Newspapers became popular over books and even pamphlets as a dissemination form for quickly changing information because of their adaptability. "A periodical can follow its reports with subtle corrections, so that its anonymous authority is institutional or even societal. In this way periodicals began to reverse the effect of the fixity of print" (Sommerville 14). This shift away from fixity of print was perfectly aligned with a constantly shifting political sphere. Likewise, the sheer number of newspapers and their various perspectives allowed readers to select those that aligned most with their own personal views.
The role of providing news became even more important for coffeehouses in smaller cities throughout the British Isles. "In most provincial cities the coffeehouse functioned as one of the chief points of dissemination for news, both commercial and political" (Ellis 76). Most of these newspapers were amalgamations of other sources, such as those from London, other major British cities, and, occasionally, foreign newspapers.
Coffeehouses also achieved a bad reputation from the newspapers they provided. "Coffeehouses remained the most notorious location for the consumption of news and the spread of sedition. The numerous plots against the crown hatched by radical Protestant groups in the 1660s were repeatedly linked to the indiscriminate socializing of the coffeehouses" (Ellis 72). Monarchies and other authoritarian states sought to control the news that was available in an attempt to prevent such sedition and plotting from occurring. As history can attest, they did not succeed in preventing the spread of such ideas, or even less diabolical thoughts.
Newspaper Examples
The sheer number of newspapers, pamphlets, broadsides and manuscripts that circulated and created coffeehouse culture could be an entire work unto itself. These selections represent the news of the nation, the scientifically highbrow, and the most famous newspaper of the era.
The Lilly Library possesses a great number of excellent examples of newspapers from this time. While it would be thrilling to examine all of them and search for connections within the text to coffeehouses, that is beyond the scope of this study.
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| Mercurius Politicus |
As the name suggests, Mercurius Politicus was made up of primarily political news. The title suggests somewhat mysterious content, what with the tag of "Foreign Intelligence", and claims to provide great insight into the most important occurrences in the British Isles. Every issue was made up of four pages, a formation that was likely easily folded for mass production. This newspaper only ran for ten years, but these were a crucial ten years, by the end of which the monarchy had been restored. The issue presented here was chosen simply for the neatness of the title page and the excellent imprint of the woodcut initial. While this particular newspaper may not have been kept in more literary coffeehouses, like Will's, it most certainly was a staple of those coffeehouses where the politically-minded gathered. It is definitely a prime example of the types of materials that would be available to the average coffeehouse visitor.
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| Philosophical Transactions, Royal Society |
Philosophical Transactions was the official publication of the Royal Society, an organization of important intellectual men of the era. A great many of the Royal Society members were regular coffeehouse visitors. One even took it upon himself to contribute an article to this work in praise of the Coffeehouse. John Houghton concluded in his essay of 1699 that the "Coffeehouse makes all sorts of people sociable, and improve arts, and merchandize, and all other knowledge" (Quoted in Ellis 164). The issue on display here is the very first volume ever printed of the publication. Through the history of this publication, it is possible to observe the changes in science and studies that were important to men of the age. The Royal Society of London still exists today and is very proud of its illustrious history. By perusing the latest edition of Philosophical Transactions, the average coffeehouse visitor would be kept abreast of the latest scientific pursuits in London.
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| The London Gazette |
The London Gazette was one of the highest circulating newspapers of the age. Circulation "increased from about 7,000 in 1693 to 11,000 in 1705" (Waller 203). The sample page shown here was selected from among the hundreds of issues held at the Lilly because of the beautiful color of the page, visual evidence of aging. The Gazette was a single halfsheet, printed front and back in rather small type. For all that it was a short publication, it would take quite a while to read because of the effort required to read the small words in large text blocks. The Gazette presented national matters, occasionally international matters (especially declarations of war), and a great deal of news specific to London. One charming example pulled from a May 1704 issue stated "Mary Cox, at the Blue Flower-Pot in St. Andrew's street, St. Giles gives notice to all persons to take away their goods by the first of August next, or they will be disposed of, by reason she is going for Ireland" (The London Gazette, May 1704). Often, a full column on the back page was taken up with such examples. Imagine reading your notice to vacate in the weekly newspaper! The Gazette is a respected early newspaper, and this is a beautiful example of that illustrious publication.
