Colophon

May 27

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , ,

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

Pennsylvania Ledger (May 27, 1775).

“Essays, Articles of News, Advertisements, &c. are gratefully received and impartially inserted.”

Among newspapers published during the era of the American Revolution, those that included a colophon usually featured it at the bottom of the final page.  A few, including the Pennsylvania Ledger, incorporated the colophon into the masthead.  James Humphreys, Jr., the printer, also used the colophon as a perpetual advertisement for subscriptions and advertisements.  After all, the full title of the newspaper was the Pennsylvania Ledger: Or the Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, & New Jersey Weekly Advertiser.  Accordingly, the colophon gave more than just place of publication and the name of the printer (“Philadelphia: Printed by JAMES HUMPHREYS, junr. in Front-street, at the Corner of Black-horse Alley”); it also informed readers that “Essays, Articles of News, Advertisements, &c. are gratefully received and impartially inserted” and “Subscriptions are taken in for this Paper, at Ten Shillings per Year.”  The enhanced colophon did not, however, give prices for advertising, though Humphreys stated that he set “the same terms as is usual with the other papers in the city” in the subscription proposals he distributed in January 1775.

What did Humphreys mean when he declared that he “impartially inserted” essays (or editorials), news, and advertisements?  In the proposals t, he asserted that “a number of worthy and reputable Gentlemen” in Philadelphia had encouraged him “to establish a Free and Impartial NEWS PAPER, open to All, and influenced by None.”  Furthermore, he proclaimed that he was “determined to act on the most impartial principles, and not render himself liable to be influenced by any party whatever.”  Such idealism stood in stark contrast to the partisanship of most newspapers as the imperial crisis intensified.  Humphreys’s determination to print essays and news from various perspectives amounted to sufficient proof for many Patriots that the printer was a Loyalist since he did not uniformly promote the American cause.  Decades later, Isaiah Thomas, the patriot printer who published the Massachusetts Spy at the same time Humphreys published the Pennsylvania Ledger, took a more evenhanded approach in his History of Printing of America: “The publisher announced his intention to conduct his paper with political impartiality; and perhaps, in times more tranquil than those in which it appeared, he might have succeeded in his plan.  …  The impartiality of the Ledger did not comport with the temper of the times.”[1]  Thomas seemed to consider Humphreys’s commitment to freedom of the press authentic rather than a rationalization for printing Loyalist views.  He was not so kind in his descriptions of other printers whose politics did not align with his own.

Still, the “temper of the times” likely prompted Humphreys to adjust his own advertising for political pamphlets available at his printing office.  When it came to “impartially insert[ing]” advertisements submitted by others, he gave assurances that he neither took an editorial stance when it came to the information they disseminated nor gave some more prominent placement on the page than others.  He did not rank newspapers notices but instead gave advertisers equal access to his press.

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[1] Isaiah Thomas, The History of Printing in America: With a Biography of Printers and an Account of Newspapers (1810; New York: Weathervane Books, 1970), 439-440.

March 24

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , ,

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

North-Carolina Gazette (March 24, 1775).

“ADVERTISEMENTS, of a moderate Length, are inserted for THREE SHILLINGS the first Week, and TWO SHILLINGS for every Week after.”

Today, the North-Carolina Gazette makes its first appearance in the Adverts 250 Project and the Slavery Adverts 250 Project.  Few copies of this colonial newspaper from New Bern survive.  Clarence Brigham provides an overview of the publication history of the North-Carolina Gazette, noting that James Davis likely founded it on May 27, 1768, “judging from the date of the earliest issue located, that of June 24, 1768, no. 5.”  The volume numbering also suggests that “publication was suspended for several months between 1769 and 1773 and again in 1776.”[1]  The last known issue appeared on November 30, 1778.  Edward Connery Lathem reports “no copies extant” for 1770, 1771, 1772, 1773, and 1776 “few numbers known (usually less than 25% of those issued)” for 1768, 1769, 1774, and “complete or extensive coverage exists” for 1775, 1777, and 1778.[2]  America’s Historical Newspapers includes only seven issues that have been digitized for greater accessibility, all of them published in 1774.

