Oops! Or - What's in a Name?

The Welsh language humorous magazine Papur Pawb started in 1893, and was published weekly from Carnarfon in North Wales until 1917, and then was relaunched in the 1920s. One would hardly think this could be confused with a religious tract posing such questions as Where Are the Dead? But such was the perception in Wales; so an announcement was necessary in the Yr Herald Cymraeg (Welsh Herald) newspaper for April 21, 1914.

When the Watch Tower Society started publishing its new monthly tract series from Brooklyn in 1909, they hit upon two titles, People’s Pulpit and Everybody’s Paper. The tracts soon also came to be known as Bible Students’ Monthly, and ultimately most early issues were reprinted under that masthead.

So when it was decided to publish tracts in Welsh (as advertised in Watch Tower November 15, 1911) they had several choices of name. They apparently settled on Papyr Pawb, which literally means the paper for all - e.g. Everybody’s Paper. Even though they used the old Welsh spelling of “Papyr” rather than the more modern “Papur” (as used by the North Wales comic) it was enough for someone to complain - hence the apology.