The Thrill of Colonial Printing

Today, while witnessing a colonial printing demonstration in Boston, I was given the privilege of printing my very own copy of the Boston Gazette's original printing of the Declaration of Independence. At 21 Unity Street in Boston, near the Old North Church, Gary Gregory, posing as Benjamin Edes, printer of the Boston Gazette at the time of the American Revolution, has set up an authentic colonial print shop. He produces copies of Paul Revere's engraving of the Boston Massacre and the Boston Gazette's printing of the Declaration of Independence. For those of you interested in the history of the book and colonial printing, this is a must-see stop in Boston.

When I told Gary that I had done some research on Samuel Kneeland, who printed the Boston Gazette before Edes and Gill, he invited me to take on his role as the printer. A deal was struck: he would let me print a broadside if I sent him my article, "Samuel Kneeland of Boston: Colonial Bookseller, Printer, and Publisher of Religion," that was published in the January 2012 issue of Printing History.  Being able to work the press was quite a thrill for me. I was excited to see how a colonial press worked, having read about the process. Thanks Gary!

Below are some images taken from my digital camera. A woman in the audience took the pictures, but, unfortunately, many of the images came out blurry.