Bookbinder

February 14

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

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

Constitutional Gazette (February 14, 1776).

“The Devil drives Lord North, and Lord North drives the People.”

In the February 14, 1776, edition of the Constitutional Gazette, William Green, a bookbinder, advertised “three political Prints” for sale for one shilling each at his shop in Maiden Lane in New York.  He listed the titles, but he did not describe them to prospective customers.  Perhaps he did not wish to pay for the additional space in the newspaper.  Perhaps he thought the titles provided sufficient description.  Perhaps he considered the titles evocative enough to spark curiosity among readers, prompting them to visit his shop to discover for themselves what exactly each print depicted.  After all, titles like “The Ministerial Robbers, or the Americans virtually represented in England” and “The Devil drives Lord North, and Lord North drives the People” simultaneously told a story and expressed support for the American cause.  Notably, the purveyor of these “political Prints” was the first person to advertise Thomas Paine’s Common Sense outside of Philadelphia, doing so just eleven days after Robert Bell, the publisher of the first edition, announced its publication.

Readers may have been familiar with some of the political cartoons that Green advertised.  In the fall of 1775, William Woodhouse, John Norman, and Robert Bell placed an advertisement in the Pennsylvania Journal to promote “The MINISTERIAL ROBBERS; or AMERICANS VIRTUALLY Represented in ENGLAND,” a “SATYRICAL PRINT” that “LATELY ARRIVED FROM LONDON.”  Green may have sold copies from London or an American edition of the print.

Another of those political cartoons, “The Devil drives Lord North, and Lord North drives the People,” originated in London as “The State Hackney Coach,” a plate that adorned the London Magazine for December 1772.  The print depicted a coach pulled by eight men rather than horses with Lord North, the prime minister, driving them.  Most of those men did not have distinguishing features; they represented any of the members of Parliament and other officials who allowed the prime minister to dominate them.  The first figure had a face that looked more like a rat than a man, additional commentary on the character of those members of Parliament.  Henry Fox, one of North’s proteges, and Jeremiah Dyson, Lord of the Treasury, were recognizable.  Although North drove the men with a whip, a devil perched on the back of the coach had his own whip that he used to steer North’s course.  A caption above the image declared, “They go fast whom the Devil drives.”  Inside the carriage, George III slept, apparently oblivious to any problems.

Green almost certainly displayed these political cartoons in his shop.  Customers who came to purchase Common Sensewould have seen images that worked in tandem with Paine’s attitudes toward monarchy and calls to declare independence.  They may even have decided to purchase both a print and a pamphlet, expressing their own political principles through the choices they made in the marketplace.

“The State Hackney Coach,” a print that adorned the London Magazine (December 1772). Courtesy Lewis Walpole Library, Yale University.

November 20

Carl Robert Keyes Uncategorized , , , , ,

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

Norwich Packet (November 17, 1774).

“NATHANIEL PATTEN, BOOK-BINDER & STATIONER.”

The decorative border that enclosed David Nevins’s advertisement for hats and hat trimmings in the Norwich Packethelped in distinguishing it from most others in that newspaper, yet it paled in comparison to the use of ornamental type in Nathaniel Patten’s advertisement.  Patten, a bookbinder and stationer, commissioned a border for his notice, but he arranged for something much more elaborate than the relatively simple borders for Nevins’s notice and another placed by clock- and watchmaker Thomas Harland.

For some readers, the border for Patten’s advertisement may have evoked a highboy chest or other large piece of furniture.  It may even have been intended as a bookcase and secretary desk that would have held the various books and stationery listed within the border.  For the lower portion, the left, right, and bottom of the border were composed of a single line of decorative type, just like the borders in the other advertisements, while in the upper portion the left and right sides had three lines of even more intricate type.  Those sides rose into an arch composed of other kinds of detailed printing ornaments.  The compositor even created five finials, one each on the left and right at the bottom of the arch and three clustered together at the top.  The year, 1774, appeared within a pendant inside the arch, much like a piece of furniture would have an engraving.  If the type remained set into the new year, Patten had the option to update the date.  The advertisement was massive, filling almost an entire column on the final page of the November 17, 1774, edition.  The first time that it appeared, it ran on the first page on November 3, that time occupying an entire column because of the amount of space required for the masthead.  The border appeared heavy, giving Patten’s advertisement more weight compared to others in the Norwich Packet.  The finished product does not reveal how closely Patten worked with the compositor in designing or approving the border.  Whatever the case, he almost certainly paid extra for it.

