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''The Philadelphia Record'' was a daily newspaper published in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
from 1877 until 1947. It became among the most circulated papers in the city and was at some points the circulation leader.


History

''The Public Record'' was a newspaper first published in Philadelphia on May 14, 1870; it was founded by William J. Swain, son of
William Moseley Swain William Moseley Swain (May 12, 1809 – February 16, 1868) was an American newspaper owner, journalist, publisher, editor, and businessman. Early life and career William Moseley Swain was born in Manlius, New York in 1809. In 1836, along with ...
, who had founded the '' Public Ledger''. At the time it was published at Clark's Hall at 3rd and Chestnut Streets.The Record, ''Backstage with a Great Newspaper'', Philadelphia (1936) In 1877, William M. Singerly acquired the small-circulation paper and renamed it the ''Record'', and lowered its price to one-cent. By 1894, ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' praised it as "one of the best and most widely circulated newspapers in the United States."Success of The Philadelphia Record
''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', June 5, 1894.
Despite the dire economic state at the time, the ''Record'' "held its own", and sold 57,000,000 copies in 1893. At that time, it was the most widely read newspaper in the city and equaled the combined circulation of any two of its Philadelphian competitors. Its printing facilities were lauded as modern and both its foreign and domestic reporting as accurate and prompt. The ''Records headquarters were at 917–919 Chestnut Street, in a building designed by Willis G. Hale. After Singerly died in 1898, the paper was acquired by the Wanamakers.Alt URL
/ref> It was the first newspaper in Philadelphia to use the
Linotype machine The Linotype machine ( ) is a "line casting" machine used in printing which is manufactured and sold by the former Mergenthaler Linotype Company and related It was a hot metal typesetting system that cast lines of metal type for one-time use. Li ...
. After
Rodman Wanamaker Lewis Rodman Wanamaker (February 13, 1863 – March 9, 1928) was an American businessman and heir to the Wanamaker's department store fortune. In addition to operating stores in Philadelphia, New York City, and Paris, he was a patron of the ar ...
died in 1928, the paper was bought by
J. David Stern Julius David Stern (April 1, 1886 – October 10, 1971) was an American newspaper publisher, best known as the liberal Democratic publisher of ''The Philadelphia Record'' from 1928 to 1947. He published other newspapers including the ''New York P ...
, owner of the ''
Courier-Post The ''Courier-Post'' is a morning daily newspaper that serves South Jersey in the Delaware Valley. It is based in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and serves most of Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester counties. The paper has 30,313 daily paid subscri ...
'' in nearby
Camden, New Jersey Camden is a City (New Jersey), city in Camden County, New Jersey, Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan region. The city was incorporated on February 13, 1828.Snyder, John P''The Story of ...
; he also moved the headquarters of the ''Record'' in November of that year from 917–919 Chestnut Street to the former Packard Motor Corporation Building at 317–319 N. Broad Street. Though the circulation of the ''Record'' was only 123,000 when he bought it, Stern was able to raise it to 315,000 within a few years. During the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
, the ''Record'' became one of only two morning newspapers in the city after the '' Public Ledger'' morning and Sunday editions were merged with ''
The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...
'' in 1933. In 1936, the ''Record'' had a weekday circulation of 328,322 and Sunday circulation of 369,525. By comparison, it led the ''Inquirer'' during the week, when the competitor sold 280,093 copies, but trailed on Sundays, when the ''Inquirer'' sold 669,152 copies. That year,
Moses Annenberg Moses Louis Annenberg (February 11, 1877 – July 20, 1942) was an American newspaper publisher who owned the ''Daily Racing Form'' and the ''Philadelphia Inquirer''. He also owned General News Bureau, a wire service that reported the results of ...
bought the ''Inquirer'', and the rivalry between the publications significantly increased. The two papers, whose buildings were within sight of each other, engaged in a "duel of keep-the-lights-on", in which their employees attempted to log longer workdays than their competitors. Both newspapers during this time accused the other of attempts to steal stories. In the 1930s, as the competition stiffened between the ''Record'' and its primary morning competitor, the ''Inquirer'', both increased their daily price to 3 cents (about $ in
inflation-adjusted In economics, nominal value refers to value measured in terms of absolute money amounts, whereas real value is considered and measured against the actual goods or services for which it can be exchanged at a given time. Real value takes into acco ...
terms). From July 1936 to 1938, the ''Record'''s circulation fell by 40%.Gerry Wilkinson
The History of the Philadelphia Inquirer
The Philadelphia Press Association, retrieved July 15, 2009.
In the latter year, the ''Records weekday circulation had fallen to 204,000 and its Sunday edition to 362,783. During the late 1930s, the ''Record'', a Democratic Party-aligned publication led by publisher
J. David Stern Julius David Stern (April 1, 1886 – October 10, 1971) was an American newspaper publisher, best known as the liberal Democratic publisher of ''The Philadelphia Record'' from 1928 to 1947. He published other newspapers including the ''New York P ...
, was seen as a voice for the executives in both the federal and
state governments State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...
. Red Smith, who would later win a Pulitzer Prize with the ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', was a sportswriter for the ''Record'' from 1936 to 1945. The ''Record'' had a reputation for social activism. It ran stories that broke up bogus medical colleges, stopped the sale of dead bodies, campaigned against Sunday blue laws, and recommended going off the gold standard. Once, outraged at the high price of coal, the newspaper bought the output of a coal mine and sold it at discounted prices to the public. The ''Record'' made history in the early 1930s by hiring Orrin C. Evans as "the first black writer to cover general assignments for a mainstream white newspaper in the United States;""ORRIN C. EVANS, JOURNALIST, 68: Veteran Black Reporter in Philadelphia Is Dead,"
''New York Times'' (August 8, 1971).
as a staff writer, Evans covered many topics including segregation in the armed services during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. Reprinted from ''
Comics Buyer's Guide ''Comics Buyer's Guide'' (''CBG''; ), established in 1971, was the longest-running English-language periodical reporting on the American comic book industry. It awarded its annual Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Awards from 1983 to circa 2010. The publ ...
'' February 28, 1997, pp. 32, 34, 37–38. Article includes reprinted editorial page "All-Negro Comics: Presenting Another First in Negro History" from ''All-Negro Comics'' #1
In 1947, the ''Record'' went out of business and sold its assets to the ''
Philadelphia Bulletin The ''Philadelphia Bulletin'' (or ''The Bulletin'' as it was commonly known) was a daily evening newspaper published from 1847 to 1982 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was the largest circulation newspaper in Philadelphia for 76 years and was ...
'' after a drawn-out
strike Strike may refer to: People *Strike (surname) * Hobart Huson, author of several drug related books Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm * Airstrike, ...
.


References


External links


Public Record archives
(1870-72 as of October 2014), at
Fultonhistory.com Fultonhistory.com (also known as Old Fulton New York Postcards) is an archival historic newspaper website of over 1,000 New York newspapers, along with collections from other states and Canada. As of February 2018, the website had almost 50 mi ...

''Philadelphia Record'' May-June 1915
(as of October 2014) at Fultonhistory.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Philadelphia Record Newspapers established in 1877 Publications disestablished in 1947 Defunct newspapers of Philadelphia 1877 establishments in Pennsylvania 1947 disestablishments in Pennsylvania