Reprinted from Het Boek, XXV, 3, pp. 161-198 AMSTERDAM - EARLIEST NEWSPAPER CENTRE absolutely acceptable definition of what is meant by the word newspaper, but we all know that it includes certain demands. One of these is the periodicity, which to-day, almost infallibly is expressed in the form of continuous numbering. This was by no means the case during the earliest period of newspaper printing. Another demand is the topicality of the contents. The first demand discriminates the newspaper from the broadside, and the second, from the journal. From these facts it follows that a student who has not mapped out the connection between every number in the series cannot be considered to have finished his purely bibliographical work. In so doing he will meet with a series of rather complicated problems. As I have just said, there is no general definition of the word newspaper. Why? Obviously because there is such a great difference between the characteristics of newspapers. Different countries at different periods in their history have produced different kinds of newspapers. The first duty of a student in newspaper research while mapping out a series is, therefore, to establish the necessary and important characteristics of the predominant type of publication under the given circumstances. This will enable him to decide the series to which the different numbers belong. I would like to call this a preliminary typological examination. Af ter this first rough classification his next task will be to examine their typological development. Here, another line of circumstances must be considered. Firstly, the outward appearance: title or rubric, numbering or signatures at the bottom of the page, the regularity of the days of issue, illustrations, etc. Secondly, the occurrence of different kinds of news: political and non-political, domestic and foreign news, business notices and legal and private advertisements. Thirdly, how it was edited: permanent staff, or translators and compilers hired for the occasion, and other similar questions. Fourthly, questions must be answered conceming the methods used in compiling news and the ways by which this news reached the publisher, how the publishing was financed, its connections with the authorities and the reading public, etc. All this offers to newspaper scholars a wide field of investigation which might suitably be called the History of Newspapers. When a researcher in newspaper history has obtained a thorough knowledge of all known copies, has sorted them typologically and arranged them in series, and finally traced the history AMSTERDAM - EARLIEST NEWSPAPER CENTRE the relative proportion of the news, its age, etc., one gets a good idea of the connection of the town where the paper was issued and other places, and the time it took to travel from one city to another. It might here be said that one must first make a comparison with papers issued in other cities before one can firmly establish which news is f irst-hand and which has come in a bunch from some other “news-centre”. Although, for the most part, the news of the early newspapers relates actual events, the ideologist, if he is politically minded, has the possibiüty of studying how different “ideological blocks” presented themselves to the eyes of the common man. If his particular interest hes in the history of culture he can obtain much interesting information about the way people looked at things at that time, about prevalent ideas among the people, etc. By studying the relations between state, newspaper and reader, he can obtain a good conception of the importance of newspapers, and their influence on the thought of the man in the Street. In other cases he may even find very interesting and important connections between papers and public opinion with regard to certain questions. SOURCES AND LITERATURE The history of newspapers is one of the youngest branches of modem research. In the leading countries scholars did not take a closer interest in this subject until the middle or end of the last century. Among the pioneers might be named Robert E. Prutz1 and Julius Otto Opel2, Germany; Eugène Hatin s, France; F. Knight Hunt * and James Grant 5, England; André Warzée ®, Belgium; and W. P. Sautijn Kluit7 and R. van der Meulen 8, i) r. e. Prutz, Geschichte des deutschen Journalismus. Hannover 1845. *) J. O. Opel, Die Anfange der deutschen Zeitungspresse 1609-1650 in Archiv fürdie Geschichte des deutschen Buchhandels, Bd. II, Leipzig 1879. *) E. Hatin, Histoire politique et littéraire de la presse en France. I-VII. Paris 18591861. The same, Bibliographie historique et critique de la presse périodique franqaise. Paris 1866. *) F. Knight Hunt, The Fourth Estate. I—II. London 1850. *) James Grant, The Newspaper Press. I—III. London 1871. •) André Warzée, Essai historique et critique sur les journaux beiges. Gand & Bruxelles 1845. ’) W. P. Sautijn Kluit, De Amsterdamsche Courant in Bijdragen voor Vaderlandsche Geschiedenis en Oudheidkunde. Nieuwe Reeks, Deel 5 ■ ’s-Gravenhage 1868. •) R. van der Meulen, De Courant. I—XI. Leiden [1885]. OF WESTERN EUROPE private collection as this latter number there was also one for August 12 of the year 1623. After this it was not until 1880 that a new and older number of a Dutch paper was found. This time it was Sautijn Kluit who found in the British Museum a copy of another Amsterdam paper called Courante uyt Italien en Duytsland &c, printed by Joris Veseler on November 25,1619 x. He also pointed out that in this library there was to be found another number of the same paper from February 12, 1621. Besides these two, there is in the British Museum a copy of Broer Jansz’s coranto for November 22, 1619 1 2 *. After Sautijn Kluit’s discovery twenty-three years passed before an older news-sheet was found. In 1903 Emm. de Bom discovered a copy of Broer Jansz’s coranto for August 31, 1619, in the City Library at Antwerp * As far as I have been able to find out only one other number from the first days of Dutch newspaper printing has hitherto been found and that is preserved in the Press Museum, Amsterdam. It is a number of Broer Jansz’s coranto for March 1, 1620 4. There has been no mention of any news-sheets from the years 1624—1625. As regards news-sheets which have appeared since 1625, the study of the periods 1626-1635 and 1637-1643 has been greatly faciliated by the two important and well known collections in the Royal Library, The Hague, and Bibliothèque Mazarin, Paris. 1) W. P. Sautijn Kluit, Der eerste courantier in Europa (Ned. Spectator 1880). *) Laurence Hansen States in his article English Newsbooks, 1620-1641 (The Library, New Series, Vol. XVIII, No. 4, March 1938, p. 361) that in the British Museum there is a copy of Broer Jansz’s coranto for October 20, 1619. This statement must be wrong. Such a number is not to be found in the British Museum. The author has undoubtedly given the date of dispatch for the first news item (Wt Romen den 20 October, 1619) in the number for November 22, 1619, as the date of publication. *) See Emm. de Bom, Abraham Verhoeven de eerste Courantier van Europa? (Tijdschrift voor Boek- en Bibliotheekwezen, Eerste Jaargang, Antwerpen—Gent 1903) p. 49 ff. In the list of the oldest Amsterdam corantos arranged in chronological order found in W. W. Kleerkooper & W. P. van Stockum Jr., De Boekhandel te Amsterdam voornamelijk in de iye eeuw (Bijdragen tot de Geschiedenis van den Nederlandschen Boekhandel I II* *s-Gravenhage 1914—1916) II, p. 1619—20 this news-sheet is missing. Nor is it to be found in its place among the corantos which were published by Broer Jansz in the article about him in the same work (II, p. 1306 ff.). Yet, on the other hand it is mentioned in the supplement to one of the articles, but no closer description is given, and the reader is referred only to de Bom's essay in Tijdschrift voor Boek- en Bibliotheekwezen. It may be that Kleerkooper & van Stockum did not consider this paper a coranto. I cannot imagine any other explanation for this omission. 4) This number is described in Kleerkooper & van Stockum (op. cit. II, p. 1310) but in such a misleading way that the reader does not know that it is a coranto. Courante uye Italien, Duytflanclti &c. 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(CotvDelft beeft be ©fiemepnfe paren JEa* gtdraetooth boen aenfeggen/batfetierdaen bat fp lüpbrn bun tot be anbere «Strbcn/ gpojt/ Hm» fternam/ aciitnupirn/etc-touoen Dorgm/nime* ghew bie foube ooch alle aendagiirn trgbrnbie I be be poinctf n bp be felbe enbe be ©beneralirept graten grgroen nebben. qprignpcHr neertmen 1 dooj poer geeonocn / aw nn pouurn owiur <®pi 5 A ** • a. . m * ^ m ~ - _ - £ ■ . — AMA * .IW .■! a Den Jircretario jDicbna/brtotlche 00c bat torre team bie Staten ten hootbdm beeft gebjebra/ alle3öne goederen enbe fcbult-tnietom ingetroc» hen/be toelthe op 130. bupfent jsiojphm hebja* Sw/maer hn felbe id onte omen/ mrt ©ater Cté» jat Sefntoiit ©och brrftmen onbet 3bne fa* hm ïoo.toittr Waberen obebonbm/ bie alle met Deo StepferOfecrm toerfrgbrlt toarrn.&efêee» tt «Siahata/bie genabe heeft betomen/ beeft boei nobe jhatfonal / afbanchinge ber JDartgelberO/ enbefoboojtamappjobetm. IDaeropfp.haeé beTaetnorbemigbebaghenghenomen bobben. tDcrhfoudfn bun befe toehe/alobe ombjagirt# gbe bp be «©beneralitept gtfefjieben fal/ Ooch fis naibeh berrlarcn.€nbf foo boojtobp be anbere ühtebenooch gbefebieben / omtt toeten/toatfé epubelbthttDombebatïUjpn» The earliest hitherto known issue of a Dutch newspaper. Printed in Amsterdam by Joris Veseler 1618 probably the i4th of June. Same size as original. Royal Library, Stockholm. AMSTERDAM - EARLIEST NEWSPAPER CENTRE men, dat den Prager proces, aldaer velen seltsaem is voor komen, willen niet datmen daer van spreken soude, soo is den Secretaris Michna, van Prageontloopenzijnde, aldaer oockaencomen. Ondertusschen wert daer oock stercke preparatie vande Heeren Defensoren voor ghenomen, die van Saxen Julius soude bestellinge op een regiment voetvolck ende 2000. Peerden hebben, ende wert die Trommel aldaer omgheslagen”. In the middle of June in the same year they teil of a religious war that is approaching in Germany. In the coranto for the 22 June there is a notice from Cologne which says that a great number of colonels, captains and other officers have gathered in the city, and hope to receive good commands in one of the armies. In number after number the vicissitudes of these armies are told until the peace of 1648 and the disbanding of the Swedish army as well as of the other troops. However, bef ore the end of the Thirty Years’ War, events from another country began to come to the fore. It was the Civil War in England and the events from this which took up the greatest space amongst the political notices in the corantos. The fight between King Charles I. and the roundheads, his arrest, sentence and execution, and later Oliver Cromwell’s road to power are all described in numberless articles and reports from the British Isles. But as soon as the Spanish-Dutch war broke out afresh all other news was naturally pushed in the background. The news from wars in foreign countries is still to be found but instead of occupying the main part of the contents of the coranto there are only a few lines conceming these. All in all, the political news took up about three-quarters of the total text. But in spite of the fact that war news took up so much space in these news-sheets, there were many other kinds of news of the most varying sort. In consideration of the outstanding position Holland held in commerce at that time, it is not at all surprising to find reports about ships retumed to Holland, their cargoes, etc. This type of news appears very early in the development of these news-sheets, and even news of large business transactions. Sometimes there were notices about all sorts of events in far away foreign countries of great importance to business men. A good example of this is the following report: "Uyt Riga, den 12. Ianuary 