The collection runs through the development of the press in England, Licensing Acts and censorship, dynastic changes, and virulent Whig and Tory antagonism. Notable content includes:

• The Glorious Revolution of 1688, including James II’s General Pardon and calls for the loyalty of his subjects
• Both versions of The Female Tatler, the first known periodical with a female editor, and all four issues of The Ladies Mercury, an early example of a periodical aimed at women
• The deaths of monarchs from Charles II to George I, as well as reports on the death of James II in France in 1701
• Narratives of social change and morality, such as ‘Against Duelling’, ‘Liberty of Printing’ and ‘Inhumane Treatment of the Blacks’
• Movements in international politics, such as reports on the signing of the Treaty of Utrecht and Queen Anne’s speech to Parliament

About John Nichols

John Nichols (1745–1826) was a London printer and avid collector of newspapers, which he used to inform his literary and historical research work. He assembled his collection through the purchase of smaller lots or archives at auction when opportunities arose. In 1808, his large collection escaped a dramatic fire at his printing office and warehouse, only to be greatly reduced later when many of the newspapers were stolen and never recovered. After his death, the remaining newspapers were kept in the Nichols family until 1864, when many were sold at auction. In the following year, the present 1672-1737 Nichols newspapers collection was sold to the Bodleian library. Originally bound in 96 volumes, of which number 14 (July 1705-July 1708) and 90 (January-April 1736) no longer exist, the collection was later re-bound into the present 296 volumes by splitting each volume in three or four parts labelled A through D.

You can search this eResource through Gale Primary Sources which allows you to simultaneously search many other historical magazines and newspapers at the same time including the 17th and 18th Century Burney Newspaper