ROBERT BONNER.
ROBERT BONNER was born in the north of Ireland, near the town of Londonderry, about the year 1824. He came to this country when a mere child, and was brought up in the State of Connecticut, where he received a good common-school education.
Manifesting a decided liking for the printer's trade, he was placed at an early age in the office of the "Hartford Courant," where he took his first lessons in the art of setting type. He entered upon the business with the determination to learn it thoroughly, and when he had mastered his trade soon acquired the reputation of being the best workman in Hartford. As a compositor, he was not only neat and thorough, but was remarkably rapid as well. On one occasion, when the "Courant" was endeavoring to publish the "President's Message" in advance of all its competitors, Mr. Bonner is said to have worked at the rate of seventeen hundred ems an hour—a feat absolutely unparalleled.
In 1844, he removed to New York and engaged in the office of a new journal, called the "American Republican," then lately established as the organ of the American party in that city, upon which he worked steadily during its brief career. His wages were small, and it was only by practicing the most rigid economy that he could live upon them.
When the "Republican" suspended publication, Mr. Bonner was employed in the office of the "Evening Mirror," published by Morris, Willis & Fuller. Here he made himself so useful, that the business of getting up or displaying advertisements attractively was soon left entirely to him. His taste in this department was almost faultless, and the