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Using newspapers in historical research
- 1. Using newspapers in research Andrew Hobbs ahobbs2@uclan.ac.uk
- 2. • History of Preston’s newspapers • Case study of my research on Winckley Club • Practise researching with newspapers: – Digital – Microfilm – Originals • Guided research on own topics
- 3. Preston’s longest running newspapers Preston Chronicle 1807-94 Preston Pilot 1825-88 Preston Guardian 1844-1964 Preston Herald 1855-1969 Lancashire Evening Post 1886-
- 6. Newspapers and periodicals published in Preston, Lancashire, 1800-1900 1 Philatelic World (1899) 2 Preston Argus (1897 - 1917) Monthly Satirical Magazine 3 Cross Fleury's Journal (1896 - 1900?) Monthly Magazine 4 Empire Journal (1896 - 1897) Monthly/Weekly Magazine 5 Preston Monthly Circular (1895 - 1915) Monthly Advertiser 6 Lancashire Catholic (1895-1902) Monthly Catholic Magazine 7 Upward (1895? - 1900) Monthly Temperance Magazine 8 Preston Co-operative Record (1894 - 1920) Monthly Membership Magazine 9 Faith Of Our Fathers (1891-?) Monthly Catholic Magazine 10 Preston Weekly Advertiser (1890 - 1894?) Weekly Advertiser 11 The Antidote (1890 - 1892) Weekly Catholic, polemical Magazine 12 Financial Opinion (1889) 13 Catholic News (1889 - 1934) Weekly Catholic Newspaper 14 Onward (1888-?) Monthly Temperance Magazine 15 Lancashire Evening/Daily Post (1886 to date) Evening Newspaper 16 Preston Football News (1885) Weekly Football Newspaper 17 National Fair Trader (1884) Weekly Protectionist Newspaper 18 Preston Telegraph (1881) Weekly? Sports Newspaper 19 The Echo (1880) Monthly Satirical Magazine 20 The Wasp (1878) Weekly Satirical Magazine 21 Commercial Traveller's Review (1874-75) 22 Preston Penny News (1874) Weekly Newspaper 23 Preston Sun (1874) Weekly Newspaper 24 Preston Illustrated Times (1874) Weekly Illustrated Newspaper 25 Preston Daily Guardian (1870) Morning Newspaper 26 Preston Evening News (1870 - 1871) Evening Newspaper 27 Preston Evening Express & General Daily Advertiser (1870) Evening Newspaper 28 Longworth’s Preston Advertiser (1867 - 1877) Monthly Misc Advertiser 29 Staunch Teetotaller (1867-68) Monthly Temperance Magazine 30 Collector's Circular (1865-66) 31 Preston Mercury (1861) Weekly Newspaper 32 Mitchell's Monthly Preston Advertiser (Oct-Nov 1859) Monthly Advertiser 33 Preston Herald & General Advertiser (1855 - 1970) Weekly/bi-weekly Newspaper 34 Preston Standard and Northern Weekly Advertiser (1855-56) Weekly Newspaper 35 Preston Illustrated General Advertiser(1854-55) Weekly Illustrated Magazine? 36 Livesey's Progressionist (1852-53) Weekly Political Magazine 37 Weekly/bi-weekly Newspaper 38 Preston Magazine & Christian's Miscellany (1843) Monthly Anglican Magazine 39 The Struggle (1841-46) Weekly Anti-Corn Laws Magazine 40 Pollard’s Preston Advertiser, & Lancashire Commercial, Agricultural & General Gazette (1840-41) Advertiser 41 Livesey's Moral Reformer (1838-39) Weekly Political, temperanceMagazine 42 Preston Observer (1837-40) Weekly Newspaper 43 Youthful Tee-totaller (1836) Temperance 44 Preston Temperance Advocate (1834-37) Weekly Temperance Magazine 45 An Address From One of the 3730 Electors of Preston … (1831-32)Weekly Political Newspaper 46 Moral Reformer (1831-33) Weekly Political, temperanceMagazine 47 The Crisis, or Star to the Great Northern Union (Sept-Aug 1830) Weekly? Political Magazine 48 Preston Pilot and Lancashire (County) Advertiser (1825 - 1888) Weekly Newspaper 49 Preston Sentinel (1821-22) Weekly Newspaper 50 Preston Chronicle (1812 - 1893) Weekly Newspaper 51 Preston Journal (1807-12) Weekly Newspaper Andrew Hobbs, University of Central Lancashire 2007 1880 1890 19001800 1810 1820 1830 1840 Preston Guardian (1844 - 1964) 1860 18701850
- 11. Newspapers as sources Strengths Weaknesses Rich historical source Reports not always accurate Overwhelming amount of material Overwhelming amount of material Whose attitudes? Show contemporary attitudes Political and other biases Names galore Poor quality scanning of digital versions Word-searchable on digital versions Often inaccessible ‘Unwitting testimony’ Who is missing? Wide range of local bodies reported Lots of irrelevant material Digitised papers as ‘index’ Background reading needed Likely to find something relevant Level of detail
Editor's Notes
- First Preston papers Preston Weekly Journal, 1740-48? – first Preston paper; Covered 1742 Guild: ‘Printed by Mr W Smith, at the printing office in Church Street, where May be had an excellent bottle for the cure of the ITCH. At the same Place may be had also a bottle for the SCURVY in the GUMS and TEETH And at the same place also may be had a poem of the guild fit for Framing.’ Not unusual for printers to sell patent medicines – part of national distrib networks Rival: True British Courant, or Preston Journal, with News both Foreign and Domestick also extant 1745; extant 1755
- Close-up of masthead – does it show the land that would become Winckley Square?
