John Tutchin's Observator, Comment Serials, and the 'Rage of Party' in Britain, 1678-c. 1730

Abstract

The importance of print in the 'rage of party' of late seventeenth- A nd early eighteenth-century Britain is well known, but scholars have paid insufficient attention to the press phenomenon that provided the most persistent and undiluted partisan voices of the era, the comment serial. Comment serials-regular printed publications designed explicitly to present topical analysis, opinion, and advice-were fashioned as powerful weapons for partisan combat. Due to their regularity and flexibility, they could be more potent than other forms of topical print, especially pamphlets and newspapers. Although many publications have been individually recognized as comment serials, such as Roger L'Estrange's Observator (1681-7), Daniel Defoe's Review (1704-13), and Jonathan Swift and others' Examiner (1710-14), their development as a holistic phenomenon has not been properly understood. They first appeared during the Succession Crisis (1678-82), and proliferated under Queen Anne (1702-14), supporting both tory and whig causes. Through widespread consumption, both direct and indirect, they shaped partisan culture in various ways, including by reinforcing and galvanizing partisan identities, facilitating the development of partisan 'reading communities', and manifesting and representing party divisions in public. This article focuses on John Tutchin's Observator (1702-12) as a case-study of a major comment serial.