1659. Met den Moscovijter heeft de Kroon Sweden een stilstant van Wapenen voor drie jaren gesloten. Onse Koopluyden mogen nu vry met hare Waren weder in der Moscou reysen, als OF WESTERN EUROPE mede naer alle Sweedse plaetsen, even als in tijt van Vrede, so dat nu alle handelingen en wegen open zijn” 1. Another sort of news which seems to have been quite popular at that time as it is often found in the corantos is stories about monstrosities and miracles. In one number a horrible sea-monster with a human face and a crown on its head which had been seen in the Adriatic Sea was described. Another time a calf with eight legs and two heads bom in Germany was mentioned. I shall cite one of the many miracles, this one which took place in Denmark. "Van Coppenhaghen wert geschreven, dat een jongh ongeboren Kint in Moeders Lichaem geschreyt ende ghesproken hadde, oock noch eenige wonder-teeckenen verthoont zijn, waer over men inde Kercken Predicatie ghehouden heeft, ende Godt almachtich ghebeden, de dreyghende straffe ghenadelijck te willen af-wenden” a. However,therewas room in the Dutch corantos for many other and greatly different kinds of news: Acts of God, sensationel accidents and executions; family news in the highest society i.e., the royal families of Europe such as engagements, marriages, births and visits to foreign countries. In 1619 we read in Jansz’s paper for the 31 August about King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden when he went a-wooing to Princess Maria Eleonora of Brandenburgh in Germany: “Tot Wismer werdt alle ghereetschap ghemaeckt om sijne Koninghlijcke Majesteyt van Sweden (die met vijfthien schepen alle uren daer verwacht wert om sijn Bruyt van den huyse van Brandenburgh in te halen) op’t heerlijckste te ontfanghen, zijnde tot dien eynde het Gheschut op de Wallen gestelt, ende een kostelijck Huys voor sijne Majesteyt ghereet ghemaeckt” Six years later King Charles of England was waiting for his bride Henrietta Maria, daughter of Henry IV. of France, to come from her country, and in Hilton’s coranto for the 21 June 1625 we find the following news item: “Wt Enghelantverstaet men, als dat den Coninck met een groote swijte ende staet tot Cantelberch hem bevint, om aldaer syn Bruyt (die den 10. deses aldaer verwacht wort) te ontfangen”. A visit of a king and queen to Amsterdam was, of course, not passed in silence by these early Dutch joumalists. In the beginning of June 1621 the King of Bohemia and his Queen, 1) Tijdinge uyt verscheyden Quartieren, 1659, no. 7, February 15. *) Broer Jansz’s coranto for August 3,1624. Het Boek XXV 12 AMSTERDAM - EARLIEST NEWSPAPER CENTRE sister to Charles I. of England, came to Amsterdam, and both Jansz’s and Hiltens papers, issued on the same day, viz., 5 June, contained rather detailed reports of this visit. As it is of rather great interest to compare these reports in the two newspapers, I think it well worth quote both of them here. In Jansz’s coranto the report runs as follows: “Op den derden Junij is zijne Conincklijcke Majesteyt van Bohemen met de Coninginne, den Ambassadeur van zijne Majesteyt van Groot Britangien, vergheselschapt met meer andere Heeren ende Staetlijcke Jof Vrouwen, seer magnifiquehjck met veele Carossen ende groote Suite tot Amsterdam ghecomen, ende ghelogeert in’t Princen Hof. Des volghende daechs wert zijne Majesteyt in Sloepen door de Stadt ghevoert, ende buyten op’t Ye aende Schepen, daer lustich vier ghegheven wert.” In Hilten’s Courante uyt Halten, Duytslandt, &c. the report is longer and contains some details not mentioned in the former: “Op Donderdach den derden Junij, tegen den avont arriveerde tot Amsterdam, de Coninck van Bohemen, met syne Ghemalinne by sich hebbende eenige Princen, Graven ende Heeren Magistraets Gedeputeerde, ontrent een Myle vande genoemde Stadt seer vriendelijck ontfangen worden, aldaer sich 00c bevonden de principaelste vande Ruyterije inde 30. te Peerde starck, beneffens een seer groote menichte van Sloepen ende Jachten, dewelcke alsoo te Water ende te Lande haere Konincklijcke Majesteyt tot inde Stadt gheconvoyeert hebben, tot in des selfs Logijs int Princen Hoff, aldaer syne Konincklijcke Majesteyt seer heerlijck ghetracteert is worden. Des volgenden daeghs op Vrydach, is haere Maj. met eenighe Slouppen te Water door die Stadt ghevoert worden, om te besichtighen die principale plaetsen, so in die nieuwe Stadt ende andersins, met seer grooten toeloop van eenighe duysent Menschen.” Obituary notices were, to judge from the numbers I have seen, rather rare but now and again one is to be found. One of the most interesting of these is the following in which is mentioned the death of a prince, but not a prince of royal blood, but a “Prince of Musick.” It is tobe found in Jansz’s coranto for the 23 October 1621 and runs thus: “Voorleden saterdach savonts op den 16. deses, is binnen Amsterdam overleden dien voortreffelijckë Organist Meester Jan Pietersz Sweelingh, weerdigh een Prince der Musijcken genoemt te werdê, om veele treffelijcke Musicale wercken door hem ghecomponeert ende in druck wtghegeven, ende sal OF WESTERN EUROPE noch eerstdaechs uytgaen het vierde deel der Psalmen Davids, door hem in Musijcke ghestelt” K Advertisements provide just as interesting material for study as news. During the first years book advertisements dominated, and from these we can obtain much valuable information about books which cannot be found now, and conceming printers and booksellers about whose activities little or nothing has been known. Even before an advertisement, such as we know it to-day, appeared, newly pubüshed books were mentioned in the text. In Broer Jansz’s coranto for June 5, 1621, the following is found in the text: “Daer is een gheleert Boecxken inden Haghe ghedruckt, ghenaemt Deductio Nullitatum: Waer in bewesen wordt, dat den Ban by den Keyser teghen den Keur-Vorst Pfalts-Graeff uyt gesproken, (die welcke over al int Roomsche Rijck ghestroyt ende uytgegheven wort) van nut, cracht, noch waerde behoort te wesen, gelijck met treflijcke allegatien der Rechten en Politische Historische exempelen overvloedich daer in bewesen wordt. ’ ’ Such references to books can now and again be found in these early news-sheets, but this is the oldest I have been able to tracé. The earliest real advertisement inserted by a book-seller appears, strangely enough, in both Jansz’s and Hilten’s corantos for the same date (Aug. 10, 1624); it reads: "By Jan Evertsz. Cloppenburch is nieuw uytgegeven een Emblemata ofte Sinnewerck, voorghestelt in beelden, ghedichten, ende breden uytlegginge, tot uytdruckinghe en verbeteringe van verscheyden feylen onser eeuwe As may be seen, there is no mention of the price of the book, and I have not yet been successful in finding a single advertisement where the price is given. On the other hand there were a great many other changes in these advertisements. The booksellers tried to make their books more enticing by telling that the book was well illustrated with beautiful copper-plates or printed on "fine large Mediaen-paper, and despite this, not expensive.” It seems as if books were the only articles advertised in these news-sheets during the 1620’s, but in the following decade x) Jan P. Sweelinck, 1562-1621. Organist, theorist and church composer. s) The spelling and the use of capitals was slightly different in the two corantos. Here follows a transcript ion of the same advertisement in Jansz’s paper: “By Ian Evertsen Cloppenburgh is nieu uytgegheven een Emblemata ofte Sinnewerck, voorghestelt in Beelden, ghedichten, ende breeder uytlegginghen, tot wtdruckinghe ende verbetringhe van verscheyden feylen onser Eeuwe.” AMSTERDAM - EARLIEST NEWSPAPER CENTRE said, rather great changes might be made in placing the news in the different columns. Hilten’s coranto is especially prone to this; it gives the impression of being the more elastic of the two “large” papers. Nor did Hilton hesitate to give out extra numbers if he had more news that was worth publishing than could be got into his ordinary coranto. He called these extra numbers Courante extrodinarij, &c. A few of these extras are in the collection at KungHga Bibhoteket; but, on the other hand, there is not a single one published by Broer Jansz. According to Emm. de Bom \ there are, in the previously mentioned collection in the Royal Library at the Hague (see p. 9), several extra numbers of Broer Jansz’s coranto. All of these were, however, printed only on one side of the paper, while Hilten’s were printed on both sides. Although, with the aid of the numbers on hand, it is possible to form a rather concrete idea about the standards which were followed in the set up of these corantos, it is nearly impossible to find anything about the organization which lay behind them. I have not been able to discover the least indication of the relationship which existed between the publisher, printer, editor — if there was one —, or those who translated foreign news. Nor is there any mention of the correspondents who sent the news from the different places just mentioned, e.g., the man who fairly regularly during 1621 sent news from Stockholm about what was going on there and in the rest of Sweden ? How did his news reach the Dutch corantos ? Many such questions may be asked, but as yet no answer can be given. Whether they ever can be answered depends most likely upon the discovery of unprinted material which can throw light upon these questions. From the printed papers themselves, I think, it will be impossible ever to obtain an answer. By comparing the news in the different numbers of Broer Jansz’s coranto with the corresponding numbers of Hilten’s so much may be found out, that part of the contents of the Dutch news-sheets was obtained from foreign corantos and part from private letters. However, the manner in which these letters came into the hands of the publishers is another question which seems at present impossible to answer. To make analogies with methods used in other countries does not help either, as these were so different. Thus, there is a statement in an English coranto from 1 Op. rit. p. 47. OF WESTERN EUROPE 1624, in the form of an editor’s note, in whichitismadeclearthat the publishers of London corantosobtained letters frommerchants for ready money. In France, on the other hand, the country in which statesmen first recognized the importance of news-sheets as instruments of propaganda, suitable news was often received free of charge from the party in power Nor have the political or religious attitudes of these two papers been directly stated, but by careful examination of the news contained in them we can get a fairly good conception. As they were both published in an anti-catholic city and were mainly meant for the citizens of this town, it is quite obvious that rather dubious news was printed, as long as it mentioned protestant victories. On the other hand, reports of catholic victories were shortened as much as possible. This is evident from the fact that several reports of protestant victories were followëd by contradictory articles later. The first exaggerated article printed about a protestant victory had to be greatly changed and modified in a more truthful article in a later number. During the wars between Gustavus Adolphus and the Poles, no less than 9000 Poles are reported to have been killed in one battle. In the following number of this same news-sheet this statement was corrected; only 310 men were killed, 50 Polish horsemen, 200 Cosacks and about 60 Swedes. In spite of this, Dutch corantos ought not to be compared with the English which carried out a heated anti-catholic propaganda. The Dutch papers are extremely passive as regards politics. They are entirely neutral conceming domesticaffairs, and give only short notices about what had happened and this was neither pro nor con. In regard to foreign policy, the corantos seemed to regard the enemies of the country as enemies, and the friends as friends. Dutch Corantos