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THE ENGLISH AND GERMAN PRINTING OFFICE: Bilingual Printers in Maryland and Virginia By KLAUS G. WUST The presence of a sizable linguistic minority among the rural popula- tion in Maryland and Virginia at the time of the Revolution gave rise to a peculiar institution in American book and newspaper publishing: the "English and German Printing Office." Unlike the early German printers of Pennsylvania and the innumerable foreign-language publishers of the 19th and 20th century immigration, the printers in the western parts of Maryland, Virginia and, in one case at least, in North Carolina depended on the patronage of both segments of their biligual communities. Before 1800, the legislatures of Maryland and Virginia had already acknowledged the presence of a second language among parts of their populations by authorizing the publication of certain state documents in German trans- lations. An unsuccessful attempt to have the same principle applied to federal laws was made by "a number of Germans residing in Virginia" in a petition to the Third United States Congress in 1794. A demand for print in English and German existed in many communities located in the farm areas even though the town population was not pre- dominantly of German origin. Wherever German-speaking inhabitants were represented in sufficient numbers, businessmen and politicians appealed to them in their vernacular. The bilingual printer could, of course, also satisfy the direct demand for almanacs, books and newspapers from the German settlements, a market which was limited by the modest intellectual exigen- cies and the proverbial thrift for which these farmers were known. Printing in both languages meant additional business which was well worth the investment in German fonts so long as German was still used in churches, schools and other functions outside the home circle. The progressive inte- gration of the Germans during the first three decades of the 19th century effected the bilingual printer less than his few colleagues whose entire business depended on German printing alone. Coming from German stock himself, he even helped to hasten this integration by offering English read- ing matter to the Germans which corresponded to their likings and needs. The following sketches of four of these bilingual printers are not to be considered as definitive descriptions of their careers. The material pre- sented here is in a sense a by-product of other projects which were pursued over the past fifteen years.* We have compiled the information available to date on each printer in order to stimulate further interest leading up to a more purposeful search for their works. We have refrained from including John Gruber of Hagerstown and the Henkel Press of New Market because their output was mainly in German during the period in review and both firms have been adequately dealt with in published studies¹ * Field trips were undertaken with the aid of a Grant from the Johnson Fund of the American Philosophical Society. 1 For Gruber see Dieter Cunz, "John Gruber and His Almanac," Maryland Historical Magazine XLVII (1952), 89-102. The Henkel Press has been the object of several studies of which Albert Sydney Edmond, "The Henkels, Early Printers in New Market, Virginia," William and Mary Quarterly 2nd Series, XVIII (1938), 174-195 is one of the best. [24] MATTHIAS BARTGIS   (1759-1825) The first printer to recognize the opportunities which the western settle- ments adjacent to Pennsylvania offered was young Matthias Bartgis. His initial success, based undoubtedly on the fact that he printed in English as well as in German, attracted many other printers to the area. The Potomac and Shenandoah region had assumed considerable economic and political significance during the Revolution. We do not know to what extent Bartgis' move to Frederick, Maryland, was influenced by the vicissi- tudes of the war itself. Unlike other men of his trade, he has left no testi- mony of himself. There are no letters or business ledgers known to have survived which could enlighten us. All information now available about him is the result of painstaking patchwork to which Joseph Towne Wheeler, Felix Reichmann and Dorothy M. Quynn have contributed important de- tails in their studies while eager family historians have added confusion through untenable conjectures.² Bartgis was a true pioneer, an innovator who was ever staking out new territory. In business he suffered many reverses and a superficial observer might easily conclude that no printer started as many unsuccessful news- papers as Bartgis. Fellow printers had reasons to beware of him because of his swiftness in reacting to competition, often with the result that all parties involved suffered loss. Nevertheless, Matthias Bartgis brought bilingual printing and journalism into the back parts of Maryland and Virginia, laid the foundations upon which others could and did thrive, and supplied the large, ethnically mixed population with reading matter of the modest intellectual level which it required. The story of the Bartgis family in America begins with the arrival of his father, Michel Bärtges, in Philadelphia on the ship Two Brothers on Sep- tember 15, 1748. The passenger list contains exclusively German names without specifying the provinces of origin other than the common remark "Palatines." Michael Bärtges was a tanner by trade. In 1755 we find him established "near the Sugar House" in Philadelphia, and in 1757 as an innkeeper and tanner on the Germantown Road "near the Governor's Mill." Next, the family is recorded in Lancaster where Matthias was born on June 3, 1759 according to an entry in the baptismal book of Trinity Lutheran Church.