Rare title with significant Judaica content...
Item # 716238
January 25, 1665
THE OXFORD GAZETTE, England, Jan. 25, 1665 (1666 by today's calendar).
* Extremely early & RARE publication
* Rise of the self-proclaimed messiah Sabbatai Zev
* Jewish - Jews - Judaica
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.
Because of the Plague ravaging Europe at this time, the Royal Court had removed itself from London to Oxford when this newspaper began, so issues #1 thru #23 were published in Oxford (actually published simultaneously in London & Oxford), 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.
This is issue number 21. The front page has a brief mention of "...a ship arrived yesterday at Falmouth from New-England laden with masts upon his Majesties account..." and another front page item with Judaica overtones notes: "...there was a brisk report among them that the Jews and Arabs had destroyed the tomb of Mahomet at Mecca and taken several places in exchange of which the Turkish court offered Tunis, Alexandria & other places, but that they refuse all with a resolution to gain the Holy Land...".
The bottom of the back page gives the weekly total of those who died from the Plague.
Most issues of the Oxford Gazette suffer from being close-trimmed since it was a bit wider than most London Gazette issues from 1666-7, however this issue has nice margins, particularly at the spine. Complete as a single sheet, 7 by 11 inches, very nice condition.
A great opportunity for an issue of this rare title.
Background: This incredibly rare 1666 issue of The Oxford Gazette (Issue #21) represents a monumental artifact in the history of journalism, capturing a nation in the throes of crisis. Published during the brief 23-issue window when King Charles II’s Royal Court fled to Oxford to escape the devastating Great Plague of London—before returning and permanently renaming the publication The London Gazette—its survival with intact, untrimmed margins makes it an exceptional numismatic and historical rarity. The content within provides a vivid snapshot of 1660s global geopolitics and anxieties: the mention of a New England ship laden with masts highlights a critical military supply line for the Royal Navy during the Second Anglo-Dutch War, while the sensationalized rumor of a joint Jewish and Arab capture of Mecca echoes the widespread European fascination with the contemporary rise of the self-proclaimed messiah Sabbatai Zevi. Capped by the grim mortality counts of the plague on the reverse side, this single-sheet folio is a profoundly significant, eyewitness record of a defining era in English history, functioning as both a pioneer of modern print media and a direct window into 17th-century global affairs.
* Extremely early & RARE publication
* Rise of the self-proclaimed messiah Sabbatai Zev
* Jewish - Jews - Judaica
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.
Because of the Plague ravaging Europe at this time, the Royal Court had removed itself from London to Oxford when this newspaper began, so issues #1 thru #23 were published in Oxford (actually published simultaneously in London & Oxford), 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.
This is issue number 21. The front page has a brief mention of "...a ship arrived yesterday at Falmouth from New-England laden with masts upon his Majesties account..." and another front page item with Judaica overtones notes: "...there was a brisk report among them that the Jews and Arabs had destroyed the tomb of Mahomet at Mecca and taken several places in exchange of which the Turkish court offered Tunis, Alexandria & other places, but that they refuse all with a resolution to gain the Holy Land...".
The bottom of the back page gives the weekly total of those who died from the Plague.
Most issues of the Oxford Gazette suffer from being close-trimmed since it was a bit wider than most London Gazette issues from 1666-7, however this issue has nice margins, particularly at the spine. Complete as a single sheet, 7 by 11 inches, very nice condition.
A great opportunity for an issue of this rare title.
Background: This incredibly rare 1666 issue of The Oxford Gazette (Issue #21) represents a monumental artifact in the history of journalism, capturing a nation in the throes of crisis. Published during the brief 23-issue window when King Charles II’s Royal Court fled to Oxford to escape the devastating Great Plague of London—before returning and permanently renaming the publication The London Gazette—its survival with intact, untrimmed margins makes it an exceptional numismatic and historical rarity. The content within provides a vivid snapshot of 1660s global geopolitics and anxieties: the mention of a New England ship laden with masts highlights a critical military supply line for the Royal Navy during the Second Anglo-Dutch War, while the sensationalized rumor of a joint Jewish and Arab capture of Mecca echoes the widespread European fascination with the contemporary rise of the self-proclaimed messiah Sabbatai Zevi. Capped by the grim mortality counts of the plague on the reverse side, this single-sheet folio is a profoundly significant, eyewitness record of a defining era in English history, functioning as both a pioneer of modern print media and a direct window into 17th-century global affairs.
Item from last month's catalog - #366 - released for May, 2026
Category: The 1600's and 1700's
