The Pennsylvania Gazette

The Pennsylvania Gazette was a Philadelphia newspaper / periodical from 1728 to 1815 that published advertisements, classifieds, social happenings, and foreign and domestic political news in English to interested Pennsylvania citizens. Started in 1728 by Samuel Keimer, the fledging paper was sold the next year to Benjamin Franklin and Hugh Meredith, who turned the Gazette into a successful publication. Franklin soon bought out Meredith to be the sole owner. The famous "Join, or Die" political cartoon was first published in The Pennsylvania Gazette in the May 9, 1754 issue. David Hall purchased Franklin's share of the Gazette outright in 1766, having been his apprentice (and then shop foreman) since 1744, and recognized as a partner since 1747-8. William Sellers joined Hall as a partner a few months later in 1766. The Gazette after Hall's death in December 1772 came under custody of William Sellers and David Hall's sons, David Jr. and William, who published the newspaper during the Revolution and Early Republic eras; the print shop name was thereafter shortened to simply "Hall and Sellers" to recognize Hall's sons. A full text of the Declaration of Independence was printed on the front page of the Gazette in the July 10, 1776 issue. During British General Howe's Philadelphia Campaign, the Gazette was  disrupted in September 1777. The printers moved with the Continental Congress to York, where publication recommenced in January 1778, and remained in York until June 1778, then resuming publication in Philadelphia in January 1779. The text of the "Plan for the New Federal Government", later the Constitution, was published in the September 19, 1787 issue. Operations of the Gazette ceased in 1815.

The holdings of The Pennsylvania Gazette at the State Library of Pennsylvania are not complete. The issues presented for the years digitized reflect the holdings of the library, and other issues may exist beyond these holdings.