³ Matthias Bärtges, or Bartgis, as the family name was spelled in most later records, was apprenticed to printer William Bradford in Philadelphia. Seventeen years old at the outbreak of the Revolution, Bartgis served briefly in the army and is said to have taken part in the battle of German- town in October 1777. By that time, his name already appears in the im- print of a German almanac, Der Hinckend-und Stolpernd- dock eilfertig- liegend-und laufende Americanische Reichs-Bothe, Das ist der Allerneueste- Verbesserte und Zuverlässigste Americanische Reichs-Staats-Kriegs-Siegs- und Geschichts-Calender. This calendar was first issued for the year 1777 from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Father Bartgis, who had achieved moderate wealth by that time, was probably behind this first venture of his son just as he continued to be an agent for Matthias' later products. 2 Joseph Towne Wheeler, The Maryland Press 1777-1790 (Baltimore, 1938), 57-62; Felix Reichmann, "German Printing in Maryland, A Check List, 1768-1950," Reports, Society for the History of the Germans in Maryland XXVII (1950), 9-70 (Bartgis Imprints on pp. 23-25, 28-85); Dorothy Mackay Quynn, "Bartgis' Lost Newspaper," in Biographical Notes of Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America, LV (1961), 1-4. A good compilation of Bartgis material was published by Sigfred Taubert in his series "Zur Geschichte des deutschen und deutschsprachigen Buckdrucks und Buchhandels im Ausland" in Börsenblatt für den Deutschen Buchhandel [Frankfurter Ausgabe] IX (1953) No 60 373-874. 3 Ralph Beaver Strassburger and William John Hinke, Pennsylvania German Pioneers (Norristown Pa., 1934), I, 379-380, II, 418; Pennsylvanische Berichte, Germantown, Pa. July 1, 1756; Philadelphische Zeitung, November 4, 1757; Taufbuch, Trinity Lutheran Church, Lancaster, Pa. [25] The exact time of Matthias Bartgis' removal to Maryland has not been ascertained. We may assume that it was during the latter part of the year 1777. His first Maryland imprint is the Maryland Almanac for the Year of our Lord 1778. German calendars for 1778 and 1779 still bear the Lan- caster address but the fourth edition (for 1780) came from Friedrichstadt. That Matthias Bartgis was set up in business by his father is corroborated by a passage in Michael Bartgis' will which assigned to Matthias only the token payment of one shilling, "his having already received a printing press and types, a dwelling house in Fredericktown, and other property." 4 During his first years in Frederick, Bartgis faced no local competition in western Maryland and the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. There was much demand for handbills and broadsides of all sorts. Bartgis' shop did job printing for various churches and for businessmen in English and in German. After considerable advance publicity on handbills, Bartgis launched his first newspapers. The bi-weekly German Märyländische Zeitung was started in October 1785, its English companion, The Maryland Chronicle or the Universal Advertiser, followed in January 1786. 5 For both papers he aimed at a widespread circulation in the territory between York, Pennsylvania, and Winchester, Virginia. He advised his subscribers to band together in groups of fifty-two in every locality so that only one of them would have to travel to Frederick once a year to fetch the newspaper. As this suggestion seemed little enticing, he hired a postrider "for the purpose of conveying my English and German News-papers to Funk's-Town, Hager's-Town, Sharpsburg, Shepherd's-Town, Martinsburgh, and Winchester." 6 Encouraged by the business which came his way from Virginia, Bartgis entered into a partnership with Henry Willcocks of Winchester in order to establish a printing press there and issue a local newspaper. By June 1787 he advertised for a partner to assume the management of his "Printing Office in the English and German Language, and the two public papers" in Frederick. We do not know whether his search for such a manager was successful and whether he was planning to move to Winchester himself at that time. The new weekly Virginia Gazette, and Winchester Advertiser appeared first on July 11, 1787. For about a month Bartgis was the agent for the Winchester Gazette in Frederick, and Willcocks served in the same capacity for Bartgis' Maryland Chronicle in Winchester. Already in August, 1787 the imprint of the paper was changed to " Printed by Bartgis and Willcocks." By January 1788, however, Bartgis became the sole proprietor of the Winchester press. Willcocks called on all persons to whom he was indebted to furnish their accounts immediately, thus ending Bartgis' first partnership in Virginia though not the last one. Bartgis proceeded at once with plans "to enlarge the Virginia Gazette, and to embellish it with an entire new type, which is now completing for me at Philadelphia." Time and again he proudly referred to his shop as the first press founded in Winchester. 