John Foster (printer)
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John Foster (1648 – September 9, 1681) was an early American woodcut printmaker and letterpress printer who operated a printing shop in
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
in the
Massachusetts Bay Colony The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1628–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around Massachusetts Bay, one of the several colonies later reorganized as the Province of M ...
when the colony was still in its infancy. He is credited with printing the first image in British colonial America, from a
woodcut Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts. Areas that ...
he carved of the
Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...
minister
Richard Mather Richard Mather (1596 – 22 April 1669) was a New England Puritan minister in colonial Boston. He was father to Increase Mather and grandfather to Cotton Mather, both celebrated Boston theologians. Biography Mather was born to Thomas Mather ...
. He also printed the first map in the colonies, also from a woodcut that he carved. Foster graduated from
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
, but was a self-taught pioneer in American
printmaking Printmaking is the process of creating work of art, artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand proces ...
in woodcut, and also learned the art of
typography Typography is the art and technique of Typesetting, arranging type to make written language legibility, legible, readability, readable and beauty, appealing when displayed. The arrangement of type involves selecting typefaces, Point (typogra ...
from the Boston printer Marmaduke Johnson. He subsequently printed many works by prominent religious figures of the day in Massachusetts, and for a few years printed and published an annual almanac. His woodcuts were also used for the printing of official seals of the Massachusetts Bay Colony used by the provincial government.


Early life

Foster was born in Dorchester, Massachusetts, which later became part of
South Boston South Boston (colloquially known as Southie) is a densely populated neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, located south and east of the Fort Point Channel and abutting Dorchester Bay (Boston Harbor), Dorchester Bay. It has under ...
. He was the second son and fourth child of Hopestill and Mary (Bates) Foster. He was baptized in Dorchester on December 10, 1648, by the
Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...
minister
Richard Mather Richard Mather (1596 – 22 April 1669) was a New England Puritan minister in colonial Boston. He was father to Increase Mather and grandfather to Cotton Mather, both celebrated Boston theologians. Biography Mather was born to Thomas Mather ...
, who arrived in the British colonies in 1635. Foster's father was a
brewer Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with yeast. It may be done in a brewery by a commercial brewer, ...
and a member of the
Massachusetts General Court The Massachusetts General Court, formally the General Court of Massachusetts, is the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts located in the state capital of Boston. Th ...
. Foster attended
Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...
and graduated in the class of 1667 with a bachelor's degree, Littlefield, 1907, v. 2, p. 3 some two years after he began teaching English, Latin, and writing in his hometown. Paltsits; Malone (ed.), 1932, v. 6, p.549 His graduation class contained only seven students. Littlefield, 1900, p. 89 After graduation he pursued a post-graduate course, but according to Harvard's records did not complete the course, as his name does not appear in their Quinquennial Catalogue. In October 1669, Foster replaced Rev. Hope Atherton, also a graduate of Harvard College as the teacher at the school in Dorchester, receiving a salary of £25 a year, later raised to £30 a year. He taught at Dorchester until late in 1674. Investigations by Samuel Green, once the official printer in
Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...
, reveals that Foster had possessed a natural talent for drawing and sketching, and early in life was drawn to the art of wood-engraving. After securing the necessary tools, he spent his leisure hours in learning the art. The crudeness of his work indicates that he was probably self-taught, although he may have been influenced by
John Hull John Hull may refer to: Politicians *John Hull (MP for Hythe) (died 1540 or after), MP for Hythe *John Hull (MP for Exeter) (died 1549), English MP for Exeter * John A. T. Hull (1841–1928), American politician * John C. Hull (politician) (1870†...
, the mint-master, and Edward Budd, a prominent carver who was in Boston as early as 1665. Littlefield, 1907, v. 2, p. 4


