What was advertised in a revolutionary American newspaper 250 years ago this week?
“[Advertisements omitted will be in our next.]”
The July 13, 1776, edition of the Providence Gazette included a note from the printer, John Carter, that “[Advertisements omitted will be in our next.]” Even though some advertisements received in the printing office “at Shakespear’s Head, in Meeting-Street,” did not make it into print in that issue, it still carried a significant number of paid notices. Carter devoted the entire fourth page to advertising as well as the final column of the third page. That meant that advertising accounted for four out of twelve columns or one-third of the content of that issue.
What prevented Carter from inserting certain advertisements? Acquiring a copy of the Declaration of Independence and printing it for his subscribers and other readers likely played a part. Consider where the Declaration of Independence and the note from the printer appeared within the July 13 issue. Both ran on the third page, the last page for which the compositor set type. Like other newspapers published during the era of the American Revolution, the Providence Gazetteconsisted of four pages created by printing two pages on each side of a broadsheet and folding it in half. Printers produced both pages on one side, let the broadsheets dry, and then printed the other two pages on the other side. In most printing offices, that meant taking the first and fourth pages to press first and later printing the second and third pages.
Carter wedged the note that advertisements that did not appear in the July 13 edition would appear in the next issue into the last column on the third page, placing it at the very bottom after squeezing in as many advertisements as possible. The Declaration of Independence started near the top of the first column and filled most of the second column as well. It did not, however, start at the top of the column. Carter concluded a news update from New York. He also included a short introduction: “The following Declaration of the General Congress was Yesterday received from Philadelphia.” That further suggests that he set type for the momentous document as soon as he received it and inserted it into the July 13 edition where it would fit. Doing so displaced some of the advertisements he intended to print before a copy of the Declaration of Independence came to hand.