Convenience

November 16

Carl Robert Keyes Uncategorized , , , ,

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

Pennsylvania Journal (November 16, 1774).

“For the better conveniency of his customers … leav[e] their orders at the store of Messieurs ROBERT and NATHANIEL LEWIS.”

Moving to a new location had caused some difficulty for Francis Wade, a brewer, prompting him to insert an advertisement in the Pennsylvania Journal in hopes of remedying the situation.  He formerly operated his brewery in the vicinity of “Hamilton’s Wharf, near the Draw-Bridge,” in Philadelphia, but in the fall of 1774 he could be found on Fourth Street “at the corner of Race-street.”  Wade reported that he had been “informed by a number of his friends,” likely including some of his former neighbors, “that his old country customers and other that inclined to deal with him, have been at a loss to find him out” since he moved.  Although many residents of the city knew about his new location, his “former customers” from the countryside did not have the same familiarity with the happenings in Philadelphia.  Since the Pennsylvania Journal circulated far beyond Philadelphia, Wade hoped that his notice would reach them and encourage them to seek him out on Fourth Street.

The brewer realized that his new location might not have been as convenient for some customers as his old one, so he used his advertisement as an opportunity to offer them an alternative.  Wade instructed “his customers down town, masters of vessels, shallopmen, and others” that they could place their orders at the store operated by Robert Lewis and Nathaniel Lewis.  When they did so, they could expect that they would “be served as expeditious as when he lived in that neighbourhood.”  Wade enlisted the aid of associates in his efforts to maintain and grow his client base, seeking to ameliorate an obstacle that he encountered following “his removal from his old Brewery.”  Working with the Lewises allowed him to maintain a presence in the vicinity of his former location.  Running newspaper advertisements made that presence visible to his “country customers” and other prospective customers.  Wade endeavored to sell “all sorts of BEER for exportation or home consumption as usual,” yet his move caused him to devise new methods of doing business that had not been part of his usual routine.

October 28

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , , ,

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

Connecticut Journal (October 28, 1774).

“When a boat shall set off from either side, a boat shall immediately put off from the other.”

Jesse Leavenworth had two years of experience of operating a ferry “to and from East Haven, on the lower road,” but they had not been easy years.  In an advertisement he placed in the October 28, 1774, edition of the Connecticut Journal, he explained that the “hounourable General Assembly … thought fit to establish under his care and direction” the ferry in October 1772.  He accepted the charge, seeking to support “himself and a numerous family.”  That site, however, possessed “many difficulties” due to the “flats and openness of the place to sea” that had previously made it “insurmountable by all those who have heretofore attempted” a similar venture.  At a “vast expence,” Leavenworth “furnished himself with a number of large & sufficient boats.”  Whether they ran ferries or stagecoaches, entrepreneurs who provided transportation frequently underscored the financial investments they made in their businesses.  Leavenworth kept at least two boats on each side and hired staff to give “suitable attendance.”

Despite the obstacles, Leavenworth met with success.  He asserted that he “gain’d the approbation and custom of the public beyond his most sanguine expectations, which he gratefully acknowledges.”  The ferry was so successful that the operator prepared to introduce another innovation to the service.  Three weeks later, he planned that “when a boat shall set off from either side” that another boat “shall immediately put off from the other, to supply its place.”  The companion boat would go whether or not it had passengers or freight.  That way the ferry would maintain two boats on each side “to oblige his customers and prevent all suggestions of nonattendance on either side.”  Patrons would face less inconvenience in waiting if they happened to arrive when the ferry was in use.  Leavenworth concluded by noting that “this will be an additional expense” so he “hopes for the countenance of the public, and a continuance of their custom.”  Again, he suggested that prospective customers should recognize his investment and choose to hire his services because of it.

Following his signature, Leavenworth added a brief note aimed at recruiting an employee, a “hardy stout Man … who can be well recommended (for honesty, sobriety, and good nature).  A month earlier, he had advertised that a “negro man” who “speaks the Portuguese language, and bit little English” had “let himself to me.”  Suspecting that his new employee may have been an enslaved man who fled from his enslaver, Leavenworth placed a notice in the public prints.  Not long after that, an advertisement about just such a man in the Connecticut Courant featured an observation that a “Negro answering the above Discription has let himself to Mr. Jesse Leavenworth of New-Haven.”  The forthcoming innovation in his ferry service may not have been the only reason Leavenworth sought a new employee.  The Black man that he hired as he planned to launch the next stage of his business may have been captured and returned to his enslaver.

September 28

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

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

Pennsylvania Gazette (September 28, 1774).

“Goods purchased, delivered to any part of the city.”

As fall arrived in 1774, Samuel Garrigues, Jr., placed a brief advertisement in the Pennsylvania Gazette to remind readers that he sold a variety of imported goods “as usual at his warehouses, the third door from the London Coffee-house” in Philadelphia.  He supplemented that notice with a longer advertisement informing the public that he and his partners, doing business as Samuel Garrigues, Jr., and Company, just opened a “wet goods warehouse” right next door at “the 4th door from the London Coffee-house.”  There they stocked “Choice old Antigua rum,” “old Jamaica spirits, and West India rum,” “old Madeira wine,” “brandy and geneva,” as well as sugar, spices, snuff, coffee, chocolate, and “every other article common to the wet goods business.”  The inventory curiously included “excellent bohea and hyson tea” despite the controversy associated with that commodity.

In addition to listing the merchandise, Garrigues and Company sought to entice prospective customers by explaining that they had “an opportunity of procuring every article in their business of the first quality, and at the lowest prices,” suggesting that they would pass along the savings while also assuring consumers that they did not need to be wary of such bargains meaning inferior goods.  They pledged to make it their “constant study … to merit the kind custom of their friends in town or country” by “carefully attend[ing] to orders” and “immediately execut[ing]” them.  The partnership promised superior customer service.  They also offered a valuable service, delivering purchases “to any part of the city,” whether just a gallon or quart or an entire hogshead or pipe.  They hoped that ancillary service, provided gratis, would sway customers to shop with them to take advantage of both the convenience and the cost.  Eighteenth-century entrepreneurs sometimes experimented with free services as marketing strategies to convince consumers to choose them over their competitors.  For Garrigues and Company, doing so was one aspect of their “constant study” in serving their customers.

June 1

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

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

Pennsylvania Journal (June 1, 1774).

“Wine, Spirit, Rum and Sugar Store.”

John Mitchell ran the “Wine, Spirit, Rum and Sugar Store” on Front Street in Philadelphia in the 1770s.  Thomas Batt’s “WINE and SPIRIT STORE” was among his competitors for customers in the bustling urban port and its hinterlands.  To attract the attention of prospective customers, Mitchell provided an extensive list of his inventory in his advertisement in the June 1, 1774, edition of the Pennsylvania Journal.  He sold “Best genuine MADEIRA WINES, Old JAMAICA SPIRITS, [and] BRANDY of the best Quality, by the Pipe, Hogshead, Quarte Cask or Gallon.”  Similarly, his patrons could purchase several kinds of wine, including “Genuine OLD PORT, [and] TENRIFF, LISBON, SHERRY, FYALL and MOUNTAIN” wines, “by the Pipe, Quarter Cask or Dozen.  Like Batt, he offered a choice among quantities.  “Excellent bottled CLARET,” “SHONE’S best London PORTER,” and “West-India and Country Rum” rounded out his selection of alcohol.  Mitchell also stocked groceries, including sugar, molasses, coffee, rice, and the increasingly problematic “Green and Bohea Tea.”

Beyond such a selection, Mitchell also aimed to convince readers that he made shopping at his store convenient.  He advised “Friends in the Country” that they “may depend on being as well and punctually supplied by Letter, as if they were Personally present.”  In other words, Mitchell did not give preference or better treatment to customers who visited his store; instead, he cultivated relationships with customers in towns and villages outside of Philadelphia by providing the same level of service, including filling orders as quickly as possible, so they felt comfortable continuing to buy from him rather than turn to his competitors.  That also meant maintaining “a constant supply” of the merchandise listed in his advertisement so customers did not have to wait on his supply chain after placing their orders.  Mitchell combined these appeals with promises of superior quality and fair prices, declaring that he “will be careful to have the best of their kinds” and that “the Public may depend on being served on the most reasonable terms.”  Although the list of his wares accounted for most of the space in his advertisement, Mitchell deployed a variety of other marketing strategies to entice customers to shop at the “Wine, Spirit, Rum and Sugar Store.”

May 1

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

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

Massachusetts Spy (May 28, 1774).

“Medicine Boxes … are put up in the neatest Manner.”

The woodcut that adorned John Joy’s advertisement in the April 28, 1774, edition of the Massachusetts Spy alerted readers to the type of merchandise that the apothecary sold before they even read the copy.  It depicted a lion wearing a crown and working a mortar and pestle atop a column.  The woodcut ran the entire length of the advertisement, as if Joy or the compositor or perhaps the two working together intentionally designed the image and copy to fit together that way.  A sign with a similar image may or may not have marked Joy’s location at “the North-Corner of William’s Court, BOSTON,” but he did not make specific mention of a sign.  Other advertisers who commissioned woodcuts for their newspaper notices often did so when the image matched the device customers saw at their shop.  Whatever the case, the image made Joy’s advertisement much more visible to prospective customers than M.B. Goldthwait’s notice about a “fresh supply of DRUGS and MEDICINES” and “SURGEONS INSTRUMENTS, Of all Kinds.”

Massachusetts Spy (April 28, 1774).

The copy declared that Joy “Has just received from LONDON, A large and compleat Assortment of Drugs and Medicines, Of the best Quality.”  The lion with the crown asserted both those imperial connections and the quality of the remedies that Joy sold.  In addition, he stocked “Surgeons Instruments, of every Kind, finished in the neatest Manner” as well as “a full Assortment of Groceries and Dye Stuffs.”  Not unlike modern retail pharmacies, Joy diversified his enterprise to cultivate multiple revenue streams, including medicines, medical equipment, home health care supplies, and groceries.  To that end, he also prepared “Medicine Boxes of various Prices, for Ships or private Families,” pledging that they “are put up in the neatest Manner.”  Goldthwait also prepared “Doctor’s Boxes … for Masters of Vessels and private Families” and included “every necessary direction” for using the contents.  These first aid kits included both medicine and supplies.  Selling them allowed apothecaries to enhance their revenues since buyers acquired a variety of items that they did not yet need and might never use but purchased against the chance of injury or illness.  After all, it was better to have them on hand than not at all.  Joy also operated a precursor to the mail order pharmacy, alerting “Prac[ti]tioners and others” that they may be supplied with large or small Quantities, by Letter or otherwise [such as sending a servant enslaved messenger], as well as though they were present.”  Joy and other apothecaries frequently promoted such convenience as part of their marketing efforts.  Like the image of the crowned lion working a mortar and pestle, that appeal distinguished Joy’s advertisement from the notice placed by his competitor.

March 30

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

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

Pennsylvania Gazette (March 30, 1774).

“The superior conveniencies of the above Ferry.”

Rensselaer Williams and Patrick Colvin provided a public service.  At least that was how they wanted prospective clients to think about the “TRENTON FERRY” that they operated.  They opened their advertisement in the March 30, 1774, edition of the Pennsylvania Gazette with a declaration that they were “ever desirous of obliging the Public, and to give the utmost satisfaction in their power.”  To that end, they even set prices (or so they claimed) “by a sacrifice of their own interest, and at a rate really not be afforded.”  Williams and Colvin hoped such proclamations would attract attention in advance of opening for business on “the First Day of April next.”

At that time, they pledged to “ferry all persons, horses, [and] carriages” at “as low a rate and price as any ferry within four miles on the river.”  They certainly had in mind unnamed competitors that they expected were already familiar to prospective clients.  To make their service even more attractive, Williams and Colvin asserted that the “superior conveniencies” of their ferry compared to “any other on the river” included “its direct situation on the great road between the cities of Philadelphia and New-York,” a well-travelled corridor between the two largest cities in British mainland North America.  They emphasized that their location was “nearer by a considerable distance than the ferry below,” once again alluding to the competition.  Prospective clients might even consider passage on Williams and Colvin’s ferry faster and safer since the Delaware River was “narrower by upwards of one hundred yards” at their location.

This advertisement, along with others for ferries and stages, helps in mapping the transportation infrastructure in place in the colonies on the eve of the American Revolution.  Advertisements for almanacs frequently included descriptions of roads among the contents of those annual volumes.  Rather than relying on maps as they traveled from place to place, colonizers instead took into account general knowledge acquired through word of mouth as well as printed sources that included newspaper advertisements and almanacs.  Williams and Colvin certainly anticipated that merchants, travelers, and others would share with others what they read about the “TRENTON FERRY,” what they heard about it, and their own experiences hiring the service.

June 19

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

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

Providence Gazette (June 19, 1773).

“Equal to any made in America, and far superior to any imported from Europe.”

For several weeks in the summer of 1773, John Waterman and Company ran advertisements for “Clothiers Press-Papers” in both the Newport Mercury and the Providence Gazette.  Waterman and Company informed prospective customers that they made the press papers “at the Paper-Mill, in Providence.”  Anyone interested in acquiring a supply could make purchases at the mill or, for their convenience, from local agents in three towns in Rhode Island.  Thurber and Cahoon stocked the press papers at their shop at the Sign of the Bunch of Grapes in the north end of Providence.  Thomas Aldrich also carried them in East Greenwich, as did Solomon Southwick in the printing office where he published the Newport Mercury.  Given that both newspapers circulated throughout the colony and beyond, Waterman and Company offered multiple options for clothiers to identify the location that best suited their needs.

In addition to providing convenient options for clothiers to purchase press papers from local agents, Waterman and Company deployed another marketing strategy.  They promoted domestic manufactures, the production of goods in the colonies as an alternative to imported items, in their efforts to convince clothiers to choose their press papers.  Waterman and Company first declared that their press papers were “equal to any made in America” and then added that they were “far superior to any imported from Europe.”  In so doing, they established a hierarchy that suggested that clothiers should consider any press papers made in the colonies better than imported ones.  Furthermore, discerning clothiers did not have to settle for a better product but could acquire the best product when they purchased press papers made by Waterman and Company.  Such “Buy American” appeals appeared regularly in newspapers advertisements in the 1760s and 1770s.  Advertisers most often made such appeals when disputes between the colonies and Parliament intensified, especially when colonizers implemented nonimportation agreements, but they did not disappear during periods of relative calm.  Savvy entrepreneurs often encouraged prospective customers, including clothiers who needed supplies to operate their businesses, to “Buy American” before thirteen colonies declared independence from Britain.

February 27

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

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

Providence Gazette (February 27, 1773).

“Those that please to favour him with their Custom, may have Yarn dyed at Half an Hour’s Notice.”

Nathaniel Jenks provided multiple services to residents of Smithfield, Rhode Island, and nearby towns.  According to an advertisement he placed in the Providence Gazette in February 1773, he “carries on the Wheelwright’s Business, and makes all Kinds of Carriage Wheels.”  He advised prospective customers that they did not need to worry that they might find better bargains in Providence or anywhere else because he made wheels “as cheap as any other of the Business.”  Jenks did not intend to be undersold by the competition.

In addition to working as a wheelwright, Jenks “carries on the Dying Business.”  Advertisers often placed newspaper notices with multiple purposes.  In this case, Jenks promoted more than one means of earning his livelihood.  As he had with the prices for his wheels, he engaged in superlatives about some aspects of dying textiles.  Jenks proclaimed that he “has an European Blue Dye, which he will warrant to dye as good a Colour as any in America.”  That he pursued his craft in a small town, Jenks informed the public, did not mean that he achieved inferior results.  Prospective customers would be just as satisfied with the color of textiles they sent to him as they would be if they sought the same services in Providence or Boston or New York or any other town or city.

Jenks also emphasized convenience for local customers who visited his shop.  He asserted, “Those that please to favour him with their Custom, may have Yarn dyed at Half an Hour’s Notice.”  Prospective customers with other business to do in Smithfield could drop off their undyed yarn, see to their other tasks, and pick up their newly-dyed blue yarn before returning home.  Jenks intended that the combination of quality and convenience would convince colonizers to avail themselves of his services.  At a glance, his advertisement, like so many others in early American newspapers, may look like dense text with little of interest to modern readers, but eighteenth-century readers, accustomed to closely reading those notices, encountered several marketing pitches designed to capture their attention and distinguish Jenks and his services from his competitors.

September 1

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , , ,

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

South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal (September 1, 1772).

“BOXES of MEDICINES fitted up as usual.”

As fall approached in 1772, Carne and Poinsett alerted readers of the South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal that they imported and sold a “VERY LARGE AND GENERAL ASSORTMENT of DRUGS, CHYMICAL, GALENICAL, AND FAMILY MEDICINES.”  They competed with Thomas Stinson, who acquired his “FRESH SUPPLY of DRUGS, CHYMICAL and GALENICAL, With most Family Medicines now in Use” directly from “their ORIGINAL Warehouses,” and Edward Gunter, who stocked a “large and complete ASSORTMENT OF DRUGS and MEDICINES” imported via “the last Vessels from LONDON.”

In addition to carrying similar merchandise, each of these entrepreneurs offered an ancillary service for the convenience of their customers.  Carne and Poinsett promoted “BOXES of MEDICINES fitted up as usual.”  Their competitors gave more elaborate descriptions of this service.  Gunter declared that he supplied “BOXES of MEDICINES, with Directions, for Plantations and Ships Use, prepared in the best Manner.”  Similarly, Stinson explained that “BOXES of MEDICINES, with Directions for PLANTATIONS and SHIPS Use, are faithfully prepared” at his shop.

Providing these boxes kept Gunter, Stinson, and Carne and Poinsett competitive with each other, eliminating the possibility that prospective customers would turn to one who offered the convenience of such boxes medicines over one who did not.  Yet marketing this service to customers did not constitute the sole reason for assembling these eighteenth-century versions of first aid kits.  Doing so augmented sales beyond medicines that customers actually needed to medicines that they might need at some time in the future.  Entrepreneurs who ran apothecary shops used the combination of uncertainty and distance to their advantage, realizing that many prospective customers did not have easy access to medicines and needed to plan for various possibilities rather than acquire remedies only when need became apparent.  It mattered little to these entrepreneurs whether their customers ever used the medicines in the boxes they “fitted up as usual.”  They traded in the security offered by the convenience of having various medicines on hand even if the buyers never needed to administer some of them.

January 4

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , ,

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

Providence Gazette (January 4, 1772).

“The first Stay-Maker that has ever been so contiguous to the Ladies of this Town.”

With the arrival of a new year, Charles Mahon, a staymaker, opened a new business in Providence.  He placed an advertisement in the January 4, 1772, edition of the Providence Gazette “to inform the Ladies of Providence, and others, that he carries on the Stay-Making Business in said Town.”  Mahon assured prospective clients that he made “all Kinds of Stays” as well as a variety of other items associated with his occupation.

Mahon proclaimed that he was “the first Stay-Maker that has ever been so contiguous to the Ladies of this Town,” suggesting that no staymaker previously resided in Providence and operated a shop there.  If that was indeed the case, then the women of the town previously purchased stays produced elsewhere and imported to Providence, making do with imperfect fits or, if possible, making alterations as necessary.  Mahon asserted that having a staymaker in town who “intends to apply himself chiefly” to that business meant that “the Ladies” benefited from a new convenience.  In turn, his enterprise merited “their Encouragement.”

The newcomer realized that his prospective clients were not familiar with the stays he produced.  As part of his introduction to “the Ladies of this Town,” he offered assurances that they “may depend on having their Work done in the best and most fashionable Manner.”  Mahon paired quality and fashion, promising that he delivered both to his customers.  Such appeals suggested his skill as a staymaker combined with a careful eye that registered changes in taste.  His clients could rely on him to make recommendations and outfit them according to the newest modes, a valuable service that exceeded merely fabricating stays.  Such care for his patrons did not, however, come at exorbitant prices.  Instead, Mahon set “reasonable Terms.”

Mahon provided a convenience that he claimed was new to “the Ladies” of Providence, but he also realized that convenience alone would not necessarily generate business.  To convince prospective clients to give him a chance, he incorporated familiar appeals to quality, fashion, and price into his advertisement.  His customers did not need to sacrifice any of them, Mahon suggested, to enjoy the convenience of acquiring stays from a local staymaker.