Independent Reflector. Number X, Thursday, February 1, 1753

[LIVINGSTON, William, ed.]

Publication Date: 1753

About this Item

[LIVINGSTON, William, ed.] The Independent Reflector. Number X, Thursday, February 1, 1753. New York: J. Parker, at the New Printing-Office, 1753. Small folio. [37]-42 pp. Removed from volume. Vertical and horizontal creases where the pamphlet was folded. Very good. Sabin 34452. Evans 6866. Brigham p.653. DAB. The Independent Reflector was an early weekly periodical, first issued November 30, 1752 and ran through November 22, 1753-the 52 issues were then followed by a title page and preface that were printed in January of 1754 (not present here). While the essays that were published covered all manner of contemporary social issues from Livingston's liberal perspective, its controversial reception was centered on Livingston's strong views of religion, education, and the state's role in both-the very views that prompted Livingston to start the magazine. Livingston brought measured thoughtfulness to his essay that Richardson, in A History of Early America Magazines (1931) described as a "distinct contribution to American essays. No essays had appeared previously in American magazines so fitting to the time, place, and idea. In the factor of civil improvement, his remarks still ring with a modern tone. His discussions on law and the process of courts are equally modern. In his religious comments he stood forth valiantly against an established church; while in the field of education he proposed and fought gallantly, though quixotically, for a state college governed ultimately by the legislative body. It maintained a fairness in point of view seldom elsewhere encountered in its time" (p. 77). Despite the "fairness," it was indeed controversial and Rosenbach notes, "an effort was made at the time to suppress it. James Parker refused to print it after the first year, and no other printer had the courage to continue it. It is an attack against various abuses, and it is no wonder it was issued without disclosing the author" Rosenbach 8-853. An important colonial printer, Parker apprenticed with William Bradford of New York for eight years. In 1742 Parker formed a silent partnership with Benjamin Franklin in which Franklin helped Parker establish a printing business in New York; the next year he would succeed Bradford as the public printer. Parker established the first permanent printing office in New Jersey and issued that state's first ne.

Seller Inventory # 81628

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Independent Reflector. Number X, Thursday, February 1, 1753
• Publication Date: 1753
• Binding: Soft cover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Seller catalogs:
  • GENERAL AMERICANA