Advertisement as Editorial

October 4

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , , , , , ,

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

Essex Gazette (October 4, 1774).

“Forgive my Error [and] restore me to their Favour and Friendship.”

Samuel Flagg of Salem and Joseph Lee of Marblehead needed to do damage control and rehabilitate their reputations after signing “an Address to Governor Hutchinson, on his leaving this Province” in May 1774.  Like Thomas Kidder had done in July, they took to the public prints to confess their error and beg for the forgiveness of their friends and neighbors who believed they did not support the American cause.  The reaction they experienced became so overwhelming that they recanted a position that they claimed they never firmly held.  Lee, for instance, stated that he signed the address because at the time he “thought [Hutchinson] a Friend to America,” yet he had since reconsidered.  He expressed “great Concern” while confessing that “I am now convinced he is not that Friend to America nor the Constitution of this Government that I then thought he was.”  To that end, Lee renounced the entire address and “sincerely ask[ed] the Favour of all the good People of this Government to forgive my Error therein, and to restore me to their Favour and Friendship.”  His plea, dated October 3, first appeared in the October 4 edition of the Essex Gazette, with a notation that it would run for four weeks.  Rather than submitting a letter to the printer that might get printed once, Lee paid to run an advertisement that would present his story and his apology to readers multiple times.

Lee’s notice was brief compared to the one that Flagg inserted on the same day.  He had formerly been in good standing in the community, having the “good Will and Esteem” of his “Fellow Citizens and Countrymen,” but perceived “they behold me with a different aspect” after he signed an address in honor of the Governor Hutchinson upon his return to England.  Flagg confessed that this “has given me great Uneasiness; not simply because I am injured in my Business, but because nothing can compensate for the Loss of the good Opinion of my worthy Countrymen.”  Flagg acknowledged that his livelihood had suffered; apparently customers refused to shop at his store in Salem.  Yet participating in the marketplace was not the only or even the primary reason that Flagg wished to correct the record.  He desired the “Favour and Regard” that he had once enjoyed in relationships with other colonizers, plus he wanted to assure the public that he indeed supported the patriot cause.  He admitted his error while disavowing the address as “the Source of much Mischief to the Colonies and to this Province in particular,” but did not end there.  “I seriously declare,” he wrote, “that I have ever beheld with Pleasure the generous Exertions of my Countrymen in Defence of their Liberties.”  Furthermore, Flagg claimed that “I have note myself at any Time been an idle Spectator, but heartily joined them in their all-important Cause.”  In his advertisement for an “Assortment of ENGLISH and INDIA GOODS” on the next page, he indicated that he “is determined not to import any more Goods at Present,” signaling his support for nonimportation agreements as a means of protesting the Coercive Acts.

Beyond his confession and apology, Flagg incorporated an editorial into his advertisement seeking forgiveness from his “Fellow Citizens and Countrymen.”  He asserted, “I do not differ in Sentiment from my Countrymen; I have ever thought, and still think, those Acts of Parliament, of which they complain, to be unjust and oppressive.”  To demonstrate that point, he inserted quotations that made familiar arguments: “‘that they are intended to establish a Power of governing us by Influence and Corruption’” and “‘that it is the Duty of every wise Man, of every honest Man, and of every Englishman, by all lawful Means to oppose them.’”  Flagg thus had a duty to fulfill, prompting him to “pledge myself to my Countrymen that this I will do to the utmost of my Power.”  He reiterated that he regretted signing the “abovementioned Address,” insisting that it was “the first and only Act of mine that has the Appearance of Inconsistency with my former Conduct, and the Declarations now made.”  He apologized once again, requesting the “Candour and Generosity” of others in overlooking the entire incident.

Signing the address to Governor Hutchinson had been a lapse in judgment; at least that was how some of those who signed it depicted their actions when they repeatedly encountered hostile reactions.  Both Flagg and Lee sought to remedy the damage done to their reputations by placing advertisements in which they confessed their error.  Flagg did even more: he spilled a lot of ink in support of the American cause, hoping that doing so would convince the public of his sincerity and return him to their good graces.  News and editorials could not contain the politics of the period. Instead, advertisements became sites for participating in debates and controversies as the imperial crisis intensified in 1774.

September 19

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , ,

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

Dunlap’s Pennsylvania Packet (September 19, 1774).

“The above pamphlet … is quoted in a respectful manner by the Earl of Chatham.”

