Book Auction

February 6

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , , ,

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

Massachusetts Gazette and Boston Weekly News-Letter (February 3, 1774).

“The largest & compleatest Collection of Books, that ever was sold at this Office.”

A note at the end of auctioneer Robert Gould’s advertisement in the February 3, 1774, edition of the Massachusetts Gazette and Boston Weekly News-Letter seemed incongruous with the content of the rest of the notice.  Gould announced that he would auction a “Variety of genteel House-Furniture” the next morning “At TEN o’Clock.”  He listed many of the items going up for bids, including “Mahogany dining Tea & Bureau Tables,” “Looking-Glasses,” and “a few Sets genteel Pictures.”  In addition, the sale would include “a great Variety of English GOODS.”

The note that followed his signature, however, stated, “No Catalogues will be published, and as this is by far the largest & compleatest Collection of Books, that ever was sold at this Office, therefore they will be exposed to View on Saturday and Monday next.”  That reference made little sense since the auction of the furniture, housewares, and other goods was scheduled for the next day, a Friday.  In addition, a coy aside directed readers, “Pray Remember the Sale begins half past 9 Precisely,” a different time than the auction discussed earlier in the advertisement would begin.

Massachusetts Gazette and Boston Weekly News-Letter (January 27, 1774).

It appears that these inconsistencies resulted from a miscommunication between the auctioneer and the printing office or an error in the printing office.  In the previous issue of the Massachusetts Gazette and Boston Weekly News-Letter, Gould ran an advertisement in two parts, both of which could have appeared separately.  The first part included an introduction identical to the one in the notice published on February 3.  The compositor likely did not even reset type for the introduction, instead updating the headline from “A Variety of English GOODS” to “A Variety of genteel House-Furniture” and inserting a new list of items for sale.  The second part described an auction for a “very large and valuable Collection of BOOKS” that would take place “On TUESDAY the 8th of February next, At Half past NINE o’Clock in the Morning.”  Gould explained that the books “are all in good Order, and most Part of them new.”  In addition, he appended a nota bene advising that the books “may be viewed the Day before the Sale.—No Catalogues will be published.”

Gould probably attempted to update both parts of the advertisement, providing new information about the weekly sale at his auction office and an update about an upcoming special auction for books, but some confusion ensued.  Gould may not have been clear about how much of the previous advertisement should carry over to the new one.  Alternately, the compositor may not have paid sufficient attention to the instructions submitted to the printing office.  Either way, the strange note at the end of the advertisement could have piqued interest among readers.  After all, proclaiming the sale featured “by far the largest and compleatest Collection of Books, that was ever sold at this Office” was intended to attract attention.  To learn more, they only had to contact Gould or take note of advertisements he already published in the Boston-Gazette and the Massachusetts Gazette and Boston Weekly News-Letter.

July 24

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

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

Jul 24 - 7:24:1770 Essex Gazette
Essex Gazette (July 24, 1770).

“An Exhibition of modern Books, by AUCTION.”

Robert Bell, one of the most influential booksellers and auctioneers in eighteenth-century America, toured New England in the summer of 1770.  Bell is widely recognized among historians of the book for his innovative marketing practices.  The tone and language in his advertisement in the July 7, 1770, edition of the Providence Gazette, however, seems rather bland compared to the flashy approach that eventually became the hallmark of Bell’s efforts to promote his books and auctions.  On the other hand, another advertisement in the Essex Gazette just a few weeks later hinted at the showmanship that Bell was in the process of developing and refining.

In announcing auctions that would take place at a tavern in Salem on three consecutive nights, Bell addressed prospective bidders as “the Lovers of literary Instruction, Entertainment, and Amusement.”  Deploying such salutations eventually became a trademark of his newspaper advertisements, broadsides, and book catalogs.  The advertisement in the Essex Gazette gave customers a glimpse of the personality they would encounter at the auction.  Bell described each auction as “an Exhibition of modern Books” and proclaimed that one each evening “there will really exist an Opportunity of purchasing Books cheap.”  He seemed to take readers into his confidence, offering assurances that the prospect of inexpensive books was more than just bluster to lure them to the auction.

In the same advertisement, Bell sought to incite interest in another trilogy of auctions.  “An Opportunity similar to the above,” he declared, “will revolve at the Town of NEWBURY-PORT.”  Readers of the Essex Gazette who could not attend any of the book auctions in Salem had another chance to get good bargains while mingling with other “Lovers of literary Instruction, Entertainment, and Amusement.”  Like other itinerants who announced their visits in the public prints, whether peddlers or performers, Bell made clear that he would be in town for a limited time only.  He advised that “the Public may be certain that the Auctionier’s Stay in those Towns will not exceed the Time limited as above.”  Bell would be in Salem for just three nights and then in Newburyport for three more nights before moving along to his next destination.

Compared to his recent notice in the Providence Gazette, the advertisement Bell placed in the Essex Gazette much more resembled the style of promotion that made him famous in the eighteenth century and infamous in the history of the book.  His lively language suggested that his auctions would be more than the usual sort of sale.  They would be events that readers would not want to miss.