Watts, and William Plastaus, news-vendors of this town, were committed to Warwick Gaol for the offence of selling unstamped papers. In 1840, the total circulation of all the local papers did not reach 14,000 copies per week, a great contrast to the present day, when one office alone sends out mere than 150,000 in the like time. During the Chartist agitation there were frequently as many as 5,000 to 6,000 copies of Feargus O'Connor's Northern Star sold here, and many hundreds a week of the Weekly Dispatch, a great favourite with "the people" then. Cacoethes scribendi, or the scribbling itch, is a complaint many local people have suffered from, but to give a list of all the magazines, newspapers, journals, and periodicals that have been published here is impossible. Many like garden flowers have bloomed, fruited, and lived their little day, others have proved sturdy plants and stood their ground for years, but the majority only just budded into life before the cold frosts of public neglect struck at their roots and withered them up, not a leaf being left to tell even the date of their death. Notes of a few are here given:—
Advertiser.—First number appeared Oct. 10, 1833.
Argus.— Started as a monthly Aug. 1, 1828.— See "Allday" under "Note-worthy Men."
Ariss Gazette.—The oldest of our present local papers was first published Nov. 16, 1741. Like all other papers of that period, it was but a dwarf in comparison with the present broadsheet, and the whole of the local news given in its first number was comprised in five lines, announcing the celebration of Admiral Vernon's birthday. Its Founder, Thos. Aris, died July 4, 1761. Since that date it had seen but few changes in its proprietorship until 1872, when it was taken by a Limited Liability Company, its politics remaining staunchly Conservative. On May 12th, 1862, it was issued as a daily, the Saturday's publication still bearing the old familiar name.
Athlete.—First issued as the "Midland Athlete," January, 1879.
Bazaar.—A quarto serial of 1823-25.
Birmingham Magazine.—A literary and scientific publication edited by Rev. Hugh Hutton. First appeared in Nov. 1827, running only nine numbers.
Brum.—A so-called satirical, but slightly scurrilous, sheet issued in 1869, for a brief period.
Central Literary Magazine.—First No. in Jan. 1873.
Chronicle.—First published in 1765 by Myles Swinney, who continued to edit the paper until his death in 1812. It was sold March 15, 1819, as well as the type foundry which had been carried on by Mr. Swinney, a business then noteworthy, as there was but one other of the kind in England out of London.
Daily Globe.—A Conservative ½d. evening paper, commencing Nov. 17, 1879, and dying Oct. 30, 1880.
Daily Mail.—Evening ½d. paper; an offshoot from the Daily Post, and now printed on adjoining premises. First established Sept. 7, 1870.
Daily Post.— First published Dec. 4, 1857, by the proprietors of the Journal. From the first it "took" well, and it is the leading daily paper of the Midland Counties.
Daily Press.—The first daily paper issued in Birmingham appeared on May 7, 1855. Like many other "new inventions," however, it did not succeed in making a firm footing and succumbed in November, 1858.
Dart.—A well-conducted comic weekly paper. Commenced Oct. 28, 1876.
Edgbaston Advertiser.—Published monthly by Mr. Thos. Britten, Ladywood. As its name implies, this publication is more of the character of an advertising sheet than a newspaper, but it often contains choice literary pieces which make it a favourite.
Edgbastonia.—A monthly, full of
