Diario de México, 1805: a daily sold for half a real, with a locked box at every stall for anyone to post copy into

A daily paper began in Mexico City in 1805, half a sheet, sold from early morning at half a real at twelve named stalls. At each stall stood a box locked with a key and slotted at the top: anyone could drop in a notice, a piece of news or a composition, free of charge, and the papers were collected every afternoon. Its prospectus set out what it would print and one thing it would not — matters of high politics and government.