7 In October 1787, he also reached north and established the Pennsylvania Chronicle, or the York Weekly Advertiser in partnership with Thomas Roberts, owner of a press in York. This venture was abandoned after a few months. 8 Evidently he had not found a reliable man for the management 4 Lancaster County Land Records, Book F/l/283 as cited by Quynn. 5 For listings of Bartgis' English-language newspapers see Clarence S. Brigham, History and Bibliography of American Newspapers 16SO-182O (Worcester, Mass., 1947), Frederick, Md., I, 259-262; York, Pa., II, 990; Winchester, Va., II, 1167; Staunton, Va., II, 1153. For his German newspapers see Reichmann's check list and Klaus G. Wust, "Matthias Bartgis' Newspapers in Virginia," The American-German Review, XVIII (1951), No. 1, 16-18. 6 Maryland Chronicle, January 18, 1786. 7 All details cited in this paragraph have been gathered from the almost complete file of the Virginia Gazette, and Winchester Advertiser in the Handley Library of Winchester, Va. 8 Brigham, op. cit., II, 990. [26] of his Frederick shop and now encountered great difficulties running print- shops so far apart as Winchester and Frederick. As good editors and printers were scarce, Bartgis was quite fortunate in securing Nathaniel Willis for the Gazette in March 1788. Willis, "a gentleman who had carried on the printing business for upwards of ten years in Boston," remained the editor of the Virginia Gazette for almost two years. Apparently Bartgis did not do much to keep the printshop in good shape, for Willis dissolved their business association, complaining in April 1790: "The lingering diffi- culties I experienced during my late partnership, for want of the necessary implements for the completion of my business, was a grievance of a very mournful nature." Willis began immediately to publish a competitive sheet, the Willis' Virginia Gazette. 9 As early as March 1788 Bartgis was looking for bilingual help in his Winchester office. Notably the search for " a Journeyman Printer, Who is Master of the German language" indicates Bartgis' early intention to publish also a German newspaper in Virginia. By April 1788 the Gazette shop was equipped to strike off handbills in German "on short notice." The issues of June 1788 carried an announcement in German which tells us of the first regular postrider service in the Valley of Virginia. Adam Hickman of Rockbridge County, a German Revolutionary War veteran, and in August 1789, Peter Bernhart of Keezletown were employed by Bartgis to carry his "English and German newspapers" and all other mail "any person may wish forwarded with care." This service was provided every other week between Winchester and Staunton. The private mail system thus initiated by Bartgis years before United States postal routes were opened was extended in 1790 to include a bi-weekly run from Staunton to Fincastle. It was an important factor for rapid and regular communication between York, Pennsylvania and Botetourt County in Vir- ginia and certainly strengthened the vital link which connected the German settlements in Pennsylvania, western Maryland and the hinterland of Vir- ginia. A departure from this north-south pattern was the post which Bartgis sponsored from Lexington to Fauquier County in 1789. The mail- rider service was but a by-product of his enterprise. His primary concern was naturally the marketing of his print and the expansion of his newspaper chain. In June 1789, he announced in a German column of his Winchester Gazette: "As I have been asked repeatedly by my German countrymen why I do not issue a German newspaper here in this city, I am now willing to do so." On a separate broadside, he extolled the advantages of a Vir- ginische Zeitung and announced a number of agents. Their location is indicative of the areas in which Bartgis expected to find his subscribers: Ludwig Meyers in Martinsburg, Bernhart Miller in Shepherdstown, Hein- rich Becker in Winchester, Joseph Stauffer in Strasburg, Matthias Zehring in Woodstock, Peter Bernhart in Keezletown, Peter Heisckell in Staunton, and, as the only place outside the Shenandoah Valley, Jacob Kuhn in Fredericksburg. The plan of publishing a German newspaper drew immedi- ate criticism from another competitor in Winchester, Richard Bowen of the Virginia Centinel for paying " particular adulation to the Germans " and forgetting to have a sheet ready " for the amusement of the Irish." Bartgis retorted in strong words and the controversy continued for a while, laying bare certain animosities which existed among the various ethnic groups in Winchester. On August 5th, Bartgis reported the arrival of a complete German printing equipment in Winchester and on September 