Purpose and Content

of the Imperial Gazette. original: "Reichs-Anzeiger." This was a prominent German periodical founded in the late 18th century that aimed to serve as a central information hub for the many states of the Holy Roman Empire.

This Gazette, which I have published for four years and which has been elevated to an officially authorized German Imperial JournalReichs-Blatt by His Imperial Majesty through a Most Gracious PrivilegePrivilegium; a legal exclusive right or license to publish granted to me on September 27, 1792, is intended to be for the German Nation what a good Intelligence SheetIntelligenz-Blatt; a local bulletin for advertisements and public notices would be for a single city or province. It is therefore excellently suited for such essays and notices whose knowledge can either be useful to the entire German public in general, or whose distribution throughout the entire public is of importance to the sender. On the assumption that it will be read in all places, it shall serve to make known, or to inquire about, news worth knowing in all places, and to communicate to all those who wish to use them the useful knowledge, inventions, skills, and arrangements of social life and trades of all kinds, which are otherwise only known to individual places or persons.

For a more convenient overview, the relevant subjects are arranged under the following headings:

A. German Imperial State Affairs.
This includes everything concerning the German Imperial ConstitutionDeutsche Reichsverfassung, especially news suitable for The text uses "Publicität" to mean "publicity" or "transparency" in a legal sense. public notice from Vienna, Regensburg, and Wetzlar; These cities were the seats of the Emperor, the Imperial Diet, and the Imperial Chamber Court, respectively. also public Circle affairs, The "Circles" (Kreise) were administrative groupings of states within the Holy Roman Empire. political and statistical curiosities of individual German states, changes in genealogy and regiments, etc.

B. New Laws and Ordinances.

C. Justice and Police Matters.
These include: Wanted PostersSteckbriefe, warnings against suspicious persons, summons for absent heirs or to court; announcements and inquiries regarding missing or disappeared persons; notices of persons found dead, of stolen, lost, and found items, of punished crimes and rewarded good deeds, etc.

D. Useful Institutions and Proposals
for the facilitation, beautification, and ennoblement of social life.

E. Moral Subjects
treated in such a way that only plain common sense is required to understand the essays.

F. Natural Science.
New discoveries and observations that can be presented in a generally understandable way and applied usefully.

G. Health Science
for humans and domestic animals—also home remedies: but no Universal MedicineUniversalmedicin or miracle cures. The editor is distancing the publication from the "quackery" and "panaceas" common in the 18th century.

H. Agriculture and Home Economics
in their full scope.

J. Arts, Manufactures, and Factories,
both news of their establishment and progress, as well as new discoveries and improvements of tools and procedures of all kinds.

K. Buying and Trading Matters,
including also matters of currency and exchange, knowledge of goods, loans sought or offered, etc.

L. Scholarly Matters
only insofar as they concern the buying and selling of books, such as announcements, auction news, etc.