The story of the Sun, New York: 1833-1928 / by Frank M. O'Brien ; with an introduction by Edward Page Mitchell ...

26 THE STORY OF "THE SUN"
must have been a relief to the readers to get away from
the usual dull reprint from foreign papers that had
been filling the Sun's first page. In those days the first
pages were always the dullest, but Crockett's lively stories
about bear hunts enlivened the Sun.
Other celebrities were often mentioned. Aaron Burr,
now old and feeble, was writing his memoirs. Martin
Van Buren had taken lodgings at the City Hotel. The
Siamese Twins were arrested in the South for beating a
man. "Mr. Clay arrived in town last evening and attended the new opera." This was "Fra Diavolo," in
which Mr. and Mrs. Wood sang at the Park Theater.
On December 5, 1833, the Sun printed the longest
news piece it had ever put in type-the message of
President Jackson to the Congress. This took up three
of the four pages, and crowded out nearly all the advertising.
On December 17, in the fourth month of its life, the
Sun announced that it had procured "a machine press,
on which one thousand impressions can be taken in an
hour. The daily circulation is now nearly four thousand."
It was a happy Christmas for Day and Wisner. The
Stun surely was shining!
The paper retained its original size and shaple during
the whole of 1834, and rarely printed more than four
pages. As it grew older, it published more and more
local items and developed greater interest in local
affairs. The first page was taken up with advertising and
reprint. A state election might have taken place the day
before, but on page 1 the Sun worshipers looked for a
bit of fiction or history. What were the fortunes of
William L. Marcy as compared to a two-column thriller,