James Parker (publisher)
| James Parker | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1714 Woodbridge Township, Province of New Jersey |
| Died | July 2, 1770 (aged 55–56) Burlington, Province of New Jersey |
| Resting place | First Presbyterian Cemetery |
| Residence | Colony of New Jersey |
| Occupation | Printer; Benjamin Franklin's Apprentice |
| Known for | publisher in colonial America |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Ballareau |
| Children | Samuel Franklin Jane Ballareau |
| Parent(s) | Samuel Parker Janet Ford |
James Parker (1714 – July 2, 1770) was a prominent colonial American printer and publisher.
Parker was born in 1714 in Woodbridge Township, New Jersey. When he was eleven-years-old, his father died. Parker apprenticed himself on a servant indenture on January 1, 1727 for eight years to William Bradford, the colonial printer in New York City. The agreement terms were that Bradford was to feed and provide for Parker in exchange for labor the boy would do. Bradford was also to train Parker the skills of the printing trade. Parker became a liability instead of an asset for Bradford when there was little printing work available. He decided in April 1733 to sell the remaining 21 months left on Parker's servant indenture and advertised the sale of his indenture. Parker ran away on May 17 before Bradford had a chance to sell the remaining indenture. Parker became a "wanted man," and Bradford advertised a reward for his capture in his New-York Gazette newspaper. The runaway ad described Parker as "an Apprentice lad....by trade a Printer, aged about 19 years; he is of a fresh Completion with short yellowish hair." A reward was offered, which was doubled a short time later.
Parker ultimately went to Philadelphia and started working for Benjamin Franklin. He worked for Franklin as a journeyman. Franklin persuaded him to return to New York to fulfill his servant indenture agreement with Bradford. After completing his servant indenture agreement (with penalties), Parker returned to Philadelphia, where he lived with Franklin for several years. Franklin saw talent in Parker. In 1741, Franklin financed Parker, as a silent partner, in setting up his own printing business in New York City, with a six-year franchise agreement. Franklin provided printing equipment, a press, an assortment of types, and a third of the maintenance costs, in exchange for a share of the profits. Franklin saw this as an opportunity to take over the business monopoly of the aging seventy-seven-year-old Bradford in the Province of New York. Parker's new newspaper was called the New-York Gazette and Weekly Post-Boy. As the circulation grew, the paper gained a good share of Bradford's subscribers. Parker eventually became the official printer for both the King of England and the government of New York province.
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