The March 24, 1774, edition is the first of those issues.  In addition to news, letters, and the “POETS CORNER,” that issue carried nine advertisements, including two concerning enslaved people, that accounted for a quarter of the content.  The colophon at the bottom of the fourth and final page provided information about both subscription costs and advertising fees: “All Persons may be supplied with this PAPER at SIXTEEN SHILLINGS per Annum.  ADVERTISEMENTS, of a moderate Length, are inserted for THREE SHILLINGS the first Week, and TWO SHILLINGS for every Week after.”  Throughout the colonies, printers took a variety of approaches when it came to regularly publishing such information in their mastheads or colophons.  Some did not do so at all, some included only annual subscription costs, some listed only advertising fees, and some, like Davis, provided both.  He happened to charge the same price for advertisements as William Dixon and John Hunter’s Virginia Gazette and John Pinkney’s Virginia Gazette, both published in Williamsburg, suggesting that was the going rate in the region.  For some colonial newspapers it remains difficult or impossible to determine what printers charged for advertising.  Davis, on the other hand, incorporated that information for the North-Carolina Gazette into the colophon, making readily apparent the advertising fees and how much they cost relative to subscriptions.

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[1] Clarence S. Brigham, History and Bibliography of American Newspapers, 1690-1820 (Worcester, MA: American Antiquarian Society, 1947), 770.

[2] Edward Connery Lathem, Chronological Tables of American Newspapers, 1690-1820 (Barre, MA: American Antiquarian Society and Barre Publishers, 1972), 8, 12.

September 13

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

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

Essex Gazette (September 13, 1774).

“This GAZETTE may be had for 6s. 8d. per Annum, exclusive of Postage.”

The printers of the Essex Gazette incorporated the colophon into the masthead of that newspaper.  Within that masthead, they declared that the publication “Contain[ed] the freshest Advices, both foreign and domestic” and gave the date and volume and issue numbers.  Next came the publication information that more often appeared at the bottom of the final page in other newspapers: “SALEM: Printed by Samuel and Ebenezer Hall, at their Printing-Office in King-Street.”  That made it easy for prospective subscriber and advertisers as well as others with business for the printers to contact or visit them.

Even with that choice about where to place the colophon, the Halls still recognized the bottom of the final page as valuable space for promoting their newspaper, publishing a perpetual advertisement that ran across all three columns in each issue.  A single line advised, “This GAZETTE may be had for 6s. 8d. per Annum, exclusive of Postage – 3s. 4d. (or 4s. 6d. if sent by the Eastern Post) to be paid at Entrance.”  Throughout the colonies, printers generously extended credit to subscribers, recognizing that if they increased their circulation then they could attract more advertisers.  In turn, printers often published notices calling on subscribers to pay for subscriptions going back months and even years.

For their part, the Halls refused to assume the risk of allowing readers to subscribe completely on credit.  They required payment of three shilling and four pence, half of the annual price of six shillings and eight pence, at the time that subscriptions commenced.  Even if they had difficulty collecting the balance from subscribers, those initial payments covered some of the expenses and limited their losses.  In addition, subscribers who ordered their newspapers delivered by a post rider were expected to pay an additional shilling at the start, though the notice did not indicate if that covered the entire year or, like the entrance fee, was only half of what subscribers were expected to pay.  Either way, the Halls intended that service would further expand their circulation.

No matter what kinds of news or paid notices the printers placed on the final page of the Essex Gazette from week to week, readers always encountered an advertisement for the newspaper as the final item.  Colonial newspapers often passed from hand to hand, reaching readers beyond the original subscribers.  This strategy encouraged those additional readers to consider purchasing their own subscriptions for consistent access to the news rather than rely on the possibility that others would share their newspapers.

July 22

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

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

South-Carolina and American General Gazette (July 22, 1774).

“Orders for Books, Stationary Wares, Book-binding & Printing Work.”

Like many other printers, Robert Wells, printer of the South-Carolina and American General Gazette used the colophon of his newspaper as an advertisement for that newspaper and a variety of goods and services available at his printing office.  His colophon, however, appeared in a different place than most others that ran either at the bottom of the final page or, less often, within the masthead at the top of the first page.  Wells placed his colophon at the bottom of the first page, extending across all four columns.  He sometimes devoted each of those columns to news, as was the case for the July 22, 1774, edition, yet other times included paid notices on the first page.  No matter what other content appeared, readers encountered an advertisement on the front page in the form of the colophon.  They did so repeatedly if they perused all four columns before examining the rest of the newspaper.