2, 1789, the 9 Willis' Virginia, Gazette, April 24, 1790. Nathaniel Willis was active as a printer in Boston during the Revolutionary War. From 1788 until 1790 he was in Winchester, established the first news- paper in what is now West Virginia in Shepherdstown in 1790 and published a paper in Martinsburg from 1792 until 1799 when he moved to Chillicothe, Ohio. Cf. Douglas C. McMurtrie, Pioneer Printing in Ohio (Cincinnati, 1943), 7. [27] Virginische Zeitung was to have left the press. No copy of this paper has been found and, if it appeared as scheduled, it must not have lasted long. 10 Still in February 1790 Bartgis wanted apprentices "that can read and write the German language" but he might have needed them for job printing in Winchester. Even Bowen answered the apparent demand for handbills in German by hiring German apprentices. Curiously enough, the two competi- tors, Bartgis and Bowen, joined forces in another enterprise. Already in January 1788, Bartgis had contemplated publishing the Virginia Chronicle or, The Western Intelligencer in Staunton. The response from the public was not too encouraging but two years later he persuaded Bowen to publish jointly with him the weekly Staunton Gazette which marked the beginning of printing in the southern part of the Shenandoah Valley. 11 The good fortune of Matthis Bartgis, who had engaged himself so heavily in Virginia that he discontinued both his English and German papers in Maryland, began to turn. In January 1792 he was forced to sell his entire printing equipment to Bowen and forthwith concentrated his efforts again on his Maryland interests which included the Bartgis paper mill at Pleasant Dale, about five miles northwest of Frederick. In his Maryland printing office, book publishing formed a part of the output although it was limited to ABC-books, a popular medical guide for farmers which ran through several editions, and Mason L. Weems' Life of Washington in the original and in a German translation. The General Assembly of Mary- land commissioned Bartgis to translate and publish a German version of the proceedings of the Constitutional Convention of 1787. 12 By May 1792, Bartgis was ready to publish an English weekly from Frederick, Bartgis' Federal Gazette which—under several names—was to last longer than any other newspaper of his career. A German paper fol- lowed suit very soon despite his previous, sad experience with the German- reading public. In the first issue of Bärtgis's General Staatsbothe, dated January 5, 1793, the publisher states what looks like a good reason for resuming such a newspaper: "There are no German papers printed within eighty miles around," and it pains him. "to see and hear how Germans, who do not understand enough English, turn this Garden of God, this flourish- ing America into a land of Hottentots through a confusion of tongues worse than Babel and an ignorance which borders on absurdity." Bartgis makes it quite plain to his readers that he is about to do them a last and exceptional favor. He admonishes them not to lend their Staatsbothe to neighbors which would amount to robbing him of his deserved rewards: "I do not want to make public the shamefulness of many Germans, BUT names of repute shout loud at me from my ledger of the last German newspaper, they have been crying for three, four and more years: Shame! Shame! The memory of the many troublesome and costly trips also shouts at me, trips I had to make in order to collect these well-earned, trifling sums." A few weeks later, at last, we learn of the real reason for Bartgis' decision to favor the Germans with a paper again. Samuel Saur was about to move to Baltimore and was trying to solicit one thousand subscribers before starting a German newspaper. By issuing the Staatsbothe Bartgis hoped to discourage Saur, a move which delayed Saur's German newspaper but not for long. 13 10 The Virginische Zeitung, the controversy between Bartgis and Bowen and the postrider system have been dealt with in my article in the American-German Review XVIII (1951), No. 1, 16-18. See also Klaus G. Wust, " The Postman's Predecessor " in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, July 1, 1951. The postrider service to Botetourt was announced in the Staunton Gazette, February 5, 1790. 11 Winchester Virginia Gazette, January 10, 1788;  Staunton Gazette, February 6, 1790. 12 For German books and broadsides printed by Bartgis see Reichmann, op. cit. 28-36, t 28-36, 13  Staatsbothe,  March  2,  1793.    Samuel  Saur  (Sower)  and his printing career in Baltimore were described  by  Dieter   Cunz  in  his  work   The  Maryland   Germans  (Princeton,   1948),   168-170  and  by Sigfred Taubert in the December 1953 issue of the Börsenblatt. [28] The Staatsbothe is of some interest because it is the only early German newspaper of western Maryland of which a complete, one-year file has been preserved. Hidden deliberately from researchers by a descendant, it has only recently become accessible in the collection of the C. Burr Artz Library of Frederick, Maryland. 