Description:

Paul Revere
Boston, MA, February 11, 1771
Patriot Paul Revere Creates Masthead for Boston Newspaper
Newspaper
[PAUL REVERE.] The Boston-Gazette, and Country Journal, February 11, 1771, Boston, MA: Benjamin Edes and John Gill. 2 pp., 9.75" x 15.5". First two pages of original four-page issue; chipping on edges; scattered foxing; general toning.

Boston silversmith and businessman Paul Revere designed and engraved the masthead woodcut for The Boston-Gazette, and Country Journal. It first appeared in the January 1, 1770, issue. The woodcut portrays Britannia as a seated woman wearing a wreath and holding a staff with a liberty cap, releasing the dove of peace from a birdcage.

The first page and a half of this issue are filled with letters to printers Edes and Gill regarding the political questions raised by the "Boston Massacre" of March 5, 1770, and still lingering in the minds of the colonists. The letters speak of despotism, loss of rights, unconstitutional taxation, and colonial grievances. Another letter by apothecary Elijah Dix unnamed people of raising a riot against him for taking the body of an executed criminal for scientific study, so that "other surgeons, and myself, might gain further Knowledge of the human structure." (p1/c3)

Paul Revere (1734-1818) was born in Boston's North End and became an apprentice to his father, a French Huguenot silversmith, at age 13. He served briefly in the provincial army during the French and Indian War but soon returned to run the family silver shop. He married Sarah Orme (1736-1773) in 1757, and they had eight children. Because of poor business, Revere took up dentistry, through which he met local physician Joseph Warren. Revere became a member of the Sons of Liberty in 1765 and began to produce engravings with political themes. His almost entirely fictitious depiction of the Boston Massacre helped galvanize colonial resistance to British rule. After his first wife's death, he married Rachel Walker (1745-1813) in 1773, and they had eight children. He served as a courier for the Boston Committee of Public Safety and took considerable risks when organizing the colonial resistance and intelligence networks. Revere was a leader of the Boston Tea Party in December 1773, and in April 1775, he became most famous for alerting the Massachusetts militia to the approach of British forces before the Battles of Lexington and Concord. He later served as a Massachusetts militia officer and established a mill in Massachusetts that produced tons of gunpowder for the patriot forces. Following the war, Revere returned to his silversmith trade and used the profits from his expanding business to finance his work in iron casting, bronze bell and cannon casting, and the forging of copper bolts and spikes. He became the first American to roll copper into sheets for use as sheathing on naval vessels, working from the mill he erected in 1801 in Canton, Massachusetts, south of Boston.

The Boston Gazette and the Country Journal (1719-1798) was a weekly newspaper printed in Boston. Published by Benjamin Edes (1732-1803) and John Gill (1732-1785) from 1755 to 1775, and by Edes and his son thereafter, The Boston Gazette and Country Journal became one of the most powerful voices for American independence. Contributors included Samuel Adams, Joseph Warren, Josiah Quincy, James Otis, Paul Revere, and Phyllis Wheatley. After the war, the newspaper opposed the adoption of the Constitution and the administration of George Washington and lost much of its influence.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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  • Dimensions: 9.75" x 15.5"
  • Medium: Newspaper

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