May 14, 2004
Ben Franklin and German
In spite of the concern about being overwhelmed by German-speaking hordes reported by Mark, as a young man in 1732 Benjamin Franklin was the publisher of the first German-language newspaper in North America, the Philadelphische Zeitung. It lasted only briefly, perhaps in part because Franklin did not have German type. He used his usual Caslon Antiqua, which must have seemed as odd to the German readers of the day as English printed in Fraktur type would seem to us.
Posted by Bill Poser at May 14, 2004 11:20 AM