The Price of Print: A Pioneer Newspaper’s Inventory Liquidation
A rare glimpse into the mechanics of 1878 journalism as a Seattle printer liquidates his entire shop, signaling the volatile life of local presses.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The undersigned, desiring to close out his jobbing business in Seattle, will sell the following materials at very low rates for cash: Super Royal Hand Press, 50 lbs. metal furniture, 9 job cases, and an assortment of wood type including eight-line Gothic Tuscan condensed, ten-line Clarendon, and thirty-line Roman extra condensed. The above lot is worth new $316.85; it is as good as new, and will be sold for the small sum of $160. Austin A. Bell. Agents: Diller & Co., Seattle, W.T.
“The Fearless Champion of Right, and Uncompromising Enemy of Wrong.”
In 1878, a printer could sell the literal machinery of public discourse for a fraction of its value—a reminder of how fragile and disposable the infrastructure of local news has always been. Today's digital media landscape echoes this volatility, where the 'means of production' shift from heavy iron presses to server racks, yet the struggle for independent reporting remains a constant in Seattle's civic story.
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