Two weeks after the First Continental Congress commenced its meetings in Philadelphia, Joseph Crukshank took to the pages of Dunlap’s Pennsylvania Gazette to advertise that he had “Just published … A TRUE STATE of the PROCEEDINGS in the Parliament of Great-Britain, and in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, relative to the giving and granting the Money of the People of that province, and of all America, in the House of Commons, in which they are not represented.”  As was often the case, the extensive title simultaneously provided an overview of the pamphlet’s contents and served as advertising copy.

Yet that was not the only appeal made in this advertisement.  Crukshank, the printer of this American edition of a work originally published in London, sought to entice buyers with additional information.  “The above pamphlet, said to be written by Dr. Franklin,” he informed readers, “is quoted in a respectful manner by the Earl of Chatham, in his speech on the third reading of the bill for quartering troops in America.”  Colonizers had long celebrated William Pitt the Elder for his advocacy on their behalf, doing so once again when he considered the wisdom of the Quartering Act, one of the Coercive Acts that Parliament passed in the wake of the Boston Tea Party.  Historians have determined that Arthur Lee compiled the pamphlet from material furnished by Benjamin Franklin.

The title of the pamphlet, including its reference to the colonies lacking direct representation in Parliament, buttressed the arguments presented in letters and editorials that ran elsewhere in the September 19, 1774, edition of Dunlap’s Pennsylvania Packet.  On its own, the advertisement operated as a miniature editorial among the other content of the newspaper.  Scholars debate the extent that political pamphlets shaped public opinion, some arguing that newspapers reached many more people.  Compared to pamphlets, newspapers were inexpensive, plus they circulated widely.  Yet advertisements for political pamphlets did important work, even if few readers opted to purchase or read those pamphlets.  The advertisements contributed to an impression of the discourse taking place, signaling to readers what others believed about current events and why they should prefer one position over another.  Most readers of Dunlap’s Pennsylvania Packet never purchased Crukshank’s American edition of a political pamphlet originally published in London, yet the advertisement relayed information about the position taken by a popular politician and made an argument about the colonies’ lack of representation in Parliament.  The advertisement became part of the news environment.

August 31

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , , , ,

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

Pennsylvania Journal (August 31, 1774)

“The vilest treatment perpetrated on any person … threatened my life and property with danger.”

Eighteenth-century advertisers often used the space they purchased in newspapers to pursue multiple purchases.  Merchants and shopkeepers, for instance, frequently devoted most of their advertisements to promoting goods for sale and then pivoted to calling on former customers to settle accounts.  Sometimes the aims of the different portions of advertisements did not seem related at all.  J. Musgrave devoted half of his advertisement in the August 31, 1774, edition of the Pennsylvania Gazette to leasing his “Wet and Dry Goods Houses and Stores” to merchants and the other half to buying and selling horses.

On the same day, James Hume published a lengthy advertisement with two very different purposes in the Pennsylvania Journal.  The headline declared, “INTELLIGENCE OFFICE.”  The broker described the various services he provided, including drawing up “Deeds, wills, indentures, bonds, powers of attorney, [and] articles of agreement.”  He had “wet nurses wanting places” as well as “several lads to go apprentices.”  He recorded and settled accounts, sold goods on commission, and even wrote advertisements on behalf of his clients.  Rather than focus exclusively on his work as an “Intelligencer and Broker,” Hume used his access to the public prints to air a grievance against John Rodgers, “who keeps the Lower Ferry on Susquehannah” in Harford County, Maryland.  According to the Hume, he was the victim of “the vilest treatment perpetrated on any person … which put me in bodily pain, and threatened my life and property with danger.”  Following that ordeal, he “prepared a narrative of it to be laid before the public,” which he depicted as a service to the public.  By “exposing such villainy” and warning others about Rodgers, he hoped to “secure the persons of other travellers, when about their lawful business, from such usage.”

Yet his intentions had been thwarted so far because “the different Presses in this city are at present engaged with political matters.”  Hume had apparently shopped around to Dunlap’s Pennsylvania Packet, the Pennsylvania Gazette, and the Pennsylvania Journal, but none of the printers chose to accept his narrative for publication in their newspapers.  Whatever their reasons for rejecting it, they invoked current events as justification.  In recent months the imperial crisis intensified as the colonies received word of the Boston Port Act, the Massachusetts Government Act, and the other Coercive Acts passed as punishment for the Boston Tea Party.  Parliament sought to restore order, but many colonizers believed their liberties as English subjects were under attack.  For his part, Hume had his own concerns about his “right to claim the privileges of an American subject, and the laws of the land for justice, in punishing this villain Rodgers, for his inhuman treatment to me.”  That incident, however, did not rise to the level that printers in Philadelphia gave priority to publishing it.  Hume circumvented their editorial decisions, at least in part, by including his allegations against Rodgers in a paid notice, thus raising an alarm that others needed to be cautious when interacting with the ferry operator.

