Three Issues of Seventeenth Century Newspaper "The Observator

London, England, 1682. Very Good. Three Issues of Seventeenth Century Newspaper "The Observator", Sir Roger L'Estrange, London, England, 1681-1682, 8.5 x 13.5 inches, 1 pp. each.

Three broadsides on rag paper; printed on both sides; uneven cut edges; 1682 issue has one small closed tear; lot in very good condition.

The Observator was a dialogue-style newspaper written by Sir Roger L'Estrange, published from April 13, 1681 to March 9, 1687. The copies in this lot are Number 16, published May 25, 1681; Number 33, published July 13, 1681; and Number 215, published September 30, 1682. Roger L'Estrange (1616-1704) was an English author, pamphleteer, courtier, and press censor. He was a staunch defender of King Charles II and the 1660 Stuart Restoration, and used The Observator to promote Toryism and bash Whigs. The Observator was written as a dialogue between two characters, a Whig and the "Observator", who held Tory views. The issues in this lot cover religious and political topics, frequently disparaging the Non-conformists, Protestant Christians who didn't "conform" to the governance of the state church, the Church of England.