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

“NUMBER X. of The Royal American Magazine.”

The Adverts 250 Project has tracked advertisements for the Royal American Magazine from Thomas’s first notice, in May 1773, that he planned to distribute subscription proposals to newspapers advertisements in June, July, August, September, October, November, and December 1773 and January, February, March, April, May, and June 1774.  No magazine appeared in July 1774 because of the “Distresses,” yet they resumed in August, September, and October.

In the first week of November 1774, Joseph Greenleaf took to the pages of two of the newspapers printed in Boston to announce that he had published a new issue of the Royal American Magazine.  His advertisement for the September issue that already appeared in the October 31 edition of the Boston Evening-Post ran in that newspaper once again on November 7.  It actually appeared twice, once on the third page and once on the fourth.  The compositor likely made an error.  In addition, a similar advertisement appeared in the Massachusetts Gazette and Boston Weekly News-Letter on November 3, following up on a notice from October 27 that stated the magazine would be published the following day.

Greenleaf had been busy trying to catch up on overdue editions since he acquired the magazine from Isaiah Thomas in August.  Thomas had fallen behind due to the “Distresses of the Town of Boston” following the Boston Port Act and other Coercive Acts that went into effect in the summer of 1774.  He originally planned to suspend publication of the magazine, but then decided to transfer ownership to Greenleaf.  In the eighteenth century, monthly magazines usually appeared at the end of the month, so subscribers expected the October edition near the end of October or in the first week of November.  The September edition that Greenleaf advertised at the end of October and the beginning of November was a month overdue, yet the new publisher had made progress in getting back on schedule.

However, he may not have been able to improve on that progress.  The advertisements make it difficult to determine.  On November 17, Greenleaf placed advertisements in the Massachusetts Gazette and Boston Weekly News-Letter and the Massachusetts Spy.  In both, he stated that he would publish the October edition of the Royal American Magazine “TO-MORROW.”  In the Massachusetts Gazette and Boston Weekly News-Letter, he noted that “an elegant Engraving” accompanied the magazine, though he did not reveal its subject, and stated that “Subscriptions continue to be taken in.”  If Greenleaf did indeed publish the October edition of the magazine on November 18, then he made gains on the delinquent issue, disseminating it less than three weeks behind schedule.

Yet no advertisements for the Royal American Magazine ran in any of Boston’s five newspapers throughout the remainder of the month.  For Greenleaf to publish a new issue and not advertise it deviated from the practice he had established during his time as proprietor.  No advertisement for the October edition of the Royal American Magazineappeared until a notice declared it “THIS DAY PUBLISHED” in the Boston Evening-Post on December 5.  Eighteenth-century readers knew that headline meant a book, almanac, pamphlet, magazine, or other publication was available for purchase, not necessarily that it was released for the first time on that date.  That means that the October edition could have been published any time between November 18 and December 5.  The date on the cover did not reveal the complicated publication history of that issue of the Royal American Magazine.

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“JUST PUBLISHED … Royal American Magazine … For SEPTEMBER, 1774”

• November 3 – Massachusetts Gazette and Boston Weekly News-Letter (first appearance)

“THIS DAY PUBLISHED … NUMBER IX … Embellished with an elegant Engraving”

• November 7 – Boston Evening-Post (second appearance and third appearance)

“TO-MORROW will be PUBLISHED … Royal American Magazine … For OCTOBER, 1774”

• November 17 – Massachusetts Gazette and Boston Weekly News-Letter (first appearance)

“To-Morrow will be published, THE Royal American MAGAZINE, for OCTOBER, 1774”

• November 17 – Massachusetts Spy (first appearance)