December 24

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , ,

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

New-Hampshire Gazette (December 24, 1773).

“WANTED, by Lord N—, a good Head.  The one he possesses at present, unwieldy, and heavy, and is of little Use to the Owner.”

Printers, authors, and others sometimes played with advertisements, adapting the format for unintended ends.  In recent weeks, the Adverts 250 Project has examined purported advertisements that delivered opinions about society and politics, made all the more powerful because they initially looked like they had been placed for one purpose but upon closer examination achieved another.  On November 22, 1773, for instance, the Pennsylvania Packet published more than a dozen advertisements submitted by an anonymous correspondent who believed that genre could be better perfected by extending them “to more of the different arts, professions, wants, losses, &c. of mankind.”  Several other newspapers subsequently reprinted the letter from the correspondent and the advertisements.  A few weeks later, the Connecticut Gazette carried a “WANTED” advertisement that described an ideal husband.  While several of the advertisements in the piece in the Pennsylvania Packet critiqued women, this notice instead lectured men on how they should treat women.

As a transition between news, much of it about the crisis over tea, and advertising, the December 24, 1773, edition of the New-Hampshire Gazette published “ADVERTISEMENTS not extraordinary,” all of them “wanted” notices supposedly reprinted from newspapers in London.  Like the advertisements in the Pennsylvania Packet, this collection included some that expressed political views and others that provided social commentary.  In this instance, each of them invoked or alluded to the name of a real person, someone prominent enough that readers in England and the colonies would have recognized them.  The first advertisement proclaimed, “WANTED, by Lord N—, a good Head.  The one he possesses at present, unwieldy, and heavy, and is of little Use to the Owner.”  Readers did not need Lord North’s full name to recognize a jab at the prime minister.  Another advertisement stated, “Wanted, by the Duke of Cumberland, a good Pair of Breeches; his own being wore by the Dutchess.”  The writer apparently considered it well known that the duchess did not abide by her expected role but instead ruled her husband.  Yet another scolded a woman who did not demonstrate appropriate decorum in how she dressed.  “Wanted, by Miss N—t,” it declared, “a Petticoat that will reach within three Inches of her Ancle, her present Petticoat not reaching within six of it.”  The litany of advertisements concluded with one placed by the author: “Wanted, by the Writer of this Article, 1000l. a Year.  Enquire at the Printer’s.”  Those final instructions echoed the directions given in so many advertisements.  Printers often served as intermediaries who supplied additional information beyond what appeared in the advertisements published in their newspapers.  These “ADVERTISEMENTS not extraordinary” provided a platform for the anonymous author to become a pundit, each notice making a biting remark about contemporary politics and culture.

December 17

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , , ,

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

Connecticut Gazette (December 17, 1773).

“WANTED, A HUSBAND.”

Was it an advertisement or an editorial?  The December 17, 1773, edition of the Connecticut Gazette included an item that purported to be a “WANTED” advertisement.  The anonymous woman who placed it sought a husband who “can be warranted to possess the following agreeable Qualifications” and listed a “good Education,” “good Morals,” a mind “richly furnish’d with all useful Knowledge,” and “genteel, easy, and graceful” behavior.  That husband should be “free from Pride and Arrogance.”  Overall, he needed to demonstrate “the most distinguish’d Character.”  A nota bene indicated the circumstances that likely prompted this particular “Advertisement.”  The anonymous advertiser insisted that her prospective husband “should treat the Ladies with the Respect that their Merits require, considering that their Sex alone intitles them to his Esteem.”  To behave otherwise would not be “consistent with the Character of a Gentleman.”  Patriarchal structures defined and confined women’s status in colonial America, but the system was also supposed to bestow certain privileges and protections upon them, especially middling and elite white women.

