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

“He has not yet obtained a certificate from the Queen’s stay-maker in London.”

Peter Hulick, a “STAY-MAKER, IN HANOVER-SQUARE,” took to the pages of Rivington’s New-York Gazetteer to advise “ladies in this city and the country around it” that he made all kinds of stays.  He acknowledged that he “has not yet obtained a certificate from the Queen’s stay-maker in London,” but he likely intended that simply mentioning the possibility planted the idea that he qualified for that honor.  Regardless of such recognition, he “flatters himself fully capable of satisfying any ladies who shall be pleased to favour him with their commands.”  To that end, he pledged “to give the best of goods and work, with integrity, gratitude and dispatch.”  The women of New York could choose from among many staymakers, including John Burchett “at the Sign of the Crown and Stays” (who had “obtained a certificate from the Queen’s Stay-Maker in London”), Thomas Hartley, John McQueen, and Richard Norris.  Hulick made and sold stays “after the newest, neatest, and best fashion.”  Even without any certificates, “many reputable ladies” in New York and other towns could testify to his skill.

The staymaker also offered stays for “children and growing Misses,” noting that his stays would “give and preserve a shape truly perfect, not dropping or falling in.”  He joined some of his competitors in encouraging women and girls to feel self-conscious about their bodies, believing that would incite demand for his services.  Norris, for instance, addressed “Ladies uneasy in their shapes” in his advertisements, prompting women to experience uneasiness after perusing his notice even if they previously felt comfortable about their appearance.  Like Hulick, Norris placed special emphasis on “young ladies and growing misses,” pushing them to feel alienated by their developing bodies in hopes that they would enlist his aid in achieving the proper form from “their hips [to] shoulders.”  Hulick, Norris, and other staymakers sometimes cultivated feelings of insecurity and inadequacy among prospective clients, marketing their services by offering to alleviate those concerns.  Promising the “newest, neatest, and best fashion” did not by itself sell their stays.