Anxiety about Physical Appearance

July 24

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

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

New-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury (July 24, 1775).

“For the LADIES. MRS. GIBSON’s CURIOUS COMPOUND.”

Cosmetics advertisements occasionally appeared in newspapers during the era of the American Revolution, such as one about “MRS. GIBSON’s CURIOUS COMPOUND” in the July 24, 1775, edition of the New-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury.  The headline, “For the LADIES,” made clear the target audience.  The copy explained that the product “will in half a minute take out hair by the roots, which grows too long or irregular on the forehead and temples, on the arms, or between the eyebrows, and forms them into a curious arch.”  Even more appealing, it did so “without hurting the finest skin of ladies or children.”  Indeed, Mrs. Gibson’s Curious Compound was so gentle and “so very innocent, that it is used [on] infants under six months old.”

Yet the pitch did not end there.  According to the advertisement, the product “also takes off hair, which grows on ladies cheeks, on the chin, and round the mouth, which must be owned to be a great blemish to the fair-sex.”  Lest any female readers to feel too confident about their appearance, the advertisement asserted that “all women have hair grow on their cheeks, chin, and round the mouth.”  That was not a matter of conjecture but something they could prove with their own eyes: “if they will be pleased to consult their looking glass, they will find it a truth.”  The marketing for Mrs. Gibson’s Curious Compound relied on making women feel anxiety about their bodies, not unlike the marketing undertaken by staymakers who addressed “Ladies who are uneasy in their shapes.”

In addition to her hair removal compound, Mrs. Gibson produced an “innocent LIQUID, which change[s] red or grey hair to a beautiful brown or jet black.”  Safety once again played a role in promoting the product.  The advertisement claimed it was “as harmless as oil or water” and could even be “used [on] infants without the least fear of danger.”  The marketing for Mrs. Gibson’s products seemed to have a formula.  After a description of the purpose of Mrs. Gibson’s Liquid and a note about safety, the copy attempted to incite feelings of discomfort and self-consciousness among readers.  “[T]his invention will be found to be of great use,” the advertisement declared, “as many people are grey before they arrive at Twenty, and consequently wear the badge of age when but in their bloom.”  Yet young ladies did not need to appear prematurely old, nor did older ladies need to look their age if they applied Mrs. Gibson’s Liquid to their hair.

Where could women acquire Mrs. Gibson’s Curious Compound and Mrs. Gibson’s Liquid?  Hugh Gaine sold both products, along with “printed directions,” at the printing office where he published the New-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury.  The printer also supplemented his income by marketing Keyser’s Famous Pills once again.  Both advertisements appeared in the final column of the first page of his newspaper.  Printers often stocked, marketed, and sold patent medicines as an additional revenue stream, but they did not promote cosmetics nearly as often.  The printed directions, however, made Mrs. Gibson’s products easy to sell since nobody in the printing office needed to have any direct knowledge of them, just as printed directions made it unnecessary to know much about patent medicines sold in printing offices.

May 28

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

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

New-York Journal (May 25, 1775).

“He has settled a Correspondence in London, whereby he acquires the first fashions of the Court.”

Richard Norris, a “STAY MAKER, from LONDON,” regularly placed advertisements in New York’s newspapers during the era of the American Revolution.  Even as the imperial crisis heated up following the battles at Lexington and Concord in the spring of 1775, he emphasized his connections to London and knowledge of the current fashions there as he marketed the corsets he made.  After all, most colonizers still looked to the largest and most cosmopolitan city in the empire for the latest trends even if they happened to have concerns with how the Coercive Acts and other abuses perpetrated by Parliament.

In an advertisement in the May 25, 1775, edition of the New-York Journal, for instance, Norris declared that he fitted his clients “by methods approved by the Society of Stay Makers in London” and noted that he “has had the honour of working for several ladies of distinction, both in England and this City, with universal applause.”  By that time, he had been in New York for nearly a decade.  He placed an advertisement in the New-York Mercury on March 3, 1776.  The Adverts 250 Project first featured Norris with his advertisement that ran in the New-York Journal on June 23, 1768.  Even though he continued to describe himself as a “STAY MAKER, from LONDON” in 1775, it had been quite some time since he practiced his trade there.  Yet his clients did not need to worry about that because Norris “has settled a Correspondence in London, whereby he acquires the first fashions of the Court.”  That being the case, he proclaimed with confidence that he delivered the “newest fashions from London.”  In addition, he asserted “his work to be as good as any done in these parts, for neatness [and] true fitting.”

Norris also resorted to a familiar marketing strategy, encouraging women to feel anxious about their appearance, especially the shape of their bodies, to convince them to seek out his services.  He addressed “Ladies who are uneasy in their shapes” and emphasized that wearing his stays “prevents the casts and risings in the hips and shoulders of young Ladies and growing Misses, to which they are often subject.”  Norris considered this copy so effective that he recycled it several times over the years, honing a strategy that eventually became a staple of marketing in the modern beauty industry.

March 13

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , ,

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

Rivington’s News-York Gazetteer (March 10, 1774).

“He has not yet obtained a certificate from the Queen’s stay-maker in London.”