published in Amsterdam in 1645 Jan van Hilten and Broer Jansz, however, were not long the only publishers who supplied corantos to the people of Amsterdam who seem to have been extremely greedy for news. In the collection at Kungliga Biblioteket, Stockholm, there are no less than ten different Dutch corantos represented, (inclusive of the *) E. Hatin, op. cit. p. 7. AMSTERDAM - EARLIEST NEWSPAPER CENTRE two already mentioned) which were all printed in Amsterdam during the first half of the seventeenth century. In order to show the richness of the "coranto-flora” during the three first decades of their existence, I have found it most suitable to choose the year 1645 as an example. In the Stockholm collection there are corantos representing nine different Amsterdam press organs. All of these papers, with the exception of one which came out on Mondays and Thursdays, were published once a week. Thus, during the year 1645 no less than ten corantos were issued per week in Amsterdam. Most probably there were at least two more papers published in Amsterdam during this year but no copies of these have as yet come to light. On Mondays only one news-sheet appeared, but on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays there were three to choose from. For the saké of lucidity and to make my references clearer I shall give a survey of these corantos:1 Mondays: Extra Europische Tij dingen uyt verscheyde Quartieren. Tuesdays: Ordinarise Middel-weeckse Courante, Anno 1645- Ordinaris Dingsdaegsche Courante, 1645. Europische Dingsdaeghs Courant. Thursdays: Extraordinarie Advijsen op Donderdagh. Extra Europische Tijdingen uyt verscheyde Quartieren. Europische Donderdaeghs Courant. Saturdays: Courante uyt Italien ende Duytschiandt, &c. 1645. Tydinge uyt verscheyden Quartieren, 1645. Evropische Saterdaegs Covrant. Courante uyt Italien ende Duytschiandt, &c. 1645 which came out on Saturdays was not the only news-sheet published by Jan van Hilten; on Thursdays he published another coranto called Extraordinarie Advijsen op Donderdagh (1644—1645) 2. This newssheet which seems to have been totally unknown before is represented by thirty-eight numbers in Kungliga Biblioteket. It is very similar to Hilten’s other coranto, but there are two marked differences. The different issues are not numbered, and the date of publication is inserted directly after the title. The complete title of the oldest number is thus: Extraordinarie Advijsen op Donder- *) The titles are here transcribed from the earliest numbers of the year 1645 in Kungliga Biblioteket. •) The years within brackets indicate the years from which there are copies of these corantos in the collection at Kungliga Biblioteket. OF WESTERN EUROPE dagh den 24 Meert. The chief difference in the news in this coranto and Courante uyt Italien ende Duytschlandt, &c. 1645 is that the news in the Thursday paper is mostly about the affairs of Northern Europe, and very seldom about Italy or South Germany. Whether this is because of the arrival of the post from different parts of Europe or not, I cannot maintain with surety, but it seems to be the case. It is hardly probable that Broer Jansz should have published any other coranto than Tydinge uyt verscheyden Quartieren, 1645 35 there is no copy of such a paper in the Stockholm collection, nor has it been mentioned by any Dutch newspaper historian. However, both his son, Joost Broersz, and his son-in-law, Jan Iacobsz Bouman, who was married to Jansz’s daughter, Aeltje Broers, were newspaper publishers. Bouman’s coranto was called Extra Europische tijdingen uyt verscheyde Quartieren (1645) > and this coranto is rather interesting because it seems to be the first newssheet in Amsterdam to come out twice a week, Mondays and Thursdays. Unfortunately, there were only eleven unnumbered copies of this paper, but the dates of publication prove that this was undoubtedly the case. The July numbers are printed on the 24, 27, and 31 and the August on the 3, 7, 10, 14, [17], 21, 24, 28 and 31. This news-sheet has all the important characteristics of Hilten’s and Jansz’s corantos, i.e., setting up of the news, type etc. In the four first numbers, Bouman’s address is only given as "op ’t Water”, but with the fifth a more explicit address was given: “op ’t Water, by de Capel-steegh, inde Salvater.” This coranto also seems to have been completely unknown to scholars studying Dutch newspapers. There is only one copy for 1645 of the news-sheet founded by Broer Jansz’s son, Joost Broers, preserved in Kungliga Biblioteket. This came out on Tuesdays, and was called Ordinaris Dingsdaegsche Courante (1645—1670) 1. After Joost Broer’s death in 1647 his widow continued to publish this coranto until she died in 1661. It was then taken over by Johannes van Ravesteyn. The Ordinaris Amsterdamse Dingsdaeghse Courant from 1672 published by Ravesteyn and mentioned by Sautijn Kluit 2, is in all certainty a direct continuation of the coranto founded by Joost Broers during the 1640’s. Broers probably published a Saturday coranto *) There are 163 copies of this coranto in Kungliga Biblioteket. *) Op. cü.t p. 235. OF WESTERN EUROPE in Amsterdam. In the first place, Meininga introduced something new by adding short notices at the end of the last column on the verso side. These notices were made up of news which had arrived after the paper had gone to press. This news was always preceeded by the letters, P. S., and its modem equivalent would very likely be “Stop Press News”. In the second place, with the exception of a notice about books and pamphlets printed by the publisher himself, there were no advertisements in these news-sheets. One of the first in Amsterdam to publish a newspaper after Hilten and Jansz was Francoys Lieshout1. A copy dated January 25, 1639, is the oldest of his corantos in the Stockholm collection. It was then called Extra-ordinaire of Midde-weeckse Courante, anno 1639, but in August of the same year a slight change had been made in the name and Midde-weeckse was changed to Middel-weeckse. In 1642 the name had been changed again, and the coranto was called Ordinarise Middel-weeckse Courante Anno 16422. Unfortunately, it is impossible to state the precise date when this change was made f or there are no numbers in this collection for the years 1640 and 1641. However, the news-sheet retained this name as long as I can tracé it, i.e., to number 35 for August 5,1664. Lieshout’s coranto, which was taken over by his wife after his death in 1646, came out on Tuesdays, and not on Wednesdays as Van der Meulen assumed 3. The set up of the news in this paper was a little different from the practice prevalent in the other news-sheets. In Hilten’s and the other corantos the news was arranged nearly geographically, while in Lieshout’s news-sheet it was strictly chronologically set up. A consequence of this was that when the date of dispatch for news from Stockholm or Riga was older than that from Naples, Rome or Venice it came first in the coranto. The other news-sheets would never have thought of varying so directly from the current methods used. Ordinarise Middel-weeckse Courant also appears to have been the first news-sheet in which Roman letters were more commonly used instead of the heavy and often indistinct Dutch Black Letters. The advertisements in this coranto were nearly all book advertisements, and both Hilten and Jansz advertised in it. ‘) Sautijn Kluit (op. rit., p. 225) points out that during the year 1632 a coranto was published by Jacob Thomas Sergeant, proving Lieshout was not the first. *) There are 157 copies of this coranto in Kungliga Biblioteket. *) Op. rit., I, p. 27. AMSTERDAM - EARLIEST NEWSPAPER CENTRE CORANTOS PRINTED AT DELFT AND ARNHEM Delft If the rather incomplete picture of the beginning of the Amsterdam press was caused by lack of material, this is still much more the case in the study of the first newspaper publications which came out in the smaller Dutch cities, as Delft, Arnhem and several others. With regard to the earliest news-sheets published at Delft, Van der Meulen writes: “The first coranto printed in Delft was called Courante uyt Italien, Duytsland ende Nederlant. It was published as early as 1634 by Jan Andriesz Cloeting’s widow, a bookseller at the market place in the house at the sign of the Golden Alphabet (in ’t Gulden A.B.C.). No copies from the following years can be found, so until the year 1721 when Reinier Boitet, regularly three times a week, published Delfsche Courant there is very little to, work upon” 1. However, eleven years before Van der Meulen published his work on the history of Dutch newspapers, A. M. Ledeboer had pointed out in De boekdrukkers, boekverkoopers en uitgevers in Noord-Nederland (Deventer 1872) that an “Andriesz or Andrea, Jan or Johannes” printed in 1627 a Courante uyt Italien, Duytslandt ende Nederlandt which was made up of one sheet in folio, printed in two columns 2. As he was able to give such exact l) Op. cit., I, pp. 33-34. The number of the news-sheet on which Van der Meulen’s statement was based, is most probably identical with the one mentioned in a communication to the Navorscher in 1865 (p. 363). Here the author, “H.-g.”, tells that he had lately acquired a coranto called "Courante uyt Italien, Duytslant ende Nederlant’’ which had been printed at Delft "bij de Weduwe van Jan Andriesz Cloeting, boeckVerkoper aen’t Marct-velt in’t Gulden A.B.C. den 18 December 1634.” The serial number of this issue was 31. *) A probable explanation of why Van der Meulen did not use this information is that he did not notice that Ledeboer obviously had listed the same printer under two different names in his printer’s dictionary. There can hardly be any doubt that Ledeboer’s "Andriesz or Andrea, Jan or Johannes” on page 115 is the same as "Cloeting, Jan Andriesz” whom he names on the following page. According to Ledeboer, the former of these men was active between 1594 and 1637, and the latter between 1626 and 1632. They both had the same address which was “aent Marctveld in’t Gulden A.B.C.’» That my statement is correct, can be strengthened by the fact that one number of Courante uyt Italien, Duytslandt ende Nederlandt from the year 1630 shows that Ian Andriesz was still active in that year and that he had not, as Ledeboer States, retired from business. At the bottom of the verso side of the news-sheet it is printed: “Tot Delff Gedruct by Ian Andriesz. aent Marctveldt int Gulden A.B.C. den 18. Marty. 1630.” It was not at all uncommon in Holland at that time for a person to add a surname to his patronymic in-son. OF WESTERN EUROPE specifications about the size of the coranto and the printed page being divided into columns, Ledeboer must have had access to one or several copies of this coranto, published in 1627 and perhaps later, but unfortunately he did not state where these were to be found. In Kungliga Biblioteket there are only five copies of newssheets printed at Delft, but even if the number of issues is small they provide some very important information. They show that Courante uyt Italien, Duytslandt ende Nederland was published as early as 1623, i.e., four years earlier than has hitherto been both known and forgotten. The copy in question was printed May 10, 1623. The next two numbers are from July 9 and August 13,1624. The next is number no. 11 for March 18,1630, and the news-sheet which had then started to be published in a numbered series was still issued by Ian Andriesz 1. The fifth and last copy is from October 5,1643; the paper was still published “aen’t Marcvelt in’t Gulden ABC.”, but was printed by Andries Cloeting who, to judge from the name, was a son of Ian Andriesz. As may be seen from these numbers the Delft coranto was not only first printed and issued in 1623 — perhaps even earlier — but also it kept the same name until at least 1643, and was then still published by a Cloeting. This paper is another example of the common policy of Dutch newspaper men during the seventeenth century; a coranto remained in the family even after the death of the founder. It so happens that in Kungliga Biblioteket there is a copy of Broer Jansz’s coranto for May 8, 1623, and one of Ian Andriesz’s news-sheet for May 10, the samé year. By comparing these two corantos it is not difficult to arrivé at a very definite conclusion about whence Andriesz got his news material. Nearly ninety percent of the text in the Delft coranto proves to be a verbatim copy of Jansz’s Amsterdam paper. If this was the case in later years, I cannot say, as I unfortunately do not have any material to go by. However, there are several facts which indicate the probability of this, e.g., in the numbers which contain news from Amsterdam, the news is always dated two days before the day on which the Delft coranto was issued. l) It is likely that Ian Andriesz began to number his corantos in 1629, copying Hilten and Jansz. Blz. 