Daily Graphic

Daily Graphic

The Daily Graphic: An Illustrated Evening Newspaper was the first American newspaper with daily illustrations. It was founded in New York in 1873 by a firm of Canadian engravers and began publication in March of that year. It continued publication until September 23, 1889.

Highly illustrated, its lavish engravings included cartoons, reproductions of paintings, and illustrations of contemporary news events and notable personalities.

It was similar in idea to the London newspaper The Graphic, which was founded in 1869, and which commenced publication of its own Daily Graphic in 1889. Given the overlap in dates for the demise of the New York newspaper, and the commencement of the London one, it is possible that rights to the name were purchased by the English company.

The first issue of the Daily Graphic in London was issued on January 4, 1890. It was illustrated with line drawings and woodcuts; photoengraving and halftone was considered too complex a process for newspapers.

It was not connected with a different newspaper, the New York Evening Graphic, published from 1924 to 1932, and most famous for Walter Winchell's gossip column.

A cartoon by Grant Hamilton from the front page of Daily Graphic on Jan 17, 1883 explained Ezekiel Stone Wiggins, known as the Ottawa Prophet's weather prophesies. "The Great Wiggins shall the weather prophets or the people be snuffed out? Wiggins, the weather prophet prophesised 'We will have a terrible storm in March.' The effect in a country town. This is a US signal service man trying with all the latest improved instruments to foretell the weather 48 hours he can but that is all. But Prof Wiggins has no difficulty to write with his left hand a letter foretelling the weather 3 to 6 months, with an extra month thrown in by way of variety. Prof W up in the wee ours of the night as the great storms occur in March - he prophesies and publishes it accordingly.'