That newspaper had recently marked its first year of publication.  Throughout that time, it did not tend to incorporate visual images except for the packet ship that appeared in the masthead.  The printers did not make stock images of ships, houses, horses, indentured servants, or enslaved people available to advertisers, nor did advertisers commission woodcuts that represented their businesses.  However, the newspaper did regularly embellish advertisements with decorative borders, establishing a different kind of visual appeal to engage readers.

August 29

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

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

Dunlap’s Pennsylvania Packet (August 29, 1774).

“He carries on the Bookbinding and Stationary business in an extensive manner.”

Among the many advertisements that ran in the August 29, 1774, edition of Dunlap’s Pennsylvania Packet, one from William O’Brien offered several goods and services.  He first offered several varieties of alcohol and popular groceries, including “Jamaica spirit, West-India and continent rum, all kinds of wines, tea and sugar of different kinds, coffee, cordials and patent medicines.”  In addition to that inventory, he also stocked “a large collection of the best books, both antient and modern.”  Yet O’Brien also identified himself as a bookbinder and stationer, promoting in particular custom-made account books, ruled or unruled, to any size as bespoke.”  He offered those items to both merchants and retailers who might buy in volume “to sell again.”

Although O’Brien advertised in Dunlap’s Pennsylvania Packet, published in Philadelphia, he lived and worked in Baltimore.  He likely did not expect that his notice would generate much business among readers in Philadelphia; instead, he sought customers in his own town and the surrounding area, realizing that for many years the Pennsylvania Gazette, the Pennsylvania Journal, Dunlap’s Pennsylvania Packet, and other newspapers printed in Philadelphia served as local newspapers for towns in Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, and Maryland.  O’Brien could have chosen to advertise in the Maryland Journal, Baltimore’s first newspaper, in addition to or instead of one of the newspapers in Philadelphia, though he may have had doubts about the efficacy of doing so.  Commencing publication on August 20, 1773, the Maryland Journal had just marked its first year, yet its appearance had been sporadic during that time rather than sticking to a weekly schedule.  O’Brien turned to a more reliable newspaper, likely familiar with its circulation in Maryland and, as a result, having greater confidence in the money he invested in advertising in Dunlap’s Pennsylvania Packet. William Goddard, the printer of the Maryland Journal, still had work to do to win over prospective advertisers in Baltimore.

June 24

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , , ,

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

Connecticut Gazette (June 24, 1774).

“Old Books he can metamorphose into new.”

When Nathaniel Patten, “BOOKBINDER and STATIONER, from BOSTON,” set up shop in Norwich, he placed an advertisement in the Connecticut Gazette, published in New London, but curiously not in the Norwich Packet.  Perhaps he suspected that advertising in the Connecticut Gazette was the better investment since it had been in circulation for more than a decade while the Norwich Packet commenced publication only nine months earlier.  Until that time, the Connecticut Gazette had been the local newspaper for Norwich, though the Connecticut Courant (published in Hartford), the Providence Gazette, and newspapers from Boston and other cities in New England made their way to Norwich, some more consistently than others depending on arrangements that subscribers made with post riders.  In New England and beyond, newspapers served colonies and regions rather than just the towns where they were published.  The full title of the Norwich Packet and Connecticut, Massachusetts, New-Hampshire, and Rhode Island Weekly Advertiser revealed its aspirations to do so as it built up its circulation.  For the moment, however, Patten may have believed that advertising in the Connecticut Gazette would yield more customers.

