Newspapers reflect the world as perceived by its writers and readers. They illustrate assumptions in a society about the nature of news and history, the practice of certain literary styles, the political and commercial structure of communities, and the larger process by which culture is transmitted and transformed. Comprehensive in scope and narrative in style, The Public Prints is the first study of the role of the earliest newspapers in eighteenth-century American society and culture. In the hands of Charles E. Clark, American newspaper publishing becomes a branch of the English world of print in a story that begins in the bustling streets of late-seventeenth-century London and moves to the provincial towns of England and across the Atlantic. While Clark's most detailed attention in America is to the three multi-newspaper towns of Boston, New York, and Philadelphia, evidence from Williamsburg, Charleston, and Barbados also contributes to generalizations about the craft and business of eighteenth-century publishing. With the newspaper, Clark finds, English-speaking peoples on both sides of the Atlantic found an instrument of commerce, politics, literature, and an awareness of themselves and the world. By the middle of the eighteenth century, the newspaper occupied an accepted and essential niche in the social ecology of both Britain and British America. Stressing the continuous trans-Atlantic connections as well as English origins, Clark argues that the newspapers were a force both for "anglicization" in their attempts to replicate English culture in America and for "Americanization" in creating a fuller awareness of the British-American experience across colonial boundaries. Bybroadening access to current information and by dignifying in print the familiar concerns of everyday life, the newspapers offered a kind of open communion. Ordinary readers were invited into what was previously a privileged circle, sharing in the ritual of communal identity in which o
Industry Reviews
"Clark's important book makes a major contribution....Opens up new vistas for exploration."--CHOICE
"[Clark] provides a strong and focussed survey of the earliest newspapers in American history....Will prove an invaluable library addition for any institution with strong journalism history sections."--The Midwest Book Review
"Charles E. Clark offers the first extensive overview of Anglo-American newspapers through 1740....The Public Prints is readable and enriched by many important insights."--Business History Review
"Clark's authoritative handling of his subject and comprehensive knowledge of the journalist's craft makes this an excellent resource for media scholars and for literary, cultural, and social historians interested in colonial newspapers' role in cultural development."--The Historian
"This important study will be of great value both to those interested in early American history and to students of the early press....This is an effective work, impressive in scholarship, convincing in argument....His book deserves to be read widely."--William and Mary Quarterly
"Clark's is the most thorough reading to date of the genesis of colonial newspapers up to 1740."--Journal of Communications
"The author makes several well-grounded and thought-provoking observations which reveal much about life in colonial America."--Pennsylvania History
"Clark is to be commended for an impressive display of primary research that covers newspapers from three newspaper centers (Boston, New York, and Philadelphia) as well as other towns....Overall the book is worth attention."--American Studies International
"Here is welcome news for those interested in the history of early American newspapers, a subject still dominated by poorly written books reverently celebrating journalistic ancestors. Charles E. Clark combines an accomplished professional historian's interdisciplinary methods with a hobbyist's interest in the technology of the hand press, along with insights from his earlier career in journalism. He has given us a convincing synthesis, an admirable monograph,
and a reliable base from which to explore numerous issues."--The Journal of American History
"[An] extensively researched book....A carefully researched and well-written study...should be of interest to both general readers and more specialized scholars. For library historians, Clark offers an understanding of what is probably the most important reading material for most colonial Americans outside of the Bible and the almanac. For students of U.S. history, Clark's work provides insights into the place of the newspaper in colonial culture and how it
developed its important role as primary disseminator of essential political information."--Library & Culture
"This is a very accessible and valuable work....lucid and fascinating....a major contribution....this is a fine work, and well worth reading."--American Historical Review
"[A]n important history....[A]lthough this excellent study is geared primarily for the scholar, anyone interested in the history of newspapers or the relationship between the media and society will find it fascinating reading."--History
"This is a valuable, scholarly book that goes into much detail about the process of publishing than do more general works....Clark's footnotes indicate a thorough knowledge, not only of the sources but of all the literature of this subject as well."--New York History
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