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KommCf dtpfe&p&ur «s-’ttrharyjÈFs f'oHipujg', qui' fc mmKmtta aiér 4wcpit/%öê-' hem Gabor vienieavcclrsgensidelcïteaèffi^u^ tlentencor que taco roiunon d’iccluy fc pourra bic faire en ce rnois de Sepcemhcc* Ces jou» ky les gem du Dac de Baviews ont prins toattes ics villes & jwiiigts 4e deflus t*Ens, * de-lbnt alles de Dnts vers Vry-Aadt ,Sc dc la font kur -conic d'aller vees Bobcmc du bkn d'aUet etoav^h;^ffiiede8ucqtt(»y., pub aprirf *£• Slitcfix de hlouvfe te de Bohcsne.en Kotst!»* verist piaccs^vcc route cwemué, pcrRfceh |»r^rr Je pays: aait nous mteodota du Camp do hloca vtens v qu'ilt iblhrmbkm avee grande* farces entre Rats Sc Eggrnboutg, poiir la auendie les noftres, & pont tcdedèodr:feqi|’a cdbr occafson, iia ‘out eelcüre ic jcuTne par roullc pays. Df Frmgtn U 31 Il continue encor, que Bechlehctu Gsbdr eftde» dare RóydpBongrie, & que desja il cft non kuit* ment atmic rjudqüc 1000 de Hongrtens en noflie Ciunp,m«is qtt*aoffiGkborfa)|mcEa»i! e&fAttj de i^tdrouig xveebien qaantnee mS^pitoa, 12'mil ddqueitie fettoit iur Stvrmarck j 'Sc Ie reile iont Venuscn nodrc Cusp/tvecfbdibbain Gab«»> ■ 11 cft arrivé ia tm Courit dc n^aqlÉftie jours. Hbfsd*^‘nglc^;pre, qm apparo^iu vjent un grand Scigircurpoar And>ldadi!!UfdirRoy, feqodi acomm»auditAa^a^i4ïur jooo- nigd°ts& daquaa«eraËÉÉpb{dersqul font ddu tut Iccbemó»: Sc qufojjufpêuxtte Ltinenbourg &aucres Villes córiwdatez,«ndtre qudqocs Dancrnarquo is.ont envafé Let CJqfscqtJes ccpend^M j&font dwedt<#“««tes^irUbfoiavie.&commetkunfa bruöcr, mafs dtöntê# icponffiarpar ics Soidats du paysavec grand jxxtCjagre* eda, lc» aatrcsCoiaqbtt'kfodr pttctfaihjle Camp dc Kongllci ou ibbrafloyct |c grifayent tout, majj du dauborit eftc durriment cijargcs^c OUtique looodi tcuxyfont dcUmcaret. > Vciidrcdy paffe, il aefiécnvoyé un Coutir dcla part du ^PqcdeBjckreg, avec ratcutct imperatief lonffirtcz , aia Hafdftcduïloy f èc principikrtie^t | aas Efhts de Bohème, jparcillcmcnt aceux de SdeI fc& dc Moravie, ^irMquLis iaMa^dèc Impèrrale ’ demande, qyc Ie Roy luy tende s oiontaitement Ic \ Royaurnc, &qoèics E&uftcsnttffitntb Majdié ; imperiale pourleur Souverain Seigneur, avoc e$prwcpounandcmCTdea fruedodals 3 foUa:£nqn quil pn prq^^nru rnain haccfittpit fatstpfefo»|e> menfc Urdpon&j&ra auffi a6pre,quil cilbirticacp^r' dfenf |ie IcOappetifc nefca hf&cz popetant*,ic qui ptiyjqac ccu| dc Larid^it* , n'ont pointefte cncfo«»qjt Ducparaufeun cootnid, quu eft aüSS bicfl adpak f que le Dpc # SaXe »e^meHeta pd^ Les |#l c(eihacai da jqpfahk^ cc ont une rc^njrife tcife^»41c. ' #»rocd)i detaiiaie Cem^ de lagetendoyp tg at* öve ky: Üaayrae pour&tours dcSrkiè tjtuce rml boiturncs tant dc pu-u qaè dc chevauh quif’cnvont pd1* vctsKoninc-gtaScn fioheme. JUMabRe du cllc meuoe fc mettic cn Campagne ta fe* «a|p ftocbame & nwdelc X&tohomrae comme ^M tp0tes ajwes midy ■‘«^''Orimetle'ei» da place du Tom* jmeb' •’ ■"• 1'Empeteur renfotrit (on Cfo.&aenvov^ Dampier avec quelques millcs de foldars contre les Bongres 1 Bucquoy (èrobioit ailez foible nuis ilarc^eti quelquesgenadu Doe de Bavieres, les Bobemics au0i ptennenc bon coocagc^c fotte que chacun a k ocetualabfcfoigne* The earliest hitherto known issue of a French newspaper. Printed in Amsterdam by Iacob Iacobsz the i2th of September 1620. Size of the original: 15,5x26,5. Royal Library, Stockholm. lotto» Villes de Prague, fam. troisrooys, qui fai& queks Bourgeois deraeurent ■ m la payibiiyptH» s') detfcnd cc, n bctomg efioit.Cc cp'muvaiRj.ineiu d’hommc pont hommeer tour 1« ■fa.y*>s*<&v(kti£ encor. Lton envoyeta encoteeqooty d'httjr Ie courtier ace piopos. Le Roy cft xdoin de «tnettte k tout pout 1 c tout avant qued'abaudonnet leRoyaumc. . Dt Cehigne U$ Je Stpttmhre. .. . Le Marquis Spinolaeii »?é psts de fki»,& tnatébe a lamait^dcui&e do MM» avec tout Jon Gut$ : pat deölw {aa^lkRkicie danusyisa vis dc Maycnk bied i»»ail houmws , Idqucis iötit furie mout Saio&laq^, a«^dc.Rtyenlc vos Op peqbe««,& d^ip^e U Chaöcau jidqncs.iu Rh»:; -• les auttes !ont «ia>£ de Imuccpéi du Ïviii:ï entte Bik'ï& Cdlèi» &'eMte Hochejm & Codhcmt. Si r.Hï qxks n Viui^ontentend» cueSpi- noufaUoiï p .Óïl-fei del’autreco%duRkm, ciaiguai» une fuqik»k futceux d’öppcnheym p«r trn pont jetté fint k&hm,y o«t$heeêt*»cme«Éb*é des Compagnies dcptedA; de CfaevÉpfc ónt zMv& aptes luivyavec tout k'uccaoip,ayan^>tnpp i^Jjont - qülêiiost-Sit le|düne»pout rencontitl^m^y e» idhtek q*sclq uc pwt qu'ii£: taixmc-C^^mm at~ «iveaftous les jours au Camp des Princts,l\üitedu Pal aan at avcclcs C h evaubutgets, de lótte qu‘:ls lc .roifoKau d’Ucurc aautre. : La vtnue de Spig?Jolaaapporté grande refiouifJancc au chargé «kfdayence, iaptrionnea dié aufli teceucen grande raagiuficencc de put l*Éveé)iK Ek&ur Adctout lcOiwttte,qui rdt fort t»no»-, hUtaent cepraajjt avec grande mumöê- jocaBtdooóaMmpei^ueïaraifiMt^c^l^ïdecEtc- j Édc.toutes vivt#,furtöitt,du pain, qm e« nsiehery i kmtntk* r< Lundydetnier «rivf a francfort le Seigneur Qf-| iêten^omme Ambailadcui de Spmob, av&c envuö So*Cbevanixtdemandat que les mariniers avec lenö luvires.qui-km U,alUdcnc vcïsMayaicejjjqur pafierieteikdes gensquidtoit du ca&dcMayencc»; .o: qu* fajeincontinent «ccordé pat lc ConlciT» fetqttóyonenyoj^quclque So-tamil y aap{>eióeque . Spinola s*tn vent (ctvit pout lc pont I tóö )cttcr (buz lc CkaAeau patdcffiis lc RJun, Spinola fai& au0i eflevet an fort&r Cofthcim, lur lc bord dcsdtux Rivieres Ie Maine Sc le Rhin»Icquc! dlant .. preft, l’on penfe qu'd feta auiü jettex uqpt^it fut ie .friayn^ , ■ ïk jrr*»cfort Uj.de Sefttmbrt, \ Le fort que SpwoU£u^J^^>g1eMavw^ cft rdelta ü xtanci,typiiyim» quelqucs picceadfeanon. f n'Prj^wrlTnfr ontaevant hier fai&tuer feati'éÉcahi^ï, Sc quant & qoant faid xechatgsr^ j f pourtDit bien avotr quelquc ccinintnccmcRf. L’on dem de Mayencc du 4. du courant que Ie camp dc Spwolaeft de jomÜ hommes, Sc qu'd luy vttart encor des gms de fout en fout» fkvant Kies ,quiH2C q»e f&M venus au butm Iqlle np , qui out bicn faict onyr ieuts tton^ctxes, tua» ^:dhnne nel» eftalk volt. i ;-LeConucd*Anö>adï Genetal»t& paxty hier poot lefkadej^unka.ave^ tki^mdphevaula öc imik. Midqueders, & ahuctpatoiRrc 4Chev#U leöe,soutcsfoit, md m s’cft ÊuCfc pacoiÖre, ilya appatcee, deinen ftottet l'uu 1‘auoe avait poi dc d»s. JJf Coletgnt te LcMarqurs Spm«i* , (tilt i Maience un pot pareus k-Rhm & auffi pat defl^tiv May«e > pout e^apumdet fsk topks 1ie* i.Mkt^&pwimmdtc iMdeux pir3c»dé feagejou Cotdtume du 1‘alaÉÜK, '• msuibchM A-Ladh^éornme^ft^Xr, %wticnejfah Comte dt out ayoir la veit^^ucjoelqué^iffi^^^^aSkoc &de pfed dtauidoivcntpa«uqü*lqueskid«»- de vMehma» 1‘on m- icattoötlstiKSt Ccpcndant > VeWco apxuXaupaysdeClcve&deCuUckg4«i* " VetftetBet» an n*omduDuc deH?ébmitg. ' Lc Comte Hend«c Fttdctic dcNallbw cft alU de : > l^iBWc codJdu RhiaaveC }Ó.Compagni« deC*.vaUerie Sc vkgt€kmpagnics dc.gens de piesLArtglais, avtcqöclqw»e«nts deehattetlKS&chasOil» , i accompAgné de pletteer* Seigneurs & Chekde ' gumc, pruian t hk: ckroan vets Gw*, ou ils ptf»- | dxont emot jtvec cux qu«iqt6K ge»« d« p*t«a& dc | CJicV-sd^ikk dre kurchemlavexs laMaifc ; entreff - & rr-viydroiccvcf»;kPalaun«^H8C A AMStllOAll, ; ^ iMftimip*r i**s> imêéfi., r%4*fiji4$ t*t«> ' ' Fooi lc ftjfltc dcsConramt , dnamp siB Pnnc* ;DOnnge,cn k JBoutfe ■ 3U Ch»pea# Coionné. OF WESTERN EUROPE the founders of the Anglo-Dutch press in Holland, such names as Broer Jansz and Joris Veseler. Broer Jansz, however, did not only publish Dutch and English corantos but also a French gazette. As regards this Hatin writes 1: “N ouvelles de divers Quartiers. Amsterdam, chez Broer Jansz, jadis courantier au camp de Son Excellence, 1639-1643, 2 pages in-fol. k 2 colonnes. This news-sheet is, as far as I know, the oldest French gazette printed in Holland. It is a literal translation of the Dutch coranto issued by the same publisher and having the same name. It contains, like all other early corantos, simple news reports arranged after the different countries.” Thus, according to Hatin, Nouvelles de divers Quartiers from the year 1639 is the earliest newspaper in the French language printed in Holland. And as no other and older French gazette printed outside the boundaries of France had till then been found, the honorary title “The Father of the French Press” has, with due right, been conferred upon Théophraste Renaudot, Physician to the King, philantropist and founder of a Mont de Piété, whose Gazette was first printed in Paris in 1631. But Hatin, being a careful and experienced scholar, made a reservation for a possible later discovery when he wrote, “as far as I know”. Such a discovery has now been made. In the collection in Kungliga Bibüoteket, Stockholm there are four numbers of an Amsterdam printed French gazette, the earliest number of which is no less than nineteen years older than Hatin’s Nouvelles de divers Quartiers and eleven years older than the paper which has hitherto been known as the oldest French gazette ever printed. Two of these four news-sheets are from the year 1620, and the other two are from 1621. They all have the same name Courant d’Italië & d’Almaigne, &c., and are set up in the same manner as all the other Amsterdam corantos, i.e., one folio sheet printed in two columns and on both sides of the page. At the bottom of the verso side of the papers from 1620 it says: "A Amsterdam, Imprimé par Iacob Iacobsz, 1’an du salut 1620, XII. (resp. XIX.) Septembre. Pour le Maistre des Courants, du camp du Prince D’Orange, en la Bourse aujChapeau Coronné”. In the imprint of the two numbers from 1621 the publisher’s name is given. The last sentence on the former of these reads: "Pour Caspar de Hilte, en la Bourse au *) Op. rit., pp. 83-84. AMSTERDAM — EARLIEST NEWSPAPER CENTRE Chaspeau Couronné.” The latter number on which there is no printer’s name only gives the following: “A Amsterdam, Pour Gaspar van Hilten, sur la Bourse, au Chapeau couronné, Anno 1621. Ie 4. de Septembre.” Instead of the rather indistinct Dutch Black Letters, the printer, Iacob Iacobsz, has used a very clear cut and beautiful Roman type through the whole of the coranto. From an aesthetic and purely typographical point of view, these news-sheets are much superior to the Dutch and most of the English ones. The information about this printer which may be found in the dictionaries of Dutch printers is extremely scanty. Ledeboer does not mention him at all and Kleerkooper & Van Stockum 1 only state that he was from Leyden and that he, when 24 years old, married Jannetjen Jacobsdochter from Meppen on August 14, 1610. Their eldest child was baptised in March, 1611. There is no mention at all about his work as a printer. The very title and name of the publisher suggests a close connexion between the French Courant d’Italie & d’Almaigne, &c. and the Dutch Courante uyt Italien, Duytslandt, &c. A more exact study of this connection can be made from the collection in Stockholm as one of the former corantos came out within a day of one of the latter. Caspar van Hilten’s Dutch coranto for September 18, 1620 and his French one for September 19, 1620 contain news from the following places