Benjamin Towne

December 10

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , ,

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

Pennsylvania Evening Post (December 9, 1775).

“JUST published, and may be had of the printer hereof, JOURNAL of the PROCEEDINGS of the CONGRESS.”

Like other printers, Benjamin Towne sold books to supplement the revenue he generated from newspaper subscriptions, advertisements, and job printing.  In a brief advertisement in the December 9, 1775, edition of the Pennsylvania Evening Post he announced, “JUST published, and may be had of the printer hereof, JOURNAL of the PROCEEDINGS of the CONGRESS, held at Philadelphia May 10, 1775.  Also that new and interesting work, of great merit and integrity, BURGH’s POLITICAL DISQUISITIONS.”

Three days earlier, on a Wednesday, William Bradford and Thomas Bradford, the printers of the Pennsylvania Journal, advertised that they would publish and sell the journal of the proceedings of the Second Continental Congress from May through August starting “On FRIDAY Next.”  On Saturday, Towne became the first bookseller other than the Bradfords to announce that he had copies for sale.  In this instance, as in so many other advertisements for books and pamphlets that appeared in early American newspapers, the phrases “JUST published” and “may be had of the printer hereof” did not both apply to the printer who placed the notice.  Instead, “JUST published” merely informed readers that a work was now available.  Such was the case for the journal of the proceedings of the Second Continental Congress as well as for the American edition of James Burgh’s Political Disquisitions, published by Robert Bell.  Towne did not take up Bell’s invitation to “All the Printers on the continent” to insert “the whole” of a lengthy advertisement with an address from “The American Editor to his Countrymen” in his newspaper even though Bell promised to pay for such consideration with cash or books.  Towne may have expected that prospective customers were already familiar with Bell’s marketing efforts from other newspapers printed in Philadelphia.  Towne likely sold other books at his printing office, yet he did not choose to include any others in his advertisement.  Instead, the printer opted to promote books that resonated with current events, believing that they would draw customers to his shop.  He could hawk other books once readers arrived to examine the volumes that he advertised.

November 22

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , , ,

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

Pennsylvania Gazette (November 22, 1775).

“A VOYAGE to BOSTON: A POEM.”

An advertisement for a new publication, “A Voyage to Boston: A Poem,” appeared on the front page of the November 18, 1775, edition of the Pennsylvania Ledger.  William Woodhouse, a bookseller, stationer, and bookbinder marketed a work that historians attribute to the pen of Philip Freneau and the press of Benjamin Towne.  The imprint on the title page merely stated, “Philadelphia: Sold by William Woodhouse, in Front-Street.”  The advertisement did advise that “A Voyage to Boston” was “By the same Author of AMERICAN LIBERTY: A Poem. General Gage’s SOLILOQUY, &c.”  A similar note appeared on the title page.  Woodhouse likely hoped that associating this publication with ones already familiar to readers would aid in inciting demand for the work.  He also inserted five lines about peace and war from Shakespeare, transcribing them from the title page of the pamphlet.

Four days later, he published a much more extensive advertisement in the Pennsylvania Gazette.  It contained all the content from the version in the Pennsylvania Ledger, including a nota bene that announced, “The Military Instructions, illustrated with Plans of the Manœuvres, to be sold by said Woodhouse.”  The new advertisement also featured the “ARGUMENT” of the poem.  That summary provided an overview of recent events as observed by an imaginary “traveller [who] undertakes a voyage to Boston” and, after being bestowed with a cloak of invisibility by the “Genius of North-America,” entered the city and witnessed General Thomas Gage and “several other ministerial tools sitting in council” as they discussed the battles at Lexington and Concord and “their late loss at Bunker’s Hill,” the “cutting down of the Liberty Tree in Boston,” and the “Distresses of the imprisoned citizens in Boston” as the siege of the city continued.  The traveler departed from Boston, visited “the Provincial Camp,” returned the cloak, saw “the Rifle-men, Virginians,” and others who supported the American cause, and listened to the “Speech of an American Soldier,” delivered with “determined resolution, which is that of all America, to defend our rights and privileges.”  The poem concluded with a “sincere hope of reconciliation with Great-Britain, before a wicked ministry render it too late.”  Most colonizers still sought a redress of grievances rather than separating from the British Empire.  In adding this lengthy “ARGUMENT” to the advertisement, Woodhouse did not compose original copy.  Instead, just as the lines from Shakespeare came from the title page of the pamphlet, the “ARGUMENT” filled two pages of the pamphlet preceding the poem.  Although he did not write the copy, Woodhouse apparently decided that providing more information about the contents of the poem would help to increase sales.

