization of the American press against British imperial policy. Published in Philadelphia by William Goddard, this specific era of the paper was defined by its aggressive defiance of the Townshend Acts, most notably through its earlier serialization of John Dickinson’s revolutionary Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania. The historical significance of the Chronicle lies not just in its role as a radical megaphone that stoked anti-British sentiment, but in how its targeted suppression by the royal government backfired. Recognizing the newspaper's power to unify colonial resistance, the Crown Post—the British-controlled mail system—attempted to choke out Goddard's business by imposing exorbitant delivery taxes and frequently withholding his mail. While these hostile tactics, combined with a bitter political feud with his conservative business partners, ultimately forced the Chronicle to cease publication in early 1774, the British censorship campaign inadvertently catalyzed the American rebellion. Driven by a desire to break the Crown's monopoly on information, Goddard traveled the colonies to establish the "Constitutional Post" in 1774. This independent, secure network for intercolonial communication bypassed British espionage, was officially adopted by the Continental Congress in 1775 with Benjamin Franklin at its helm, and laid the structural foundation for what would permanently become the United States Postal Service.