Printing career

Few details are known of Foster's career as a printer, which is often the case for mid-seventeenth-century printers. According to Foster's biographer,
Samuel Abbott Green Samuel Abbott Green (March 16, 1830 – December 5, 1918) was an American physician-turned-politician from Massachusetts who served as a medical officer during the American Civil War and as mayor of Boston in 1882. He was an elected member of th ...
, it is difficult to write an extensive biography of his personal and professional life. Foster was the first
printmaker Printmaking is the process of creating artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand processed technique ...
to emerge in British colonial America and is considered to be a pioneer and innovator in this art. During Foster's time, the various crafts and trades were in their early development in colonial America and had not been specialized, as there was little time to devote to these things over the priorities of maintaining a comfortable life in the virgin frontier. Foster "took up engraving as an avocation" (meaning
printmaking Printmaking is the process of creating work of art, artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand proces ...
) in 1671 and became the earliest printmaker in colonial America. After Richard Mather died, his son,
Increase Mather Increase Mather (; June 21, 1639 Old Style – August 23, 1723 Old Style) was a History of New England, New England Puritan clergyman in the Massachusetts Bay Colony and the sixth President of Harvard University, President of Harvard College (la ...
, wrote a biography of Richard's life, printed and published by Samuel Green and Marmaduke Johnson in Cambridge in 1670, whose front piece bore an imprint from Foster's wood-cut of Mather. Littlefield, 1907, v. 2, p. 4 It is considered the first printed image created in the American colonies. A few years later, he purchased the printshop of Marmaduke Johnson from his widow which Johnson had established shortly before his death in 1674. Foster had learned the finer arts of typography and use of the printing press from Johnson. Like Johnson, Foster was also required to obtain a license to open and operate a printing office in Boston. Early the following year, Foster assumed control of Marmaduke's printing establishment and commenced printing operations "over against the Sign of the Dove," and became the premier and pioneering printer of Boston. Also that year, Foster began publishing an annual almanac which contained both science and the Zodiac with "An Almanack of Cœlestial Motions for the Year of the Christian Epocha", with year date noted in each yearly issue, with the first publication issued in 1675 and its last appearing in 1681, the year of Foster's early death. His almanacks contain a number of astrological and other imprints made from his woodcuts. Print historian Richard Holman explains that Foster's frustration with the bad quality of Cambridge printer Samuel Green on Foster's
almanac An almanac (also spelled almanack and almanach) is a regularly published listing of a set of current information about one or multiple subjects. It includes information like weather forecasting, weather forecasts, farmers' sowing, planting dates ...
during 1675 prompted him to give it a try as printer. Holman adds "perhaps Foster looked at the title page and decided that a bright
Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...
man could certainly do better." In 1672, Foster engraved on wood the
Massachusetts Bay Colony The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1628–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around Massachusetts Bay, one of the several colonies later reorganized as the Province of M ...
seal, modeled after the original silver seal which was cut in England, and sent over to Governor Endicott in 1629. Foster's seals were used on official documents, and the colonial laws, including ''The General Laws and Liberties of the Massachusetts Colony'', printed by Samuel Green. Evident in different editions of the laws, the engravings of this seal reveal variations, and suggest that Foster must have cut several separate seals. Foster's woodcuts were frequency used between 1675 and 1678, and appeared on various official documents until the
Andros Andros (, ) is the northernmost island of the Greece, Greek Cyclades archipelago, about southeast of Euboea, and about north of Tinos. It is nearly long, and its greatest breadth is . It is for the most part mountainous, with many fruitful and ...
government of 1686. From 1678 on Foster's woodcut appears on many colonial documents indicating that nearly all the official printing contracts went to him after that date." An example of Foster's Massachusetts colonial seal also appears in
Increase Mather Increase Mather (; June 21, 1639 Old Style – August 23, 1723 Old Style) was a History of New England, New England Puritan clergyman in the Massachusetts Bay Colony and the sixth President of Harvard University, President of Harvard College (la ...
