Notes

Women rarely appear in the records of our early printers. Elizabeth Gay is a wonderful exception. Women have always printed but their work has rarely been acknowledged and it is rare to see their name in an imprint. Early print shops were often a combination of print shop and family residence with apprentices frequently living with the family. It was inevitable that women would help in the family business where they were often just as skilled as the men. Printing was also often a family craft passed from one generation to the next and through marriage between printing families. Daughters of printers would also have been taught to take on many of the tasks in the shop. Because they were not eligible for entry to the craft through regular apprenticeship, their work was seldom recorded in imprints, contracts, pay books or other public records.

Very little is known about Elizabeth, but she is typical of women printers at that time. She married Archibald Gay, February 9, 1785. She was widowed when he died in 1805, leaving her with four young children to support. She kept the Nova Scotia Gazette and Weekly Advertiser going, under her own imprint, until July 22, 1806 when she sold it. The actual press and types were sold a couple of times and eventually ended up in the hands of John Howe.

Archibald Hinshelwood Gay

Archibald Gay (1761–1805) apprenticed with Anthony Henry and when Henry died in 1801, he took over printing the Nova Scotia Gazette and Weekly Advertiser. He also printed religious works and four almanacs before his death in 1805, at the age of 44.