What was advertised in a revolutionary American newspaper 250 years ago this week?

“A few Copies of the Second Edition of Strictures on Common Sense.”
Like many other printers in Philadelphia, James Humphreys, Jr., advertised and sold military manuals in the fall of 1776. In the September 14 edition of his newspaper, the Pennsylvania Ledger, he announced, “A few Copies of the Military Guide FOR YOUNG OFFICERS, By THOMAS SIMES … May be had of the PRINTER hereof.” Humphreys collaborated with fellow printers Robert Bell and Robert Aitken in publishing that “large and valuable Compilation from the most celebrated MILITARY WRITERS.” In the same issue, he noted that “A few Copies of the Second Edition of Strictures on Common Sense, May be had of the Printer.” He used a shortened title for The True Interest of America Impartially Stated, in Certain Strictures on a Pamphlet Intitled Common Sense, one of only two pamphlets that directly responded to Thomas Paine’s popular pamphlet. Humphreys had published the first edition in late May and found a large enough market, even with the colonies declaring independence, that he undertook a second edition.
The advertisements for those two works – a military manual primarily intended for officers and soldiers fighting for the American cause and a political pamphlet arguing against independence – demonstrated the editorial perspective that Humphreys took in publishing the Pennsylvania Ledger. In the colophon, he stated that “Essays, Articles of News, Advertisements, &c. are gratefully received and impartially inserted.” That meant that he welcomed letters, editorials, and news updates that expressed an array of views about current events, unlike many other printers. Rather than place the colophon at the bottom of the final page, where it appeared in most newspapers, Humphreys positioned it immediately below the masthead so it alerted readers before they perused any of the “Essays, Articles of News, [and] Advertisements” that they should expect to encounter items that took different positions and did not necessarily reflect their own views, whatever those happened to be. More than most printers at the time, Humphreys did strive to “impartially” deliver news to readers, but that did not earn him the admiration of the public. Concerned about his safety, he ceased publishing the Pennsylvania Ledger and left Philadelphia by the end of 1776.






























