What was advertised in a revolutionary American newspaper 250 years ago today?
“Low’s Almanack for 1777, Being the first of American Independence.”
As they had often done before the Revolutionary War, Thomas and John Fleet and John Gill once again collaborated on printing, advertising, and selling an almanac in the fall of 1777. The October 24, 1776, edition of Gills newspaper, the Continental Journal, carried an advertisement that announced that “Low’s Almanack for 1777” would be published and available for sale on the following Monday. It was one of the first advertisements for an almanac published anywhere in the new nation that included a list of the contents to entice prospective customers. The material that the Fleets and Gill included in their new almanac and in the advertisement resonated with the revolution that readers were experiencing.
To start, the printers promoted “Low’s Almanack for 1777, Being the first of American Independence.” During the colonial era, the year had often been paired with the number of years the monarch had reigned. Rather than set that practice aside, the Fleets and Gill adapted it to reflect the founding of the nation. They also asserted that the contents included “every Thing necessary for an Almanack: together with a neat Plan comprehending a View of the present Seat of War at and New-York.” Less than two months after British forces occupied New York, this almanac came with a print that depicted “General Washington’s Lines – Fort at Powles’s Hook – Bunker-Hill near the City – King’s Bridge – Hell-Gate – Fort Constitution – Mount Washington – Governor’s Island – and part of Long Island, Staten Island and the Jersies.” Such an image would have been helpful for readers in understanding recent events. It was also part of the commodification of people and events connected to the American Revolution that had begun during the imperial crisis. Even before the war, printers, booksellers, artists produced, marketed, and sold a variety of prints, pamphlets, and other items that celebrated political leaders who supported the American cause, such as William Pitt and Samuel Adams, or commemorated events like the Boston Massacre. In addition, the advertisement listed other contents of the almanac, including short essays on “Rules and Reflections for the Conduct of Life, “How to get Riches,” and “an Address to the Tories.” A good dose of politics and current events accompanied the practical information in the almanac. The Fleets and Gill believed that bonus material would help sell “Low’s Almanack for 1777, Being the first of American Independence.”