What was advertised in a colonial American newspaper 250 years ago today?

“Proposed to be published.”

As usual, advertising comprised the final page of the February 15, 1769, edition of the Georgia Gazette. Yet the layout of the rest of that issue differed significantly from the standard order of news followed by advertising. Instead, advertisements appeared on every page, distributed throughout the issue alongside news items.

For instance, the front page was divided evenly between news and advertising. News filled the column on the left and three advertisements filled the column on the right. The first of those advertisements, a subscription notice for “THE ROYAL MERCHANT: A WEDDING SERMON” by Johannes Scriblerius, however, appears to have been a satire rather than a legitimate advertisement. Signed by “The EDITOR,” who otherwise remained unnamed, it advised “Those who chuse to have copies of the Royal Merchant are desired to send in their names to the printer of this paper as soon as possible.” It did not otherwise provide any information concerning a plan of publication commonly incorporated into most subscription notices. Whether inserted by the printer or another colonist, this playful piece masquerading as an advertisement served as a bridge between news and paid notices.

Advertising continued immediately on the second page, filling the entire column on the left and overflowing into the column on the right. News from Savannah, including the shipping news from the custom house, often the final item inserted before advertisements, filled most of the remainder of the column, though two short advertisements did appear at the bottom. More advertisements ran at the top of the column on the left on the third page, but filled only a portion of it. News items reprinted from newspapers from Boston and London accounted for the rest of the content on the page. Advertising filled the final page, not unlike most issues of the Georgia Gazette.

Not including the satirical “advertisement” on the front page, advertising accounted for more than half of the content of the February 15 edition, significantly more than usual for the Georgia Gazette. Perhaps the abundance of paid notices prompted James Johnston, the printer, to think creatively about the layout for the issue, though he would have certainly noticed that other colonial newspapers that he received from counterparts in other cities experimented with the placement of paid notices in relation to other content. Those that did so tended to have more advertising than would fit on the final page. Though they made exceptions on occasion, it appears that colonial printers adopted a general rule when it came to the layout of their newspapers. Reserve the final page for advertising and only distribute paid notices to other parts of an issue if they would not all fit on that last page.