Discount for Volume

January 25

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , , ,

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

South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal (January 25, 1774).

“Lists of Public Officers; Members of the Commons House of Assembly; Days for holding Courts in South-Carolina and Georgia.”

Charles Crouch, the printer of the South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal, also published almanacs.  Most newspaper printers did so.  Almanacs, those popular pamphlets, represented an important revenue stream for any printing office, yet publishing them could be a tricky business.  Printers aimed to produce enough copies to meet demand, but not so many that they had a significant number of leftovers that cut into their profits.

As January 1774 neared its end, Crouch seemed to have a surplus of “THOMAS MORE’s ALMANACK, for the Year 1774” that he needed to move out of his printing office on Elliott Street in Charleston.  On January 25, he ran an advertisement that offered the almanacs for sale “Wholesale and Retail, with good Allowance to those who take a Quantity.”  In other words, he offered a discount to shopkeepers, peddlers, and others who bought in volume.  He placed the notice at the top of the center column on the first page, enhancing its visibility in that issue of the South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal.  The introduction to the advertisement proclaimed, “Just published,” but that probably was not the case.  Crouch previously inserted the same advertisement as the new year approached.  As was common practice, he likely inserted the notice once again, type already set, without making revisions.

With each passing day, some of the contents became obsolete, including “the Sun and Moon’s Rising and Setting,” “Length of Days and Nights,” and “Judgment of the Weather.”  Other items, however, remained relevant.  Crouch relied on these “useful Particulars” in marketing the almanac.  Its pages contained “Lists of Public Officers; Members of the Commons House of Assembly; [and] Days for holding Courts in South-Carolina and Georgia.”  For those who might have occasion to travel to other colonies by land rather than by ship, the almanac included “Descriptions of the Roads throughout the Continent.”  Throughout their advertising campaigns, printers highlighted the various contents of the almanacs they published and sold.  Each year, the “useful Particulars” beyond what many described as the “usual Astronomical Calculations” (though Crouch did not happen to use that phrase) became increasingly important in marketing almanacs in January, February, and March.

October 9

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , , ,

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

Providence Gazette (October 9, 1773).

“FENNING’s much-approved SPELLING-BOOK.”

John Carter, the printer of the Providence Gazette, inserted an advertisement for “FENNING’s much-approved SPELLING-BOOK” in his own newspaper on October 9, 1773.  With news items, editorials, and other advertisements, Carter had so much content that he did not provide much detail in the advertisement except to note that he sold copies “Wholesale and Retail” and set prices “Cheaper by the Dozen than any imported” for those who purchased a quantity.  The printer also advised that Jacob Richardson sold the spelling books in Newport in case some readers of the Providence Gazette might find it more convenient to make their purchases in that town.  Carter kept his advertisement for “WEST’s ALMANACK, For the Year of Our Lord 1774” similarly brief, noting that it “is now in the Press, and will be published seasonably.”

Had Carter inserted a more extensive advertisement, he likely would have generated much of it from the title of the spelling book.  Advertisements for books often quoted the lengthy subtitles common for books published in the eighteenth century.  In this case, Carter could have promoted the spelling book as a “new and easy guide to the English language” and invoked the author’s credentials as a former schoolmaster in Suffolk and author of The Use of Globes, Practical Arithmetic, Royal English Dictionary, and Young Man’s Book of Knowledge.  Both of these books, Fanning’s spelling book and West’s almanac, were so popular and widely known that Carter likely considered it worth announcing that he sold them even if he did not have additional space to promote them in that issue of the Providence Gazette.  After all, he and his predecessors who worked with West to publish an almanac each year undertook extensive advertising.  Carter’s reprint of Fanning’s spelling book was the “fifteenth edition, with additions,” according to the title page.  Prospective customers presumably already knew a lot about both books.