This item included a salutation, unlike most paid notices that appeared in the Connecticut Gazette and other colonial newspapers.  “Mr. GREEN,” it addressed the printer, “Please to give the following Advertisement a Place in your Paper, and oblige one of your constant Readers.”  The anonymous advertiser likely did not intend to pay for this “Advertisement,” but rather used the word according to another common meaning in both England and America in the eighteenth century.  The Oxford English Dictionary provides this “now chiefly historical” definition: “a (written) statement calling attention to anything; a notification; esp. a notice to readers in a book (typically, a preface).”  Printers and authors also used “advertisement” in that manner in newspapers.  In this instance, the “Advertisement” appeared in a curious place in the Connecticut Gazette, on the final page immediately below the “POET’S CORNER,” a weekly feature, and above advertisements that were indeed paid notices.  The printer chose to place the “Advertisement” with paid notices rather than among the news and editorials on other pages, perhaps suggesting that even though he did not collect payment he still considered the piece artful, like that week’s poem, rather than a serious editorial.  The anonymous advertiser could demand “the Respect that [Ladies’] Merits require,” but that did not mean that the printer was obliged to respond in that manner.  Just as John Adams would mock Abigail’s admonitions to “Remember the Ladies” in their correspondence in the spring of 1776, the printer of the Connecticut Gazette gave this “Advertisement” a place in his newspaper that suggested he did not take it as seriously as the anonymous advertiser intended.

January 18

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , ,

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

Pennsylvania Packet (January 18, 1773).

“AN ADDRESS TO THE INHABITANTS OF THE BRITISH SETTLEMENTS IN AMERICA, UPON SLAVE-KEEPING.”

In January 1773, John Dunlap, printer of the Pennsylvania Packet, announced that An Address to the Inhabitants of the British Settlements in America, upon Slave-Keeping, a work attributed to Benjamin Rush, was “Just published” and available for sale.  Dunlap leveraged his access to the press to give the announcement special prominence in his newspaper, treating it as an editorial rather than an advertisement.

Consider how Dunlap organized the contents of the January 18, 1773, edition of the Pennsylvania Packet and the supplement that accompanied it.  In the standard issue, news items and editorials appeared on the first two pages, followed by advertising on the last two pages.  Similarly, the two-page supplement began with two columns of news and the remainder of the content consisted of advertising.  Dunlap’s announcement masqueraded as an editorial that ran in the first column of the second page and overflowed into the next column, followed by news from London, Newport, New York, and Philadelphia.  The printer inserted an excerpt from the pamphlet, hoping to entice readers to want more and purchase their own copies.  In giving prospective customers an overview of the essay, Dunlap noted that the “Author of the above Address after having showed the inconsistency of Slave-keeping with the principles of humanity – justice – good policy and religion; concludes as follows.”  After reading that conclusion, prospective customers could acquire the pamphlet and examine the various arguments about humanity, justice, good policy, and religion for themselves.  In treating this announcement as an editorial or news item, Dunlap adopted a strategy sometimes deployed by other printers to promote books and pamphlets they published.

Whatever the conclusions reached in the Address … upon Slave-Keeping, Dunlap apparently did not find them sufficiently convincing to alter his policies concerning the kinds of advertising that he printed in the Pennsylvania Packet.  Two advertisements about enslaved people appeared on the facing page, one offering a “HEALTHY country bred NEGRO LAD” for sale and the other seeking to hire a “SMART, active WHITE or NEGRO BOY … to wait on table and go on errands.”  Candidates for that position included enslaved youths who did the work while their enslavers received the wages.  An advertisement in the supplement described a “Negro Fellow named LONDON” who liberated himself by running away from his enslaver in Baltimore and offered a reward for his capture and return.  Even as Dunlap treated the conclusion of the Address … upon Slave-Keeping as an editorial intended to arouse interest in a pamphlet he sold, he generated revenue by printing and disseminating advertisements that perpetuated slavery.

May 26

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , , ,

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

Pennsylvania Journal (May 23, 1771).

“Frugality and Industry make Mankind rich, free, and happy.”

Politics certainly shaped accounts of current events that ran in colonial newspapers during the era of the imperial crisis that culminated in the American Revolution.  Even more explicitly, politics appeared in letters and editorials that printed selected for publication.  Yet news accounts, letters, and editorials were not the only places that readers encountered politics in newspapers.  Advertisements often commented on current events and sought to convince readers to adopt political positions.