Peter Hulick, a “STAY-MAKER, IN HANOVER-SQUARE,” took to the pages of Rivington’s New-York Gazetteer to advise “ladies in this city and the country around it” that he made all kinds of stays.  He acknowledged that he “has not yet obtained a certificate from the Queen’s stay-maker in London,” but he likely intended that simply mentioning the possibility planted the idea that he qualified for that honor.  Regardless of such recognition, he “flatters himself fully capable of satisfying any ladies who shall be pleased to favour him with their commands.”  To that end, he pledged “to give the best of goods and work, with integrity, gratitude and dispatch.”  The women of New York could choose from among many staymakers, including John Burchett “at the Sign of the Crown and Stays” (who had “obtained a certificate from the Queen’s Stay-Maker in London”), Thomas Hartley, John McQueen, and Richard Norris.  Hulick made and sold stays “after the newest, neatest, and best fashion.”  Even without any certificates, “many reputable ladies” in New York and other towns could testify to his skill.

The staymaker also offered stays for “children and growing Misses,” noting that his stays would “give and preserve a shape truly perfect, not dropping or falling in.”  He joined some of his competitors in encouraging women and girls to feel self-conscious about their bodies, believing that would incite demand for his services.  Norris, for instance, addressed “Ladies uneasy in their shapes” in his advertisements, prompting women to experience uneasiness after perusing his notice even if they previously felt comfortable about their appearance.  Like Hulick, Norris placed special emphasis on “young ladies and growing misses,” pushing them to feel alienated by their developing bodies in hopes that they would enlist his aid in achieving the proper form from “their hips [to] shoulders.”  Hulick, Norris, and other staymakers sometimes cultivated feelings of insecurity and inadequacy among prospective clients, marketing their services by offering to alleviate those concerns.  Promising the “newest, neatest, and best fashion” did not by itself sell their stays.

June 27

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

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

New-York Journal (June 24, 1773).

“Carrying on his Business of Stay-making … in the neatest Taste, wore by the Ladies of Great Britain and France.”

John McQueen continued making and selling stays in New York in 1773.  He had been living, working, and advertising in the city for many years.  Similar to a corset, a pair of stays, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, consisted of a “laced underbodice, stiffened by the insertion of whale-bone (sometimes of metal or wood) worn by women (sometimes by men) to give shape and support to the figure.”  Furthermore, the “use of the plural is due to the fact that stays were originally (as they still are usually) made in two pieces laced together.”  John White included a woodcut depicting a pair of stays and lacing in his advertisement in the September 19, 1772, edition of the Pennsylvania Chronicle.

When he advertised in the New-York Journal in June 1773, McQueen emphasized his role as a supplier of “WHALE BONE” of “THE VERY BEST SORT” to other staymakers.  In addition, he stocked a “very neat and fashionable Assortment of STAYS, for Misses of three to fourteen Years of Age.”  Apparently, both staymakers and consumers did not believe that girls were ever too young to deploy these devices to shape their figures.”  Richard Norris, another staymaker in New York, regularly placed newspaper advertisements addressed to “young Ladies and growing Misses” as well as “Any Ladies uneasy in their shapes.”  Cultivating and preying on such anxieties was not invented by the modern beauty and fashion industries.

McQueen also resorted to another familiar refrain, declaring that he had on hand a “very neat Assortment of Goods for carrying on his Business of Stay-making, as usual, in the neatest Taste, wore by the Ladies of Great Britain and France.”  He often made such transatlantic connections, suggesting to prospective customers that he could assist them in demonstrating the sort of sophistication associated with cosmopolitan cities in Europe.  In 1766, he declared that he made stays “in the newest Fashion that is wore by the Ladies of Great-Britain or France.”  In another advertisement from 1767, he confided that he made “all sorts of Stays for Ladies, in the newest Fashions that is wore in London.”  Encouraging anxiety about the female form and making comparisons to fashionable elites became standard marketing strategies for McQueen and other staymakers in the eighteenth century.

April 4

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

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

New-York Journal (April 1, 1773).

“Any Ladies uneasy in their shapes, he likewise fits, without incumbrance.”

Richard Norris billed himself as a “Stay-maker from London” even though he had resided and worked in New York for several years by the time he published his advertisement in the April 1, 1773, edition of the New-York Journal.  He considered his connection to the largest and most cosmopolitan city in the empire a selling point.  Norris informed readers that he previously served the best sorts of clients on both sides of the Atlantic, declaring that he “has had the honour of working for several Ladies of distinction, both in England, and this city.”  The quality of his stays (or corsets) and his skill in producing them yielded “universal applause” from his clients.

Although Norris had been in New York for some time, he also suggested that he maintained his connection to London.  For instance, he made stays “after the newest fashion” in that city.  In another advertisement, he described how he “acquires the first fashions of the court of London by a correspondent he has settled there.”  Furthermore, he adhered to “methods approved of by the society of Stay-makers in London” in designing and making his stays, especially those for “young Ladies and growing Misses inclined to casts, and rising in their hips and shoulders.”

