February 18, 1861; The Charleston Mercury
We are glad to be able to announce that the increase in circulation of THE CHARLESTON MERCURY has been fully commensurate with the progress of the great cause of Southern Rights, with which this journal, since its first issue, nearly forty years ago, has always been identified. Within the last few months we have been utterly unable, with the mechanical facilities at our command, to supply in full the demand for our daily and tri weekly issues. In fact the MERCURY is now regarded and patronized as the best and most reliable medium of political, commercial and general news in the South. It has also attained an extensive circulation in many localities of the North, the West, and the Southwest, where a year ago it was comparatively but little known. As an instance of this, we may mention that we mail to a single town of Southern Illinois no less than fifty copies daily.
To meet this heavy and constantly growing increase of circulation, we have been obliged to order from the establishment of R. HOE & CO., of New York, a fast Double Cylinder Press, of the latest and most improved model. Upon this press this morning’s paper is printed. By its aid, we hope, for a time at least, to fill, satisfactorily, the orders of newsmen and subscribers. Our new machine – the most rapid in use, we believe, between Richmond and New Orleans, throwing off upwards of FOUR THOUSAND SHEETS PER HOUR – or about 85 a minute – will enable us to give the readers of our tri-weekly edition the very latest news by telegraph. Hitherto, we have often found it impossible to do this, owing to the early hour of the night at which we have had to put our country paper to press, in order to get off our large edition in time for the morning’s mail.
The readers of our daily paper in the city will also feel the benefit of our new arrangements; for, although we print more dailies than any newspaper in this part of the South, we shall now be able to have them delivered in the morning to subscribers at an earlier and more uniform hour than heretofore.
While in the matter of circulation, we have had every reason to be satisfied, the advertising patronage in Charleston, as elsewhere, has greatly fallen off during the prevailing dull times. When matters get more brisk, however, advertisers will do well to remember the advantages of THE MERCURY as a medium of giving publicity to their business and wants.
Gratified as we are at the wide and general appreciation of whatever enterprise and industry may have marked the conduct of THE MERCURY, we take the occasion to assure our readers that neither pains nor expense will be spared to make it, in all its departments, still more worthy of their favor.