and in the following order: VVt Roomen, den 29 Augusto, 1620. VVt Venetien, den 4. September, 1620. VVt Weenen den 2. dito. VVt Prage, den 4 dito. VVt Praghe, den 7 dito. Wt Francfoort, den 11 September. VVt der Geünieerde Vorsten Leger, den 12 Septemb. VVt Oppenheym den 12 dito. VVt des Prince van Orang. Veltleger, den 16. Septem. De Rome le 29. d’Aoust 1620 De Venise le 4 de Sept. De Vienne le 2. susdit (sic!). De Prague le 4 dudit. De Prague le 7. dudit. De Francfort le 11. de ce mois. Du Camp des Princes Unis le 12. dudit. D*Oppenheym le 12 dudit. Du Camp du Prince d’Orange le 16. Septembre. As may be seen, both these corantos contain news from the same places dated the same day. A closer inspection shows that the French text was nearly a verbatim translation of the Dutch. The last piece of news in these two corantos reads: ‘) Op. cit., I, p. 292. OF WESTERN EUROPE Dese daghen heeft de Gouverneur van Wesel synen Secretaris by den Prince in onsen Leger gesonden, en hem gevraeght waerom hy soo nae sich by de stadt beschanste, men segt hem tot antwoorde soude gegeven syn, dat daer plaets ghenoech was, hy mochter ooc komë een Leger slaê. Le Gouverneur de Wesel a ce jourd’huy envoye le Secretaire de la Ville vers le Prince d’Orange, luy faisant demander pourquoy il se fortifie si proche de la Ville auquel 1’on dit quil auroit fait response* que la place est large assees, & que s’i vouloir luy mesme sy pouvoir camper. Even if all the numbers of Courant d’Italië <§• d’Altnaigne, &c. should not prove to be as exact translations of the same publisher’s Dutch coranto, there can be absolutely no doubt about their being closely related to each other. This condition and the fact that all four numbers of the French gazette came out on the same day of the week, Saturday, seem to me to prove clearly that it was a weekly paper, and was most likely publishedthe day after the Dutch edition. However, when this coranto was first published and when it stopped, is a question which cannot be answered as yet. Nevertheless, there is no doubt about its being issued during the years 1620-1621. If we mean by the founder of the press of a country the man who first printedaperiodical paper in the language of that country Gaspar van Hilten should now receive first honour in France. Using the foregoing as a basis, I can now state, bearing in mind Hatin’s words, that "as far as I know” the French, as well as the English press, has had its beginning in Holland, more exactly Amsterdam — the first newspaper centre of Western Europe. Folke Dahl, Upsala. AMSTERDAM EARLIEST NEWSPAPER CENTRE OF WESTERN EUROPE New contributions to the history of the first Dutch and French Corantos by FOLKE DAHL WITH 4' PLATES THE HAGUE MARTINUS NIJHOFF 1939 PRINTED IN THE NETHERLANDS OF WESTERN EUROPE of every series, he has in the main fulfilled his work. He has then characterized an important branch of human culture. It cannot be expected of him to state the relative importance of newspapers in this culture, because such a close knowledge of politics, Science, literature, art, etc. is needed that one man could hardly weigh their comparative merits. The methods by which a student of newspapers carries out his work are, moreover, likely to sharpen his observation of special features at the cost of general ones. Therefore, it would be in the interest of scientific economy to limit his field of research accordingly. Newspaper scholars are, however, in a position to aid other branches of Science and research by calling attention to the material which these publications offer. It is an unfortunate circumstance that we have at our disposal rather few newspapers from the seventeenth century and that these are so difficult to tracé. Therefore, a historian or philologist cannot be expected to take the trouble to study these newspapers without having any reason to believe that he can obtain valuable information or suggestions from them. It can also be said that the early newspapers have not been utilized as much as might be desired. In passing I should like to mention here a few branches of research which could well profit by a closer study of the newspapers issued during the first half of the seventeenth century. It is important for the history of politics to know not only the date of a politica! event, but also to find out when and in which form this event became known elsewhere, and the impressions it created. It is also of importance for the historian to leam about the propaganda and opinions of the existing political parties. Newspapers provide excellent material in all these cases. Commerce is a difficult field in the history of economics. Misleading information about import and export, perpetually violated ordinances and heavy, one-sided commercial ledgers often form unsatisfactory material. Newspapers might here be used in two ways. In the first place they often contain — especially in the case of Dutch newspapers — information about arrivals and departures of ships and what cargoes they carried and what is stiU more significant, öhips lost at sea. In the second place, they give indirectly a rather clear conception of the trade routes. These were, without doubt, identical with the routes by which the news reached the papers. By studying carefully the allotment and AMSTERDAM - EARLIEST NEWSPAPER CENTRE prudence of Burleigh, for the first news-paper” 1.1 have not chosen Chalmers as an example of this type of newspaper scholar because he is the most important, but as far as I know, he is the first to put forth such ideas. He has also had a great number of followers, not only in England, but also in Belgium, Holland, France and Germany. Another pronounced weekness in newspaper research has been the tendency to make very categorical statements regarding the date of the first appearance of certain papers. No consideration has been taken to the possibility that during the course of centuries all the numbers for one or several years could have disappeared or might even now be found in collections where no one has yet thought to look for them. I shall give an example of such a hastily reached conclusion and the misleading inferences derived from it. In his work on newspaper history ‘De Courant’ Van der Meulen says2: In the South Netherlands provinces the above (p. 19) mentioned ‘Nieuwe Tijdinghen’ was published in Antwerp by Abraham Verhoeven until 1637 when it was taken over by Verdussen, and the name was changed to ‘Gazette. Extraotdinarisse Posttijdingen’, later ‘Gazette van Antwerpen’, which name it retained until it stopped being published in 1827”. Later in the same work the author again refers to these papers and says ®: “As regards the news-sheets published in Holland during the^seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the following should also be mentioned. ‘De Gazette van Antwerpen’ was published as early as 1637; at that time it was called ‘Gazette, Extraordinarisse Posttijdinghen’ and was distributed twice a week by Willem Verdussen. It is now certain 4 that this paper, although it had another title, is a continuation of Verhoeven’s, and that it was later called 'Gazette van Antwerpen’ by which name it continued until 1827” ®. *) Op. cit. p. 106. •) Op. cit. I, p. 146. *) Op. cit. I, p. 152. «) The first notice about the relationship between these two Belgian papers is to be found in Warzée (op. cit. p. 236): "Gazette extraordinaris posttydinghen, et était publiée par Guillaume Verdussen. Nous croyons que cette feuille, quoique ainsi intitulée, fait suite & celle de Verhoeven**. I have, however, not been able to find out what made Van der Meulen change this rather vague theory into the positiv statement quoted here. *) Nieuwe Tijdinghen stopped publication during the year 1629 (see [Th. I. J. Arnoldj, Abraham Verhoeven. Nteuwe Tydinghen. Bibliographie. I—II. Gand 1899. II 1629 p. 13), but Verhoeven began the same year to publish another coranto called Wekelijcke Tijdinghe, and it must, therefore, be this later paper which Van der Meulen incorrectly assumes to be the origin of Verdussen*s by-weekly news-sheet. OF WESTERN EUROPE This statement that Verdussen’s 'Gazette. Extraordinarisse Posttijdinghen’ was a direct continuation of Verhoeven’s news-sheet cannot, however, be correct, for I can prove now that Verdussen published his paper by the name Extraordinaris Post-tijdinghen at least two years before 1637, the year, according to Van der Meulen, when Verhoeven finished as publisher of a coranto 1. From what has been said it is obvious that newspaper research, which is still in its infancy, should be carried out with the greatest caution, the greatest impartiality and without patriotical sentiments. Before competent students have made the most thorough and exhaustive searches possible of newspapers in private as well as public libraries and archives, they should not draw any hasty conclusions nor state their results as definite. Before I begin my description of the extensive and unequalled collection of Dutch newspapers or corantos which is to be found in the Royal Library (Kungliga Biblioteket), Stockholm, and which has, strange as it may seem, never been touched by students, I should like to give a brief résumé of what has been done up to the present day in the history of Dutch newspapers a. The words Holland and “Dutch” are in this article used in the modem, geographical sense of these words so that towns outside modem Holland are not taken into consideration. In the book in which the directors of the East India Company (founded 1602) recorded decisions there is a paragraph (April 7, 1607) stating that it was forbidden for members of the board to remove corantos or any otherpublications (eenige andere stukken) from the room. Any infringement of this mie was to be punished with a fine of three guilders 3. Unfortunately, it is impossible to decide whether these corantos were printed or written by hand; the word coranto was used indiscriminately to mean a news-sheet either printed or written by hand during the seventeenth century and even long after. Several scholars have endeavoured by different interpretations of this rule, to prove that printed corantos were *) In the Royal Library in Stockholm there are eight hitherto unknown issues of this coranto from the yaer 1635. In the same library there are also 34 numbers brom the years 1636, 1640,1644—1646,1649 and 1661. In 1640 and till 1661 the name was Extraordinarisse Post-tijdinge. *) I should here like to express my deepest gratitude to Mr. P. Oosterbaan, librarian at the University Library, Amsterdam, for much valuable information in connection with the historical liter at ure on Dutch newspapers. *) W. P. Sautijn Kluit, op. cit. p. 214. AMSTERDAM - EARLIEST NEWSPAPER CENTRE published in Amsterdam as early as this date. However, their arguments can only be looked upon as more or less successful guesses. The next time corantos are mentioned is in the same book of the East India Company. On April ii, 1616, a motion was passed to the effect that the cashiers (rekenmeesters) were again commissioned to pay ten "rijksdaelders” to the distributor of the coranto, and at the same time to teil him that his services were no longer needed as the directors thought it no longer necessary to defray the costs of subscription l. Even this record leaves the question whether these corantos were printed or not open to discussion. The same is also true of a third "proof” of the existence of printed corantos which is to be found in the comedy “Warenar” (1617) by P. C. Hooft, the well-known historian, dramatist, and poet2. In the fifth tableau of the third act one of the players, Rijckert, says: Tweemael ter weeck leestmer, van bladt tot bladt, De courante nouvellen uit de vier hoecken van de stadt, Getrouwelijck vergadert door Secretaris Snap-al. These are the sources discovered hitherto which are assumed to prove that printed corantos existed in Holland before the year 1618. Even if they are, for several reasons, of