The Royal St. John’s Gazette and Nova-Scotia Intelligencer, New Brunswick, John Ryan, 1784

John Ryan first learned the printing trade while apprenticed to John Howe in Massachusetts. In 1783, he travelled to New Brunswick and began publishing the Royal St. John’s Gazette and Nova Scotia Intelligencer in Parr-Town (now part of St. John).

Ryan worked with William Lewis, his former partner from Massachusetts, and for two years they operated the only printing office in the province. They frequently printed articles critical of government policies, which led to both men being indicted for libel in 1784.

By 1785, Christopher Sower, a Loyalist printer, was appointed King’s Printer, compelling Ryan and Lewis to drop the word "Royal" from their newspaper’s title. The loss of government contracts may have intensified their anti-government stance. In 1786, they faced another libel charge, were convicted, and fined.

The partnership dissolved and Lewis returned to Massachusetts, leaving Ryan to continue to publish independently. Only when Sower died in 1799, was Ryan finally given the title of King’s Printer. By 1806 he moved to Newfoundland, thereby earning the distinction of being the first printer to publish in two provinces.

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