What was advertised in a revolutionary American newspaper 250 years ago today?
“All Sorts of Military Articles.”
It was a sign of the times. The headline for Wolere Ming’s advertisement in the July 12, 1775, edition of the Pennsylvania Gazette proclaimed, “All Sorts of Military Articles.” The brief notice listed some of the items the merchant stocked, such as “Cartouch-boxes [for carrying cartridges], Morocco and other Sword-belts, Scabbards, Pistol Holsters, [and] Rangers Pouches.” Hostilities had commenced with the battles of Lexington and Concord less than three months earlier, followed by the siege of Boston and the Battle of Bunker Hill. The Second Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia, appointed George Washington of Virginia as commander of the Continent Army, and dispatched him to Massachusetts. Colonizers in New England, New York, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere mobilized as they followed the news, some of them heading to Massachusetts to lend their support and others preparing to defend their communities.
Responding to current events meant new opportunities for colonial entrepreneurs. For instance, Charles Oliver Bruff, a goldsmith and jeweler in New York, advised “gentlemen who are forming themselves into companies in defence of their liberties” that they could purchase swords of various sorts at this shop in May 1775. In Philadelphia, those seeking to outfit themselves for military service could do so very well at Ming’s shop “nearly opposite the Harp and Crown Tavern” where they selected among items “made on the best Construction” available “on the shortest Notice.” Ming addressed a particular kind of consumer, the “Military Gentlemen, from Town or Country,” as he sought to leverage current events to establish revenue streams. The headline for his advertisement played an important role in attracting the attention of prospective customers, especially considering that most newspaper advertisements did not have headlines of any sort. Only one other in the issue of the Pennsylvania Gazette that carried Ming’s advertisement featured a headline that mentioned goods offered for sale, Thomas McGlathry’s notice for “IRISH LINENS, of various Prices.” Merchants and shopkeepers who had been restrained by the Continental Association, a nonimportation agreement, since December 1774 now faced new circumstances that they could make work to their benefit if they shifted their marketing strategies accordingly.