great interest, they are obviously of little assistance in determining the exact date of the first appearance of'printed corantos in Holland. The quotations which have been used by students in order to establish the existence of printed news-sheets during the years 1618-1621, will not be reprinted as later in this article I intend to show that they are no longer needed. When Robert Fruin in 1863 published the results of his research in the history of Dutch newspapers, the oldest number he had been able to find was a copy of the untitled coranto published by the Amsterdam printer, Broer Jansz, on March 13, 1623 * Yet, only four years later J. Schreuder, in De Navorscher, pointed out an older number of a Dutch paper printed April 5,1621. In the same *) W. P. Sautijn Kluit, op. cit. p. 214. *) Van der Meulen, op. cit. I, p. 21. •) See Robert Fruin, Over de oudste couranten in Nederland (Robert Fruin*s Verspreide Geschriften, D. III, *s-Gravenhage 1901), p. 353. Fruin’s historical article on newspapers was first published in Volksalmanak van de Maatschappij tot Nut van *t Algemeen 1863. AMSTERDAM - EARLIEST NEWSPAPER CENTRE From this summary it will be seen that the study of the first Dutch news-sheets has, up till the present date, been based on eight scattered numbers of two different Amsterdam newspaper publications of which only five can be traced to-day. There has not even been a reference to the possibility that a coranto was printed in any other Dutch city bef ore 16261. Apart from these numbers, the earlier mentioned quotations which seem highly debatable and vague have been used by scholars. It is obvious that conclusions which can be reached with the help of so little material must have a very limited scope. Seen against this background the collection preserved in Kungliga Biblioteket in Stockholm, is without doubt the most important source for the history of older Dutch news-sheets which has hitherto been brought to light 2. This statement is justified by the fact that in that collection there are no less than 139 corantos printed before 1626 of which 130 are from Amsterdam, three from Delft and six from Arnhem. The oldest number (June, 1618) is one year and two months older than the coranto found by de Bom in Antwerp. There are also nine other numbers which are printed earlier than the coranto which has, until now, been known as the oldest periodical news- ‘) Kleerkooper & van Stockum mention (op. cit. II, p. 1310) among the corantos published by Broer Jansz the following number: "Tijdingen uyt verscheyden quarticren, 1623, No. 52." Thiswould mean another number printed before 1626. However, this statement is false, and is based upon an incorrect transcription of the year of publication of the original. The coranto in question, which was found in the Oud-Archief in Amsterdam, is now preserved in the Press Museum in the same city. It has serial number 52 but was printed in the year $633, instead of the incorrectly given Z623. •) As it is of interest to know when and from where this collection came, I have questioned the librarians at Kungliga Biblioteket, but could obtain no information. However, I think I can quite safely state that the collection has been transferred from Riksarkivet (Royal Record Office). I can give two facts in favour of this. In the first place, some of these corantos have certain notes giving the date of arrival which ïndicate that they were originally sent to the Government Offices. In the second place, there are among the "Extranea. Avisor” in Riksarkivet still preserved a few corantos from the years 1626-1627. From these two years there are no copies in Kungliga Biblioteket. These dates of arrival even indicate how the news-sheets may have come to.Sweden in the first place. They were probably enclosed in the news letters of the Swedish agents and residents in HoUand whose duty it was to send such letters to the offices,of the King. A number of corantos seem also to have been sent to the Chancellor, Axel Oxenstiema, for they have come to Riksarkivet from the collections at his residence, Tidö Castle. OF WESTERN EUROPE sheet printed in Holland. Altogether there are about 1300 copies of 15 different corantos, all printed before 1665, and among these are many the names of which have never been heard of before. It is evident that an exhaustive account of a collection of such a size cannot be given in the short space I have at my disposal. Instead I intend to give a brief but clear exposition of some of the characteristics of these news-sheets. Most of these corantos were printed in Amsterdam, and among them are two which, because of the great number of copies from a long period of time, provide excellent and copious material for study. The names of these corantos are Courante uyt Italiën, Duytslandt, &c. (Coranto from Italy, Germany, etc.) of which there are 342 numbers from the years 1618-1664 1> and Tijdinghen uyt verscheyde Quartieren (News from different places) with 351 numbers from the years 1619-1664 2. As the former of these is, for many reasons, especially bibliographical, the most interesting, I shall give a detailed account of its history as reflected in the collection in Kungliga Biblioteket. In addition I shall give a short description of the latter. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE TWO LEADING AMSTERDAM CORANTOS Courante uyt Italiën, Duytslandt, &c. There are five numbers preserved from the year 1618. All of these are single sheets printed in two columns and on one side only. The size is a small folio. On the top of the page is the name: Courante uyt Italiën, Duytslandt, &c., printed in Roman letters while the text itself is printed in Dutch Black Letter (oud Hollandsch) type. The place of publication, printer, year and date of publication are not given in any imprint on these five first sheets. However, with the help of the news in them it is possible to give nearly thé exact day on which they were published. All of these numbers contain news from the Hague, and in almost all the other numbers of a later date the news items from the Hague are dated the day before the coranto was printed in Amsterdam. *) There are no numbers of this coranto from the following years: 1627,1638, 1641, 1647, 1651, 1660 and 1661. *) There are no numbers of this coranto from the following years: 1638, 1641 and 1651. AMSTERDAM — EARLIEST NEWSPAPER CENTRE Therefore I have, in analogy with this fact assumed that the copies from 1618 appeared the day after the news was sent from the Hague. According to this method of dating, these five sheets were published on the 14 and 22 of June and the 15, 23 and 30 of November respectively. In spite of the fact that these dates do not fall on the same week-day (three are Fridays and two are Thursdays) it can be seen that thecoranto had the character of a weekly and so it remained as long as it can be traced by the help of the numbers in the Stockholm collection. The two numbers from the following year differ slightly from those printed in 1618. At the bottom of the page an important addition has been made. We find there: “Ghedruct ’tAmsterdam by Ioris Veseler aende Zuyder kerc inde Hope. A°. M.DC.XIX. Den 15 May”. The second number for this year was printed "Den 19. Iunius. During the year 1620 there was a great derl of more news because of theincreased war activity in Germany. As a result of this so much mteresting news came to Holland that one page could no longer contain it, and thus the printer began to use the other side as well. It is impossible to state exactly when this happened solely with the aid of the five corantos which we have from 1620 as they all come from the latter part of the year, more precisely between August 21 and December 12. In the number for August 28 we find the first information about the coranto being printed for a bookseller. After the printer’s name and address and the date is the following: "Voor den Courantier in ’tLeger van den Prince van Oraignen, aende Beurs inden gecroonden Hoedt.” But we need not long wonder who this publisher was as in the number for October 17 of the same year we find his name: "Caspar van Hilten, aende Beurs inden gecroonden Hoedt.” If Caspar van Hilten was the publisher during 1618-1619 is impossible to say with the matenal we now have at hand, but for several reasons I doubt this very much. Caspar van Hilten was the pubüsher untü sometime between June 4, 1622, and March 13, 1623, because the number for the latter date states that the paper was now printed for Jan van Hdten, without doubt Caspar’s son1. From a typographical point of view a rather interesting change was made when Jan van Hilten took over the paper. His sheet was printed in larger and clearer i) Kleerkooper & van Stockum, op. cit., I, p. 260: “Men mag met groote zekerheid aannemen, dat J. van Hilten zijn (Caspar van Hilten) zoon was: immers diens oudste zoon werd Casparus gedoopt**. OF WESTERN EUROPE type than his father had used. As a natural consequence of this, the news had to be restricted considerably and after only two years (April, 1625) he had to return to the smaller type again. Joris Veseler died sometime between October 12 and November 13, 1624, but his wife took over his printing-press and continued to supply the corantos to Hilten. Hilten himself moved during the first part of 1626 to “de Beurs straet, inde twee vergulde Wapenringhen” but in, 1628, his sign changed to “de gheborduyrde Handtschoen” in the same Street. I am unable to say whether Hilten moved to another house or whether he just changed the sign in front of his shop. Near the end of 1628 Veseler’s widow retired from the printing business. She perhaps died and the number for December 9, 1628, carries the following: “Ghedruct tot Amsterdam voor Ian van Hilten By Ian Fredericksz Stam, inde Druckerije van Veselaer, woonende by de Zuyder-Kerck in de Hope.” A very important year in the history of this coranto is 1629, because it was during this year that continous numbering was introduced. The numbers ran from 1 to 52 and sometimes 53 if there happened to be, e.g., 53 Saturdays in the year. It ought to be mentioned here that the corantos, almost without exception came out on the same day of the week, i.e., Saturday. For a great number of years after 1629 Hilten’s news-sheets came out regularly, printed by the same printer and published by the same man. It was not untü 1645 that a change was made. Inclusive of number 22, published June 3 that year, the coranto was printed by “Iacob Veselaer x, woonende op de Prince gracht in de Historie van Titus Livius”. However, Jacob Veselaer did not print the newssheets for Hilten very long, because in January, 1646, Hilten seems to have set up a press of his own. The coranto was no longer “Ghedruct voor Ian van Hilten” but “Ghedruct by Ian van Hilten”. Jan van Hilten died during one of the latter months of the year 1655 after faithfully having published his paper at least 32 years. In spite of his death, though, his paper continued to live, and we can say, with doublé life as it was now printed under the same name in two cities. In Amsterdam it became “Ghedruckt by Otto Barentsz. Smient, gheautoriseerde Courantier deser Stede, oock Boeckdrucker ende Boeckverkooper, op de Reguliers Bredestraet in de nieuwe Dryckery” which may be seen in no. 2 for x) Jacob Veseler was probably the son of Joris Veseler, but his name is not to be found in any biography of Dutch printers. AMSTERDAM - EARLIEST NEWSPAPER CENTRE many other articles were introduced. Time and again public sales of pictures and engravings were advertised, in which the names of foreign masters were mentioned but never Dutch artists. Moreover, a great many city councils began to advertise frequently in the corantos market days, postal and individual advancements made between their own city and another, etc. These “public notices” which usually were inserted in both Jansz’s and Hilten’s papers were worded in the same manner. A new kind of advertisement