The Editor and Publisher magazine edition of January 15, 1921, noted the sudden closing of The Argus, possibly Albany’s oldest newspaper at the time.
Albany Argus Ends Career of 108 Years
Sold to Knickerbocker Press and Merged with Jan. 14 Issue — Argus Staff Dropped on Two Days’ Notice
Albany, N.Y., Jan. 12 — Announcement was made today of the sale of the Argus to the Press Company, but the consideration has not been made public. The last issue of the Argus will appear Friday. The Argus editorial staff will not join the Knickerbocker Press and were given two days’ notice that their services were no longer required.
The Argus Company will retain its entire printing plant for increased job and book printing.
The Argus was founded by Jesse Buel in 1813, a judge of Common Pleas in Ulster county. He was backed by ninety citizens, who styled themselves “Godfathers” of the paper. It was issued twice a week until 1824, when it became a daily and its name was changed to the Argus and Daily Gazette.
Calvert Comstock became publisher in 1855 and made it a Democratic organ of national fame and a supporter by Martin Van Buren, William L. Marcy, Silas Wright, John A. Dix and other party leaders.
The Argus building, pictured above, remains at Broadway and Beaver. The commercial printing operation, Argus Litho, eventually occupied a gigantic factory complex at 1031 Broadway that unfortunately is on Historic Albany Foundation’s endangered historic resources list.