In that colophon, Wells gave a grand name to the site where he conducted business, calling it the “OLD PRINTING-HOUSE, GREAT STATIONARY and BOOK STORE.”  That name testified to his experience as a printer (“OLD”) and the quality and array of merchandise he stocked (“GREAT”).  He advised that he received “SUBSCRIPTIONS andADVERTISEMENTS for this Paper, which is circulated through all the SOUTHERN COLONIES, &c.”  That included Georgia and North Carolina in addition to South Carolina with “&c.” (et cetera) suggesting Virginia and Maryland as well.  The South-Carolina and American Gazette directly competed with the South-Carolina Gazette, printed by Peter Timothy, and the South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal, printed by Charles Crouch, both published in Charleston.  In emphasizing the vast reach of his newspaper’s circulation, Wells sought to encourage advertisers who wished to disseminate information as widely as possible, whether they aimed to sell consumer goods, enslaved people, or real estate, or called on colonizers to settle accounts with businesses or the executors of estates or described enslaved people who had liberated themselves by running away from their enslavers.  The printer also accepted “Orders for Books, Stationary Wares, Book-binding & Printing Work,” a variety of goods and services enmeshed within the book trades.  “Printing Work” included broadsides, handbills, trade cards, catalogs, and other advertising ephemera for customers to distribute on their own, contributing to the culture of marketing in the colonies and disseminating information in print via means other than newspapers.  Wells wished to generate greater demand for printed materials, including advertisements, that would benefit both his customers and his business.  In doing so, he devised a colophon that did more than identify the location and printer of the South-Carolina and American General Gazette.

December 19

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , ,

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

Massachusetts Spy (December 16, 1773).

“SUBSCRIPTIONS for the SPY are also taken in by J. Larkin, Chairmaker, and Mr. W. Calder, Painter, in Charlestown.”

A colophon could include all sorts of information or little information at all.  Isaiah Thomas could have confined the colophon for the Massachusetts Spy to its first line: “BOSTON: Printed by ISAIAH THOMAS.”  However, he devised one of the most extensive colophons in colonial newspapers.  His colophon gave directions to his printing office, gave the price for annual subscriptions, and solicited advertisements and “Articles of Intelligence” to include among the contents of his weekly publication.  Thomas also announced, “PRINTING in its various Branches, performed in a neat Manner, with the greatest Care and Dispatch, on the most reasonable terms.”  Job printing orders included “Small HAND-BILLS” ready “at an Hour’s Notice.”  Other printers who used their colophons as perpetual advertisements at the bottom of the final page of each newspaper included some or all of these elements.

Thomas included a unique feature in the colophon for the Massachusetts Spy.  It was the only newspaper that listed a network of local agents in other towns who accepted subscriptions and forwarded them to the printing office.  “SUBSCRIPTIONS for the SPY,” the colophon advised, “are also taken in by J. Larkin, Chairmaker, and Mr. W. Calder, Painter, in Charlestown; Mr. J. Hillers, Watch-maker, in Salem; Mr. B. Emerson, Bookseller, in Newbury-Port; Mr. M. Belcher, in Bridgewater; and by Dr. Elijah Hewins, in Stoughtonham.”  Printers who published newspapers established networks for exchanging their newspapers with their counterparts in other towns, readily reprinting items from one publication to another to fill the pages.  They also forged relationships with printers and booksellers for the purposes of collecting subscriptions for proposed books, magazines, and pamphlets.  Throughout the second half of 1773, Thomas advertised his plans to publish the Royal American Magazine, enlisting printers and booksellers in towns in New England, New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland to aid in the endeavor.  His colophon indicates that his efforts to promote his newspaper extended beyond fellow members of the printing and book trades to include associates from a variety of occupations.  At least in the case of the Massachusetts Spy, chairmakers, painters, watchmakers, and doctors all participated in creating an infrastructure for disseminating the news during the era of the American Revolution.

December 12

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , ,

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

New-York Journal (December 9, 1773).

“Advertisements of no more Length than Breadth are inserted for Five Shillings, four Weeks, and One Shilling for each Week after, and larger Advertisements in the same Proportion.”

