Cornelia Smith Bradford (died August 1755) was a printer and newspaper editor located in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
. She is one of only eleven American women known to have supported themselves as printers before the
American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolu ...
.
Life and career
Born Cornelia Smith in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
(date unknown), Cornelia grew up in a family of comfortable means. She married
Andrew Bradford
Andrew Bradford (1686 – November 24, 1742) was an early American printer in colonial Philadelphia. He published the first newspaper in Philadelphia, ''The American Weekly Mercury'', beginning in 1719, as well as the first magazine in America in ...
, son of
William Bradford, both printers.
She was said to have been "remarkable for beauty and talents," though their marriage was said to be unhappy.
Andrew owned a print shop in Philadelphia as well as the ''American Weekly Mercury'' newspaper, founded in 1719.
Upon Andrew's death, Cornelia took over his printing press, shop, and management of his newspaper. In 1742/3, she hired one Isaiah Warner as an assistant, but from 1744 until the last issue of the ''Mercury'' on May 22, 1746, Cornelia was the sole editor and printer.
In addition the newspaper, her shop printed
almanac
An almanac (also spelled ''almanack'' and ''almanach'') is an annual publication listing a set of current information about one or multiple subjects. It includes information like weather forecasts, farmers' planting dates, tide tables, and othe ...
s and various other publications. Cornelia was also a bookbinder and bookseller. She owned land in New York City, Philadelphia, and
Germantown. In 1755, she died in Philadelphia and was buried in the
Christ Church cemetery.
See also
*
List of women printers and publishers before 1800
The list of women printers and publishers before 1800 include women active as printers or publishers prior to the 19th century. Before the printing press was invented, books were made from pages written by scribes, and it could take up to a year ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bradford, Cornelia Smith
1755 deaths
American printers
18th-century American newspaper publishers (people)
Year of birth unknown
Women printers
Journalists from New York City
18th-century American businesswomen