James Swinnerton, Macclesfield Courier invoice 1848-49

The Macclesfield Express newspaper is celebrating its bicentenary in 2011 and has just published a facsimile of the first edition of the Macclesfield Courier from which it has evolved over the years. In my collection of local ephemera are a number of invoices issued by James Swinnerton who was proprietor of the paper in the 1840s and 50s when it was published as the Macclesfield Courier and Herald. This example was sent to Mr Thomas Bullock of Sutton, a local silk manufacturer, invoicing him for his subscription to the paper. For eighteen months from June 1848 to December 1849 the cost was 33 shillings which is 22 shillings per annum. Today the paper costs 57p which is just slightly more than you would have paid for 6 months of issues in 1848!