1700's Great Britain Newspaper, No Stamp

Own Great Britain Newspaper –
Now Over 300 Years Old!

Mystic recently acquired a small number of British newspapers from the 1700s.  Many feature examples of the stamp tax, but this one was printed without the required newspaper stamp.

Great Britain started taxing newspapers and almanacs in 1711 with the dual goal of raising mone...  more

Own Great Britain Newspaper –
Now Over 300 Years Old!

Mystic recently acquired a small number of British newspapers from the 1700s.  Many feature examples of the stamp tax, but this one was printed without the required newspaper stamp.

Great Britain started taxing newspapers and almanacs in 1711 with the dual goal of raising money to fund wars (such as the War of Spanish Succession) and limiting newspaper circulation.  (Newspapers gave the people a way to criticize the government and easily circulate their ideas.)  The tax was 50% on the newspaper.  The stamps were printed on the paper before being sold to newspaper printers.  Because 25 sheets of paper were put through the printing press at the same time to apply the stamp, some may have been overlapped and didn’t receive the stamp.  That may have happened to this newspaper. 

This newspaper a neat piece of history for an English history buff.  Not many people can say they own a 300-year-old piece of history.  Become one of them and order yours today.