In the days of handset type, Exeter was the second community in New Hampshire to have a printing press, and the number of printers in town quickly grew. The Exeter Imprints Collection contains the work of more than 20 local printers, beginning with Zechariah Fowle’s 1777 issuance of the “Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union Between the States."

Because there were no international copyright laws in this era, local printers sold reprints of popular works, especially by British authors. Favorites represented in the collection include the works of Sir Walter Scott, Jane Porter’s Scottish Chiefs, Isaac Watts’ Psalms of David, Alexander Pope’s Poems, and The Spectator Papers of Addison and Steele.

The work of local authors was made available as well. A popular pamphlet, often reprinted, was “An Oration on the Death of George Washington" by Jeremiah Smith, governor of New Hampshire and treasurer and trustee of Phillips Exeter. Also of note in this collection are copies of speeches delivered locally by Daniel Webster 1796, school texts, organizational handbooks, almanacs and sheet music for bands.