What was advertised in a colonial American newspaper 250 years ago today?
“Those who have Advertisements to insert in this Paper, are desired to send them … to the Printers, by Saturday Noon.”
Most eighteenth-century newspapers did not regularly publish their advertising rates, though several included calls for advertisements (along with subscriptions and job printing) alongside information about the printer and place of publication in the colophon on the final page. For instance, throughout 1768 the colophon for the Georgia Gazette read: “SAVANNAH: Printed by JAMES JOHNSTON, at the Printing-Office in Broughton-Street, where Advertisements, Letters of Intelligence, and Subscriptions for this Paper, are taken in.—Hand-Bills, Advertisements, &c. printed at the shortest Notice.” Johnston solicited advertisements for the Georgia Gazette, but did not reveal the costs for advertisers.
Among those who did use the colophon to promote the various services offered at the printing office, a few did indicate advertising rates. Green and Watson, printers of the Connecticut Courant, listed this pricing scheme in the summer of 1768: “ADVERTISEMENTS of not more than ten Lines, are taken in and inserted for Three Shillings, three Weeks, and Six Pence, for each Week after, and longer ones in Proportion.” Green and Watson gave prospective advertisers a sense of how much they could expect to pay to insert a notice in their newspaper.
Beyond the information provided in colophons and occasional notices calling on subscribers and advertisers to settle accounts, eighteenth-century printers rarely published other instructions that revealed the mechanics of advertising. Occasionally, however, some did insert additional guidance for advertisers. In the lower right corner of the first page of the July 18, 1768, edition of the Connecticut Courant, Green and Watson specified the deadline for submitting advertisements in order for them to appear in the next issue, published each week on Mondays. “Those who have Advertisements to insert in this Paper,” the printers advised, “are desired to send them (accompanied with the Pay) to the Printers, by Saturday Noon.” Green and Watson required two days notice to insert advertisements in their newspaper, allowing sufficient time for setting type and printing the next issue on a press operated by hand. Their notice indicated how quickly advertisements could be incorporated into their newspaper, yet also cautioned that advertisers needed to submit their copy in a timely fashion of they did not wish for it to be delayed by a week between issues.