Start the Press! Celebrating the Newspaper That Sparked a Revolution

Join the American Antiquarian Society for a free community open house commemorating 250 years since Isaiah Thomas brought his printing press and newspaper to Worcester--a move that sparked and helped shape the American Revolution.  That original eighteenth-century press, which Thomas named “No. 1,” is housed at AAS, the national research library of American history he founded in 1812. 

During the open house, visitors of all ages will be able to view “No. 1” and learn about its remarkable history, as well as try their hand at operating a full-size, exact replica of the press. Other activities include guided behind-the-scenes tours showing how AAS stores and preserves its vast collections of original printed materials from before 1900; exploring and touching a variety of early American publications, and more. Admission is free and complimentary refreshments will be available.  

On April 16, 1775, printer Isaiah Thomas smuggled his printing press out of Boston to Worcester so it wouldn’t be seized by the British. Three days later the Battles of Concord and Lexington started the American Revolution.  On May 3, 1775, with his press safely in Worcester, Thomas produced the first thing ever printed in the city: his newspaper, The Massachusetts Spy, which included his eye-witness account of the battles. Thomas would later found the American Antiquarian Society, a national research library that collects and makes accessible to all more than four million original printed, handwritten, and visual sources from North America before 1900.