Some printers kept the colophons for their newspapers quite simple, if they included one at all.  The colophon for the Boston-Gazette, for instance, simply stated, “Boston: Printed by EDES & GILL, in Queen-Street, 1773.”  The colophon for the Boston Evening-Post was even more streamlined: “BOSTON: Printed by THOMAS & JOHN FLEET.”  In each instance, the colophon usually appeared at the bottom of the final column on the last page, rather unobtrusive, though the printers sometimes moved the colophon to the third page if they lacked space.

In contrast, other printers inserted much more elaborate colophons that ran across all the columns at the bottom of the final page, that position a permanent element of the design of their newspapers.  In such cases, the colophons often doubled as advertisements, providing much more information than the name of the printer and place of publication.  Such was the case with the colophon for the New-York Journal.  The first line covered the basics: “NEW-YORK: Printed by JOHN HOLT, at the Printing-Office near the COFFEE-HOUSE.”  Two more lines made a sales pitch for the services available at Holt’s printing office, declaring “all Sorts of Printing is done in the neatest Manner, with Care and Expedition.”  Holt invited job printing orders, whether for broadsides, handbills, trade cards, or blanks, touting both his skill and speed in producing them.  He also solicited advertisements for the New-York Journal, an important source of revenue for any newspaper.  The colophon even listed the rates for placing notices: “Advertisements of no more Length than Breadth are inserted for Five Shillings, four Weeks, and One Shilling for each Week after, and larger Advertisements in the same Proportion.”  That initial fee covered both space in the newspaper, one shilling per week, and setting type, an additional shilling.  Setting four weeks as a minimum run generated content while simultaneously enhancing revenues.  Many advertisements in the New-York Journal ran for months rather than weeks.  (This raises suspicions about whether Holt actually charged for each insertion or continued running some advertisements to testify to current and prospective subscribers and potential advertisers about the popularity of his newspaper.)  While every printer welcomed advertisements for their newspapers, most did not regularly comment on the business of advertising.  Holt provided important details in his colophon.

August 29

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , , ,

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

Virginia Gazette [Rind] (August 26, 1773).

“WILLIAMSBURG: Printed by CLEMENTINA RIND, at the NEW PRINTING OFFICE.”

It was the first time that Clementina Rind’s name appeared in the colophon of the Virginia Gazette, formerly published by her late husband.  William Rind died on August 19, 1773.  A week later, his widow revised the colophon to read: “WILLIAMSBURG: Printed by CLEMENTINA RIND, at the NEW PRINTING OFFICE, on the Main Street.”  Clementina continued her husband’s practice of using the colophon as an advertisement for subscriptions and advertising.  “All Persons may be supplied with this GAZETTE,” the colophon continued to inform readers, “at 12s6 per Year.  ADVERTISEMENTS of a moderate Length are inserted for 3s. the first Week, and 2s. each Time after; and long ones in Proportion.”  A thick border, indicative of mourning, separated the colophon from the rest of the content on the final page.  Similarly, mourning borders appeared in the masthead as well, alerting readers of a significant loss.

Due to a variety of factors, the death notice in digitized copy of Rind’s Virginia Gazette is not fully legible.  His fellow printers, Alexander Purdie and John Dixon, however, ran an even more extensive tribute to their former competitor in their own Virginia Gazette, though lacking mourning borders.  They first described William as “an affectionate Husband, kind Parent, and a benevolent Man” before lauding his work as “publick Printer to the Colony.”  Purdie and Dixon memorialized a colleague whose “Impartiality on the Conduct of his Gazette, by publishing the Productions of the several contending Parties that have lately appeared in this Country, cannot fail of securing to his Memory the Estee, of all who are sensible how much the Freedom of the Press contributes to maintain and extend the most sacred Rights of Humanity.”  Purdie and Dixon underscored the important contributions of all printers in paying their respects to the departed William.  They also gave an extensive account of the funeral rituals undertaken by “the ancient and honourable Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons” in memory of “so worthy a Brother.”

Clementina printed the Virginia Gazette for thirteen months.  Following her death on September 25, 1774, John Pinkney became the printer.  Clementina was not the only female printer producing and distributing a newspaper in the colonies at the time.  In Annapolis, Anne Catherine Green and Son published the Maryland Gazette.  The widow of Jonas Green, Anne Catherine printed the newspaper upon his death, sometimes as sole publisher and sometimes in partnership with a son.  The Adverts 250 Project has also traced some of the work of Sarah Goddard, printer of the Providence Gazette in the late 1760s.  Female printers joined their male counterparts in contributing to the dissemination of information (and advertising) during the era of the American Revolution.

