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A History of Printing in Colonial Maryland

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A History of Printing in Colonial Maryland 1686 – 1776

Authored in 1922, by Lawrence Wroth (1884-1970), an American historian, author, and librarian, published his work through the Typothetae of Baltimore, a local trade association of master printers and allied graphic arts businesses. The Typothetae of Baltimore was part of the broader late 19th and early 20th century United Typothetae of America, an organization focused on promoting industry standards, trade education, and historical documentation of printing. While working as an assistant librarian at the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore Lawrence Wroth would author over 550 works, but his most well-known are two books on colonial printing: A History of Printing in Colonial Maryland: 1686-1776 (1922) and The Colonial Printer (1931).

The first printing press in Maryland would be setup and operated by William Nuthead of St. Mary’s City in 1685. Upon his death in 1695, his wife, Dinah Nuthead, would assume his business and become the first woman in the American Colonies to be licensed as a printer when she was granted a license by the government of Maryland on May 13, 1696.

This book, A History of Printing in Colonial Maryland 1686 – 1776, is the first edition and is a much sought out precise historical reference on printmaking

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