also appeared in the 1630’s which is of special interest to the history of universities and education. These were notices inserted by private tutors, school masters, and universities. The education of children from homes of more fortunate circumstances seems to have been led mostly by French teachers who had come to Holland or in accordance with French methods. The advertisements show that, almost without exception, this was the case. However the most interesting of all these notices are the four I have found of the University of Utrecht. In Hilten’s coranto, no. 21 for the 27 May, 1634, the following may be read: "De Heeren Burgemeesteren ende Regeerders der Stadt Vtrecht, hebben goet ghevonden binnen deselve oude vermaerde Stadt op te rechten een Illustre Schole, in dewelcke geleert ende geexpliceert sullen worden de H. Theologie ende Rechts-geleertheyt, midtsgaders Philosophie, Historiën ende dierghelijcke Wetenschappen; ende sal ’t selve sijn begin ende inganck nemen Pinxteren deses Jaers 1634” 1. About a month later there was a notice in Jansz’s coranto (no. 24, June 17, 1634) which reads: “De Inleydinge ofte Inauguratie vande Illustre Schole tot Wtrect, sal geschieden op Dingsdagh den 17. Iunij 1634. nae den Ouden ofte op den 27. Innij (sic) nae den Nieuwen stijl.” Two years later the college became a university, and even this was made public through the corantos. “De Illustre Schole der Stadt Wtrecht is by de Ed. Mogh. H. Staten ’s Landts van Wtrecht geerigeert tot een Universiteyt ofte Academie, ende de Professoren van deselve macht ghegeven omme te promoveren ende te verleenen titulen van Doctoren, Licentiate, Meesters &c. in alle Faculteyten; ende oock versien met authoriteyt als andere Universiteyten. Ende sal de Inauguratie metten eersten gheschie- *) Most probably these university advertisements were inserted in Hilten’s as well as Jansz’s corantos, but unfortunately numbers of both papers from the dates in question have not yet come to light. OF WESTERN EUROPE den” K It was held on March 16,1636, and in the news-sheet for the 15 was the notice: “De Inauguratie ofte inleydinge van de Universiteyt ofte Academie t’Wtrecht, sal geschieden op Woensdagh den 16 Martij ouden stijl, tegen negen uyren voor noen in de Domkercke” a. I think that I may rightly assume that this is the first time that the periodical press has been purposely used in making public the establishment of a new university 3. But the University of Utrecht was not the only Dutch university which advertised in the corantos. In the Ordinaris Dingsdaegsche Courante, a newspaper published by the widow of Joost Broers, a son to Broer Jansz, (see p. 27) we find the following rather curious advertisement in no. 39,1648: "De Staten des Vorstendoms Gelre, en Graefschaps Zutphen, hebben op den Landtdagh, (voorleden Augusty binnen Nimwegen gehouden) Hare Academie te Harderwijck, gebenificeert met verscheyden Privilegiën en Vryheden van Impost, van Bieren en Wijnen, Conform andere Academiën.” The methods to attractpupilsinthosedays yaried considerably from those used to-day. From the beginning newspapers had been pubüshed by printers who, through their knowledge of human nature and love for sensation and of the righteous necessity of merchants to obtain news, had come upon a new way of making money. Soon, however, as these corantos spread over more and more territory, not only in the country where they were printed, but also to very distant countries, people began to understand that they could be used for the cause of human mercy and justice. How this understanding broke slowly through can be seen and studied very easily in the new type of advertisements which began to appear in the Dutch corantos during the i63o’s and 1640’s. These might be grouped together and called by the common name “Wanted!”. The oldest of these which I have been able to find is from 1635. It is about a shoemaker at Weesp who had murdered the mayor of that city. It *) Courante uyt Italiën ende Duytschlandt, &c. 1636, no. 9, March 1. *) Courante uyt Italiën ende Duytschlandt, &c. 1636, no. 11, March 15. *) Even in later years the University of Utrecht advertised in the corantos. In Broer Jansz’s paper for the 11 Sept., 1638, the following has been inserted: "Inde Academie t’Wtrecht sal inde toekomende Weecke gheschieden d’introductie van vier Professores, boven de voorgaende van niuws aenghenomen, te weten, een tweede in Medicinè, ende drie in Literis & Philosophia, de voorgaende drie gheadjungeert.’’ This advertisement is not to be found in Hilten’s coranto for the same day. AMSTERDAM - EARLIEST NEWSPAPER CENTRE runs as follows: "Binnen de Stadt Amsterdamme is dese Weecke gepubliceert, dat eenen Adriaen Jacobsz. Ruycht, Schoenmaecker sijns Hand-wercks, langh van statuere, blanck van aengesicht, geel van Hayr ende Baert, ydel van Hayr, haperende van spraeck, ranck van Lichaem, hebbende een snede over sijn voor-hooft ende vingheren, alsdoen ghekleet met een vael Bombasije Cleet, op Maendagh den tweeden Julij 1635. tsavonts ten ses uyren seer schandelijck vermoort heeft den Persoon van Gerrit Jansz. Moriaenshooft, in sijn leven regerende Burgermeester binnen der Stede Weesp. Ende so wie hem levendigh ofte doot kan leveren in handen vande Justitie, dat den aenbrenger sal vereert worden, by de Stadt van Weesp, met de somme van vijf hondert Carolus guldens, ende sijn naem secreet blijven” x. One of the greatest temptations for light-fingered individuals of this time in Holland, the centre of the increasing jewel trafic of Europe, seems to have been diamonds, if one might judge from the great number of advertisements in which both thieves and these precious stones were “wanted”. But sorrowful human tragedies were also reflected in the short notices in these “wanted”. On January 3, 1643, Jan van Hilten’s coranto ran a notice for a desperate mother who, with the help of the news-sheet, sought to find her two small children from whom she had been separated during the wars in Germany. It runs as follows: "Op ’t instantelijck begheeren van de edel Vrouwe Catarina van Ellen, Vrouwe van Wipkenhagen, vier mijlen van Straelsondt, Weduwe van Johan Femand van Ellen, wert ootmoedighUjck versocht, ofte yemandt kan aenbrenghen ende bekent maken haer Dochter Clara van Ellen genaemt, oudt 14 jaren, als mede haer Soon Abraham Diderick van Ellen, also deselve niet weten door ’t verderffelijck Krijchs-wesen ende armoede, waer haer Moeder, zijnde al over drie jaren geleden, is gebleven; dewelcke nu is woonachtigh in den Haegh in de Vlietersteegh”. Another time a mother in the Hague sought for her run-away child who was described as having “a round pale face with large blue eyes and yellow-gold hair.” Unfortunately, there is no mention in later numbers if such notices gave results, but as they appear again and again at later dates it is quite probable that they did. In still other notices we leam the whole tragedy. These are public notices Tijdingen uyt verscheyden Quartieren, 1635, no. 27, July 7. OF WESTERN EUROPE stating that a corpse has been found, and that someone is wanted to identify it. There is a short description of the body, approximate age and clothing. During the 1650’s there are to be found so many different kinds of advertisements that it would be useless to try and enumerate them here in this short article. In the beginning the notices toók up only a few lines, but later they covered more than half of the last column. If the reader should ask why I have devoted so much space to these advertisements my answer is that they are the most outstanding feature of the early Dutch newspapers. In other countries, i.e., England, France, Germany, Sweden, Poland and Finland 50 to about 150 years passed before the newspapers of these countries can show such a variety of advertisements as is to be found in the two Dutch corantos from the first half of the seventeenth century. Editing. From a modem point of view, the editing is an important characteristic of every newspaper. As regards to the news, the earlier papers give a clear conception of the composition, but other questions are of ten difficult to answer. It is difficult to obtain a clear idea about the editorial management, sources of information and the religious and political views of these publications. Both Hilten’s and Jansz’s corantos and even most of the other news-sheets published in Amsterdam at this period, the first half of the seventeenth century, are very like as regards the order in which the news was set up. First came the news from Italy, then Bohemia, South Germany and Spain. After this there was news from Cologne and the surrounding country, and from Paris and other French cities. In the next division news from home and from England and other Northern European countries dominated. The last division was separated from the first by a line drawn straight across the column in which they were printed. At the very end, i.e., at the bottom of the right column on the verso side, were the advertisements and other such notices. These were usually printed in Roman letters as the printer obviously thought it best to separate them from the news which was printed in Black Letters. At the bottom and straight across the whole sheet were the printer's and the publisher’s names and addresses and the date and year when the coranto was published. As has already been AMSTERDAM - EARLIEST NEWSPAPER CENTRE Arnhem In the collection of eaxly Dutch news-sheets in Kungliga Biblioteket there are eleven corantos from the years 1621-1636 which have no name. At the top of the recto side they have only a serial number (with one exception) and the year when issued, the latter being printed in Roman numerals. In the imprint on the verso side there is neither to be found the name of the town where the coranto was issued nor the name of the printer or publisher. That they all belong together and form part of a coranto series which was published in some Dutch town during the years 1621i636iscertain—over and above easily recognizable typographical characteristics — because of the special way the date of issue was printed. Instead of it being given in the usual manner of the other Dutch corantos, “Gedruct (or Ghedruct) den ”, eight of these news-sheets have “Gedruct (or Ghedruct) int Iaer ons Heeren (In the year of our Lord) ”, then comes first the year and then the date. In other respects these corantos are very similar to those printed in Amsterdam and consist of one folio page, printed on both sides and in two columns. The oldest number, however, is printed on one side only and does not have a serial number. As these corantos are most interesting contributions to the history of Dutch newspapers, I shall here list them under their respective years of publication: 1621: May 17 1628: no. 23 — June 6 1623: no. 13 — March 27 X635: no. 41 — Oct. 9 “ no. 29 — July 18 1636: no. 16 — April 15 “ no. 35 — Aug. 15 “ no. 22 — May 27 1625: no. 17 — April 29 “ no. 43 — Oct. 21 " no. 19 — May 12 As can be gathered from this hst, the numbering of these newssheets was introduced at the latest in 1623, and consequently it is the oldest coranto printed in Holland which we now know to have been issued in a numbered series. As I have shown earlier neither Hilten nor Jansz began to number their news-sheets before 1629. It can also be plainly seen that this coranto was issued once a week. But where and by whom was it published ? As is apparent the coranto itself does not give any direct intimation of the answers to these questions, but the news in some of the numbers points to AMSTERDAM — EARLIEST NEWSPAPER CENTRE OF WESTERN EUROPE The author of the article Amsterdam - Earliest Newspaper Centre of Western Europe is now gathering material for a bibliography of Dutch corantos printed bef ore 1665. In order to make this bibliography, which will be published some time during the autumn, as complete as possible he would be extremely grateful if collectors who have any such numbers would