August 24

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

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

Pennsylvania Evening Post (August 24, 1775).

“A dictionary, explaining the most difficult terms made use of in fortification, gunnery, and the whole compass of the military art.”

It was one of the first mentions of an almanac for 1776 in an American newspaper.  The initial notices usually began appearing sometime in August, scattered here and there in different newspapers, and then more printers advertised almanacs for the coming year during the fall.  The number and frequency of advertisements accelerated each year as printers engaged in fierce competition to market and sell the popular reference manuals.

Benjamin Towne, the printer of the Pennsylvania Evening Post, inserted a notice about an almanac for 1776 in the August 24, 1775, edition of his newspaper, making him one of the first that year.  “In the press, and shortly will be published, by the Printer of this paper,” he announced, “The CONSTITUTIONAL ALMANACK.”  The notice appeared immediately after news from the Second Continental Congress, but without the usual line to separate it from other content.  An advertisement offering a reward for a runaway indenture servant ran below the notice about the almanac, a horizontal line demarcating where one ended and the other began.  Similar lines separated the advertisements on the final page of that edition.  Towne resorted to a tactic sometimes deployed by printers when they promoted their own work, placing his notice ahead of any of the paid advertisements and adopting a format that made it look like a news item.  Even if readers did not peruse all the advertisements, they likely read Towne’s notice about his almanac and then realized that they had reached the end of the news.

The printer’s notice included information that he considered newsworthy.  “As a dictionary, explaining the most difficult terms made use of in fortification, gunnery, and the whole compass of the military art, will be subjoined,” Towne declared, “it is presumed this Almanack will be considered a valuable VADE MECUM at this important juncture.”  Prospective customers would benefit from treating the combined almanac and dictionary as a handbook kept constantly at the ready for consultation as more news about the siege of Boston reached them and especially if the news included accounts of new encounters between British regulars and American soldiers.  Following the battles at Lexington and Concord in April and the Battle of Bunker Hill in June, colonizers did not know when they might need to consult a dictionary of “fortification, gunnery, and the whole compass of the military art” to understand the news they read or heard.  The dictionary that accompanied it certainly distinguished Towne’s almanac from others published in the past.

June 6

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , ,

Who was the subject of an advertisement in a revolutionary American newspaper published 250 years ago today?

Pennsylvania Evening Post (June 6, 1775).

“TO BE SOLD, A NEGRO GIRL…  Inquire of the Printer.”

The June 6, 1775, edition of the Pennsylvania Evening Post carried only two advertisements.  One announced that the Ann from Bristol arrived with a “NUMBER of healthy Men and Women SERVANTS, among whom are Tradesmen, also Sawyers, Footmen, [and] Labourers.”  William and Fisher and Son sold the “Times” of these indentured servants, each of whom willingly made the voyage across the Atlantic.  In exchange for their passage, they agreed to serve for a certain number of years, their “Times,” as specified in their indentures or contracts.

The other advertisement offered a “NEGRO GIRL, about one and twenty Years of Age,” for sale, describing her as “very handy in all Manner of Household Work.”  In addition, she “has had the Smallpox,” which meant that she would not contract the disease again.  As a result, potential buyers could feel more secure in their investment if they bought her.  Furthermore, the advertisement explained that the young woman “is sold for Want of Employ, her Mistress having left off Housekeeping.”  Again, the seller sought to offer reassurances.  The enslaved woman was not sick nor disobedient, just unnecessary.  Rather than free the young woman, her enslaver opted to sell her.  Unlike the servants featured in the other advertisement, she would not gain her freedom in a few years.  She did not have a contract.  She did not serve willingly.

