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

“The SPEECH, intended to have been spoken on the BILL for altering the Charters of the Colony of Massachusetts Bay.”

Among the other advertisements that appeared in the October 7, 1774, edition of the Connecticut Journal and New-Haven Post-Boy, Thomas Green and Samuel Green inserted a notice for two political pamphlets “To be sold by the Printers hereof.”  They stocked “The SPEECH, intended to have been spoken on the BILL for altering the Charters of the Colony of Massachusetts Bay.  Written by the Rev. Dr. Jonathan Shipley, Lord Bishop of St. Asaph” as well as “A DECLARATION of the People’s Natural Right to Share in the LEGISLATURE; which is the Fundamental Principle of the British Constitution of State.  By Granville Sharp.”

Both pamphlets supported the American cause against abuses perpetrated by Parliament.  The first critiqued the Massachusetts Government Act, legislation that revoked the colony’s charter, gave greater authority to a governor appointed by the king, and prohibited town meetings without prior approval.  As a bishop of the Church of England, Shipley was a member of Parliament.  He intended to object to the Massachusetts Government Act, one of the Coercive Acts passed in retaliation for the Boston Tea Party, but was not allowed to deliver it.  Instead, he had it published.  Although it had little effect in England, the speech circulated widely and to great acclaim in the colonies.  In addition to imported editions sold by booksellers, colonial printers produced at least eleven American editions in Salem, Boston, Newport, Hartford, New York, Philadelphia, Lancaster, and Williamsburg.  The Massachusetts Gazette and Boston Post-Boy reprinted the speech in a supplement that accompanied its September 12, 1774, edition.  In addition, Daboll’s New-England Almanack, for the Year 1775 included the “Celebrated Speech” and a portrait of Shipley on the title page.  The bishop achieved great acclaim among colonizers for his support during their plight.

The Greens advertised and sold Shipley’s speech, but they did not publish their own edition.  They were so eager to disseminate the pamphlet to their customers that they first advertised it in the outer margin of the second page of the September 30 edition of the Connecticut Journal.  A single line declared, “The celebrated SPEECH, of the Bishop of St. Asaph, on the Bill for altering the Charter of the Colony of Massachusetts-Bay.  To be sold by the Printers, and Nathan Hicok, jun. price 4d.”  Hicok was a post rider who joined the ranks of post riders who not only delivered letters and newspapers but also sold political tracts that advocated for the rights of the colonies.  It appears that the Greens may have received copies of the bishop’s speech shortly before taking the September 30 edition to press, but rather than wait an entire week to promote it in the next issue they instead opted to squeeze it into the margin.  They then converted it into a regular advertisement to continue promoting it to readers.  The advertisements do not reveal how many customers purchased and read the pamphlet, but they do indicate that printers and post riders actively worked to distribute it widely.