August 12

August 12, 2021August 12, 2021 Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update Female Entrepreneur, Mary Smith, Massachusetts Gazette and Boston Post-Boy, Sympathy, Twine Spinner, Widow

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

*Massachusetts Gazette and Boston Post-Boy* (August 12, 1771).

“Mary Smith … will be obliged to the friends of her Husband for their Custom.”

Following the death of her husband Thomas, a twine spinner, Mary Smith operated the family business on her own. In the summer of 1771, she placed an advertisement in the Massachusetts Gazette and Boston Post-Boy to inform “the Public, that the Business is continued at the usual Place.” She likely made a variety of contributions to the enterprise while her husband still lived, but became the proprietor and public face of the business upon becoming a widow.

In that regard, she joined other colonial women who gained greater visibility as entrepreneurs when they ran newspaper advertisements after their husbands died. Mary Ogden, for instance, inserted an advertisement in the New-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury that “ACQUAINTS the Public, that the Business of Shoe-making is carried on as usual.” It appeared immediately below the estate notice she placed in collaboration with the other executors. Similarly, Mary Crathorne, administratix of her husband Nathan’s estate, advised readers of the Pennsylvania Gazette that the “mustard and chocolate business is carried on as usual.” Cave Williams adopted a similar strategy, following the estate notice concerning her husband Thomas in the Maryland Gazette immediately with an update that the “Smith’s Shop is carried on, by the Subscriber, with the same Care and Dispatch as was in her Husband’s Lifetime.”

Other widows who placed similar advertisements placed greater emphasis on some combination of sympathy and assistance from their communities. In the South-Carolina and American General Gazette, Elisabeth Russel stated that her deceased husband’s “SHIPWRIGHT BUSINESS is carried on as heretofore, under the Direction of a proper Person.” Even though she did not oversee the business directly, the advertisement noted that “Mrs. Russel will be much obliged to those that will employ her Hands.” Elizabeth Mumford was more overt in her effort to gain sympathy from prospective customers. She explained to readers of the Newport Mercury that “the Shoe-making Business is still carried on at her Shop in the New-Lane, for the Benefit of her and her Children, by JOHN REMINGTON, who has work’d with her late Husband several Years.” Mary Smith may have been making a similar bid for sympathy and assistance when she declared that she “will be obliged to the friends of her Husband for their Custom” and that “the smallest favours will be greatfully Acknowledged.”

In the advertisements they composed and inserted in the public prints, each of these widows made choices about how to present themselves and their businesses. Some more actively participated in the continued operations of those enterprises than others, but each probably had some previous experience from assisting their husbands in a variety of ways. They strove to convince prospective customers that they could depend on the same quality and skill without interruption.

Slavery Advertisements Published August 12, 1771

August 12, 2021August 12, 2021 Carl Robert Keyes Slavery Adverts 250 Project

The Slavery Adverts 250 Project chronicles the role of newspaper advertising in perpetuating slavery in the era of the American Revolution. The project seeks to reveal the ubiquity of slavery in eighteenth-century life from New England to Georgia by republishing advertisements about enslaved people – for sale as individuals or in groups, wanted to purchase or for hire for short periods, runaways who liberated themselves, and those who were subsequently captured and confined in jails and workhouses – in daily digests on this site as well as in real time via the @SlaveAdverts250 Twitter feed, utilizing twenty-first-century media to stand in for the print media of the eighteenth century.

The project aims to provide modern audiences with a sense of just how often colonists encountered these advertisements in their daily lives. Enslaved men, women, and children appeared in print somewhere in the colonies almost every single day. Those advertisements served as a constant backdrop for social, cultural, economic, and political life in colonial and revolutionary America. Colonists who did not purport to own enslaved people were still confronted with slavery as well as invited to maintain the system by purchasing enslaved men, women, and children or assisting in the capture of so-called “runaways” who sought to free themselves from bondage. The frequency of these newspaper advertisements suggests just how embedded slavery was in colonial and revolutionary American culture in everyday interactions beyond the printed page.

These advertisements also testify to the experiences of enslaved men, women, and children, though readers must consider that those experiences have been remediated through descriptions offered by enslavers rather than enslaved people themselves. Often unnamed in the advertisements, enslaved men, women, and children were not invisible or unimportant in early America.

These advertisements appeared in colonial American newspapers 250 years ago today.

*Boston Evening-Post* (August 12, 1771).

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*New-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury* (August 12, 1771).

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*Pennsylvania Chronicle* (August 12, 1771).

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*South-Carolina and American General Gazette* (August 12, 1771).

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August 11

August 11, 2021August 11, 2021 Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update Experience, John Stavers, Massachusetts Gazette and Boston Weekly News-Letter, Public Service, Stagecoach

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

*Massachusetts Gazette and Boston Weekly News-Letter* (August 8, 1771).