Benjamin Towne, on the other hand, willingly acted as a slave broker in facilitating the transaction.  The advertisement instructed anyone interested in purchasing the enslaved woman to “Inquire of the Printer.”  Towne had been printing the Pennsylvania Evening Post, one of the first tri-weekly newspapers in the colonies, since late January 1775.  This advertisement was the first that offered an enslaved person for sale as well as the first that positioned the printer as a broker.  That it took more than four months does not seem to have been the result of any principles exercised by Towne, though that could have been a factor initially.  Instead, the Pennsylvania Evening Post, printed on a smaller sheet than other newspapers published in Philadelphia, carried fewer advertisements than its competitors.  That seems like the most probable explanation for taking so long to carry an “Inquire of the Printer” advertisement that presented an enslaved person for sale.  Even if Towne had misgivings about such notices when he embarked on publishing the newspaper, the need to generate revenue and remain competitive with Philadelphia’s other newspapers won out.

January 24

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , ,

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

Pennsylvania Evening Post (January 24, 1775).

“THE first Number of the PENNSYLVANIA EVENING POST is now laid before the respectable Public.”

On January 24, 1775, Benjamin Towne launched a new newspaper, the Pennsylvania Evening Post.  The printer distinguished this publication with a publication schedule that differed from all other newspapers in Philadelphia and throughout the colonies, distributing three issues a week on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday evenings rather than a single weekly issue.  In an address to “the respectable Public” that opened the inaugural edition, Towne asserted that this publication schedule “will … give particular Satisfaction to all Persons anxious for early Intelligence at this important Crisis.”  To that end, he explained that he timed his issues according to the arrival of the “Eastern Post” that carried newspapers and letters from New York and New England.

The first issue of the Pennsylvania Evening Post did not feature any advertisements, unlike other newspapers founded in the early 1770s, yet Towne sought to attract advertisers to defray the expenses of printing the newspaper.  Although he could not yet promote widespread circulation to entice advertisers, he did note that because “no Paper is published between Wednesday and Saturday, that on Thursday will be very convenient for Advertisements, which shall be punctually and conspicuously inserted.”  Readers in Philadelphia were accustomed to new editions of the Pennsylvania Gazette and the Pennsylvania Journal on Mondays and Dunlap’s Pennsylvania Packet on Wednesdays.  Towne anticipated publication of the Pennsylvania Ledger on Saturdays, realizing that James Humphreys, Jr., would soon print yet another newspaper in Philadelphia.  Humphreys distributed the first issue on January 28.  Still, Towne attempted to seize an advantage, advising advertisers that they could disseminate notices in the Pennsylvania Evening Post during a portion of the week without other publications in Philadelphia.

Towne charged the “usual Rates” for advertisements, though “All Advertisements of useful and ingenious Inventions in Manufactures and Agriculture shall be inserted gratis.”  Savvy readers knew that meant that Towne did his part to support the eighth article of the Continental Association.  It called on all colonizers, “in our several Stations, [to] encourage Frugality, Economy, and Industry; and promote Agriculture, Arts, and the Manufactures of this Country.”  In his “Station” as a printer, Towne could play an important role in delivering information about the “Manufactures of this Country” to the public, provided that advertisers supported his newspaper by supplying him with that information.

Pennsylvania Evening Post (January 24, 1775).

Not long after Towne published the first issue of the Pennsylvania Evening Post, he distributed a broadside that declared, “The first ATTEMPT in AMERICA.  On TUESDAY, the 24th of JANUARY, 1775, was published … An UNINFLUENCED and IMPARTIAL NEWSPAPER, ENTITLED THE Pennsylvania Evening Post, Which will be regularly PUBLISHED every TUESDAY, THURSDAY, and SATURDAY EVENINGS.”  The printer certainly sought to capitalize on the frequency of publication in promoting his newspaper.  Yet he was not entirely correct that his tri-weekly was the “first ATTEMPT” by an American printer.  The American Antiquarian Society’s copy of this broadside, previously bound in a volume with issues of the newspaper from 1775, includes a manuscript notation by Isaiah Thomas: “This is a mistake: a small newspaper, The Spy, was published 3 times weekly, in Boston in 1770.”  Towne may have been unaware that the Massachusetts Spy had been published three times a week in August, September, and October 1770 adjusting its schedule to twice a week in November 1770 and once a week in March 1771.  The Massachusetts Spy had been a tri-weekly just briefly, but Thomas remembered because he and Zechariah Fowle had been partners in the endeavor.  Although Towne was mistaken about the Pennsylvania Evening Post being the “first ATTEMPT” at a tri-weekly, he offered access to the news on a schedule not previously available to subscribers in Philadelphia.

Broadside: Benjamin Towne, “The First Attempt in America” (Philadelphia, 1775). Courtesy American Antiquarian Society.