The bookbinder and stationer made several appeals in hopes of drawing readers to his shop or convincing them to send orders.  Like many others in his trade, he also sold books, giving over more than half the space in his advertisement to a list of books and pamphlets he stocked.  Those “Books upon the most important Subjects” included “the Hon. John Hancock’s Oration on the 5th of March, 1774” in commemoration of the Boston Massacre.  He also listed many kinds of paper and writing equipment, such as “Sealing Wax” and “Brass Ink-Holders,” promising a “variety of other Articles in the Stationery Way.”  Patten declared that he had been “regularly bred to the [bookbinding] Business.”  In other words, he received formal training as a youth, preparing him to “bind, gild and letter Books in as splendid a Manner as if done in London.”  The newcomer from Boston did not merely compare his skills to what was available in that city but instead asserted that the quality of his work was equal to that produced in the metropolis at the center of the empire.  To that end, Patten boasted that “Old Books he can metamorphose into new,” pledging that “at least the Difference will not be perceptible to those who do not open them.”  He could not reverse wear from years of use or repair other damages to the pages themselves, but he could transform the bindings, the most visible part of any books displayed on shelves or elsewhere.  That claim challenged prospective customers to put Patten to the test so they could judge for themselves what the bookbinder was capable of accomplishing.  Even if they started with just one volume, satisfied customers likely meant more business over time.

October 13

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , , ,

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

Pennsylvania Journal (October 13, 1773).

“He therefore flatters himself, that he, a young beginner, will receive suitable encouragement from the generous public.”

Benjamin January, a “BOOK-BINDER and STATIONER,” offered his services to residents of Philadelphia in an advertisement in the October 13, 1773, edition of the Pennsylvania Journal.  He declared that he had recently opened a shop “where he carries on the BOOK-BINDING BUSINESS … and where Merchants, Shop-keepers, and others, may be supplied with all sorts of account books, and and ruled to any pattern, at the lowest price.”  He also listed a variety of stationery and writing supplies available for sale.  Like many other advertisers, January emphasized customer service as an important part of his business.  He promised that “he shall make it his peculiar study to merit the approbation of all such, who please to employ him, so shall it be his constant endeavour to give, to the utmost of his power, entire satisfaction.”  In a final plea to prospective customers, the bookbinder and stationer emphasized that he was “a young beginner” who would benefit “suitable encouragement from the generous public.”  He suggested that consumers had a duty to reward him for his enterprising spirit.

Benjamin January, Trade Card (Philadelphia, ca. 1783-87).  Courtesy American Antiquarian Society.

That “young beginner” apparently convinced prospective customers to give him a chance, at least for a time.  In the 1780s, he remained in business and continued to advertise by distributing an engraved trade card that gave his location as “the sign of the Bible & Dove” with “in Front Street” written in a blank space.  The bookbinder and stationer could change locations, retain the sign associated with his shop, and update his trade card accordingly.  He first listed Front Street as his location in an advertisement for a lost pocketbook in the May 3, 1780, edition of the Pennsylvania Gazette, but did not make reference to “the sign of the Bible and Dove” until advertising in the June 5, 1783, edition of the Pennsylvania Packet.  Advertising did not guarantee success.  The December 3, 1787, edition of the Independent Gazetteer carried a bankruptcy notice “issued forth against Benjamin January, of the city of Philadelphia, Bookbinder and Stationer.”  Following that setback, January tried again, soliciting “a continuance of the favours of his former employers, and of all others who wish to encourage him” at his new location on Chestnut Street in an advertisement in the February 13, 1788, edition of the Independent Gazetteer.  He continued advertising in newspapers throughout the remainder of the 1780s and into the 1790s.

