William Hunter (publisher)

Hunter had his birth in Yorktown, Virginia, at an unknown date in the early eighteenth century.[1] His parents were William Hunter Sr. (d. 1742), a merchant of Elizabeth City County, and his wife Mary Ann Hunter (d. 1743) of a second marriage.[2] Because of William Hunter's first marriage he was a half-sibling to Colonel John Hunter, a Hampton merchant who was an agent for the British in the French and Indian War and confidant to Lieutenaut Governnor Robert Dinwiddie.[2] When Hunter grew up he received a good education in business management to become a merchant.[3]

Hunter's sister Elizabeth, sometime after the deaths of his parents, in October 1749,[3] married John Holt, a merchant, printer, and the mayor of Williamsburg (1752–1753). Since all of Hunter's sisters were minors and had no parents, they moved in with Elizabeth and her new husband at his house.[4] Hunter and his sisters lived in the large house owned by Holt from 1745 to 1754, known as the "Ravenscroft property" (two 0.5-acre (0.20 ha) lots) at the corner of Nicholson Street and Botetourt Street in Williamsburg. Hunter was then the owner of the property after Holt's death in 1754, until his death.[4][5]

Hunter was a journeyman apprentice under Virginia's first "public printer" William Parks.[1] He was an adult in 1749 and then became the foreman of Parks's print shop.[6] Upon Parks’s death in 1750, Hunter took over his position as the official government "public printer" for the colony of Virginia.[7] He was the "public printer" for the House of Burgesses from 1751 to 1761.[1][8] Hunter's salary was increased from Parks's last salary of £280 (1749) (equivalent to £41,800 or US$53,350 in 2019)[9] per year to a yearly salary of £300 (1751) (equivalent to £44,800 or US$57,200 in 2019)[9] when he became the official "public printer" for Virginia. His salary was again later increased to £350 (1759) (equivalent to £50,820 or US$64,870 in 2019)[9] per year.[8] Hunter's print shop foreman for several years was Joseph Royle.[10]

Hunter's print shop was situated on Duke of Gloucester Street and was only about a block away from where he lived at the "Ravenscroft property" at the time he was an apprentice. Hunter printed the Virginia Gazette and took over the newspaper upon Parks's death on April 1, 1750. He remained owner of The Virginia Gazette from January 3, 1751, until his death in April 1761.[1] He started his own version of the Gazette and began with his "no. 1" in February 1751.[11] It contained news of the Virginia colony, neighboring colonies, and news from England and parts of Europe. Hunter bought out Parks's print shop interest from the heirs for £288 (1753) (equivalent to £42,400 or US$54,120 in 2019)[9], which consisted of the printing presses and associated equipment.[12]

Hunter was a close friend of Benjamin Franklin.[1] In 1753, the two were appointed deputy postmaster general as co-directors of the colonies.[13] The postal business up to this point was a losing enterprise for years, as the cost of operation exceeded the income. Franklin's salary was £600 (1753) (equivalent to £88,300 or US$112,700 in 2019)[9] for running the mail service in the colonies, of which half he paid to his assistant Hunter. The deficit reached £900 (1757) (equivalent to £120,800 or US$154,200 in 2019)[9]. With the help of Hunter, he had a surplus of £280 (1760) (equivalent to £40,370 or US$51,530 in 2019)[9] and it had grown to £490 (1761) (equivalent to £72,730 or US$92,830 in 2019)[9] which he sent to England to help pay off the debt.[14][15] Franklin was responsible for the post offices in the northern colonies (Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania) and reorganized the mail service for better efficiency to make it profitable.[16] Hunter was in charge of the post offices south of Annapolis, Maryland, a position he held until his death.[2] Hunter also held the position of Justice of the Peace for the York County Court from 1759 until Hunter died[2] on August 14, 1761.[10]

Hunter's main work consisted of printing the laws of Virginia, the publication and distribution of the Virginia Gazette newspaper, and maintaining a bookstore.[1] In 1754, Hunter printed George Washington's first official report of October 1753 to January 1754 titled Journal of Major George Washington.[17][18][19]

Additional publications credited to Hunter include:

• 10 editions The journal of House of Burgesses from 1752 into 1761[20]
• 5 editions of The speech of Robert Dinwiddie[21]
• 4 editions of Acts of Assembly of General Assembly[22]
• 3 editions of A Letter to the Right Reverend Father in God, Shute, Lord Bishop of Landaff, from a Petitioner[23]
• 3 editions of Anno regni Georgii II[24]
• 2 editions of Duty of living peaceably by William Giberne, Rector of Hanover Parish[25]
• 2 editions of Anno regni Georgii III[26]
• 1 edition of Speech of Francis Fauquier[27]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to William Hunter (publisher).

• Alexander Purdie (publisher)
• David Hall (publisher)
• John Holt (publisher)

• Bryson, William Hamilton (2000). Virginia Law Books: Essays and Bibliographies, Volume 239. American Philosophical Society. ISBN 0871692392.

• Ford, Thomas K. (1959). The Bookbinder in Eighteenth-century Williamsburg. Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. ISBN 0910412154.

• McKerns, Joseph P. (1989). Biographical Dictionary of American Journalism. Greenwood. ISBN 978-0-313-23819-2.

• Thomas, Isaiah (1970). History of Printing in America. Weathervane Books. ISBN 051717202X.}

• Virginia State Library (1908). Report of the Virginia State Library, Volumes 5–7. Virginia State Library, Division of Purchase and Printing.

• Wroth, Lawrence C. (1964). The Colonial Printer. Courier Dover Publications. ISBN 0486282945.

• Inventory of Estate of William Hunter 1761