“The first Person that ever set up, and regularly maintain’d a Stage Carriage in New-England.”

John Stavers was not pleased when a competitor set up stagecoach service between Boston and Portsmouth in 1771. In July, he placed an advertisement in the New-Hampshire Gazette to promote his “Stage-Coach, Number One,” proclaiming that “several Years” experience of transporting passengers, mail, and newspapers meant that his drivers provided superior service. Stavers also suggested that the “Difficulty, Expence, Discouragements, and very little, if any profit” associated with operating the stagecoach for so many years meant that the public should “give his Coach the Preference” over a newcomer “big with Importance” yet lacking experience.

He placed a similar advertisement in the Massachusetts Gazette and Boston Weekly News-Letter, hoping to draw the attention of prospective passengers at the other end of the line. Stavers declared that he “was the first Person that ever set up, and regularly maintain’d a Stage Carriage in New-England.” Regardless of the weather and other conditions, operations continued “at all Seasons” for a decade. In recognition of both the “Marks of Approbation” he received from prior clients and the “Utility” of the service he provided, he stated that he “therefore humbly hopes that his Carriages will still continue to be prefer’d to any other, that may set up in Opposition to them.” For those who needed more convincing, Stavers asserted that “his Carriages are universally allow’d to be as convenient, genteel, and easy, and his Horses as good (if not better) than any that have as yet travelled the Road.” In addition, he promised that “the greatest Care will be taken of all Bundles and Packages.” For passengers who needed food and lodging upon arriving in Portsmouth, Stavers offered “Good Entertainment at the Earl of Halifax Tavern … equal to any on the Continent,” including any in Boston. Stavers also listed prices for transporting passengers “in the most genteel and expeditious Manner” from Boston to Portsmouth and Boston to Newburyport so prospective customers could compare rates if they wished.

Stavers never named his competitor in either advertisement, but he did make it clear that he believed his experience resulted in better service for passengers traveling between Boston and Portsmouth. In addition, he apparently felt that the investment he made operating a stagecoach along that route entitled him to the patronage of travelers who might otherwise choose his rival. He deployed a carrot-and-stick approach in his marketing efforts, alternating between the describing the benefits associated with his coaches and constructing a sense of obligation for selecting his services.

August 10

August 10, 2021 Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update Charles Stevens, Existing Customers, Goldsmith, Jeweler, New Location, Providence Gazette, Repairs

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

“CHARLES STEVENS … informs the Public, particularly his old Customers, that he has removed to BROAD-STREET.”

When Charles Stevens, a goldsmith and jeweler, moved to a new location in the summer of 1771, he placed an advertisement in the Providence Gazette. He intended his notice for “the Public,” but “particularly his old Customers.” Making this distinction served more than one purpose. First, it was a courtesy to existing clients unaware that Stevens changed location. In addition, it suggested to prospective new customers that the goldsmith and jeweler had already cultivated a clientele. Some may have been more likely to engage his services once reassured others previously hired him. Prior demand helped incite new demand. In general, Stevens sought the “Favours of the Public,” whether former customers or new, at his shop on Broad Street.

To that end, he proclaimed that he “carries on his Business in all its Branches, as usual.” This testified to his knowledge of his craft, signaling that he possessed the necessary skill and knowledge to complete any commission presented to him. Appending “as usual” once again testified to his experience. Although he opened a shop at a new location, Stevens was not new to his trade. Beyond the usual services that consumers expected of goldsmiths and jewelers, Stevens also repaired porcelain. In a nota bene, he declared, “Cracked and broken China riveted in the neatest Manner.” As many artisans did in their advertisements, Stevens offered ancillary services that produced additional revenues. He may have also hoped that getting clients to visit his shop for one purpose would lead to subsequent visits for others, provided they had positive experiences the first time.

Stevens’s short advertisement consisted entirely of text, much different from modern jewelry advertisements that dazzle prospective customers with images of the merchandise. Given the technology and standard marketing practices in the eighteenth century, Stevens packed multiple messages intended to resonate with consumers into a short newspaper notice.

August 9

August 9, 2021August 9, 2021 Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update Clockmaker, Customer Service, Nathaniel Sheaff Griffith, New-Hampshire Gazette, Watchmaker

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

*New-Hampshire Gazette* (August 9, 1771).

“Griffith is now well settled in Business.”

Nathaniel Sheaff Griffith frequently advertised his services as clock- and watchmaker in the New-Hampshire Gazette in the late 1760s and early 1770s. For eighteen months in 1769 and 1770, he placed many of his notices in response to advertisements inserted by John Simnet, a rival who migrated to Portsmouth after gaining decades of experience as a clock- and watchmaker in London. Simnet repeatedly denigrated colonial clock- and watchmakers in general and Griffith in particular, claiming that those who did not receive their training in England did more harm than good when they attempted to fix broken clocks and watches. For his part, Griffith sometimes refused to take the bait, but on other occasions published pointed responses to the Simnet, accusing him of being an itinerant just as likely to steal watches as repair them. Readers of the New-Hampshire Gazette observed their feud for months. When Simnet departed for New York, Griffith continued advertising, but returned to positive messages.