's work, ''A brief history of the war with the Indians in New-England'', published in 1676. Mather, 1676, Title page Aside from works by John Eliot, Foster also published ''A Narrative of the Troubles with the Indians in New England'' in 1677, by William Hubbard, Minister of Ipswich. The map contained (pictured in this section) was from an engraving of Foster's. He is credited with the first printed map produced in the American colonies, which appeared in Hubbard's 1677 work. He cut the woodblocks used to print the map of New England, known as the ''White Hills map''. Green, 1909, pp. 16–17 Foster's map has puzzled and fascinated historians since the mid-nineteenth century because two versions exist, the other being produced in London, England. The map printed in Boston has the spelling of ''White Hills'' while the map printed in London spelled the term as ''Wine Hills'' for the same grouping of mountains. There are also differences in the lettering used and in some of the imagery. Which map came first and whether or not Foster carved both is a point of controversy, and raises the question as to whether it was Foster who actually carved the second woodcut used in London. David Woodward, a specialist in
cartography Cartography (; from , 'papyrus, sheet of paper, map'; and , 'write') is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an imagined reality) can ...
maintains that the Wine Hills block was made in England, by another engraver using Foster's original proof for the model, and that the difference in the spellings were the result of this printmaker's inability to decipher some of the letters, as he would have glued Foster's original face down on the block to create the copy. His unfamiliarity with the various name is also a factor which contributed to differences in the spellings. Foster also printed works by
Roger Williams Roger Williams (March 1683) was an English-born New England minister, theologian, author, and founder of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Providence Plantations, which became the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Pl ...
,
Thomas Thacher Thomas Thacher (May 3, 1850 – July 30, 1919) was an American lawyer. Life Thomas Thacher was born in New Haven, Connecticut, on May 3, 1850. He was a descendant of the Rev. Peter Thacher, the rector of St. Edmonds, Salisbury, England; and of ...
, Samuel Nowell, Eleazar Macher,
Anne Bradstreet Anne Bradstreet (née Dudley; March 8, 1612 â€“ September 16, 1672) was among the most prominent of early English poets of North America and the first writer in England's North American colonies to be published. She is the first Puritan ...
, William Adams, James Allen, and
Samuel Willard Samuel Willard (January 31, 1640 – September 12, 1707) was a New England Puritan clergyman. He was born in Concord, Massachusetts, graduated from Harvard College in 1659, and was minister at Groton from 1663 to 1676, before being driven out by ...
, and several newspaper broadsides. In 1678, he acquired a new
font In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a ''typeface'', defined as the set of fonts that share an overall design. For instance, the typeface Bauer Bodoni (shown in the figure) includes fonts " Roman" (or "regul ...
of type and subsequently produced his best work. He had no training in the printing trade but came to know its workings by observing Samuel Green at work in his shop in
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
where he printed the first Bible printed in the English language to appear in colonial America. Historian Matt B. Jones of the
American Antiquarian Society The American Antiquarian Society (AAS), located in Worcester, Massachusetts, is both a learned society and a national research library of pre-twentieth-century American history and culture. Founded in 1812, it is the oldest historical society in ...
explains that "enough has been said to make it clear that Green and Foster were not friendly rivals", which involved the competition between the two printers for printing commissions that often came from the Commissioners of the United Colonies who financed the
Cambridge press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...
, the Puritan Reverends
Increase Mather Increase Mather (; June 21, 1639 Old Style – August 23, 1723 Old Style) was a History of New England, New England Puritan clergyman in the Massachusetts Bay Colony and the sixth President of Harvard University, President of Harvard College (la ...
and John Eliot, and others who ultimately gave Foster much of their work. Foster's printing career lasted from 1675 until just before his early death in 1681, which is largely why his extant works are very rare, consisting of some fifty editions. Foster was provided with many printing commissions from
Increase Mather Increase Mather (; June 21, 1639 Old Style – August 23, 1723 Old Style) was a History of New England, New England Puritan clergyman in the Massachusetts Bay Colony and the sixth President of Harvard University, President of Harvard College (la ...
who provided him with a continuous flow of manuscript material; this enabled Foster to establish himself as a reputable printer in Boston. Foster also helped Mather distribute his writings across the New England colonies; such works outlined and detailed the providential history of New England. Mather, Increase, 1639–1723.
Papers of Increase Mather:
an inventory at Harvard University, 2004
In another American first, Foster bought out and printed a work by
Benjamin Tompson Benjamin Tompson (1642 – April 13, 1714) was an American Puritan poet, author, educator and physician from the Massachusetts Bay Colony, who is widely considered by historians as the "first native-born poet in America". Fussell, 1953, p. 494 ...
, a renowned poet of New England, entitled ''New Englands Crisis'', printed in Boston in 1676, consisting of a series of poems on events involved in the Indian wars. Print historian Lawrence Wroth notes that these poems are regarded as "the first collection of American poems to be printed in what is now the United States."


