27 APRIL 1956, Page 17

THE 'GLOUCESTER JOURNAL'

SIR,—The first issue of the Gloucester Journal appeared on April 9, 1722. Before that date there were thirty-six provincial newspapers published, and of those only six have survived to the present day.

During the fifty-five years of the Gloucester City Libraries' existence every effort has been made to form a complete file of the Gloucester Journal, and lately six issues dated 1737 have been presented by Bristol Public Libraries. For 205 years—from January, 1751, to date—the file is continuous and unbroken, and the Gloucester Libraries now need only twelve numbers to form a complete set from July 4, 1738, to the present time.

Appeal is made for copies of any issues between 1722 and 1738, and for the twelve missing numbers from 1738: April 28 and September 8, 1741; March 9, 1742; April 26 and June 14, 1743; April 3 and May 15, 1744; March 19 and 26, 1745; July 22, 1746; July 21, 1747; and July 4, 1749.—Yours faithfully,

'F. IIANNAM-CLARK

Chairman Gloucester City Libraries and Museums Committee