Cornelius Cooper

November 13

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

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

Norwich Packet (November 13, 1775).

“Wanted, a Quantity of Hog’s Bristles [from] Friends to American Manufactures.”

Cornelius Cooper, a brushmaker who had relocated from Philadelphia to Providence, needed materials to continue operating his business in the fall of 1775.  He ran an advertisement to that effect in the Providence Gazette, but his efforts did not end there.  He also enlisted the help of Richard Collier, a coppersmith, in Norwich, Connecticut.  An advertisement in the November 13, 1775, edition of the Norwich Packet proclaimed, “Wanted, a Quantity of Hog’s Bristles, For which six Pence Lawful Money per Pound will be given.”  The notice listed Collier as the local agent who collected the bristles and paid the premium, yet it did not end there.

Instead, it also advised that “Cornelius Cooper,” his name in a font as large as “Hog’s Bristles,” offered the same price.  After giving directions to his shop on “the west Side of the Great-Bridge, Providence,” the “BRUSH-MAKER” declared that he “earnestly requests those Gentlemen that are Friends to American Manufactures, and keep Stores in the Country, to collect as large Quantities as possible.”  In his advertisement that simultaneously ran in the Providence Gazette, he indicated that he wished to acquire “Five Thousand Weight of Hog’s Bristles,” a considerable quantity.  In making an appeal to “Friends to American Manufactures,” he invoked the Continental Association and efforts to replace goods imported from England with items produced in the colonies.  That became more important than ever after the battles at Lexington and Concord.  Decisions in the marketplace, including collecting hog’s bristles and purchasing brushes made from them, had political implications.  Collier supported the cause by serving as a local agent for Cooper; the brushmaker presented an opportunity for others to do the same, especially shopkeepers in the countryside who collected bristles from their patrons.  In return for that “Kindness,” Cooper not only paid “ready Cash” but also “allow[ed] them 30 per Cent.”  It seems that he offered a discount to retailers who collected bristles if they purchased his brushes to stock in their stores.  That strategy meant acquiring supplies and making sales at the same time, a neat arrangement for a brushmaker seeking to establish himself in New England.

November 12

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , ,

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

Providence Gazette (November 11, 1775).

“WANTED to purchase, Five Thousand Weight of Hog’s Bristles, long and good.”

Cornelius Cooper, a “Brush Maker, from Philadelphia,” experimented with various marketing strategies when he relocated to Providence and placed advertisements in the Providence Gazette in the fall of 1775.  In an advertisement that ran for several weeks, he announced that the “makes and sells, Wholesale and Retail, Sweeping, Hearth, Cloaths, Shoe and Buckle-Brushes, and every other Article in the Brush Way.”  In other words, he produced every sort of brush for any sort of purpose that his customers needed.  He also made a pitch for local consumers to “Buy American,” asking that “every Friend to America, both in Town and Country, will encourage him occasionally” by making a purchase from his shop.  Only in the nota bene that concluded his advertisement did Cooper issue a call that “People will be careful to save their Hogs Bristles,” an essential material for making brushes, “for which he will give a good Price in Cash.”

In a subsequent advertisement, Cooper put his request for hog bristles front and center.  A headline in capital letters proclaimed, “READY CASH.”  The brushmaker explained that he sought to purchase “Five Thousand Weight of Hog’s Bristles, long and good,” and would pay six pence per pound.  Only after he caught readers’ attention with that offer did he list the inventory available at his shop in Providence.  Rather than name general categories of brushes, he made a display of the many kinds of brushes that he made and sold, including “Tanner’s and Currier’s Scouring and Blacking Brushes, Hatter’s Stopping and Planking Brushes, [and] best Weaver’s Sizing or Look Brushes.”  In addition to supplying consumers with brushes to use in their homes, Cooper aimed to supply artisans with brushes specific to their trades.  He also renewed his appeal for “a Lad about 14 Years of Age” to serve as an apprentice, but added that he “wanted, a smart active Negro Boy, about 14 Years of Age.”  Whether the enslaved youth would also learn how to make brushes or instead do other tasks in the workshop, Cooper did not specify.  He dropped the appeal to “every Friend in America,” though likely not because he noticed any discrepancy in advocating for the liberties of white colonizers and seeking to purchase an enslaved youth.  After all, acquiring bristles so he could stay in business seemed to be Cooper’s primary focus in his new advertisement.

October 8

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , , ,

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

Providence Gazette (October 7, 1775).

“He presumes every Friend to America, both in Town and Country, will encourage him occasionally.”

When Cornelius Cooper, a “BRUSH-MAKER, from Philadelphia,” relocated to Providence, he ran an advertisement in the October 7, 1775, edition of the Providence Gazette to introduce himself to his new neighbors and prospective customers.  The newcomer announced that he “makes and sells, Wholesale and Retail, Sweeping, Hearth, Cloaths, Shoe and Buckle Brushes, and every other Article in the Brush Way.”

Realizing that he was unknown to the residents of Providence, Cooper realized that he might increase sales by giving them sound reasons to purchase his brushes, either to use themselves or to stock in their shops to sell to others.  “As our own Fabrications, of every Kind, hold forth their Utility, in a most conspicuous Manner,” the brushmaker declared, “he presumes every Friend to America, both in Town and Country, will encourage him occasionally.”  Cooper did not need to rehearse current events for readers to understand his meaning.  They knew that the siege of Boston continued, following the battles at Lexington and Concord in April and the Battle of Bunker Hill in June.  They also knew that the Continental Association, a nonimportation agreement devised by the First Continental Congress, went into effect on December 1, 1774, in response to the Coercive Acts.  Colonizers sought to use commerce, especially their choices about consumption, as political leverage to convince Parliament to repeal the Boston Port Bill, the Massachusetts Government Act, and other legislation.  The Continental Association also called on colonizers to encourage domestic manufactures or the production of goods in the colonies as replacements or substitutes for imported ones.  Cooper did his part in making brushes.  Now “every Friend to America” needed to do their part by supporting his enterprise.

Making purchases was not the only way they could do so.  In a nota bene, Cooper requested “that People will be careful to save their Hogs Bristles, for which he will give a good Price in Cash.”  Consuming goods made in the colonies was important, but colonizers could also participate in the production of those goods by collecting materials, delivering them to Cooper, and earning some cash for their efforts.  The brushmaker also noted that he sought an apprentice, “a discreet, active Lad, about 14 Years of Age.”  He would pass along knowledge of his trade and make help the next generation contribute to the local economy.  Readers understood the inspiration and political ramifications without Cooper going into detail in his advertisement.  He presented them with a patriotic obligation and encouraged them to do their civic duty in the marketplace.