The arts in colonial America were not as successful as the sciences. Literature in the European sense was nearly nonexistent, with histories being far more noteworthy. These included "The History and present State of Virginia" (1705) by Robert Beverly and "History of the Dividing Line" (1728–29) by William Byrd, which was not published until a century later. Instead, the newspaper was the principal form of reading material in the colonies. Printing was expensive, and most publications focused on purely practical matters, such as major news, advertisements, and business reports. Almanacs were very popular, also, Benjamin Franklin's "Poor Richard's Almanac" being the most famous. Literary magazines appeared at mid-century, but few were profitable and most went out of business after only a few years. American publications never approached the intellectual quality of European writers, but they were much more widespread and achieved a greater readership than anything produced by Voltaire, Locke, or Rousseau.