The Death's Head Stamp is the primary image of the Seeking Liberty exhibition but up until this point, we have not actually discussed what it is and why it was included. This small piece of printer's type, on loan from the Historic Annapolis Foundation, was discovered at the Green Print Shop in the mid 1980's. This stamp played a major role in Maryland Gazette's protest against the Stamp Act of 1765.
Jonas and Anne Catherine Green moved to Annapolis, MD from Philadelphia in 1738 to become the official Maryland State Printer. In this role, Green was responsible for printing several different types of documents including contracts, bills, and legal documents. By 1745, the Green Print Shop began to produce the Maryland Gazette, a weekly newspaper which provided news of the day from Maryland and beyond.
On March 22, 1765 Parliament passed the Stamp Act requiring the American colonists to pay taxes on printed papers including newspapers, documents, contracts, and playing cards. The money raised by the Stamp Act was intended to help finance the defense of the colonists along the frontier areas near the Appalachian Mountains. The passage of this act enraged colonists because it was passed by the British Parliament without input from the colonies.
News of the Stamp Act reached Annapolitans via the Maryland Gazette on April 18, 1765. Jonas Green published several articles, flyers, and other printed matter protesting the new act. When he published the announcement that Annapolitan merchant Zachariah Hood was appointed as stamp distributor for Maryland, several Annapolis residents began to take action including the burning of an effigy of Hood in late August 1765.
The colonists fought the Stamp Act in a variety of ways up to and including refusing to pay the tax. The Green Print Shop protested the Stamp Act by publishing the Death's Head stamp on the front page of the October 10, 1765 edition of the Maryland Gazette. When this edition of the newspaper was published, Mr. Green declared in the masthead that the Gazette was "expiring." This issue, number 1066, was the final numbered edition of the Maryland Gazette printed before the Stamp Act went into effect on November 1, 1765.
While the Death's Head issue was the final numbered edition published prior to November 1, it was not the final edition published. Green published three subsequent unnumbered issues of the newspaper, with the final issue appearing on October 31, 1765.
On December 10, 1765 an edition of the Maryland Gazette appeared stating "Apparition of the late Maryland Gazette, which is not dead, but only sleepeth." Seven weeks later, on January 30, 1766, an edition of the newspaper appeared under the headline "Maryland Gazette, Reviving." The January 30 edition marked reinstatement of numbered editions of the paper, with this edition appearing as number 1067. On February 20, 1766 a third publication appeared declaring "Maryland Gazette, Revived." The Maryland Gazette reinstated weekly publication on March 6, 1766.
The British Parliament repealed the Stamp Act on March 18, 1765.
To learn more about Maryland's involvement in protesting the Stamp Act, follow the link below to the Maryland Online Encyclopedia and read an article by Jean Russo from the Maryland State Archives.
Jonas and Anne Catherine Green moved to Annapolis, MD from Philadelphia in 1738 to become the official Maryland State Printer. In this role, Green was responsible for printing several different types of documents including contracts, bills, and legal documents. By 1745, the Green Print Shop began to produce the Maryland Gazette, a weekly newspaper which provided news of the day from Maryland and beyond.
On March 22, 1765 Parliament passed the Stamp Act requiring the American colonists to pay taxes on printed papers including newspapers, documents, contracts, and playing cards. The money raised by the Stamp Act was intended to help finance the defense of the colonists along the frontier areas near the Appalachian Mountains. The passage of this act enraged colonists because it was passed by the British Parliament without input from the colonies.
News of the Stamp Act reached Annapolitans via the Maryland Gazette on April 18, 1765. Jonas Green published several articles, flyers, and other printed matter protesting the new act. When he published the announcement that Annapolitan merchant Zachariah Hood was appointed as stamp distributor for Maryland, several Annapolis residents began to take action including the burning of an effigy of Hood in late August 1765.
The colonists fought the Stamp Act in a variety of ways up to and including refusing to pay the tax. The Green Print Shop protested the Stamp Act by publishing the Death's Head stamp on the front page of the October 10, 1765 edition of the Maryland Gazette. When this edition of the newspaper was published, Mr. Green declared in the masthead that the Gazette was "expiring." This issue, number 1066, was the final numbered edition of the Maryland Gazette printed before the Stamp Act went into effect on November 1, 1765.
While the Death's Head issue was the final numbered edition published prior to November 1, it was not the final edition published. Green published three subsequent unnumbered issues of the newspaper, with the final issue appearing on October 31, 1765.
On December 10, 1765 an edition of the Maryland Gazette appeared stating "Apparition of the late Maryland Gazette, which is not dead, but only sleepeth." Seven weeks later, on January 30, 1766, an edition of the newspaper appeared under the headline "Maryland Gazette, Reviving." The January 30 edition marked reinstatement of numbered editions of the paper, with this edition appearing as number 1067. On February 20, 1766 a third publication appeared declaring "Maryland Gazette, Revived." The Maryland Gazette reinstated weekly publication on March 6, 1766.
The British Parliament repealed the Stamp Act on March 18, 1765.
To learn more about Maryland's involvement in protesting the Stamp Act, follow the link below to the Maryland Online Encyclopedia and read an article by Jean Russo from the Maryland State Archives.
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