Home >
Genuine London Gazette newspaper from 1670...
Genuine London Gazette newspaper from 1670...
Item # 723815
June 20, 1670
THE LONDON GAZETTE, England, June 20, 1670
* Among the Earliest of English language newspapers to be had
* Hold something in your hands from the 17th century
* Unique gift idea for that history buff
This is the world's oldest continually published English language newspaper, having begun in 1665 and is still printing in London to this day. And this is a very early, genuine issue. As was the case with most newspapers of the 17th century, this is complete as a single sheet, measuring 6 1/2 by 10 3/4 inches and printed on very high quality paper with much cotton & linen fiber content.
The issue is filled with various news of the day from various cities in Europe, each report with its own dateline, and even includes several "Advertisements" on the back page. Given its small size this would be a nice newspaper for framing & display with the 356 year old date prominent at the top. Nice condition.
AI notes: 17th & 18th-century newspapers were typically printed on rag paper, made primarily from linen and cotton rags rather than wood pulp. Papermakers collected worn shirts, sheets, and other textiles, which were cleaned, fermented, beaten into pulp, and then formed by hand in molds, producing a strong, flexible sheet with visible chain lines and often a watermark. Because linen and cotton fibers are long and chemically stable, rag paper was remarkably durable, resisting yellowing and brittleness for centuries—one reason many 1700s newspapers survive today in better condition than later nineteenth-century papers. The process was labor-intensive and costly, so paper was a significant expense for printers, influencing page size, layout, and frequency of publication. Only in the mid-to-late nineteenth century did cheap wood-pulp paper replace rag paper, trading longevity for mass affordability.
Category: British
Available Now
$48.00
