History Commons^™

One Year On: Preparing A Somber Holiday, John M. Rudy

Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public

Newspapers are built by bits and pieces. Type is set all throughout the week, long before the paper in Gettysburg goes to press. July's first edition in 1864 was cobbled together in the last few days of June and the first few days of July. Dropping sorts into the frames must have been agonizing work. It was labor intensive, requiring the meticulous placing of each letter and every space into the plate for every single word. [excerpt]