17th & 18th Century Foreign
Newspapers
Original copy, facsimile, & photostats held by the Library
of Congress:
A Checklist
INTRODUCTION
The foreign newspaper collection in original copy, as well as some
photostats and facsimiles, for the 17th and 18th centuries at the
Library of Congress is in the custody of the Newspaper & Current
Periodical Reading Room, LM-133. The current holdings consist of
663 bound volumes and 1,362 individual issues placed in portfolio
folders. This checklist will provide new access for scholars. Many
of the collation notes made on the endsheets of bound volumes indicate
no inventory has been attempted since the 1920's.
Use of this very special collection is restricted to those patrons
who have a legitimate scholarly need to examine these newspapers
in original form. Reference staff in the Reading Room are to be
consulted for all such requests. If a particular run of issues is
available from the extensive microfilm collection of the Reading
Room, then, in the interests of preservation, the patron in almost
all cases will be served the corresponding reels. This policy also
applies to the American originals of the same era. Queries regarding
photoreproductions from the original copies can also be addressed
to the reference staff.
There are two unique features of this collection that all researchers
should bear in mind: calendars and mutilations.
I. Calendars
These two centuries, the eighteenth in particular, are notorious
for disparities in national calendars. In general, all issue dates
given in this compilation, unless otherwise noted, are from the
Gregorian calendar. The determination of Julian and Gregorian dates
can be accomplished by using the perpetual calendars found in any
almanac. However, three countries, France, Great Britain, and Russia,
due to peculiar circumstances require separate explanations:
FRANCE
In October, 1793 the revolutionary government of the French Republic
decided to issue a new calendar based on scientific reasoning. This
calendar consisted of twelve months with three decades of ten days
each. The five "sans-culottes" were com- plementary days
(or six for leap year) rounding out the calendar to 365 days. This
calendar began officially on Nov. 24, 1793 and remained in effect
until Dec. 31, 1805 when the Gregorian calendar was recognized again
by the authorities. In this compilation I have provided the appropriate
days for the Gregorian calendar for these years for all the French
titles. In this effort I was aided by Pierre Caron's Manuel Pratique
pour l'étude de la Révolution Française, 294
pp., published in 1912 in Paris by the Librairie Alphonse Picard
et Fils. This invaluable work, which is available in the Library's
Microform Reading Room, control no. 33981, presents a chart for
both calendars for the entire time period.
GREAT BRITAIN
The British did not adopt the Gregorian calendar until 1752, when
in September of that year the days from the 3rd through the 13th
were erased not only for the British Isles but also for all the
possessions of the Empire. In addition, during the twelfth century
England adopted the "Year of Grace" calendar. This arrangement
began the new year with March 25, as opposed to Jan. 1. The former
date was traditionally regarded by English Christians as the Conception
of Christ with nine months passage to the Nativity on Dec. 25. This
calendar accepted well into the eighteenth century by newspaper
publishers listed all days from Jan. 1 though Mar. 24 as belonging
to the previous year, e.g. "Jan. 1, 1729" instead of the
Gregorian, or Julian, date "Jan. 1, 1730".
As misleading as this has been to properly date portfolio issues
for this collection, it has been particularly difficult to affix
the proper date for certain bound volumes. Binders in the late eighteenth
or nineteenth centuries not famliar with the "Year of Grace"
would place issues from two different years in a single volume.
This was strikingly evident in the binding of six volumes, control
nos. 1730-1735, for the The Daily Advertiser (London).
The first volume, no. 1730, contained Jan. 1-Mar. 24, 1732 issues
inserted incorrectly before Mar. 25-Dec. 31, 1731 issues. Arrangements
for nos. 1731-1735 are also similarly afflicted. I have made the
necessary corrections for this volume and the following five for
Entry no. 62. For a complete analysis of the "Year of Grace",
I found two publications to be very helpful:
W.W. Greg, "Old Style - New Style" pp. 563-569, in Joseph
Quincy Adams Memorial Studies, Washington, D.C., Folger Shakespeare
Library, 1948, 888pp., Library of Congress call no.: PR423.F6.
Wiles, R.M., Serial Publication In England Before 1750, Cambridge,
University Press, 1957, 391pp., Library of Congress call no.: Z323.W5.
RUSSIA
The Julian calendar was in use in Russia for the entire eighteenth
century. In fact, the Gregorian calendar was not adopted in that
country until the new Bolshevik government made the change official
in 1918.
As a final calendar note, according to the Gregorian system, the
years 1700 and 1800 are not leap years.
II. Mutilations
I define a mutilation as any damage or obscurity that renders
any portion of text useless. The collection as a whole is in very
robust condition. This is due in no small part to the to the tough
linen rags used in newspaper production during this period.
However, there are harmful agents present, especially among the
bound volumes. Various types of paste were used at times in these
volumes which have eroded the margins over the decades. Some issues
were tightly bound by
sewing thread thereby ensuring damage from patron use. Also, you
will find the occasional adhesive tape upon tears which has done
more harm than good.
All users, library staff as well as visiting researchers, should
use great care in opening and closing of any volume.
I have deliberately made note of mutilations not only to alert
readers using this compilation to the fragile condition of some
issues, but to inform the Library of the state of this collection
for corrective preservation measures and/or possible replacement
by microfilm purchase.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to the following
Library staff members who gave me their kind assistance with translation
matters: Carol Armbruster, Margrit Krewson, Harold Leich, Sara Striner,
and Allen Thrasher.
John J. Connell, Jr.
July 22, 1996
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