Whatever the difficulties that January encountered, he joined several merchants, shopkeepers, and artisans in marketing efforts that extended beyond newspaper notices, the most common form of advertising in eighteenth-century America.  His trade card resembled those that circulated in London and urban ports in the colonies.  An ornate border depicted books, ink wells, shakers, quills, and desk accessories.  A ribbon woven throughout the border listed other wares, including “INK POWDER,” “SLATES,” “WAFERS,” “PENCILS,” “WAX,” and “PAPER.”  In the text contained within the border, January advanced some of the same appeals he deployed when he introduced himself to readers of the Pennsylvania Journal and other newspapers published in Philadelphia.  He asserted “all Sorts of Account Books are Made & Ruled to any Pattern” and sold “all Sorts of stationary wares at the Lowest Rates.”  Such a fine trade card signaled initiative and industriousness, though January may not have received the return on this investment that he hoped.  Still, his trade card testifies to the rich visual landscape of advertising media that circulated in Philadelphia during the era of the American Revolution.

October 28

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

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

Pennsylvania Gazette (October 28, 1772).

“A catalogue of new and old books … is given away gratis.”

William Woodhouse, a bookseller, stationer, and bookbinder in Philadelphia, regularly advertised in the public prints in the early 1770s.  For instance, he ran an advertisement in the October 28, 1772, edition of the Pennsylvania Gazette, advising consumers that he had recently received a shipment of new inventory from London.  Woodhouse provided some examples to entice prospective customer, starting with stationery items.  He stocked everything from “a large assortment of the best writing paper in all sizes” to “round pewter ink stands” to “sealing-wax, wafers, quills, [and] black and red pencils.”  Woodhouse also listed some of the “variety of new books” at his shop, including “Baskerville’s grand family folio bible, with cuts,” “Pope’s Young’s Swift’s Tillotson’s, Shakespear’s, Bunyan’s. and Flavel’s works,” and “Blackstone’s commentaries, 4 vols. 4to.”  The abbreviation “4to” referred to quarto, the size of the pages, allowing readers to imagine how they might consult or display the books.  Woodhouse even had “Newberry’s small books for children, with pictures” for his youngest customers.

The bookseller concluded his newspaper advertisement with a nota bene that invited consumers to engage with other marketing materials.  “A catalogue of new and old books, with the prices printed to each book,” the nota bene declared, “is given away gratis, by said Woodhouse.”  That very well may have been the “CATALOGUE OF A COLLECTION OF NEW AND OLD BOOKS, In all the Arts and Sciences, and in various Languages” that Woodhouse first promoted six weeks earlier in another newspaper, the Pennsylvania Packet.  That catalog also included “a large quantity of entertaining Novels, with the lowest price printed to each book.”  Most book catalogs, like newspaper advertisements, did not indicate prices.  Woodhouse apparently believed that stating his prices would help in convincing customers to purchase their books from him rather than from any of his many competitors in Philadelphia.  To draw attention to both the prices and his selection, he gave away the catalog for free.

This catalog may have been part of a larger advertising campaign that Woodhouse launched in the fall of 1772.  He might have also distributed handbills or posted broadsides.  In 1771, he circulated a one-page subscription proposal for “A Pennsylvania Sailor’s Letters; alias the Farmer’s Fall.”  A quarter of a century later, Woodhouse distributed a card promoting copies of “Constitutions of the United States, According to the Latest Amendments: To Which Are Annexed, the Declaration of Independence, and the Federal Constitution, with Amendments Thereto.”  It stands to reasons that Woodhouse used advertising media other than newspapers on other occasions, though such ephemeral items have not survived in the same numbers as newspaper advertisements.  I suspect that far more advertising circulated in early America than has been preserved and identified in historical societies, research libraries, and private collections.

October 15

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , , ,

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

Oct 15 - 10:12:1769 New-York Chronicle
New-York Chronicle (October 12, 1769).

“They will make it their unwearied Study to serve the to the utmost of their Abilities.”

When they opened a shop in New York, bookbinders Nutter and Evans turned to the pages of the New-York Chronicle to inform “their Friends and the Public in general” of their enterprise. In most regards, their advertisement did not look much different than other newspaper advertisements placed by artisans in the eighteenth century. They emphasized both quality and price; however, they did not make reference to years of experience that served as a guarantee of their skill. Unable to make that appeal to prospective customers, they embraced they inexperience and sought to turn it into a virtue. The partnership “earnestly solicits for the Public’s Favour, particularly those who are willing to encourage new Beginners.” In exchange for taking a chance by patronizing a shop operated by these novices, Nutter and Evans offered assurances “that they will make it their unwearied Study to serve them to the utmost of their Abilities.” What they lacked in experience they made up for in enthusiasm. Nutter and Evans also understood that they had an opportunity to make good first impressions that would help them establish a reputation. They communicated to prospective customers that they understood the stakes of serving them well.

