THE GREAT HIT OF THE "TELEGRAPH."

Dunstan Times, Issue 908, 12 September 1879, Page 3

THE GREAT HIT OF THE "TELEGRAPH."

Mr Blanchard when lecturing lately before a crowded meeting of the London Shorthand Writers Association uponhia “Literary liecolleotinns,” gave an interesting summary of the Daily Telegraph ber of the Daily Telegraph appeared on June 29, 1535. at 21. It was started by a few military officers with the idea of humbling the Horse Guards, against which they hid a grievance. Colonel Sleigh was the editor, and nearly everybody wrote for it, though very few got paid. For [our months it dragged on a wretched existence, and it was necessary to do something. Colonel Sleigh then re' 1 need the price to Id on September 13, 1833, but the reduction made very little difference in the prospects of the paper, and the difficulties of getting to press were enormous, as sherri If-,’ officers were lying in wait o seize upon the type - i rcotly it came out of the office. Sometime a hearse was made use of; sornfetimes a cab, which was careful to go iu the opposite direction. Under such circumstances the pa) er could not go on, and ultimately Colonel Sleigh was very glad to sell, for a nominal sum, all right he had in the paper, save a small right upon which he had borrowed 1.00, and which LOO afterwards rea'ised the enormous sum of 1,373,000 ! The great hit of the paper was made over the fall of Delhi. A mail was expected on Safer lay night, and Mr 11. Hanson and Mr I’earson, who were then working the paper, got eight compositors to stay on the premises by paying them over-time out of their own pockets, ami plying them with heer. The mail.arrive-1, and the paper was published on Sunday morning with the news. The sale liy eleven o’clock had reached 30,000, and the. fortune of the ‘ Telegraph ’ was made. This was 'he only instance -September 11, 1873 -that a daily paper was published on a Sunday. To show enormous growth of the paper, Mr Blanchard mentioned that on the previous Thursday, when there was a twelve-page issue, the advertisements were of the value of L 2.221 8s !”