Such was the case in an advertisement about “A GOLD MEDAL” that would be awarded to “the Person that produces the best piece of Woollen Cloth, sufficient for a Suit of Cloathes, of Wool raised in Lancaster County.”  The advertisement in the May 23, 1771, edition of the Pennsylvania Journal declared that “it must be a sincere pleasure to every lover of this Country, to see the attention that persons of all denominations give, not only to the Woolen, but to other Manufactures that we stand most in need of from Foreign Countries.”  Such sentiments corresponded with an emphasis on “domestic manufactures,” producing more goods for consumption in the colonies, that arose in tandem with nonimportation agreements adopted in defiance of duties Parliament imposed on imported goods.  Many colonists argued that boycotts had the greatest chance of succeeding if American consumers had access to more alternatives produced in the colonies.  Such efforts also stood to strengthen local economies and reduce the trade imbalance with Britain.  In the process, goods acquired political meaning.  Colonists consciously chose to wear garments made of homespun, the cloth that inspired the competition advertised in the Pennsylvania Journal, as a badge of honor and a means of communicating their political allegiances and support of nonimportation agreements.  Even after Parliament repealed most of the duties and the colonies resumed trade with Britain, many colonists continued to advocate for greater self-sufficiency through domestic manufactures, as was the case for the sponsors of the content in Lancaster County.

The description of the medal awarded for the competition the previous year reflected the ideology of the patriot cause.  One side featured “the Bust of the Pennsylvania Farmer” with the inscription “Take away the wicked from before the King, and his Throne shall be established in righteousness.”  The image celebrated farmers.  The inscription lauded the king, implicitly critiquing Parliament for overstepping its authority in attempts to regulate colonial commerce.  The other side depicted “a Woman spin[n]ing, on the big wheel” with the inscription “Frugality and Industry maker Mankind rich, free, and happy.”  Like homespun cloth, the spinning wheel became a symbol of the patriot cause.  Including it on the medal testified to the important role women played in both politics and commerce, their labor in production and their decisions about consumption necessary to the success of domestic manufactures.  The inscription underscored that supporting domestic manufactures led to prosperity, freedom, and, ultimately, happiness.

The arguments contained in the advertisement about the contest to produce “Woollen Cloth” in Lancaster County echoed those made in letters and editorials that appeared elsewhere in the Pennsylvania Journal and other newspapers.  When they purchased space in newspapers, advertisers acquired some extent of editorial authority to express their views about any range of subjects.  Publishing an advertisement, like promoting the contest, gave the sponsors an opportunity to comment on politics and the colonial economy while simultaneously enlisting the support of others.

March 22

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , ,

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

New-Hampshire Gazette (March 22, 1771).

“A Table, calculated to shew the Contents … of any Sled Load or Cart Load of WOOD.”

In March 1771, Samuel Freeman of Falmouth, Casco Bay, took to the pages of the New-Hampshire Gazette to advertise “A Table, calculated to shew the Contents (in Feet and twelfth Parts of a Foot) of any Sled Load of WOOD.”  An extended version ran on March 8.  It mentioned that the printers of the New-Hampshire Gazette also sold that table at their office in Portsmouth.  In addition, it explained the purpose of such a table to readers who may have been unfamiliar with a practice from “Every City and populous Town in America …, Portsmouth only excepted.”  Even Falmouth in Casco Bay (Maine today, but then still part of Massachusetts) had regulations for appointing officials to measure loads of wood and issue certificates for buyers to consult during their transactions with sellers.  The advertisement advised that the residents of Portsmouth might wish to consider such a system at the town’s annual meeting at the end of the month.

The explanation and the commentary did not appear in subsequent iterations of the advertisement.  Instead, an abbreviated version ran on March 15, 22, and 29.  It did not mention copies of the table available at the printing office.  It looks as though Daniel Fowle and Robert Fowle, the printers of the Portsmouth Gazette, saw an opportunity to insert an editorial, not among the news items, but instead appended to an advertisement submitted by one of their customers.  Doing so provided context for Freeman’s advertisement, but it also transformed the first iteration into more than the advertiser may have intended.  Regular readers of the New-Hampshire Gazette were accustomed to encountering all kinds of information among the advertisements.  That publication featured a higher proportion of legal notices than most other newspapers published in the early 1770s, perhaps prompting readers to peruse the advertisements for updates about current events.  The printers did not take such liberties with Freeman’s advertisement each time it ran.  After the Fowles made their pitch in its initial appearance it reverted to the copy that the advertiser submitted to the printing office.

March 8

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , , ,

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

New-Hampshire Gazette (March 8, 1771).

“Every City and populous Town in America have some Regulations with regard to Sled and Cart Loads of Wood.”

