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

“Simpson’s Hard-Ware Store.”

As fall approached in 1774, a new advertisement in the Providence Gazette alerted the public that “Simpson’s Hard-Ware Store” had “Just opened” and offered a “large Assortment of Hard-Ware Goods” for “Wholesale only.”  Shopkeepers seeking to replenish their inventories could acquire merchandise there rather than place orders with merchants who would then import those goods.  The speed and convenience may have been especially attractive considering that many colonizers anticipated a general boycott on importing textiles, hardware, and all sorts of other items from England in response to the Coercive Acts passed by Parliament.  Delegates were already enroute to Philadelphia or arrived there to discuss a united response at what would become known as the First Continental Congress.

Simpson did not make explicit mention of politics, but doing so would not have been necessary for readers to understand the context in which he marketed his wares.  Several articles in the August 20 edition of the Providence Gazette provided coverage, in addition to the conversations, debates, and anxious musings taking place in private and public spaces throughout town.  Simpson instead focused on demonstrating the many choices he made available, just as his neighbor, Hill’s Variety Store, had done for many months.  His “Hard-Ware Store” stocked everything from “claw and shoe hammers” to “a good assortment of stock locks, cross ward and double spring locks” to Taylors, womens and sheep shears” to “a very good assortment of pewter dishes and plates,” far more than just hardware.  In addition to the items included in the extensive catalog in his advertisement, Simpson also carried “a number of other articles, too many to be here enumerated.”  If prospective customers could not find what they desired at Hill’s Variety Store they needed to check the shelves right next door at the hardware store.

A notation that read “(3 Mo.)” appeared at the end of Simpson’s advertisement, indicating that he intended for it to run for three months from its first insertion in the August 12 edition of the Providence Gazette.  He hoped to part with as much merchandise as possible by then, yet the anticipated longevity of his advertisement also testified to his confidence in its effectiveness.  After all, he would not have agreed to pay to run the notice so many times if he did not expect a return on his investment.  Perhaps he had been inspired by his neighbor, Hill, or even received advice from him after seeing his advertisement week after week for six months.