Virginia Gazette [Rind] (August 26, 1773).

June 26

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , ,

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

Providence Gazette (June 26, 1773).

“Hand-Bills in particular done in a neat and correct Manner.”

Like many other colonial printers who published newspapers, but not all of them, John Carter, the printer of the Providence Gazette used the colophon at the bottom of the final page to promote services available at his printing office rather than merely giving the name and location of the printer.  In the early 1770s, the colophon for the Providence Gazette regularly advised that customers could place orders for job printing “at Shakespear’s Head, … where all Manner of Printing-Work is performed with Care and Expedition.”  Job printing orders included broadsides, trade cards, handbills, and blanks (or forms) of various sorts.

On April 25, 1772, Carter added an additional line to the colophon, advising prospective customers about “Hand-Bills in particular done in a neat and correct Manner, at a very short Notice, and on reasonable Terms.”  Among the newspaper printers who inserted extended colophons that doubled as advertisements for their printing offices, others also gave handbills special emphasis.  In Boston, Isaiah Thomas, the printer of the Massachusetts Spy, included a note in his colophon that declared, “Small HAND-BILLS at an Hour’s Notice.”  In Philadelphia, the colophon for William Goddard’s Pennsylvania Chronicle concluded with “Blanks and Hand-Bills, in particular, are done on the shortest Notice, in a neat and correct Manner.”  Solomon Southwick, the printer of the Newport Mercury, on the other hand, focused on “all Kinds of BLANKS commonly used in this Colony.”

That several printers made a point of including handbills among the services listed in their colophons suggests that they regularly received orders for such items, likely far more orders than those examples in research libraries, historical societies, and private collections suggest.  That Thomas proclaimed that his printing office could produce handbills so quickly further testifies to the likelihood that merchants, shopkeepers, and others distributed handbills as an alternative or as a supplement to newspaper notices, creating a more visible and vibrant culture of advertising in early America, especially in urban ports, than surviving primary sources alone indicate.  Since handbills were intended to be ephemeral and disposable, colonizers did not save and preserve them in the same manner that newspaper printers and some subscribers compiled complete runs of many eighteenth-century newspapers, complete with the advertisements they contained.

April 26

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

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

Massachusetts Gazette and Boston Post-Boy (April 26, 1773).

“Hope the Customers to the Paper will continue to encourage it by advertising.”

The first advertisement in the April 26, 1773, edition of the Massachusetts Gazette and Boston Post-Boy concerned the operation of the newspaper.  For nearly sixteen years, since August 1757, John Green and Joseph Russell printed the newspaper, but starting on that day “the Printing and Publishing of this PAPER will, in future be carried on by NATHANIEL MILLS and JOHN HICKS.”  Neither the printers nor readers knew it at the time, but the newspaper would not continue for nearly as long under Mills and Hicks.  They published the last known issue on April 17, 1775, two days before the skirmishes at Lexington and Concord that marked the beginning of the Revolutionary War.

At the time that ownership of the newspaper changed hands, Green and Russell expressed “their respectful Thanks for the Favours they have received.”  Furthermore, they expressed their “hope the Customers to the Paper will continue to encourage it by advertising, &c.”  That “&c.” (an abbreviation for et cetera) included subscribing to the newspapers and providing content, such as editorials and “Letters of Intelligence.”  The printers realized that the continued viability and success of the newspapers depended most immediately on maintaining advertising revenue since readers but subscribed for a year while most advertisements ran for only three or four weeks.

Readers likely noticed a new feature in the first issue published by Mills and Hicks, a colophon that ran across the bottom of the final page.  Green and Russell did not always include a colophon, perhaps because they considered the newspaper so well established that they did not consider it necessary to devote space to it in each issue.  Their final issue, the April 19 edition, for instance, did not feature a colophon.  On April 12, the colophon at the bottom of the last column on the final page simply stated, “Printed by Green and Russell.”  Mills and Hicks, on the other hand, opted for a more elaborate colophon that served as a perpetual advertisement for the newspaper and other services available in their printing office, a practice adopted by some, but not all, colonial printers.  Distributed over three lines, it read, “BOSTON: Printed by MILLS and HICKS, at their PRINTING-OFFICE in School-street, next Door to CROMWELL’S HEAD TAVERN, where Subscriptions, Advertisements, and Letters of Intelligence for this Paper are taken in; and the Printing Business carried on, in its different Branches, with the greatest Care.”