Such was the case in an advertisement that ran in the August 9, 1771, edition of the New-Hampshire Gazette (though the notice was most likely misdated July 8). Griffith announced “CLOCK and WATCHES, clean’d & repair’d as usual in the neatest compleatest and cheapest manner.” Like other artisans, he emphasized quality, skill, and price. He also made a nod toward customer service, stating that “his Customers and others may depend on being well used, with Punctuality.” Griffith also mentioned that he was “now well settled in Business,” testifying to his experience without having to draw comparisons to a competitor with decades of experience who formerly mocked him in the public prints. A year after Simnet removed to New York, many readers likely still remembered the war of words between the watchmakers that regularly played out in the newspaper. Griffith likely experienced some relief at no longer being at the receiving end of Simnet’s harangues. No longer debating whether he needed to respond to Simnet or how vociferously, Griffith ran advertisements that promoted his business without launching attacks on his competitors. That may have suited him just fine, but readers lost out on one source of entertainment that formerly appeared in the New-Hampshire Gazette.

Slavery Advertisements Published August 9, 1771

August 9, 2021June 23, 2021 Carl Robert Keyes Slavery Adverts 250 Project

These advertisements appeared in colonial American newspapers 250 years ago today.

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August 8

August 8, 2021March 31, 2023 Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update Alexander and James Robertson, Archival Silence, Cudjoe an Enslaved Man who Liberated Himself, Dye an Enslaved Youth who Liberated Herself, Jemmy an Enslaved Man who Liberated Himself, Long Jemmy an Enslaved Man who Liberated Himself, Peter and James Sinkler, Peter Sinkler, Rynah an Enslaved Woman who Liberated Herself, South-Carolina Gazette, Venus an Enslaved Woman who Liberated Herself

Who was the subject of an advertisement in a colonial American newspaper 250 years ago today?

*South-Carolina Gazette* (August 8, 1771).

“CUDJOE, JEMMY, RYNAH, VENUS, and her Daughter DYE.”

For several months, Peter Sinkler and James Sinkler attempted to use the power of the press to recapture six enslaved people who liberated themselves in 1771. According to advertisements the Sinklers placed in several newspapers, including the June 19 edition of the South-Carolina and American General Gazette, “Cudjoe, Jemmy, Long Jemmy, Rynah, Venus, and her daughter Dye, about twelve years old,” departed from the Sinklers’ plantation in St. Stephen Parish on March 31. The Sinklers surmised that Cudjoe, “elderly” and “very artful,” had “enticed the others. Jemmy, Long Jemmy, Rynah, Venus, and Dye, however, may not have needed much enticing when they decided to seize their freedom.

After eluding capture for many months, Long Jemmy suddenly did not appear in the advertisement that ran in the August 8 edition of the South-Carolina Gazette. In every previous iteration, the advertisement identified “the six following NEGROES” and then always listed them in the same order. For some reason, however, a new advertisement referred to only “the Five following NEGROES” and did not include Long Jemmy. What happened to him? Did he get separated from the others and then captured and returned to the Sinklers? Had he returned of his own accord, as enslaved people sometimes did after demonstrating that enslavers did not exercise total authority over them? Did a colonist see the advertisements, recognize Long Jemmy, and collect the reward for apprehending him? What else might have occurred?

After identifying, remediating, and republishing these advertisements for the Slavery Adverts 250 Project over the past four months, Long Jemmy seems starkly absent from this advertisement. Yet that is not the only absence associated with this enslaved man. The earlier advertisements may be the sole archival sources that name him. Even those silence him, his story told from the perspective of enslavers who claimed that Long Jemmy, like the others who liberated themselves, “is so well known … as to need no further Description.” Other than saying that Cudjoe was likely the leader of group, the Sinklers did not comment on any of their relationships or much of anything else about them. Long Jemmy, Rynah, Venus, and the others are not “well known” in Charleston and elsewhere today. Archival sources allow us to tell composite stories of their likely experiences, but they did not have the same opportunities to shape the historical record and how they should be remembered as the Sinklers did through the simple act of placing a newspaper advertisement.

Slavery Advertisements Published August 8, 1771

August 8, 2021June 23, 2021 Carl Robert Keyes Slavery Adverts 250 Project

These advertisements appeared in colonial American newspapers 250 years ago today.

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*Pennsylvania Gazette* (August 8, 1771).

