1778 dated Gentleman's Magazine - Americana

Small size "Gentleman's Magazine" measures 5" x 8 1/4". Small excerpt from magazine: 1778 British evacuate Philadelphia. Great Parliament debate on American War and British defeat at Battle of Saratoga. Also: Gov. Jon Trumbull's vigorous response to British Peace proposal. Comments on Dr. Ben Franklin's electricity experiments. William Pitt funeral text and banner plate.

Terrific letter to British Envoy from CT Gov. Trumbull: ...the unprovoked commencement of hostilities; the barbarous inhumanity which has marked the prosecution of the war; the insolence which displays itself on every petty advantage...are insuperable bars to the very idea of concluding a peace with Great Britain on any other conditions than the most absolute and perfect independence..."

The Gentleman's Magazine was a monthly publication established in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It continued to be published without interruption for nearly two centuries, ceasing in 1922. This magazine was the first to adopt the term "magazine" (derived from the French word meaning "storehouse") to describe a periodical. Samuel Johnson began his first regular writing position with The Gentleman's Magazine. The complete original title was The Gentleman's Magazine: or, Trader's Monthly Intelligencer. Cave's innovative approach involved compiling a monthly summary of news and commentary on a wide range of subjects that would interest the educated public, including commodity prices and Latin poetry.

The magazine featured original contributions from a group of regular writers, along with extensive quotations and excerpts from other publications and books. Cave, who served as the editor under the pseudonym "Sylvanus Urban," was the first to utilize the term magazine in this context. Contributions were often presented in the form of letters addressed to "Mr. Urban." Each issue prominently displayed an illustration of St John's Gate in Clerkenwell, which represented Cave's residence and effectively served as the magazine's "office."

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