An advertisement for an ingenious “Table, calculated to shew the Contents … of any Sled Load or Cart Load of WOOD” ran in the March 8, 1771, edition of the New-Hampshire Gazette.  The helpful resource had been published in Boston, but Samuel Freeman sold copies at Falmouth in Casco Bay (or Maine, still part of Massachusetts at the time) and Daniel Fowle and Robert Fowle also had a few copies at their printing office in Portsmouth.  The bulk of the advertisement, that portion printed in italics unlike all other advertisements in that issue, consisted of an explanation of the purpose of the table and an argument for adopting new policies for selling wood in Portsmouth.  It does not seem clear that Samuel Freeman composed the entire advertisement.  Instead, the printers may have seized an opportunity to advocate on behalf of a measure they considered useful.

“Every City and populous Town in America,” explained the portion of the advertisement possibly penned by the Fowles, “have some Regulation with regard to Sled and Cart Loads of Wood, Portsmouth only excepted.”  With some dismay, the advertisement exclaimed that “now even Casco-Bay are regulating these Matters before us.”  How did this work and why was it important?  Looking to Boston, the advertisement explained that “Officers are appointed to Measure every Load” and then they gave each driver “a Certificate that the Load contains so much Wood.”  The driver then sold that load “agreeable to said Certificate & at the Market price.”  Adopting this system of invoking weights and measures to regulate those selling wood meant that if a drive “asks more” than the market price or “offers to sell [wood] without” the certificate “he is sure of being called to an Account.”  This policy protected consumers when they purchased a valuable resource for heating their homes, stores, and workshops.

Portsmouth did not have such a policy.  “How different this from the practice here may easily be seen,” the advertisement noted, before recommending that residents of the town might benefit from such a system.  The advertisement concluded with a suggestion that a similar policy might be “proposed to the Consideration of the Town, at the ensuing annual Meeting” at the end of the month.  The Fowles stood to benefit from printing and selling tables measuring wood, but that would not necessarily have been their only motivation in advocating for a policy that benefited all consumers.  Like many other advertisements, this one demonstrates that discourses about politics and policies were not confined to news accounts and editorials that appeared elsewhere in colonial newspapers.  Advertisers regularly discussed politics, endorsed nonimportation agreements, and encouraged domestic manufactures throughout the imperial crisis that culminated in the American Revolution.  In this example, however, colonists used an advertisement to garner support for a local ordinance that would bring Portsmouth in line with other towns.

July 29

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , ,

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

Jul 29 - 7:26:1770 Virginia Gazette Rind
Virginia Gazette [Rind] (July 26, 1770).
“He purposes to return to this LAND of LIBERTY.”

In the summer of 1770, William Wylie, a watchmaker, took to the pages of William Rind’s Virginia Gazette to inform the community that he would soon depart for Britain.  He made “his grateful acknowledgments to those Ladies and Gentlemen, who have hitherto employed him,” but he had other purposes for placing his advertisement.  He requested “that those who have omitted sending the money for the repairing their watches” would settle accounts before his departure.  He did not explain why he was making the voyage, but did state that he needed the money “to accomplish his design, in going to Britain.”  Wylie also pledged to return to Virginia and wanted former and prospective customers to keep him in mind for their watchmaking needs.  He hoped that loyal customers would once again hire him after his temporary absence.

Wylie also injected politics into his advertisement.  He proclaimed that he planned “to return to this LAND of LIBERTY as soon as possible,” using capital letters for added emphasis for his description of Virginia.  Paying to insert his advertisement in the newspaper also allowed the watchmaker an opportunity to express political views in the public prints as he went about his other business.  As printer and editor, Rind selected the content when it came to news, editorials, and entertaining pieces, but he exercised less direct control over the content of advertisements.  Wylie could have submitted a letter to the editor in which he extolled the virtues of “this LAND of LIBERTY,” but with far less certainty that Rind would print it than an advertisement in which the watchmaker commented on his political views in the course of communicating with his customers.  Besides, presenting a homily on politics to readers of Rind’s Virginia Gazette does not appear to have been Wylie’s primary purpose in publishing the advertisement.  All the same, he made a deliberate choice to deviate from the standard format for the type of advertisement he placed.  Nothing about the goals he wished to achieve required that he opine about politics at all, but Wylie purchased the space in the newspaper and had the liberty to embellish his advertisement as he wished.  In turn, readers of Rind’s Virginia Gazette encountered political commentary among the advertisements in addition to the news and editorials elsewhere in the newspaper.