First Issue Newspapers

Through more than two million early newspapers, the American Antiquarian Society’s collection documents the birth and rise of American news media. Enterprising printers launched newspapers to promote their opinions, generate revenue, and connect readers to the world. The first issue of the first newspaper in a community marked an important moment in each state's history. Printers often used a paper’s first issue to outline their goals and philosophy, celebrate the achievement of bringing a newspaper to a town or city, state their political positions, and provide information about advertising rates. AAS owns nine such volume one, number one first issues. These papers, listed below, are among the rarest issues in the collection.