Boston Port Act

May 15

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , , ,

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

Massachusetts Spy (May 12, 1774).

“All sorts of Groceries as usual – except TEA.”

By the time that Thomas Walley’s advertisement ran in the May 12, 1774, edition of the Massachusetts Spy, it would have been a familiar sight to regular readers of that newspaper.  It previously appeared on six occasions in March, April, and May, advising the public that Walley stocked a variety of items that he sold wholesale or retail at his “Store on Dock-Square” in Boston.  He had “Dutch looking-glasses of various sizes,” “quart and pint Mugs and Chamber Pots,” and “choice junk” (or old rope) “to make into cordage of any size.”

Walley also sold “Oatmeal per bushel,” “all sorts of Spices,” “choice Rice,” “new Raisins,” and “all sorts of Groceries as usual – except TEA.”  That last entry, listing what he did not sell rather than what he wanted to put into the hands of consumers, may have the primary reason that Walley inserted his advertisement in the Massachusetts Spy so many times.  As one of the owners of the Fortune, the vessel that transported the tea involved in the second Boston Tea Party, Walley had been under suspicion, though he and his partners asserted that they did not have “any share, interest or property, directly or indirectly in any part of the Tea that came from London in said vessel.”  They made that declaration, affirmed by a justice of the peace, in an advertisement that ran in the March 10 edition of the Massachusetts Spy, just days after colonizers disguised as Indians once again dumped tea into Boston Harbor.

A week later, Walley’s advertisement listing a variety of goods “except TEA” appeared in the Massachusetts Spy for the first time.  Given the political orientation of that publication, printed by ardent patriot Isaiah Thomas, it made sense for Walley to take to the pages of that newspaper in his effort to convince the public that he was not trucking in tea.  His advertisement ran again the following week and then on April 7, 15, and 22 and May 5 and 12, missing from only the March 31 and April 28 editions.  Merchants and shopkeepers often ran notices for several months, but in this instance a desire to sell his inventory probably was not Walley’s sole consideration.  He continuously reminded the public that he wanted nothing to do with peddling tea, probably even more so on May 12 when Thomas published a two-page Postscript to the Massachusetts Spy that featured the text of the Boston Port Act that closed the harbor until the colonizers made restitution of the tea they destroyed.  As the crisis intensified, Walley sought to distance himself from tea.

May 14

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , ,

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

Providence Gazette (May 14, 1774).

“[The Particulars will be inserted next Week.]”

Charles Dabney took out an advertisement in the Providence Gazette to announce that he stocked a “large Assortment of English and India GOODS” at his shop near the Great Bridge.  He offered his wares “Wholesale and Retail, at such a low Rate, as cannot fail giving Satisfaction to the Purchasers.”  In other words, customers would be happy with the bargains they got when they visited Dabney’s shop.  He intended to provide a list of his merchandise to demonstrate the choices he made available to consumers, but his initial advertisement in the May 14, 1774, edition did not include “The Particulars.”  Instead, the notice stated that those details “will be inserted next Week.”  Who made that decision?  Perhaps Dabney did not have time to draw up a list of that “large Assortment” before the May 14 edition went to press.  Perhaps John Carter, the printer of the Providence Gazette, determined that he did not have space for all the content submitted that week.  Dabney’s advertisement may have been the item easiest to truncate.

Whatever the explanation, the complete advertisement did not appear the following week.  Politics and current events crowded out most advertisements, including even the short version of Dabney’s notice.  A note from the printer advised, “To make Room for the interesting Advices in this Day’s Gazette, we are obliged to omit several Advertisements.”  Those “interesting Advices” included the “Substance of the DEBATES on the BOSTON PORT-BILL” in the House of Commons in London.  Parliament closed the port of Boston in retribution for the destruction of the tea that occurred the previous December.  That news, which filled the entire front page and overflowed onto the second, arrived in Boston via several vessels from London.  Carter then reprinted it from Boston’s newspapers.  The second page also featured an editorial by “JUSTICE” that ran in the London’s Public Advertiser” and news from Philadelphia and Boston.  The updates from Boston continued on third page, followed by a resolution in support of “the Province of the Massachusetts Bay” adopted at a “Town-Meeting held at Providence, on the 17th Day of May.”  Advertising filled only two-thirds of the final column.  More coverage of the debate over the Boston Port Act filled almost the entire final page.  Two advertisements appeared at the bottom of the last column.

Dabney’s advertisement did finally appear in its entirety on May 28, but news about the imperial crisis, especially the repercussions of the Boston Tea Party, took priority.  That arrangement may have helped to draw more eyes to Dabney’s notice when it did run.  Colonizers looking for more news about the Boston Port Act and reactions to it in other colonies, including those who were not subscribers or regular readers, may have eagerly perused new issues of the Providence Gazette.  They certainly found more news on May 28, but they also encountered Dabney’s advertisement with its extensive list of merchandise.