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

“FOUR different Views of the BATTLES of LEXINGTON, [and] CONCORD.”

The marketing of memorabilia that commemorated events associated with the American Revolution began before the Second Continental Congress declared independence.  Shortly after the Boston Massacre, for instance, Paul Revere, Henry Pelham, and others produced and advertised images depicting the “BLOODY MASSACRE perpetrated in King-Street.”  Revere also marketed a “Copper-Plate PRINT, containing a View of Part of the Town of Boston in New-England, and British Ships of War landing their Troops in the Year 1768.”  As the imperial crisis intensified, Charles Reak and Samuel Okey advertised a print depicting “that truly staunch Patriot, the Hon. SAMUEL ADAMS, of Boston.”  The production of commemorative items accelerated following the battles at Lexington and Concord in April 1775 and the Battle of Bunker Hill in June 1775.

In December 1775, James Lockwood advertised “FOUR different Views of the BATTLES of LEXINGTON, CONCORD, &c. on the 19th of April, 1775.”  He provided a short description of each: “The Battle at Lexington,” “A View of the Town of Concord with the Ministerial Troops destroying the Stores,” “The Battle at the North Bridge in Concord,” and “The South Part of Lexington where the first Detachment were join’d by Lord Percy.”  Lockwood promoted both the quality and accuracy of the prints, noting that the “Four Plates are neatly engraved on Copper, from original Paintings taken on the Spot.”  He almost certainly stocked and sold a series of prints engraved by Amos Doolittle based on paintings by Ralph Earl.  Although Lockwood may have sold the prints separately on request, he promoted them as a package, charging six shillings for as set of “the plain ones” or eight shillings for “coloured” prints.  This collection of prints supplemented news coverage of the battles, helping educate colonizers about recent events, yet many consumers may have desired them as symbols of their patriotism and support of the American cause to display in their homes and offices.  During the first year of the Revolutionary War, the marketing of images that celebrated Americans who defended their towns and their liberties likely encouraged some colonizers to imagine declaring independence rather than merely seeking a redress of grievances.