Peck's Bad Boy Newspaper 1884

This little four page newspaper (12" x 18") was published by W. R. Caulkins in Boston. It has advertisements for Atkinson and Gilbert's Peck's Bad Boy Play, excerpts from the Bad Boy books, an advertisement for "The Groceryman and Peck's Bad Boy" book as well as numerous other items touting patent medicines and local products.

The circulation on the upper right is stated as 4.5 million. This would appear to be a major exaggeration. After all, the largest United States newspaper by circulation in 2013 was the Wall Street Journal at 2.3 million.

Since the "Groceryman" ad notes how many books were published in the first six months, the newspaper probably dates from 1884.