Gen. George Washington’s Arrival in Cambridge: The Public and Private Exchanges
Last week, J.L. Bell wrote on his Boston 1775 blog about Gen. George Washington’s arrival in Cambridge to take command of the Continental Army. Washington was accompanied by Gen. Charles Lee, an experienced British officer who was bitter about not being appointed Commander in Chief and, according to Wikipedia, had nothing but the utmost disdain ...
Sons of Liberty: An Intercolonial Network of Organized Resistance
Stamp duty. When these two words touched American soil in April 1764 — as a teaser of the internal tax coming after the Sugar Act — they set in motion a chain of events that forever altered the course of American history. One ripple effect was the formation of the Sons of Liberty. To some, ...
Pre-Revolutionary War Betting Odds
If you were a gambling American in late 1774, you would have appreciated reading these betting odds, published in the October 24, 1774 issue of the Newport Mercury (Rhode Island). “Five to one that if the sword is drawn, General Gage mistakes a windmill for a magazine of arms, and is more intent on gaining ...
William Caslon, 18th Century Typographer
William Caslon I (1692-1766) was an English gunsmith and typographer. His typefaces, particularly his roman typeface that eventually took his own name, was an instant success. Historians have said that Caslon gave England a national typeface. By the mid 18th century, printers all across Europe and the American colonies were using the Caslon typeface to ...
Colonial Newspapers: Unsung Heroes of the American Revolution
Colonial newspapers are unsung heroes of the American Revolution and the Revolutionary War. Specifically, several newspapermen and women deserve recognition for their role in America’s founding, including: Benjamin Edes and John Gill, Boston Gazette Isaiah Thomas, Massachusetts Spy William Goddard, Pennsylvania Chronicle Peter Timothy, South Carolina Gazette Thomas Green, Connecticut Courant John Holt, New York ...
The First National Report of Lincoln’s Assassination
President Abraham Lincoln was shot at 9:30 p.m. on Friday, April 14, 1865, at Ford’s Theater. He was moved to a house across the street where he died at 7:22 a.m. on Saturday, April 15. The news bulletins through 2 a.m. reached the New York Herald by telegraph in time to make its first edition, ...
The Christmas Truce of 1914: “One of the Most Unusual Events in Human History”
The History Channel “During World War I, in the winter of 1914, on the battlefields of Flanders, one of the most unusual events in all of human history took place,” according to the Snopes verification of what is called the Christmas Truce of 1914. The Germans, who had been engaged in fierce trench warfare with ...
Frans Hogenberg: Engraving 16th Century News
Throughout Europe during the 1500s, experiments were made in printed news, such as illustrated news broadsides that appealed to a mostly illiterate population. Frans Hogenberg was the first to successfully build a career in illustrated journalism. According to the Hollstein Studies in Prints and Printmaking, Frans Hogenberg moved from England to Cologne in 1570 and ...
The Perfect Laptop Case for Rare Book Lovers
“BookBook is a one-of-a-kind, hardback leather case designed exclusively for MacBook and MacBook Pro. Available in Classic Black or Vibrant Red, BookBook brings three levels of security to your prized Mac. First, the hardback cover and spine provide solid protection from the rigors of the road. Second, the vintage book design disguises MacBook for superior ...
The Rag Linen iPhone App in 1770
I traveled to Boston this past weekend and witnessed the annual Boston Massacre reenactment commemorating the 240th anniversary of the first blood shed in the American Revolution. During my trip, I had the good fortune of meeting the historians behind TeachHistory, Boston 1775 and Lessons on Liberty. I was honored to learn that Gary Gregory, ...
A Short Narrative of the Horrid Massacre in Boston
At a town meeting on March 12, 1770 — one week after the Boston Massacre — James Bowdoin, Joseph Warren and Samuel Pemberton were appointed to a committee to prepare the Patriot account of the massacre. According to John Doggett Jr.’s 1849 enhanced edition of the Patriot account, during that March 12 meeting a “report ...
