THE ATHENIAN MERCURY, London, May 16, 1691  This was the very first of the "agony aunt" newspapers, 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 in a stranger --anonymously--& 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.
Single sheet, 8 by 12 inches, close cut along the top margin of the backside with minimal text loss, otherwise in very nice condition.