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*Supplement to the South-Carolina Gazette* (August 8, 1771).

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*Virginia Gazette* [Purdie and Dixon] (August 8, 1771).

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*Virginia Gazette* [Rind] (August 8, 1771).

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August 7

August 7, 2021July 24, 2021 Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update Bethune and Prince, Graphic Design, Irish Linens, Massachusetts Gazette and Boston Post-Boy

What weas advertised in a colonial American newspaper 250 years ago this week?

*Massachusetts Gazette and Boston Post-Boy* (August 5, 1771).

“Diapers for clouting, napkins and table cloths.”

Throughout the summer of 1771, Bethune and Prince ran an advertisement for “IRISH LINNENS” in the Massachusetts Gazette and Boston Post-Boy. Like most other advertisements in eighteenth-century newspapers, it consisted entirely of text, but it differed in appearance from most other notices concerning commodities for sale. Rather than goods listed in dense paragraphs of text, Bethune and Prince’s advertisement featured innovative graphic design that both organized the merchandise for readers and made the notice distinctive.

The “IRISH LINNENS” available at Bethune and Prince’s store on King Street included shirting, diapers, and sheeting. Each of those categories appeared in font that rivaled the size of the headline. Descriptions, in font the size that matched the text in the body of other advertisements on the same page, appeared to the right of each category of linen. For instance, “Shirting” ran in larger font justified to the left margin with “3-4ths, 7-8th and yard wide” in smaller font on two lines to the right. Similarly, “Diapers” appeared in larger font on the left and “for clouting, napkins and table cloths” in smaller font on the right.

Bethune and Prince deployed other means of enticing customers. They promoted their “large Assortment” and promised that “Wholesale Customers may be supplied nearly as low as they are bought in England.” Their marketing efforts, however, did not rely solely on those appeals. Instead, their advertisement deployed graphic design to attract attention, increasing the chances that prospective customers would notice the variety of choices and low prices. The unusual format required additional effort on the part of the compositor who set the type, but likely not so much as to increase the price of an advertisement usually determined by the amount of space that it occupied rather the number of words it included. Bethune and Prince likely requested the unique format, but it also may have been the product of a compositor looking to experiment with the design elements of the advertisement.

August 6

August 6, 2021July 24, 2021 Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update Advertisement as News Item, Connecticut Courant, Dartmouth College, Ebenezer Watson

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

“Many Gentlemen are enquiring concerning the situation, circumstances, &c of Dartmouth College.”

Colonial printers sometimes blurred the lines between news and advertising. Such was the case with an item that appeared in the August 6, 1771, edition of the Connecticut Courant. As the last item among the news in that issue or as the first item among the advertisements, Ebenezer Watson inserted a notice that functioned as both. “Whereas many Gentlemen are enquiring concerning the situation, circumstances, &c of Dartmouth College,” Watson announced, “this may inform the public, That A Continuation of the Narrative of the Indian Charity-School in Lebanon in Connecticut; From the Year 1768 to the Incorporation of it with Dartmouth-College, and removal and settlement of it in Hanover, in the Province of New Hampshire, 1771 is lately published.” The notice seemed to provide an overview of the recent history of Dartmouth College, but, like many advertisements for books, it simply listed the extensive title of the publication it promoted.

Eleazar Wheelock, president of Dartmouth College, penned the volume. Watson, printer of the Connecticut Courant, printed the book and, in the notice that he placed in his own newspaper, informed readers that copies “may be had at the Printing Office in Hartford.” He exercised his prerogative as printer to place his advertisement in a place that it looked like news, likely hoping to increase the number of readers who would take note of it even if they did not peruse other advertisements. The items that appeared after it all had a format that readily identified them as advertisements, but Watson’s notice was more difficult to distinguish from the news items that filled most of the page.

In addition to using this advertisement as a transition between news and paid notices, Watson also made a request of other newspaper printers. In a nota bene, he declared that “If the Printers in general would be so kind as to insert the above in their respective paper, the favor will be gratefully acknowledged, and possibly the public benefited.” In asking his counterparts in other cities and towns to reprint his advertisement, Watson continued to treat it as a news item that delivered information for the purpose of better informing the public, not merely a commercial endeavor and means of generating revenue at his printing office in Hartford. He apparently hoped that other printers would similarly present his advertisement as news of interest to their readers.

	April 30 \| The Adver… on December 11
	Loyalist Trails 2024… on April 27
	April 29 \| The Adver… on July 17
	February 16 \| The Ad… on February 7
	April 28 \| The Adver… on February 29

The Adverts 250 Project

An Exploration of Advertising During the Era of the American Revolution, 250 Years Ago This Week

Month: August 2021

Slavery Advertisements Published August 12, 1771

Slavery Advertisements Published August 9, 1771

Slavery Advertisements Published August 8, 1771