List of early American publishers and printers

List of early American publishers and printers is a stand alone list of Wikipedia articles about publishers and printers in colonial and early America, intended as a quick reference, with basic descriptions taken from the ledes of the respective articles.

A typical printing press of the 18th century







  • Andrew Bradford  1686–1742
    Printer in colonial Philadelphia. He published the first newspaper in Philadelphia, The American Weekly Mercury,





  • Francis Childs (printer)  ()
    publisher and printer of The New York Daily Advertiser; printer for the newly established United States government in 1783


  • Isaac Collins (printer)  1746–1817
    Printer, publisher; published New Jersey Gazette and New Jersey Almanac; Noted for his famous 1791 bible; politically active during American Revolution; printed continental currency

  • John Day (printer)  1522–1584
    English Protestant printer; Specialized in printing and distributing Protestant literature


  • Stephen Daye  1594–1668
    Immigrant from England to British colony of Massachusetts; Became the first printer in colonial America





  • John Fenno  1751–1798
    Federalist Party editor; Founder of Gazette of the United States which played a major role in shaping party politics in the United States in the 1790s.


  • John Foster (printer)  1648–1681
    Printer and engraver; credited with producing the first engravings in British colonial America and the official seals of the Massachusetts Bay Colony


  • Benjamin Franklin  1705–1790
    World famous American founding father, postmaster, printer, inventor and scientist

  • James Franklin (printer)  1697–1735
    Colonial author, printer, newspaper publisher, and almanac publisher. Published the New England Courant, one of the oldest independent American newspapers; Older brother of Benjamin Franklin

  • Hugh Gaine  1726–1807
    Irish printer, bookseller, and newspaper publisher; Publisher of The New York Mercury



  • Daniel Henchman (publisher)  1689-1761
    Boston's largest book seller and publisher before the American revolution. Built the first papermill in New England. Published the first Bible printed in the English language to appear in the American colonies.


  • William Goddard (publisher)  1740–1817
    Patriot, publisher, printer and postal inspector; Worked closely with Benjamin Franklin in establishing colonial postal system


  • Samuel Green (printer)  1614–1702
    American printer, progenitor of the Green family of printers; one of the first American printers in Cambridge





  • Nicholas Hasselbach (printer) — (1749-1769)
    Printer and paper mill owner who lived in Philadelphia and then Baltimore. First printer to set up a printing press in Baltimore.




  • William Hunter (publisher)  early 1700s–1761
    Newspaper publisher, book publisher, and official government printer for the colony of Virginia



  • Samuel Loudon   (1727-1813) Founder and printer of The New-York Packet and The American Advertiser;  Postmaster in Fishkill, New York, during the American Revolutionary War



  • James Parker (publisher)  1714–1770
    Printer, publisher, apprentice of Benjamin Franklin who later appointed him Postmaster of the colonies; Set up first print shop in New Jersey; Was a printer for Yale College, and general manager of the first public library in New York City

  • William Parks (publisher)  1699–1750
    Printer, journalist in England and Colonial America; First printer in Maryland officially authorized printer for the colonial government; Published first newspaper in Southern American colonies, The Maryland Gazette


  • Alexander Purdie (publisher)  1743–1779
    Printer, publisher, in colonial Williamsburg, Virginia; Printed the laws and legislative journals for the colonial government of Virginia


  • James Rivington  1724–1802
    Published a Loyalist newspaper called Rivington's Gazette

  • Joseph Royle (publisher)  1732–1766
    Newspaper publisher and printer for the colony of Virginia; Apprentice of William Hunter






  • William Strahan (publisher)  1715–1785
    Printer, publisher, and politician who sat in the House of Commons between from 1774 to 1784; Friend of Benjamin Franklin


  • Louis Timothee  1699–1738
    Printer colonial Pennsylvania and South Carolina; Worked for Benjamin Franklin, publishing newspapers, including The Pennsylvania Gazette, The South Carolina Gazette; Served as a part-time librarian in 1732 for the Library Company of Philadelphia

  • Ann Timothy  1727–1792
    Newspaper publisher from South Carolina; Became the official printer for the state of South Carolina

  • Elizabeth Timothy  1700–1757
    Printer, newspaper publisher in colony of South Carolina who worked for Benjamin Franklin; First female in America to become a newspaper publisher

  • Peter Timothy  1724–1782
    Printer and politician. Immigrated to the American colonies with his parents and worked for Benjamin Franklin



  • John Peter Zenger  1697–1746
    Famous for the 1733 landmark case where he was accused of printing libelous material about William Cosby, the colonial governor in New York;  Andrew Hamilton and William Smith, Sr. successfully defended him in New York, maintaining that telling the truth was a legitimate defense in libel cases.