14 The first issue is dated January 5, 1793 and the last one, the twenty- sixth, December 21,1793. The Staatsbothe was issued every other Wednes- day. It was printed on one sheet folded into four pages, each measuring 10 by 16 inches. The content differs little from other contemporary Ameri- can papers. Local flavor is provided almost exclusively by the advertise- ments which in some cases will be of interest to students of early crafts and trades. In March and April, the Staatsbothe carried much news of the French Revolution, sparing its readers no terrifying detail of the sufferings of French royalty. Significantly enough, a letter to the editor from " a citizen " in the August 17 issue defends the uprising of the French people. In the last number, Bartgis voices strong criticism of the spreading manger cult: "In these days when cradles are being placed in Christian churches and to the singing of lullabies a wooden likeness of Christ is being rocked, it is either idolatry or something pretty close to it." Despite its low price of only seven shillings sixpence the Staatsbothe had no more luck than its predecessor. Nor did it fulfill its publishers hope of keeping competition from his doors. Saur established himself in Baltimore and in 1795 John Gruber opened shop in nearby Hagerstown. Bartgis still had the Gazette, the ownership of which he retained until his retirement. As a publisher he became twice again involved in bilingual periodicals. From June 22, 1802 until December 23, 1806 he edited and published the Hornet, an English weekly in which he announced in the first issue: "We shall give our readers something in German every week from now on." But except for some scattered German notices in volume one, the promise was not kept until the Summer of 1803 when a German section, Der Hornet made its appearance on the last page and remained there for most of the issues until December 1806. At that time Bartgis sold his rights to the Hornet to William B. Underwood who had been his partner for a while. Again from July 1807 until December 1808, the familiar imprint of Matthias Bartgis adorned a weekly, The Independent American Volunteer —Der Americanische Voluntair. Both of these bilingual papers showed strong Republican leanings, particularly the Hornet which carried this motto: "To true Republicans I will sing But aristocrats shall feel my sting." The staid Gazette avoided partisan politics, a fact which might have con- tributed to its long life. That Bartgis did not print all his publications himself is evident from a letter which the New Market printer Ambrose Henkel wrote to his brother Solomon in May 1807: "I was in Frederick Town at Bartgis', he wished to give me work but it did not suit me, there- fore I went on. He does not print his paper anymore, but has it printed for him." 15 There were several other printshops active in Frederick. John P. Thomson produced books which were sold under Jacob D. Dietrick's imprint in Hagerstown. Charles T. Melsheimer did German printing for a number of years. The latter's role and possible relationship to the Bartgis 14 See footnote (43) in Cunz, The Maryland Germans, 171. The Artz Library now does not only permit researchers to consult the original but also has a microfilm version which is accessible to the general public. The Staatsbothe was presented to the library by Lillian Culler Storm and Margaret Storm Moore. 15 Letter Ambrose Henkel to Solomon Henkel, May 24, 1807.   Tusing Collection of New Market, Va. [29] firm are not at all clear. Known Melsheimer imprints in Frederick include several religious books and pamphlets, ornate birth certificates and two weekly newspapers, Der Freiheitsbothe and the Plain Dealer, all dated between 1810 and 1813. Information is also lacking about the full career of Matthias E. Bartgis, son of the elder Matthias, who published the Philantropist in Winchester, Virginia, 16 from 1806 until 1809, and a weekly German newspaper in Frederick, Der General Staatsbothe und Wahre Republicaner from March 1810 till 1813. Except for one surviving issue, we know only that Bartgis, junior, offered the German paper for sale in March 1812, claiming a sub- scribers' list of five hundred names. As early as 1811, Matthias E. Bartgis is mentioned as a partner in the paternal business. Another son, B. F. Bartgis, was also trained as a printer but turned farmer instead. The elder Matthias sold his interest in the Gazette in 1820 and retired from business. He died in his 66th year on April 6th, 1825. 17 In spite of these numerous details which could be gathered on his pub- lishing and printing activities, we are still far from knowing much about Matthias Bartgis. The man who brought the first printing press to western Maryland at the time of the Revolution, who founded the first newspapers in the inland towns of western Virginia, speaks to us only through the impersonal columns of his editorials in a language as blunt as it was in- elegant at times. Contemporary printers mention him rarely although all knew him. Seemingly he was not a man to turn to with the same confi- dence that John Gruber inspired in his colleagues. We also miss his name on the rosters of public life and of church activities. Bartgis' days were probably filled more than enough with work and often worry. The printery, the paper mill, a book bindery, and for a while, a chain of newspapers had to be managed. Help was hard to find. Good printers could find ready employment in the large cities and older population centers. Bartgis was ever looking for help, from well-endowed partners who would share his risks to the "young lad, about 14 or 15 years of age who can read well, and write tolerably, in the English and German languages." 