Early Printing and Type in Canada, 1752–1900

Introduction

The years between 1751 and 1900 are the years in which printing in general and newspapers in particular were established and grew in every part of Canada. The journey starts in Halifax in 1752 and ends in the Yukon in 1898. It moves from east to west, following the European settlers as they open up a new country. This earliest period of Canadian printing history is part of the story of intrepid entrepreneurs; of Christian missionaries wishing to convert the Indigenous people; of new populations moving into regions of Canada largely unexplored and unsettled by Europeans; and changing forms of government that assumed the task of establishing British principles of law and good government.

As well, a direct line can be drawn from America to the development of the Canadian printing industry. Skilled printers travelled north, either because there was too much competition in their respective cities or out of a sense of adventure and the promise of better opportunities. The American Revolution of 1775–83 forced those who remained loyal to Britain to leave the United States, and many of these ‘loyalists’ found their way to Canada. Some brought their printing presses and types, ready to set up business in a new country. By 1900 printing had spread across every province and territory in the newly established Dominion of Canada.

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Typefaces

The largest portion of a printer’s budget would certainly have been the purchase of type, which included all the necessary sizes with accompanying figures, dashes and rules. In 1764, Brown & Gilmore of Montréal, who kept very detailed accounting ledgers, paid £169 9s 11 1/2d for the type and rules they purchased from Caslon & Son in London, England. Starting in the 1790s, printers began to use type made by Fry & Steele, also of London, England, as well as from Alexander Wilson in Glasgow, Scotland. The first type foundry in the United States was started in 1796 by Archibald Binney and James Ronaldson in Philadelphia, and later Canadian printers would increasingly use American type foundries. It wasn’t until the Montréal Type Foundry (MTF) opened in the 1830s that Canada could boast of being able to supply type locally. Until it closed forty years later, MTF not only supplied type but also presses, both imported and domestic. In 1887 the Toronto Type Foundry (TTF) was established, an indication that the centre of the printing industry had moved from Montréal to Toronto, and by 1898 had branches across the country from Halifax to Vancouver. The TTF used American matrices exclusively; it was only in 1967 that Carl Dair created Cartier, the first Canadian-designed text typeface.

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Content and layout

Like newspapers in the early 21st century, early newspapers contained advertising as a means of generating revenue. There were no copyright laws in America until 1790, so they could get away with publishing content from other newspapers. This content was frequently out of date since it could take weeks for European newspapers to find their way to British North America. Early American newspaper publishers would also publish poems, essays, religious stories, and certainly government proclamations and laws. Unlike today’s newspapers, these early papers had no headlines to introduce news items and they contained very few illustrations. A woodcut might adorn the masthead. Some early newspapers would leave blank pages for people to write in their own stories.

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1752 – Nova Scotia – John Bushell

Halifax was founded in 1749, and just three years later Bartholomew Green of Massachusetts was convinced to come to Halifax to establish a newspaper. Green set up a printing office on Grafton Street, but died just a few weeks after arriving in Halifax. John Bushell, who had been Green’s partner in Massachusetts, took his place. He moved to Halifax with his family, including his daughter Elizabeth, a skilled typesetter who assisted her father in the print shop. The country’s first newspaper, The Halifax Gazette, was first published on March 23, 1752. It was one sheet, printed on both sides in two columns. Two woodcuts adorn the front page; on the left a ship in full sail, and on the right a hunter chasing game.

In the beginning the paper was the semi-official voice of the government and published mostly proclamations and laws. The Seven Years War (1756–63), however, brought a boom to Halifax as more merchants opened up shops. The Gazette became more independent, publishing news and advertisements; at times, it even lampooned the government. There were a few local ads, but in general Bushell filled the small paper with news excerpts from the newspapers of Britain, Europe, and New England.

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1761 – Nova Scotia – Anthony Henry

Proficient in English, German and French, Anthony Henry was a soldier with the British forces before coming to Halifax as John Bushell’s assistant. Henry was soon doing much of the printing, and in 1760 he became Bushell’s partner, and then publisher of the Halifax Gazette after Bushell’s death in 1761. Henry quickly ran into trouble with the local government because of his opposition to the Stamp Act. The Stamp Act of 1765 was a direct tax on the British North American colonies and required that all printed materials in the colonies be produced on paper made in London. This paper carried an embossed revenue stamp and was four times the cost of paper produced in the American Colonies to the south. Henry’s editorial stance meant government support for the Gazette was withdrawn. Not one to give up, in 1769 Henry began publishing the Nova Scotia Chronicle and Weekly Advertiser, the first Canadian newspaper to run independently of government patronage. Another example of Henry’s printing is ‘A Sermon’, printed in 1770. This was a sermon preached in Halifax by John Seccombe of Chester, Nova Scotia and is the first religious work produced in Nova Scotia. Anthony Henry is also known for being the godfather of Anthony Henry Holland, who became a printer himself and established the first paper mill in Atlantic Canada. The Acadia Paper Mill was located near the Bedford Basin in Halifax.

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