[Illustration: Du Buque Visitor. "TRUTH OUR GUIDE, THE PUBLIC GOOD OUR
AIM." VOL. I. DU BUQUE (LEAD MINES) WISCONSIN TERRITORY, WEDNESDAY,
JANUARY 18, 1837. NO. 37]
The initial issue of the weekly _Du Buque Visitor_, dated May 11,
1836, is the oldest example of Iowa printing. John King, the first
proprietor of this four-page newssheet, acquired the press on which it
was printed at Chillicothe, Ohio. He employed William Cary Jones of
Chillicothe to "perform the duties of foreman in the printing office
... and likewise such other duties in superintending the publication
of the newspaper as may be required,"[100] and he employed the
Virginia-born printer Andrew Keesecker, lately of Galena, Ill., to be
the principal typesetter.
The earliest Iowa printing represented in the Library of Congress is
its partial file of the _Du Buque Visitor_, extending from January 18
to May 17, 1837.[101] On December 21, 1836, the proprietorship had
passed to W. W. Chapman, an attorney, and with the issue of February
1, 1837, William H. Turner became the owner. The paper maintained a
high standard throughout these changes, its issues justly displaying
the motto: "Truth our guide, the public good our aim." A reduction
in the size of certain issues furnishes evidence of the customary
difficulty of operating a pioneer press. As the March 15 issue
explains, "Within the last two months, so large an addition has been
made to the subscription list of the Visitor, that our stock of paper
of the usual size is exhausted, and we are constrained to issue, for
a week or two, a smaller sheet. By the first boat from St. Louis we
shall receive our spring and summer supply."
The Library's file dates from the period when Iowa still belonged to
the Wisconsin Territory. An editorial from the Library's earliest
issue advocates independent status: