Common Sense

October 17

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , ,

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

Independent Chronicle (October 17, 1776).

“At the Post-Office may be had, COMMON Sense … on the grand subject of American Independency.”

Thomas Paine’s Common Sense was advertised widely in Pennsylvania, New York, and New England in the winter and spring of 1776, especially as printers in many cities and towns produced local editions.  As summer approached, the number and frequency of advertisements for the popular political pamphlet decreased.  By that time the market had been saturated.  Readers had many opportunities to purchase Common Sense as the arguments presented in the pamphlet helped to convince colonizers to declare independence rather than seek redress of grievances within the British imperial system.  By the time the Continental Congress declared independence on July 2 and approved the Declaration of Independence on July 4, advertisements for Common Sense mostly disappeared.  Only the Freeman’s Journal, published in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, carried advertisements for Common Sense in July 1776.

After several months, however, an advertisement for Common Sense suddenly appeared in the Independent Chronicle, published in Boston, on October 17.  It was the first time that newspaper carried an advertisement for Paine’s pamphlet, though the Boston-Gazette (printed in nearby Watertown) and the New-England Chronicle previously featured advertisements for Common Sense.  Local printers produced two editions to supplement those that came off presses in other towns in New England and beyond.  The new advertisement in the Independent Chronicle did not indicate who sold Common Sense.  It simply announced, “At the Post-Office may be had, COMMON Sense with the whole appendix,” and several other items that Robert Bell, the publisher of the first edition, added to subsequent unauthorized editions.  Bell published, for instance, “a dialogue between the ghost of General Montgomery, just arrived from Elysian fields, and an American delegate in a wood, near Philadelphia,” separately and with Common Sense along with “large additions.”  Other printers added some of those items to local editions of the pamphlet, though Richard Gimbel’s bibliography of Common Sense does not indicate that local editions printed outside Philadelphia included all the material listed in the advertisement in the Independent Chronicle.[1]  Perhaps some copies of one of Bell’s Philadelphia editions made it to the post office in Boston in the fall of 1776.  Even readers who had previously perused Common Sense could have been interested in reading additional content associated with the pamphlet, justifying a newspaper advertisement giving renewed attention to this pamphlet “on the grand subject of American Independency.”

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[1] Richard Gimbel, Thomas Paine: A Bibliographical Check List of Common Sense with an Account of Its Publication (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1956), 78-79, 88-91.

Advertisements for Common Sense Published October 17, 1776

Carl Robert Keyes Special Features

Historians consider Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, published anonymously on January 9, 1776, the most influential political pamphlet that circulated in the colonies during the era of the American Revolution.  Written in plain language accessible to readers of all backgrounds, the pamphlet made a bold case for declaring independence at a time that many colonizers still sought a redress their grievances by George III and Parliament.  Paine’s pamphlet played a vital role in swaying public opinion in favor of declaring independence.

Common Sense was an eighteenth-century bestseller, though Paine wildly overestimated how many copies were published, claiming 150,000 circulated in 1776, and historians later made even more dubious claims that American printing presses produced as many as 500,000 copies.  Contrary to those exaggerations, American printers most likely published between 35,000 and 50,000 copies in 1776.  Scholars have identified twenty-five American editions, more than twice as many as any other American book or pamphlet published in the eighteenth century.

Colonizers certainly discussed Paine’s pamphlet … and printers, booksellers, and others advertised it widely.  As a special feature, the Adverts 250 Project chronicles those advertisements, starting with newspaper notices for Robert Bell’s first edition published in Philadelphia and then subsequent advertisements for that and other editions published and sold throughout the colonies.

These advertisements for Common Sense appeared in American newspapers 250 years ago today.

Independent Chronicle (October 17, 1776).

Advertisements for Common Sense Published July 20, 1776

Carl Robert Keyes Special Features

Historians consider Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, published anonymously on January 9, 1776, the most influential political pamphlet that circulated in the colonies during the era of the American Revolution.  Written in plain language accessible to readers of all backgrounds, the pamphlet made a bold case for declaring independence at a time that many colonizers still sought a redress their grievances by George III and Parliament.  Paine’s pamphlet played a vital role in swaying public opinion in favor of declaring independence.

Common Sense was an eighteenth-century bestseller, though Paine wildly overestimated how many copies were published, claiming 150,000 circulated in 1776, and historians later made even more dubious claims that American printing presses produced as many as 500,000 copies.  Contrary to those exaggerations, American printers most likely published between 35,000 and 50,000 copies in 1776.  Scholars have identified twenty-five American editions, more than twice as many as any other American book or pamphlet published in the eighteenth century.

Colonizers certainly discussed Paine’s pamphlet … and printers, booksellers, and others advertised it widely.  As a special feature, the Adverts 250 Project chronicles those advertisements, starting with newspaper notices for Robert Bell’s first edition published in Philadelphia and then subsequent advertisements for that and other editions published and sold throughout the colonies.

These advertisements for Common Sense appeared in American newspapers 250 years ago today.

Freeman’s Journal (July 20, 1776).

Advertisements for Common Sense Published July 13, 1776

Carl Robert Keyes Special Features

Historians consider Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, published anonymously on January 9, 1776, the most influential political pamphlet that circulated in the colonies during the era of the American Revolution.  Written in plain language accessible to readers of all backgrounds, the pamphlet made a bold case for declaring independence at a time that many colonizers still sought a redress their grievances by George III and Parliament.  Paine’s pamphlet played a vital role in swaying public opinion in favor of declaring independence.

Common Sense was an eighteenth-century bestseller, though Paine wildly overestimated how many copies were published, claiming 150,000 circulated in 1776, and historians later made even more dubious claims that American printing presses produced as many as 500,000 copies.  Contrary to those exaggerations, American printers most likely published between 35,000 and 50,000 copies in 1776.  Scholars have identified twenty-five American editions, more than twice as many as any other American book or pamphlet published in the eighteenth century.

Colonizers certainly discussed Paine’s pamphlet … and printers, booksellers, and others advertised it widely.  As a special feature, the Adverts 250 Project chronicles those advertisements, starting with newspaper notices for Robert Bell’s first edition published in Philadelphia and then subsequent advertisements for that and other editions published and sold throughout the colonies.

These advertisements for Common Sense appeared in American newspapers 250 years ago today.

Freeman’s Journal (July 13, 1776).

July 7

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , ,

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

Freeman’s Journal (July 6, 1776).

“The Book so much admired, entitled COMMON SENSE, may be had at the Printing Office.”

The July 6, 1776, edition of the Freeman’s Journal concluded with an advertisement for Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, the most influential political pamphlet published during the era of the American Revolution.  Benjamin Dearborn, the printer of the newspaper, repeated the advertisement that first appeared a week earlier: “The Book so much admired, entitled COMMON SENSE, may be had at the Printing Office.”  He apparently stocked copies produced by other printers since no records exist of a local edition published in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in 1776.

Dearborn and the readers of the Freeman’s Journal did not yet know that the Continental Congress voted to declare independence on July 2 and then voted to approve a declaration of independence drafted by a committee that included Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin on July 4.  The most recent updates from Philadelphia in that issue of the Freeman’s Journal were dated June 19 and June 25.  For the moment, Dearborn continued hawking a pamphlet that made a convincing case for declaring independence, unaware that the Continental Congress had already done so.

The same advertisement appeared in the next two issues of the Freeman’s Journal on July 13 and July 20.  The type for the fourth page of the July 13 edition, the page that carried the advertisement, may have already been set by the time that Dearborn received word, via Boston, that the Continental Congress declared independence.  He reprinted news from the July 11 edition of the New-England Chronicle: “We are assured that on July the 2d, the Congress voted for INDEPENDENCY, not one colony dissenting; but the delegates of New-York remaining neuter, for want of being instructed on the head.”  In the next issue, Dearborn’s final advertisement for Common Sense moved from the bottom of the last page to the bottom of the first page.  He devoted the entire final page to the Declaration of Independence (with the colophon running across the bottom).  Dearborn offered readers one last chance to acquire the pamphlet that had played such an important role in the decision to declare independence.

Advertisements for Common Sense Published July 6, 1776

Carl Robert Keyes Special Features

Historians consider Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, published anonymously on January 9, 1776, the most influential political pamphlet that circulated in the colonies during the era of the American Revolution.  Written in plain language accessible to readers of all backgrounds, the pamphlet made a bold case for declaring independence at a time that many colonizers still sought a redress their grievances by George III and Parliament.  Paine’s pamphlet played a vital role in swaying public opinion in favor of declaring independence.

Common Sense was an eighteenth-century bestseller, though Paine wildly overestimated how many copies were published, claiming 150,000 circulated in 1776, and historians later made even more dubious claims that American printing presses produced as many as 500,000 copies.  Contrary to those exaggerations, American printers most likely published between 35,000 and 50,000 copies in 1776.  Scholars have identified twenty-five American editions, more than twice as many as any other American book or pamphlet published in the eighteenth century.

Colonizers certainly discussed Paine’s pamphlet … and printers, booksellers, and others advertised it widely.  As a special feature, the Adverts 250 Project chronicles those advertisements, starting with newspaper notices for Robert Bell’s first edition published in Philadelphia and then subsequent advertisements for that and other editions published and sold throughout the colonies.

These advertisements for Common Sense appeared in American newspapers 250 years ago today.

Freeman’s Journal (July 6, 1776).

Advertisements for Common Sense Published June 29, 1776

Carl Robert Keyes Special Features

Historians consider Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, published anonymously on January 9, 1776, the most influential political pamphlet that circulated in the colonies during the era of the American Revolution.  Written in plain language accessible to readers of all backgrounds, the pamphlet made a bold case for declaring independence at a time that many colonizers still sought a redress their grievances by George III and Parliament.  Paine’s pamphlet played a vital role in swaying public opinion in favor of declaring independence.

Common Sense was an eighteenth-century bestseller, though Paine wildly overestimated how many copies were published, claiming 150,000 circulated in 1776, and historians later made even more dubious claims that American printing presses produced as many as 500,000 copies.  Contrary to those exaggerations, American printers most likely published between 35,000 and 50,000 copies in 1776.  Scholars have identified twenty-five American editions, more than twice as many as any other American book or pamphlet published in the eighteenth century.

Colonizers certainly discussed Paine’s pamphlet … and printers, booksellers, and others advertised it widely.  As a special feature, the Adverts 250 Project chronicles those advertisements, starting with newspaper notices for Robert Bell’s first edition published in Philadelphia and then subsequent advertisements for that and other editions published and sold throughout the colonies.

These advertisements for Common Sense appeared in American newspapers 250 years ago today.

Freeman’s Journal (June 29, 1776).

Advertisements for Common Sense Published June 28, 1776

Carl Robert Keyes Special Features

Historians consider Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, published anonymously on January 9, 1776, the most influential political pamphlet that circulated in the colonies during the era of the American Revolution.  Written in plain language accessible to readers of all backgrounds, the pamphlet made a bold case for declaring independence at a time that many colonizers still sought a redress their grievances by George III and Parliament.  Paine’s pamphlet played a vital role in swaying public opinion in favor of declaring independence.

Common Sense was an eighteenth-century bestseller, though Paine wildly overestimated how many copies were published, claiming 150,000 circulated in 1776, and historians later made even more dubious claims that American printing presses produced as many as 500,000 copies.  Contrary to those exaggerations, American printers most likely published between 35,000 and 50,000 copies in 1776.  Scholars have identified twenty-five American editions, more than twice as many as any other American book or pamphlet published in the eighteenth century.

Colonizers certainly discussed Paine’s pamphlet … and printers, booksellers, and others advertised it widely.  As a special feature, the Adverts 250 Project chronicles those advertisements, starting with newspaper notices for Robert Bell’s first edition published in Philadelphia and then subsequent advertisements for that and other editions published and sold throughout the colonies.

These advertisements for Common Sense appeared in American newspapers 250 years ago today.

Essex Journal (June 28, 1776).

Advertisements for Common Sense Published June 24, 1776

Carl Robert Keyes Special Features

Historians consider Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, published anonymously on January 9, 1776, the most influential political pamphlet that circulated in the colonies during the era of the American Revolution.  Written in plain language accessible to readers of all backgrounds, the pamphlet made a bold case for declaring independence at a time that many colonizers still sought a redress their grievances by George III and Parliament.  Paine’s pamphlet played a vital role in swaying public opinion in favor of declaring independence.

Common Sense was an eighteenth-century bestseller, though Paine wildly overestimated how many copies were published, claiming 150,000 circulated in 1776, and historians later made even more dubious claims that American printing presses produced as many as 500,000 copies.  Contrary to those exaggerations, American printers most likely published between 35,000 and 50,000 copies in 1776.  Scholars have identified twenty-five American editions, more than twice as many as any other American book or pamphlet published in the eighteenth century.

Colonizers certainly discussed Paine’s pamphlet … and printers, booksellers, and others advertised it widely.  As a special feature, the Adverts 250 Project chronicles those advertisements, starting with newspaper notices for Robert Bell’s first edition published in Philadelphia and then subsequent advertisements for that and other editions published and sold throughout the colonies.

These advertisements for Common Sense appeared in American newspapers 250 years ago today.

Boston-Gazette (June 24, 1776).

June 22

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , ,

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

Freeman’s Journal (June 22, 1776).

“The Book so much admired, entitled COMMON SENSE.”

“CASH given for RAGS.”

Benjamin Dearborn launched the Freeman’s Journal in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on May 25, 1776.  He quickly gained advertisers, including advertisers who offered rewards for capturing and returning enslaved people who liberated themselves by running away and advertisers who offered enslaved people for sale.  An advertisement for a “likely healthy NEGRO MAN, aged about twenty-five,” for instance, made its second appearance on the final page of the June 22 edition.  Like every other newspaper printed in the colonies, the Freeman’s Journal simultaneously perpetuated slavery (of some) and advocated for liberty (for others).

On the first page, Dearborn inserted his own advertisement for Thomas Paine’s popular political pamphlet: “The Book so much admired, entitled COMMON SENSE, may be had at the Printing Office.”  It was the first time that Dearborn offered Common Sense for sale.  Neither he nor any other printer in New Hampshire published a local edition, so he apparently acquired copies from a colleague in another town.  By the end of June, local editions published in New England had proliferated to the point that he could have received the pamphlet from printers in Boston, New Haven, Norwich, Providence, or Salem.  In Philadelphia, the Second Continental Congress tasked a committee that included Thomas Jefferson with drafting a statement of independence for the colonies on June 10.  As Jefferson worked on a draft of what would become the Declaration of Independence, Dearborn disseminated the pamphlet that made the boldest and clearest call for separation from Great Britain.

Dearborn also issued a call for rags, offering cash for them at his printing office.  Throughout the colonies, printers of other newspapers were doing the same as they all attempted to gather materials for paper mills to recycle into one of the most essential supplies necessary for publishing newspapers.  Throughout the war, paper shortages had an impact on the dissemination of the news.  Printers sometimes suspended their newspapers for short periods or published them on smaller sheets when that was the only paper available.  Dearborn inserted lines to separate most advertisements from those that appeared above and below, but he did not do so with his notices about Common Sense and rags.   That may have been especially fitting because any rags he collected might have been transformed into paper for printing more copies of Common Sense or, more likely, new issues of the Freeman’s Journal with advertisements for the pamphlet and news about the war and the Continental Congress’s decision to declare independence.  Four weeks after his first advertisement for Common Sense, Dearborn devoted an entire page of the Freeman’s Journal to printing the Declaration of Independence.