New to me, that is: Newspaperindex. And this is what caught my eye (via Boing Boing):
Yesterday I was holding newspaper history in my hands. The first omnibus newspaper ever published in Scandinavia from January 1749. The owner - a gentleman who had in it in his family’s possession since it was published - let me scan it on his flatbed. The newspaper is in very good condition since it was not printed on paper made from wood but from flax and cotton that can last for much longer time. It is kept inside a book in a privately owned historic library in the countryside in the snow covered hilly in East Jutland in Denmark. Only a handful of other copies are held in The Royal Danish Library in Copenhagen, but this is the first time the publication has been scanned and made public in the digital world. The newspaper has the title “Kjøbenhavnske Danske Post Tidender”, a few years after it changed name to Berlingske Tidende. This first edition had 8 pages and it was since printed twice a week. …
This very early and very rare newspaper was way ahead of its time. It has many of the elements we know from modern newspapers: The short notice, facts and figures about power, war and economics, the commentary, the gossip and the editorial.
The first newspaper in the New World, titled Publick Occurrences, was published in Boston, Massachusetts on September 25, 1690. Intended as a monthly publication for the general public, it was published without a license from the authorities. Its contents greatly offended those in power and caused such a public uproar that it was immediately discontinued after the one issue. Publick Occurrences was the forerunner of a new time, however, and in the 1700s, newspapers began to spring up in the American colonies.
While Berlingske Tidende is still in print, and is one of the 3 largest daily newspapers in Denmark, the oldest continually published newspaper in the World is Berrow’s Worcester Journal. It has appeared each week with unfailing regularity for more than 300 years.
PDF scan of Kjøbenhavnske Danske Post Tidender available here.
