Toronto of Old: Collections and recollections illustrative of the early settlement and social life of the capital of OntarioScadding, Henry
History
Toronto of Old: Collections and recollections illustrative of the early settlement and social life of the capital of Ontario
Scadding, Henry
Toronto (Ont.) -- Description and travel; Toronto (Ont.) -- History
The _Constellation_ newspaper does not appear to have succeeded. Early
in 1801 a new paper comes out, entitled the _Herald_. In it, it is
announced that the _Constellation_, "after existing one year, expired
some months since of starvation, its publishers departing too much from
its constitution (advance pay)." The printer is now Silvester Tiffany,
the senior proprietor of the _Constellation_. It is very well printed
with good type; but on blue wrapping paper. In little more than two
years, viz., on the 4th June, 1802, it announced that the publication of
the _Herald_ is suspended; that it will appear only "on particular
occasions;" but Mr. Tiffany hopes it "will by and by receive a revival."
Other early papers published at the town of Niagara were the _Gleaner_,
by Mr. Heron; the _Reporter_; the _Spectator_. The _Mail_ was
established so late as 1845. Its publication ceased in 1870, when its
editor, Mr. Kirby, was appointed to the collectorship of the Port of
Niagara. Down to 1870 Mr. Tiffany's "imposing stone," used in the
printing of the _Constellation_, did duty in the office of the _Mail_.
In 1800, the _Upper Canada Gazette or American Oracle_ is issued at
York, weekly, from the office of William Waters and T. G. Simons. In the
number for Saturday, May the 17th, in that year, we read that on the
Thursday evening previous, "His Excellency Peter Hunter, Esq.,
Lieutenant-Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Province, arrived in
our harbour on board the Toronto; and on Friday morning, about nine
o'clock, landed at the Garrison, where he is at present to reside."
We are thus enabled to add two items to the table of dates usually
given, shewing the introduction of Printing at different points on this
Continent: viz., the dates 1793 and 1800 for Niagara and York
respectively. The table will now stand as follows:--
1639, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Stephen Day and Samuel Green; 1674,
Boston, John Foster; 1684, Philadelphia, Wm. Bradford; 1693, New York,
Wm. Bradford (removed from Philadelphia); 1730, Charleston, Eleazer
Phillips; 1730, Bridgetown, Barbadoes, David Harry and Samuel Keimer;
1751, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Bartholomew Green, jun., and John Bushell;
1764, Quebec, Wm. Brown and Thos. H. Gilmore; 1771, Albany, Alex. and
Jas. Robertson; 1775, Montreal, Chas. Berger and Fleury Mesplet; 1784,
St. George's, Bermuda, J. Stockdale; 1793, Newark (Niagara), Louis Roy;
1795, Cincinnati, S. Freeman; 1800, York (Toronto), Wm. Waters and T. G.
Simons.
As at York and Niagara, the first printers in most of the places named
were publishers of newspapers.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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