The photo above is the cover of the Boston Press and Post on Thursday Morning, April 3, 1845 (the year may be butchered due to the tiny print). This newspaper is printed on paper and while this is a PDF cover, one can assume paper is light. Newspapers were sold in bulk and distributed to the people in the respective communities. The print is extremely tiny and this is to get as much information possible on the sheets of paper (most likely to reduce cost). While there are no pictures, when zooming into the paper, you can see little fingers pointing to a new paragraph. The newspaper is well organized as one can see the numerous columns labeled: “Prices Current”, “Boston”, “Poetry”, and the “Boston Post”. The price current section looks like a menu with articles and their matched pricing. For example, I am able to read off “cotton” with numbers to the side. The newspaper is strictly black and white. The “Boston” and “Boston Post” look like politics and news that were current in Boston. Lastly, the “Poetry” section is exactly how it sounds and I take this to be the entertainment column. These are only a few of the labeled columns in the newspaper.
Considering the paper was written years ago, one can assume the paper is extremely frail and thin. It is old paper so it might have a musty smell to it. Although this is a PDF, a real old newspaper would most likely have many ruffles and crevices within. Paper is flammable so the words on the paper are not permanent. One could light the newspapers on fire and it would be ash. Newspapers, through human intervention, are littered around cities and towns. Newspapers also are multi-purposeful as they can be used for other projects. If I was in this scene when the newspaper was released all life as I know it would be turned upside down. My clothes, hair, and speech would all be altered to the 1800s. My emotional response to this is in awe. I am watching history. People in the 1800s used this piece of paper for their news and entertainment. I do not remember the last time I held a newspaper in my hands now that technology has taken over.
This paper is less daunting compared to a book reading. There are roughly five pages in this newspaper opposed to a lengthy book. On top of this, the information being presented on the newspaper, at the time, was brand new. No one in the towns would have access to this information until after the papers would come out. The columns, as mentioned earlier, are well organized and consistent throughout the pages. This makes it easier for the readers to read the paper in the case that some might not want to read it all but only certain sections.
This newspaper was the only source of communication to spread news and entertainment. Civilians who got ahold of the paper would understand how much everyday items were. This would be either to sell items themselves or how much to buy items and when to do so. There were also news and politics being spread in the paper. There were also respected columns for entertainment such as poetry.
