Before the launch of his printed newspaper, Johann Carolus earned his living writing and copying newsletters by hand for wealthy subscribers. The information came through networks of correspondents and postal services, which carried reports on political, military, and commercial events from different parts of Europe.
In 1605, after purchasing a printing house in Strasbourg, Carolus began regularly printing the news under the title “Relation aller Fürnemmen und gedenckwürdigen Historien”. Published weekly, the newspaper is regarded by many historians of the press as the earliest known regularly published printed newspaper.
From Handwritten Newsletters to Print
“Relation” was published in German and contained reports from several European centers. Surviving issues include news from the German lands, France, Italy, England, Spain, Hungary, Poland, Transylvania, Wallachia, Moldavia, and the Ottoman Empire.
The move from handwritten newsletters to print allowed Carolus to produce more copies and distribute news regularly. In December 1605, he submitted a petition to the Strasbourg authorities requesting protection against unauthorized copying of his newspaper. The petition, preserved in the archives, provides evidence that the publication began that year.
No issues from 1605 are known to have survived. The earliest surviving issues date from 1609, when a title page was also produced for the year’s issues to be bound into a single volume. Heidelberg University Library holds and has digitized issues from that year.
The newspaper continued publication after 1609. Bibliographic records indicate that it remained in circulation into the second half of the 17th century, with 1659 and 1667 both cited as possible end dates.
In 2005, marking the 400th anniversary of “Relation”, German newspapers and institutions dedicated to printing history recognized the publication as the beginning of the regularly published printed newspaper. The Gutenberg Museum in Mainz organized an exhibition devoted to four centuries of printed newspapers.