18 Much of his time was no doubt spent collecting debts although his subscribers did not have to pay cash: "Any kind of County Produce is received by M. Bartgis & Co. in payment for this paper," the Winchester Gazette announced. Bartgis knew the farmers and townsfolk of his area well. It was for them that he published what they needed and what he thought good for them. JOHN WISE (1773-1844) Johannes Weiss (John Wise) was born in Frederick, Maryland, on September 2, 1773. 19 His parents, Heinrich Weiss and Catherina Brunner were members of the local Lutheran church and their son was baptized there on February 26, 1775 by Pastor John Andrew Krug. 20 There is noth- ing else known about the youth of John Wise except that he learned the printer's trade. He might well have been one of the youngsters whom Bartgis trained in his Frederick printery. At the age of twenty years, Wise served with Major General Anthony Wayne's army as a sergeant in Captain Price's company during the campaign against the Indians and participated in the battle of the Maumee in August 1794. In the following 16 John K. Gott, " Imprints of Winchester, Virginia, 1787-1876," Master Thesis, Catholic University, 1953. 17 The date of Bartgis' death has been verified by William Rogers Quynn from the diary of Jacob Engelbrecht. Dr. Quynn is preparing this diary for publication. (See Reports, SHGM XXXI (1963), 63-6B). 18 Maryland Chronicle, February 1, 1786. 19 We owe thanks to Miss Evelyn L. Moore of Lynchburg, Va. for her considerable help in locating information on John Wise. 20 A photostatic copy of the baptismal certificate was furnished by Miss Moore. [30] year, Wise left the army and came to Staunton, Virginia where he printed the Virginia Gazette and Staunton Weekly Advertiser for Robert Douthat. Early in September 1796, Douthat sold his paper to Wise & Adams, a partnership that was dissolved soon afterward. John Wise became the sole proprietor of the newspaper. He renamed it The Phenix in 1798 and adorned it with an unusual masthead inspired by Pennsylvania German folk motifs. The printshop was then located " on the Main Street, three doors above the Rising Sun." 21 Knowledge about Wise's activities as a printer in Staunton remained obscured for many years and the presence of other men by the same name in Staunton led to some confusion. 22 In 1951, Mr. John Cook Wyllie of the Alderman Library drew our attention to an item " Printed by John Wise, at his English and German Printing Office.' Meanwhile, a business ledger kept by Wise mainly during the years 1796-1803, with some later entries, has been turned over to the Alderman Library by his descendants. 23 It provides many a glimpse at his work as a bilingual printer in Augusta County. Most of the recorded business transactions were concerned with his English newspaper but the ledger also reveals that Wise published a German weekly newspaper in Staunton. Unfortunately, he never refers to its name and speaks only of his "German paper" instead. It seems to have started at the beginning of January 1800 and according to an order for a subscription entered on March 3, 1802 was still being published more than two years later. The names of many subscribers and advertisers in the ledger suggest that it was circulated principally in Augusta County. The subscription price in 1800 was nine shillings. Many orders for handbills and pamphlets are recorded, frequently to be executed in both languages. No copy of Wise's German newspaper and broadsides has ever been found which shows how much of the early German material in the Shenandoah Valley is lost. In 1799, for instance, Wise printed handbills for Jacob Swoope, German leader of the Federalists in Augusta who was subsequently elected the first mayor of Staunton. Wise's customers included a number of non-German businessmen who ordered advertising in German. He seems to have printed a few books and booklets, all of them in English. There are a treatise on the art of punctuation and John Glendy's oration on the death of Washington which have been located. John Wise's paper purchases are not without interest. It has been known for some time that Gideon Morgan and Peter Burckhart 24 were authorized to conduct a lottery in 1790 to raise funds for the erection of a paper mill near Staunton. The names of the papermakers in the early years do not appear in local records. Wise's ledger might provide the clue as to which craftsman set up the successful paper mill on Mossy Creek. The printer mentions "Daniel Woomelsdorf" several times. In 1797 he records a pur- chase of twenty-four reams of printing paper for 18 Pounds from Womels-