Public Ledger
Co-founded
by William
Moseley Swain, Arunah Stepherdson
Abell and Azariah H.
Simmons
First
publication: 1836
Building a Newspaper
The Founders
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Charles Gebhard
Three Founders: Azariah H. Simmons (d. 1956);
Arunah S. Abell (1806-88); William
Swain (c. 1808-68) 1856
Oil on paper mounted to linen affixed
to matboard
18 63/64 x 17 23/32 in. (48.2 x 45.0 cm.)
Gift of Mr. Frank L. Fenwick
Holding Institution: Maryland Historical Society
Accession: 1971-2-1
Full-length portrait
shows Azariah H. Simmons, Arunah S. Abell, and William Swain, the three founders of the Public Ledger (Philadelphia, Pa.) and the Sun (Baltimore, Md.). Simmons, Abell, Swain lean against one another. A
red-upholstered mid -19th century side chair is seen at left, and the image
has green-brown background.
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About
the Newspaper
The Philadelphia Public Ledger. Founded as the city's first penny
paper and edited by W. M. Swain, this newspaper advocated independent voting
and a free press, voiced its opposition to the Bank of the United States, and
after its sale to G. W. Childs (1864) became well known for its carefully
substantiated attacks on war profiteering, monopolies, and debased currency and
its editorials on political and moral corruption. The Philadelphia Inquirer
took over the paper in 1934, renaming it the Evening Public Ledger. It
ceased publication in 1942.
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Lithograph by Thomas Sinclair on title page of:
The Ledger Polka: Dedicated to
the Public Ledger Philada.
by James Bellak.
Philadelphia: Edward
L. Walker, 1849.
Box 27, no. 7.
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The Public Ledger was first issued on Friday
March 25, 1836 at 2nd and Dock. The newspaper moved its offices on October
12, 1840 to
its new building at Third and Chestnut Streets. It continued to publish until
1934, when it was absorbed by the Philadelphia
Inquirer.
Evolution of the Public Ledger Building
The Foundation – The Swain Years
The First Publication of the Ledger
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Northwest
corner of 2nd and Dock Streets
"It
would have been mostly seafarers who took advantage of the great variety of
services provided at this establishment near the waterfront. Each proprietor
had an eye-catching display, but none so arresting as the ship carver's
models at the second floor windows.
Before
these businesses moved into the building, The Public Ledger was published
here in 1837. The Anthracite Building in the background is
reminiscent of the early coal business in Philadelphia, which developed into
a big industry after 1820. At this time the city received its first shipment
of anthracite coal, weighing over 300 tons."--OPEP, p. 28.
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The
intersection, unpaved street with patches of snow. Commercial buildings with
signs: "J.B. Irwin & W.H. Young, Carvers" ; "J.B. Smith
Pattern & Model Maker" ; "Tobacco imported and domestic segars of the best brands" ; "Victor Grimm
Practical Hair Cutting" : "Clark & Son's Painting ..." ;
"Mercantile Hotel" ; "Anthracite Building". Men stand on
corner, carts and horse-drawn wagons on street. Street light on sidewalk.
Reprinted
in: Old Philadelphia in early photographs,
1839-1914/edited by Robert F. Looney. New York: Dover Publications, c1976.
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The Second Public Ledger Building
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[Plate 4, South Side]
Rae, Julio H. Rae's Philadelphia
Pictorial Directory & Panoramic Advertiser. Philadelphia: Julio
H. Rae, 1851., p. Plate 4, South Side
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Public Ledger Building 300 Chestnut Street (SE Corner 3rd
and Chestnut Street, Phila., PA),
picture dated 1865 (2nd Public Ledger Building) Robert
Newell Library Company of Philadelphia
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Public Ledger Building seen at left in a picture of Chestnut Street [Perkins' Collections at the
Historical Society of Pennsylvania]
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[No. 6, June 1879, 300
Block Chestnut St., South Side]
Baxter's Panoramic Business Directories, Athenaeum of Philadelphia.
Seen as William James Swain’s Public Record
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The Childs’ Years
“S.W. Corner 6th and Chestnut Sts
in 18. Now the 3rd Public Ledger Office” 1865 Robert Newell
Library Company of Philadelphia
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Public Ledger Newspaper Building, Phila., PA built
1867-1868
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[No. 5, June 1879, 600
Block Chestnut St., South Side]
Baxter's Panoramic Business Directories, Athenaeum of Philadelphia.
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[600-32 Chestnut Street (Public Ledger Building)]
Chestnut Street, from Ledger Building, Sixth and Chestnut Streets, Looking West
(Arch and Eng Div)
Philadelphia Historical
Commission Files, Philadelphia
Historical Commission.
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What Remains of the Ledger Today
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[600-32 Chestnut Street (Public Ledger Building)] As it
appears today.
(12/27/1999)
Philadelphia
Historical Commission Files, Philadelphia
Historical Commission.
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The statue of Benjamin Franklin once overlooking the
corner of 6th and Walnut Streets from the second Ledger Building at that
location, now resides inside the current Public Ledger Building.
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