Norris frequently coupled appeals to the latest fashions from London with attempts to make women feel anxious about their bodies.  “Any Ladies uneasy in their shapes, he likewise fits, without incumbrance,” the staymaker asserted in 1768 and reiterated in 1770 and 1773.  In return for helping them address purported physical shortcomings that he helped them to overcome (or at least disguise) with his stays, Norris asked his clients to recommend him to others.  He extended “his sincere thanks to all his customers, and hopes their good word will not be wanting to his further promotion.  Not unlike modern marketing for clothing and beauty products, Norris encouraged “young Ladies and growing Misses” to feel uncomfortable with their bodies, purchase his product to ease their anxieties, and reward him for his part in addressing a supposed shortcoming that he highlighted and did not allow them to overlook.

October 4

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , , ,

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

New-York Journal (October 4, 1770).

“They render the skin delicately white and soft.”

Amid advertisements for textiles and housewares. James Thompson marketed cosmetics in the New-York Journal in September and October 1770.  He informed readers that he had recently acquired a “Parcel of the Queen’s pearl wash balls” that would “render the skin delicately white and soft.”  For only three shillings, consumers could use this balm for “removing sun burning, freckles, roughness of the skin, and pimples.”  Thompson also presented this product as a restorative for their skin after contracting smallpox, recommending that they dissolve the “Queen’s pearl wash balls” in milk for maximum effectiveness.  Upon applying the mixture to the face, neck, arms, and hands, they would discover that it “heals the skin, takes off the redness, and prevents it from being pitted or marked.”  Thompson also declared that the product was “well known and esteemed by the nobility and gentry in Europe, particularly in England and France.”  He encouraged consumers to associate celebrities and cosmetics in the eighteenth century, anticipating the famous spokespeople, predominantly women, who would promote cosmetic lines and brands in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

Thompson also stocked “La Cieur’s celebrated ointment for thickening and preserving the hair.”  He received his inventory “from the original warehouse.”  This ointment both “prevents the hair from falling off” and “when rubbed on bald places, with certainty promotes its growth.  In marketing the “Queen’s pearl wash balls” and “La Cieur’s celebrated ointment,” Thompson encouraged colonists to experience anxiety about their appearance and make purchases to alleviate them.  Richard Norris, a staymaker, adopted a similar strategy in his advertisements that ran for months in the New-York Journal.  He addressed “Ladies uneasy in their shapes,” especially “young ladies and growing misses.”  Thompson did not target female consumers exclusively, though women may have been his primary audience.  Norris, on the other hand, specifically sought to stoke anxiety among female consumers and promised them relief from their apprehensions about their appearance.  Such trends continue today, with marketers playing on the apprehensions of all consumers but targeting women much more intensively when it comes to cosmetics and other products intended to enhance their appearance and “correct” any shortcomings.

June 23

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

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

Jun 23 - 6:23:1768 New-York Journal
New-York Journal (June 23, 1768).

“Young ladies and growing misses inclined to casts or rises in the hips or shoulders, he likewise prevents.”

Richard Norris, a “Stay-Maker, FROM LONDON,” followed many of the usual conventions in the advertisement he placed in the June 23, 1768, edition of the New-York Journal, but he also included one significant innovation. After informing prospective clients of the variety of stays and other garments he made, he also noted that “Any ladies uneasy in their shapes, he likewise fits without any Incumberances.” Furthermore, “Young ladies and growing misses inclined to casts or rises in the hips or shoulders, he likewise prevents by methods approved of by the society of stay-makers in London.” Staymakers regularly offered implicit commentary about women’s appearances in their advertisements, but Norris explicitly named reasons that women might feel uncomfortable about their bodies. He purposefully attempted to induce anxiety about their physical features among female readers as a means of attracting clients.

He gave priority to that marketing strategy before turning to more common appeals made by staymakers and others in the garment trades. He asserted that he produced apparel as fashionable as any currently worn in London, rather than lagging behind the styles en vogue in the cosmopolitan center of the empire. Prospective patrons could be confident this was the case because Norris “acquires the first fashions of the court of London by a correspondent he has settled there.” Norris realized some sort of research was necessary and cultivated a relationship to make sure he received the most current information about the fashions currently popular among the most influential women in England. In addition, he had previously served prominent women of taste, having “had the honour of working for several ladies of distinction both in England and in this city.” Not only had he made stays and other garments for the elite, his efforts had earned him “universal applause” among his clients.

Like many artisans, Norris emphasized skill and quality in addition to his extensive experience. He pledged that he made garments “after the neatest and best manner,” but in addition to invoking that familiar phrase he proclaimed “his work preferable to any done in these parts for neatness and true fitting.” In other words, Norris considered himself the best staymaker in New York – and encouraged readers of the New-York Journal to adopt that attitude as well.

Norris combined several common appeals with an innovative marketing strategy designed to cause or enhance uneasiness among women by explicitly mentioning various qualities of their bodies. He offered the standard appeals as a remedy to those concerns. Like many modern advertisers, especially advertisers of products intended primarily for women, he attempted to create anxiety among prospective customers and then conveniently provided consumption of his goods and services as the remedy.