They also demonstrated that they understood the expectations prospective customers had for them, describing several of the services they provided. Nutter and Evans did “all manner of Book-binding … either in gilt or plain Covers.” They also ruled blank books “(in whatever Form required).” They enhanced these descriptions of their services with many of the appeals commonly made by bookbinders and other artisans. They made a nod to fashion, stating that they did their work “in the neatest and most elegant taste.” They also invoked the popular combination of price and quality, asserting that they practiced their trade “on reasonable Terms, and with great Accuracy.” When it came to ruling blank books, they made promises that they “performed to Satisfaction” for their clients. Even though they were “new Beginners” who knew they had to prove themselves in the marketplace, Nutter and Evans made evident their understanding of what customers expected and pledged to deliver on those expectations if “the Public in general” gave them the chance to do so.

April 29

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update, Guest Contribution , , ,

GUEST CURATOR: Patrick Waters

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

Providence Gazette (April 29, 1769).

“He also carries on the BOOK-BINDING Business.”

Edward Jones took out an advertisement in the Providence Gazette on April 29, 1769. His advertisement was for “A VARIETY of useful and entertaining BOOKS” as well as his specialty in bookbinding. Bookbinding was a very interesting career choice because it was far from a simple job. In order to become a practicing bookbinder Jones had to go through years of apprenticeship that required “hard work, dexterity, attention to detail, and a willingness and ability to handle painstaking tasks,” according to Ed Crews. However, it was a great trade to have because books were so popular and seen as a status item since they were typically expensive and demonstrated that the owner was wealthy and educated. Yet there was one book that many colonists owned that would go through quite a bit of wear and tear, the Bible. It is likely that there was a large demand for repairing bibles, as they were used frequently.

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ADDITIONAL COMMENTARY: Carl Robert Keyes

When customers purchased many of Jones’s “useful and entertaining BOOKS,” they likely did not acquire items that consumers would recognize as books today. In many cases they did not buy bound volumes but instead purchased books still in sheets. They then delivered those sheets to a bookbinder’s shop, where they could make decisions about the binding to fit their tastes and budget. In other words, customers who purchased Brady’s Psalms or Watts’s Hymns did not end up with matching volumes in their homes. They did purchase the same printed material, but their own decisions about binding resulted in different final products.

Ed Crews describes assembling books as akin to “constructing a three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle.” Broadly speaking, the process required two steps: forwarding and finishing. Forwarding, Crews explains, “generally involved arranging pages so they could be turned and examined.” Recall that customers purchased books in sheets. That meant that many pages were printed out of order on each side of large sheet that, when folded, ended up with the pages in the correct order. Once the pages had been folded in these closed signatures, bookbinders stitched them together and then “put a protective cover on them, typically fashioned of leather from calves, sheep or deer. At this point, the signatures (or folded pages) were cut open so readers could view every page. Already the decisions about the leather cover produced different appearances for volumes that contained the same text, but the decoration that comprised the finishing further distinguished them from each other. Finishing “could include lettering as well as design work” created with heated tools that stamped or imprinted designs into the leather covers. Bookbinders had a lot of responsibility. Not only did their work require artistry, it also required that they produce durable products. Crews notes the many ways that colonists handled their books: the structure “had to allow for repeated openings and closings, page fanning and tugging, falls to the floor, and being pulled from a shelf by a finger hooked on a spine.”

Today most consumers put little thought into the bindings of most books they buy, beyond choosing between hardcover and paperback editions. Colonial consumers, however, faced far more choices. They interacted not only with booksellers but also often with bookbinders who transformed the printed sheets they purchased into unique volumes according to consumers’ wishes.