- At least 51 newspapers and magazines were published in Preston in the 19th century. Preston Chronicle Est 1807 as Preston Journal Isaac Wilcockson took over Preston Journal from Thomas Croft 1812, changed name to Preston Chronicle – same paper Isaac Wilcockson, Preston Chronicle, 12 Ribblesdale Place, 1844 Ad announcing takeober: For ‘the cultivation of literature and general knowledge’ he will accept ‘philological essays and dissertations, on the various subjects of human inquiry … if written in a fairly perspicuous style’ Not unusual for a local paper of the time, and this literary flavour was maintained throughout the life of the Chronicle 1845 Wilcockson sold paper to Lawrence Dobson Dobson passed it on to sons William and James Dobson, who sold it to Anthony Hewitson Wm Dobson, Preston Chronicle, 34 Ribblesdale Place , 1860 The Whig (Liberal) Chronicle had the field to itself until the 1820s Conservative Preston Sentinel (1821-2) and Preston Pilot (1825-86). The British Library catalogue erroneously dates the Preston Chronicle’s launch as 1831, which may explain why its digitised edition of the paper starts from that date rather than 1812 or 1807.
- Preston Pilot Typical pattern: first papers more likely to be reforming, Whig, Liberal Local Tories decide they need to put their side of argument, launch Tory paper Sentinel struggled, only lasted a year 3 years later, Lawrence Clarke launched own paper, Preston Pilot Preston Pilot pic Est 1 Jan 1825 (similar time to many other Tory local papers – centrally co-ordinated/funded?) Lawrence Clarke’s bro Thomas Clarke was editor in 1840s, was twice fired at through the window of his printing office during Chartist unrest (office in pic – building still standing, next to Yates’s – now a fried chicken takeaway). Robert Clarke took over from his father around 1850 Moved to Fishergate, on left-hand corner of Winckley St Robert Clarke moved to Lytham in 1870, and by 1875 Preston Pilot was a Lytham paper in all but name, with very little Preston content. ‘Death of Mr TW Clarke’, PG 15 August 1863, p.5.
- Mastheads: Symbolism in imagery shows political/religious differences: the Liberal Preston Chronicle gave equal space to the crown and the Magna Carta, either side of the town crest
- the Tory Preston Pilot omitted any symbols of rights or liberty, and made the crown more dominant (Fig 15 overleaf). Both emblems combine national and local imagery. Both sold well beyond Preston, into N and E Lancs – ‘Preston’ in title misleading Arrival of Tory Preston Pilot didn’t affect sales of Liberal Preston Chronicle But … All changed 1844, thanks to Joseph Livesey (Bushell Place)
- Preston Guardian launched, 1844, subsidised by Anti-Corn Law League More than single-issue paper – v good local paper The paper sold well around Preston and in East Lancashire (indeed it may have sold more outside Preston than within), with offices in Preston, Blackburn, Burnley, Accrington, Darwen and Clitheroe. enormous circ area, bigger than most counties – from Chorley to Barrow; was a county paper rather than a local paper According to the 1854 stamp returns, the Guardian was the ninth best-selling provincial newspaper in England – sold more than Sunday Times that year outsold any single title in Sheffield or Newcastle, and sold more than all four Leicester papers combined, for example. In Lancashire, only one Liverpool paper and two Manchester titles sold more. When Livesey reached 65 in 1859 he sold the booming paper to his protégé, George Toulmin, for £6,600 (around £1m in today’s money). Geo Toulmin, Preston Guardian, 11 Ribblesdale Place, 1870 Preston Herald Launched 1855 published by Henry Campbell Barton, who already produced a monthly advertiser used partly printed sheets, it struggled until 1860, bought by local Conservatives through a joint stock company, presumably because the Pilot was not serving their interests satisfactorily. Lost money, burden carried mainly by Miles Myres, a solicitor, company director, county court registrar, coroner and alderman Expanded, saw itself as a direct rival to the Preston Guardian, both in its content, its circulation area and sales. In the early 20th century it was subsidised by the Earl of Derby’s family Obituary of Miles Myres, PH 17 December 1873, p.3.
- Used newspapers to: - find comments on WC - fill out biographies of members - get background on a strange annual event -- newspaper auction Cross-referenced to other sources
- Comments on the club 'that mystical department of eau de cologne and exclusiveness' activities included 'the promotion of card playing, smoking and drinking’ until 2 or 3 in the morning 1878 Henry Morton Stanley, African explorer and journalist, was invited back to the club after he gave a lecture at the town hall, entitled ‘Through the Dark Continent.’ ‘some of the more juvenile members of the club … poked their guest about the ribs, called him by his surname, without a prefix, requested him to "stick to his point," and were altogether so free and easy that the discoverer of Livingstone declared he had never in his travels among the uncivilized come across such a jovial crew.’
- Cross-referenced with minute books and complaint book, in Lancs Archives Minutes book shows a strange annual ritual – newspaper auction The minutes record the names of shareholders taking part in these auctions, alongside the winning bids and publication titles Rough idea of how much people valued each publication, and who read what A kind of futures market in old newspapers and periodicals – members bid in advance for the right to take away copies of papers and magazines Useful source of income -- Winckley Club recouped ¼ to 1/3 of original cost of newspapers from 1840s to 1860s, but secondhand values fell in later decades, accounting for 17 per cent in 1879-80, and 15 per cent in 1899-1900. The reporting of these auctions was an opportunity to mock competitors for their low prices, and to present the price fetched by one’s own newspaper as showing its greater popularity: Auctions were generally jolly occasions, after the business of AGM, often presided over by professional auctioneer, with lots of banter [‘chaff’ as Barrow Herald described it] about reading habits - and in a club which included 2 local newspaper proprietors, probably lots of ribbing about how much their own papers fetched.