Mills and Hicks could not depend on their reputations to market the Massachusetts Gazette and Boston Post-Boy in the same way that Green and Russell did after more than a decade of publishing the newspaper.  In their first issue, they placed greater emphasis on soliciting advertisements to help support their enterprise.  Subsequent issues included the colophon, a regular feature that encouraged colonizers to advertise as well as purchase subscriptions and submit orders for job printing.

Colophon from Massachusetts Gazette and Boston Post-Boy (April 26, 1773).

April 16

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , ,

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

Massachusetts Spy (April 16, 1773).

“THE extensive circulation of the MASSACHUSETTS SPY, through town and country, renders it very beneficial for those who ADVERTISE therein.”

Many colonial printers promoted their newspapers in the colophon that appeared on the final page.  Isaiah Thomas, the printer of the Massachusetts Spy, did so in one of the lengthier colophons that appeared in newspapers published in the 1770s.  In addition to providing his name and the place of publication, he gave extensive directions to his printing office “At the South Corner of MARSHAL’S LANE, leading from the MILL-BRIDGE into UNION-STREET.”  Thomas noted that “all Persons may be supplied with this Paper” and gave the price for an annual subscription.  He also listed local agents in four towns – Bridgewater, Charlestown, Newburyport, and Salem – who accepted subscriptions on his behalf.  In addition, Thomas solicited advertisements and job printing, including handbills and printed blanks.  He informed prospective customers of “PRINTING in its various Branches, performed in a neat Manner, with the greatest Care and Dispatch, on the most reasonable Terms.”

Massachusetts Spy (April 16, 1773).

Although printers regularly promoted various goods and services available in their printing offices, they did not often include their own newspapers among those advertisements (except to call on recalcitrant subscribers to make payments) nor did they insert notices to encourage the public to place advertisements.  That made Thomas’s notice at the top of the first column on the first page of the April 16, 1773, edition of the Massachusetts Spy rather unusual.  The printer proclaimed, “THE extensive circulation of the MASSACHUSETTS SPY, through town and country, renders it very beneficial for those who ADVERTISE therein.”  Established July 17, 1770, the Massachusetts Spy was the newest of the five newspapers published in Boston at the time, but Thomas suggested that its circulation rivaled its competitors.  Advertising in his newspaper, the printer asserted, drew the attention of readers and, in turn, that attention yielded results for the advertisers.  In making his pitch, Thomas also stated that “Advertisements … are inserted in a neat and conspicuous manner on the most reasonable terms,” offering assurances about the effectiveness, quality, and price of advertising in his newspaper.

Thomas also sought new subscribers.  After extolling advertisements, he addressed “Such gentlemen and ladies, in this Province as are desirous of taking in the SPY.”  The printer characterized its contents as “the earliest and most important Foreign and Domestic Intelligence, with a number of ORIGINAL papers, on a variety of subjects.”  To further entice prospective subscribers, he gave the price of an annual subscription and trumpeted that it “is cheaper than any public paper or other periodical publication whatever, of its bigness [or size], in the four quarters of the globe.”  Accordingly, the Massachusetts Spy “has met with very great encouragement from the public,” a pronouncement intended to resonate with prospective advertisers as well as prospective subscribers.  In a nota bene, Thomas offered to send the newspaper to “Gentlemen and ladies in any of the American colonies, who incline to subscribe,” another testament to the “extensive circulation” that he mentioned as a reason for placing advertisements.

At the bottom of the final page of each issue of the Massachusetts Spy, the colophon informed readers that Thomas accepted subscriptions at the printing office and briefly mentioned “ADVERTISEMENTS taken in.”  Although advertisements accounted for significant revenue for colonial printers, Thomas and others rarely promoted advertising except in the colophons of their newspapers.  In this instance, Thomas apparently recognized an opportunity to cultivate more advertising for his newspaper.  In making his pitch to prospective advertisers, he emphasized price (“reasonable terms”) and, especially, effectiveness (displaying notices in a “conspicuous manner” and the “extensive circulation” of the newspaper).  He coupled those appeals with his efforts to attract more subscribers, hoping to expand both means that the Massachusetts Spy generated revenue.