  Aaron Mower of Philadelphia set the type for volume 1, number 1, of the Gaceta de Texas, dated "Nacogdoches, 25 de Mayo, de 1813," which is preserved at the National Archives and is the earliest evidence of printing activity in Texas. A political dispute forced the removal of Mower's press and type from Nacogdoches to Natchitoches, in Louisiana, where this Spanish-language newspaper was actually printed and issued. The permanent establishment of Texas printing dates from September 1829, when Godwin B. Cotten introduced a press at San Felipe and founded the Texas Gazette. In March 1832 he relocated at Brazoria. D. W. Anthony purchased both the press and the paper in the summer of 1832, and until July 1833 he continued to publish the paper at Brazoria under a new name, The Constitutional Advocate and Texas Public Advertiser. The earliest Texas printing in the Library of Congress is the number of the paper dated June 15, 1833, which offers news only from the United States and from overseas. "From the City of Mexico," writes Anthony, "we have heard nothing this week, except mere disjointed rumors from the interior. By the arrival of the next mail at San Felipe, we may reasonably expect that some certain intelligence will be received, of what the legislatures have done." Gathering news was one problem; he reveals another in the following paragraph: We are glad to be able at length, to present the ADVOCATE to our readers, on a sheet of its accustomed size. We stated before, that its being diminished two columns lately, was the consequence of a mistake made by our merchant in filling our order for paper. We now have an ample supply, and of excellent quality, so that we shall have no more apologies to offer on that score. These things, however, cost money, and that in hand, which we hope our good friends will not altogether forget. Among the advertisements is the usual "JOB PRINTING DONE AT THIS OFFICE" and also an announcement of the "CONSTITUTION OF TEXAS, With or without the Memorial, For Sale at this Office and at the stores of W. C. White, San Felipe: David Ayres, Montville: and T. W. Moore, Harrisburg." Anthony printed these historic documents shortly after the Texas convention held at San Felipe in April, and the Advocate began to carry this advertisement on May 11, 1833. The Library's copy of the four-page newspaper has been removed from a bound volume. Since it is inscribed "Intelligencer, W. C.," it was obviously sent to the office of the National Intelligencer at Washington City, as the capital was then called. It is slightly mutilated: an item has been cut from an outer column, affecting the third and fourth pages. There is no record of the issue in A Check List of American Newspapers in the Library of Congress (1901), but its location does appear in the union list, American Newspapers 1821-1936 (1937). Last page of The Constitutional Advocate and Texas Public Advertiser, June 15, 1833. Last page of The Constitutional Advocate and Texas Public Advertiser, June 15, 1833. [Click on image for larger view.] |
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