kindly inform him about these so that they could be included in the bibliography. Folke Dahl, c/o Kungl. Universitetets Bibliotek, Upsala, Sweden. AMSTERDAM - EARLIEST NEWSPAPER CENTRE OF WESTERN EUROPE NEW CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE HISTORY OF THE FIRST DUTCH AND FRENCH CORANTOS 1 INTRODUCTION On the Method and Aims of Newspaper Research The first and most important object in the study of the history of the earliest newspaper publications is obviously of a purely bibliographical nature. A student should first try to establish exactly when, where and by whom each number was printed and issued. At times the question arises whether the newspaper one is studying, is a first, second or perhaps even a third edition, or whether it is a reprint from a later date. It may even be some other contemporary publication which, for some special reason or other, pretends to be a periodical news-sheet or news-book, although it is not. These problems are rather simple, but even while dealing with them, all the bibliognostic arsenal of methods for making exact examinations must often be resorted to. This is especially necessary with regard to the earliest printed news publications. In this way, the student of newspapers should try to compile as complete and correct a bibliography as possible for the purpose of giving a basic knowledge of the existing material which is often very hard to get at. This purely bibliographical branch of newspaper research I should like to call Newspaper Bibliography. Because of one thing, however, newspaper research will never stop there. Newspapers are really not individuals like books, but they are more like the members of a large family. In spite of attempts for many centuries, there is no statute which gives an l) This article ;s a somewhat enlarged translation o£ the Swedish original which was published in Lychnos 1938, the annual of the Swedish Society for the History of Science. Het Boek XXV OF WESTERN EUROPE Holland. During the years 1895-1902, B. Lundstedt published in Sweden a work called Sveriges Periodiska Litteratur (Swedish Periodical Literature) which lists the Swedish papers in such a complete and exact manner that no other country can show a similar bibliography of the same comprehensiveness and quality. There are a great number of followers of the above-mentionedmen whose works are, unfortunately, very difficult to find. They are very of ten hidden in joumals or make up part of the histories of cities, biographies of publishers, exhibition catalogues, etc. This state is clearly elucidated by the fact that Karl Bömer’s Internationale Bibliographie des Zeitungswesens (Leipzig 1932), a modem and very comprehensive bibliography, proves to be of rather small value in regard to works on the history of early newspapers published outside Germany1. Unfortunately, at a very early stage, newspaper research got on most dangerous byways which led to many misleading results and to completely unnecessary and fruitless controversies. Thus, patriotism, a characteristic of many newspaper historians, then and to-day, has led them to try to prove uncritically that their own country was the predecessor to the rise of any publication similar to a modem newspaper. An Englishman, George Chalmers a, one of the first men in this field, was misled by an extremely clumsy “forgery”. He stated that the oldest paper in the world was printed in England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, more exactly, at the time of the defeat of the Spanish Armada in the summer of 1588. These news-sheets, best known as “The Armada Mercuries”, were no real forgeries, but were published as an innocent joke in 1743-44 by Philip York, second Earl of Hardwicke, the well known author of the satire “Athenian Letters” (London 1741) 3. Even with the slightest knowledge of typography it can be seen at first glance that these papers^were not printed in 1588, but very much later. Chalmers, however, accepted them without criticism, and vented his patriotic pride in the following words: “It may gratify our national pride to be told, that mankind are indebted to the wisdom of Elizabeth, and the ‘) Of the dozen or so different works and articles about older Dutch corantos which I shaU use for reference, only two are to be found in Bömer*s bibliography. *) George Chalmers, The Life of Thomas Ruddiman. London 1794. *) An exact account of the history of these newspapers may be found in D.T.B. Wood s article, The true History of the Fabrication of the Armada Mercuries, in the February number of The Nineteenth Century and Aftert London 1914, p. 342 ff. AMSTERDAM - EARLIEST NEWSPAPER CENTRE January 13, 1657. It was also published in the little city Weesp by Jan van Hilten’s grandson, Nicolaes Jacobsz, who was “Geauthoriseerde Stadts Drucker tot Weesp in de Slijck-straet, in de geborduyrde Handtschoen.” The latest number in the collection at Kungliga Biblioteket is no. 41, October n, 1664 and of the Weesp coranto no. 6, published on February 8,1659. This collection does not provide for a further study of the newspaper Courante uyt Italiën, Duytslandt, &c. Tijdinghen uyt verscheyde Quartieren Hilten’s most important competitor was Broer Jansz who published Tijdinghen uyt verscheyde Quartieren. The three earliest numbers we have of this coranto come from 1619. At the bottom of the page is printed: “Gedruct tot Amsterdam, by Broer Iansz. out Courantier int Leger van syn Pr. Excell”1. It is printed in a little foüo in two columns, but on one side only. As the news-sheets are not dated but on the other hand contain news from the Hague, I have dated them according to the method used for Hilten’s corantos a. By this method these three numbers should have appeared on February 10 and June 15 and 22. As may be seen, they are all older than the number de Bom found in Antwerp in 1903 which, analogically, ought to have been printed August 31. There was quite a difference between Jansz’s and Hilten’s corantos until the year 1629. The former had no name during its first years, but in 1629 the publisher began to use the name Tijdinghen uyt verscheyde Quartieren. With the exception of the year 1630 when the word “vele” was used instead of verscheyde (sometimes “verscheyden”) it retained its name as long as I can tracé it now. In 1620, Jansz, just as Hilten, began to print his i) The expression "out Courantier” (= previously coranto distributor or coranto writer) shows plainly that Broer Jansz had been, but no longer was, employed by the Prince of Orange. When Caspar van Hilten in August, 1620, called himself “Courantier in ’t Leger van der Prince van Oraignen” it shows that he had succeeded Jansz as coranto distributor or writer. However, it is impossible to state when this change took place with the aid of the numbers in this collection. Nor do the Dutch bibliographies mention anything about this. *) In the numbers from 1618 Caspar van Hilten always gave the year in which his paper was issued by printing it after the first piece of news. Thus the complete date of the first news item in his earliest coranto is “Wt Venetien den 1. Iunij, Anno 1618.” Broer Jansz did not bother with this and consequently the very earliest of his corantos are extremly hard to date. OF WESTERN EUROPE paper on both sides, and to give the address of his shop: “in S. Niclaes-straet, naest den vergulden Os.” The next year he moved to “de nieu-zijds-achter-Borch-wal inde Silvere Can by de Brouwerije vande Hoy-Bergh.” With the year 1629 Jansz, just like Hilten, began to number his corantos from 1 to 52 or 53. He died some time near the end of the year 1651 or the beginning of 1652, but his widow continued to publish the paper. The imprint on the verso side of the news-sheet was changed to “Gedruckt t’ Amsterdam, by de Weduwe en Erfgenamen van Broer Jansz, (oud Courantier in’t Leger van sijn Princel: Excelentie) woonende op de Nieuwen-dijck, dicht by den Dam, inde Silvere Kan” 1. During the years 1653-1663 the new publisher of the coranto changed addresses several times, and in the last number of this collection (no. 48 for December 1,1663) it is stated that the number was “gedruckt voor de Weduwe van Broer Jansz, op ’t Water by de Oude Brugh, in de Silvere Kan.” In order to discuss as completely as possible the news material, advertisements and editing of the first Dutch news-sheets, I shall base my work not only on Hilten’s publication but also on Broer Jansz’s Tijdinghen uyt verscheyde Quartieren which will help to elucidate many questions, as these two corantos are so nearly alike in all matters pertaining to the above subjects that they make excellent material for comparison. The news in these two papers is mostly concemed with the wars in different parts of the world. During the years 1618-1648, the reports from the different battlefields in Germany make up the greater part of the news, and there are innumerable accounts of battles from all corners of this ravaged country. In the first Hilten number, June 14, 1618, which was published shortly after the famous “defenestration” in Prague (May 23,1618) whenthe Imperial Stadtholders, Martinitz and Slavata and the secretary, Fabricius, were thrown out of a window from the castle, Hradschin, there were reports from both Prague and Vienna. The report from Prague told the revolt was now spreading; the one from Vienna, how the situation had set the drums beating, and that an army was being raised to subdue the revolting Bohemians. The latter report which came over “Ceulen” runs thus: “Wt Weenen heeft *) Tijdinghe uyt verscheyden Quartieren, 1652, No. 48, Nov. 30. AMSTERDAM - EARLIEST NEWSPAPER CENTRE as well, but no number of this from 1645 has as yet been found. Even numbers from later years are unknown to scholars. In Kungliga Bibüoteket, however, there are numbers from 1648 when Broer’s widow published it under the name Saterdaegsche Courante. Whether Broer Jansz, as has hitherto been thought, was the first Dutchman to publish regularly a coranto, or whether Caspar van Hilten or some other man, as yet unknown, should be entitled to the honour, is at this time impossible to say. However, it appears now as if Caspar van Hilten had the strongest claims. Yet, another honour can be conferred on Broer Jansz. He canjse called the founder of Holland’s first newspaper dynasty, in the real sense of the word and probably of the world’s. However, it was not only Jan van Hilten and the Jansz dynasty who published news-sheets in Amsterdam in 1645. Mathijs van Meininga was also a great pubüsher, and he gave out no less than three corantos a week. Every Tuesday, a coranto which has hitherto been unknown, called Europische Dingsdaeghs Courant (1642-1646) appeared. On Thursdays he published Europische Donderdaeghs Courant (1642-1645) the oldest number of which was previously known from January 3,1643 x. Lastly, he published a Saturday news-sheet called Europische Saterdaeghs Courant (1642-1646) *, of which only four numbers have hitherto been known. They are from the year 1644, and may be found in the Zentralbibliothek, Zürich ®. There are fifty-eight numbers in the collection at Kungliga Biblioteket. Mathijs van Meininga’s corantos, like all the others printed at that time in Amsterdam, consisted of only one sheet in small folio, printed in two columns and on both sides. At the bottom of the verso side the pubüsher gave the place where the pubüc could buy the coranto as weü as at his own address: “Ghedruckt by Mathijs van Meininga, Courantier, woonende in sinte Claes straet inde Courant, ende worden mede uytgegeven op den Dam inde twee Hammen”. It is, as far as I know, the only Dutch coranto which directly gave the place for sale. All his news-sheets were numbered from 1 to 52. In two respects these papers are different from the other corantos issued *) Kleerkooper & van Stockum, op. cit.t I, p. 409. *) There are 165 copies of these three corantos in Kungliga Biblioteket. *) Kleerkooper & van Stockum, op. rit., I, p. 409.