Selected works printed by Foster

Along with his annual almanacs, Foster printed many religious works authored by various religious figures of his day, including
Increase Mather Increase Mather (; June 21, 1639 Old Style – August 23, 1723 Old Style) was a History of New England, New England Puritan clergyman in the Massachusetts Bay Colony and the sixth President of Harvard University, President of Harvard College (la ...
,
Leonard Hoar Leonard Hoar (1630 – November 28, 1675) was an English-born American Congregational minister and educator, who spent a short and troubled term as President of Harvard College. Life Born in Gloucestershire about 1630, he was the fourth son of ...
,
Samuel Willard Samuel Willard (January 31, 1640 – September 12, 1707) was a New England Puritan clergyman. He was born in Concord, Massachusetts, graduated from Harvard College in 1659, and was minister at Groton from 1663 to 1676, before being driven out by ...
and others, some of which are listed below. * The Times of Men are in the Hands of God. A Sermon occasioned by the blowing up of a Vessel with the crew, 1697 * George Fox Digged out of his Burrowes, or an offer of Disputation on 14 proposalls, made the last summer, 1672 * The wicked Man's Portion. Sermon at the Lecture in Boston, January 18, 1674, on the Execution of Two Men, 1674 * The Happiness of a People. Election Sermon at Boston, 1675 * A Narrative of the Troubles with the Indians in New England, from the first Planting thereof in the Year 1607, to the present Year 1677 * Relation of the Troubles which have happened in New-England by Reason of the Indians there, from the year 1614 to the year 1675 * An Earnest Exhortation to the Inhabitants of New England to hearken to the Voice of God * Earnest Exhortation to the Inhabitants of New England. * Harmony of the Gospels in the Holy History of the Humiliations and Sufferings of Jesus Christ, 1678. * Several Poems compiled with great variety of Wit and Learning, full of Delight * Confession of Faith owned and assented to by the Synod assembled at Boston in N. E. May 12, 1680 * The Duty of a People that have renewed their Covenant with God, 1680 * Platform of Church Discipline, &c, 1681 * Brief Animadversions on the Narrative of the New England Anabaptists, 1681 * Two Sermons on the Death of Lady Mildmay; dedicated by T. Flynt to Mrs. Bridget Usher, 1681


Final days and legacy

After fighting
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...
for seven months, Foster died of
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...
in 1681 on September 9, 1681, at the relatively young age of thirty-three, Roark, 2003, p. 33 leaving Boston without a printer.
Samuel Sewall Samuel Sewall (; March 28, 1652 – January 1, 1730) was a judge, businessman, and printer in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, best known for his involvement in the Salem witch trials, for which he later apologized, and his essay ''The Selling ...
, though not a printer but a magistrate, a well respected man of Boston was recommended by the General Court to manage and continue printing operations where Foster left off. Foster is buried in the Dorchester North Burying Ground, not far from Richard Mather's grave. In 1879 Boston historian John Allen Lewis said of Foster: While Foster's body was "weak & languishing", while still of sound mind, he made out his last will and signed it on July 18, 1681. In it he had directed that his printing-press and wares at his shop in Boston be sold to pay off his debts, his funeral expenses, and to provide twenty or thirty shillings "to pay for a pair of handsome Gravestones." He bequeathed his house in Dorchester to his widowed mother, who was his sole executor. The value of his estate at the time of his death amounted to a little over a hundred pounds. In Foster's will, he left the greater portion of his estate to his mother and his siblings, but set aside 20 shillings each (£1) for his good friends, the ministers John Eliot and
Increase Increase may refer to: *Increase (given name) *Increase (knitting), the creation of one or more new stitches *Increase, Mississippi Causeyville, Mississippi (also known as Increase) is a small community in southeastern Lauderdale County, Mis ...
and
Cotton Mather Cotton Mather (; February 12, 1663 – February 13, 1728) was a Puritan clergyman and author in colonial New England, who wrote extensively on theological, historical, and scientific subjects. After being educated at Harvard College, he join ...
. Historians believe that Foster also worked as a medical doctor, which was not uncommon for a man of Foster's education at a time when there were few doctors in the early years of colonial America. A portrait of Richard Mather by Foster was featured on a postage stamp in the
U.S. Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...
's 1998 "Four Centuries of American Art" series.
Smithsonian National Postal Museum The National Postal Museum, located in Washington, D.C., is the primary postal museum of the United States. It covers large portions of the postal history of the United States and other countries. It was established through joint agreement betw ...


See also

*
List of early American publishers and printers List of early American publishers and printers is a Wikipedia:Stand-alone lists, ''stand alone list'' of Wikipedia articles about publishers and printers in colonial and early America, intended as a quick reference, with basic descriptions tak ...
*
Benjamin Tompson Benjamin Tompson (1642 – April 13, 1714) was an American Puritan poet, author, educator and physician from the Massachusetts Bay Colony, who is widely considered by historians as the "first native-born poet in America". Fussell, 1953, p. 494 ...
— First native born poet to emerge in colonial America


Notes


Citations


Bibliography

* * *
Page covering first American print
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Further reading * * – (Refers to Foster's publications of Mather's works in numerous instances) *


External links


Massachusetts Colony official seals: American Antiquarian Society

City of Boston
*


Massachusetts History

Book, 1670: The life and death of that reverend man of God, Mr. Richard Mather ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, John 1648 births 1681 deaths People from colonial Massachusetts Printers from the Thirteen Colonies Harvard College alumni People from Dorchester, Boston Tuberculosis deaths in Massachusetts Woodcut designers American printmakers