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THE PRESS IN CHESTERTOWN

Robert Saunders, Jr., and George Gerrish launched
the first number of the Apollo; or, Chestertown Spy.
a semiweekly newspaper, in March, 1793. According
to the prospectus, which was printed in the third
number, the earliest located,

The Apollo, &c. is intended to be comprised of
original and extracted essays, moral, political
historical, commercial, agricultural, philosoph-
ical, &c. Poetry, anecdotes, and abstracts of
foreign and domestic occurrences, which may
serve to give the public a just idea of the
prosperity and political situation of our own
and other countries. To this end the editors
earnestly solicit the assistance of the learned,
in this and the neighboring counties, who wish
the prosperity of their fellow-citizens.

Provided "nothing material should occur," the Apollo
would make its appearance every Tuesday and Friday
morning, and those subscribers who resided in Chester-
town would have it in their hands by nine o'clock.
The price would be two dollars and a half per annum.
Furthermore, subscribers would receive gratis, at the
end of each session of Congress^ the proceedings of
that body, printed in an octavo pamphlet, an arrange-
ment "much superior to that of having to refer, on
every occasion to a file of newspapers."¹

The new Chestertown printing firm did not endure
much over a month, for on April 16, Saunders announced

1 Apollo. March 26, 1793*