May 8

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , , ,

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

May 8 - 5:8:1767 New-Hampshire Gazette
New-Hampshire Gazette (May 8, 1767).

“As neat as any in Boston.”

John Edwards, a “BOOKBINDER and STATIONER from BOSTON,” sold a variety of books as well as writing supplies at his shop on Queen Street in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Edwards did not describe himself as a bookseller, even though he devoted approximately half of his advertisement to listing some of the titles he carried. Throughout the eighteenth century members of the book trades often specialized in one trade yet supplemented their incomes by taking on some responsibilities more closely associated with other aspects of book production and distribution. Both printers and bookbinders, for instance, commonly sold books that they had not printed or bound.

By trade and training, Edwards may have considered himself first and foremost a bookbinder, taking pride in the unique skills mastered in that occupation. Yet the demand for bookbinding services in the town of Portsmouth likely made it impossible to earn his living solely from that trade. Considering that Edwards had relocated from Boston at some point, competition among bookbinders for the business of a finite number of potential customers, even in that bustling port, may have prompted him to seek out other opportunities in the neighboring colony. Fewer bookbinders resided in Portsmouth, but so did fewer potential customers. In the face of less demand for the services of bookbinders, Edwards sold consumer goods related to his trade – books and writing materials – to generate additional revenues. He likely bound some of his imported books to the taste and budget of those who purchased them.

Edwards attempted to mobilize his Boston origins to his advantage. He proclaimed that he bound “all sorts of Books” and made “Account Books of any size, as neat as any in Boston.” Having lived and worked in that city, Edwards was qualified to testify to the quality of the bookbinding done there and assess his own work in comparison. He pledged to potential customers that his work was comparable to what they would find in a larger and more distinguished market, assuring them that its quality was comparable to what they would find in the urban center that most immediately commanded their attention when making comparisons. Similarly, advertisers in Boston favorably compared their wares and workmanship to what was produced in London. Colonists looked to the next larger market for validation as they shaped their own practices of consumption.

June 6

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , ,

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

Jun 6 - 6:6:1766 New-Hampshire Gazette
New-Hampshire Gazette (June 6, 1766).

“Gentlemen may have any sorts of Books Bound.”

William Appleton described his occupation as bookbinder, but his advertisement makes clear that he offered a variety of services at “his Shop in Queen Street, near the School House.”

“Gentlemen may have any sorts of Books Bound,” Appleton announced. In the eighteenth century, readers frequently purchased books that took a very different material form than what modern consumers expect today. Customers often purchased just the printed pages of the books (and the same went for magazines when they gained popularity after the Revolution) and then arranged for binding on their own, if they wished to have their books bound at all. Printers chose not to raise the production costs of books by having them bound, thus minimizing the risk for books that did not sell. Sometimes they did not even separate the leaves to create pages but instead passed along folded sheets to customers, leaving it to them or a bookbinder to do so. Sometimes printers and booksellers did sell bound books – or offered a choice for bound or unbound – but they marketed this as a convenience that added value. In other instances, however, Appleton and other bookbinders offered a service that allowed readers to customize their books through the various choices that went into selecting materials and appearance for bindings. In turn, bookbinders inserted their own binder’s labels into books to further advertise their services.

Appleton also bound blank books that customers would fill themselves with manuscript rather than print. The “Account Books” may have been lined to aid organizing entries for debiting and crediting accounts.

In addition, Appleton’s advertisement indicated that he supplemented his business by selling books and writing paper. He listed several kinds of reading material, but he likely did not stock as many volumes as contemporary booksellers who distributed catalogues that included hundreds of titles. Still, he gave the impression that potential customers could discover a variety of books when he truncated his list with “&c. &c.” (etc. etc.).

As a member of the book trades, Appleton worked with printers, booksellers, and publishers. Sometimes he took on some of the responsibilities of a bookseller, but likely did not do any printing. Printers and bookbinders provided complementary services that modern consumers usually consider part of the standard production of a commodity, a book, but the bound volume as a finished product was not necessarily what customers purchased in bookstores in the eighteenth century.