Even though Carter sold Fanning’s spelling book “by the Dozen,” today only one known copy survives in a research library, historical society, or private collection.  That copy, held at the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester, Massachusetts, has been damaged, a portion of its title page missing.  Carter, Richardson, booksellers, schoolmasters, shopkeepers, and peddlers may have distributed that edition of the spelling book widely in Rhode Island and nearby colonies in the early 1770s, but over time and perhaps through use those copies became as ephemeral as many of the broadsides, pamphlets, handbills, and other items produced on printing presses prior to the American Revolution.

September 23

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

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

Massachusetts Gazette and Boston Weekly Mercury (September 23, 1773).

“Those who may defer purchasing any of the above GOODS in Expectation of their being put up at Public Auction will be disappointed.”

Ward Nicholas Boylston planned to leave the colonies in the fall of 1773.  Before his departure, he attempted to the liquidate the merchandise at his store on King Street in Boston.  His advertisement in September 23 edition of the Massachusetts Gazette and Boston Weekly News-Letter incorporated several strategies to entice customers to purchase his wares.

The notice commenced with a headline: “At first Cost, for Cash only.”  Like an advertisement that Boylston ran in February, a decorative border enclosed the headline to draw attention to it.  The merchant offered the best prices available, even the prices he paid to acquire his inventory.  Earning profits on the goods mattered less than getting them out of his store, but taking advantage of those bargains required paying in cash.  With his departure quickly approaching, Boylston was not in a position to extend credit.  That also explains why the merchant “repeatedly desires all Persons who have any Demands against him to bring in their Accounts & receive their Ballances, & those who are indebted to him to make immediate Payment.”  Boylston did not want any leftovers in his ledgers when he departed.

He also trumpeted that he provided “an Abatement to those who take large Quantities.”  Merchants who planned to wholesale the goods as well as retailers in town and country looking to supplement their inventories would receive discounts for purchasing in volume.  Boylston cautioned that these deals were the best that buyers should anticipate, warning that “[t]hose who may defer purchasing any of the above GOODS in Expectation of their being put up at Public Auction will be disappointed.”  He declared that “what may remain unsold when he leaves the Country … will be disposed of another Way,” but did not give details.  Once again, this advertisement echoed one that Boylston placed in February.  He addressed “[t]hose who have witheld buying hitherto, on a dependence that the above Goods will be finally exposed to Public Sale” and acknowledged that purchasing at auction often resulted in “better Pennyworths” or bargains. That would not be the case in this instance, the merchant promised, because he would dispose of unsold merchandise “otherwise than at Auction.”  The current sale, “The last Chance” promised in the headline, was “the present and last Opportunity” for the best deals possible for purchasing Boylston’s goods.

With only “Fifteen or Twenty Days” remaining before Boylston left town, those who previously did business with him and those who considered doing business with him had a limited time to settle accounts and to buy an “Assortment of English and India Goods … at the neat Sterling Cost, free of any Charges,” from the merchant.  Realizing that some prospective customers might attempt to wait him out in hopes of purchasing his wares at auction for even lower prices than “the first Cost” and discounts for volume that he already offered, Boylston cautioned them, as he had a habit of doing, not to depend on that strategy because he had other plans for disposing of his merchandise.

June 9

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , ,

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

Pennsylvania Gazette (June 9, 1773).

“If any on Trial should not answer the Purpose intended, he engages to take them back, and to supply the Parties with others.”

In the summer of 1773, Isaac Melcher sold a “compleat and warranted Assortment of BOULTING-CLOTHS, Suitable to every Branch of that Business” to millers in and near Philadelphia.  In an advertisement in the June 9 edition of the Pennsylvania Gazette, he announced that he had “lately imported” those items and sold them “on the lowest Terms for Cash.”  In an effort to generate demand, Melcher pledged that “Considerable Allowance will be made to those that take a Quantity.”  In other words, he offered discounts for purchasing in volume.

Melcher deployed another marketing strategy to entice prospective customers, offering to replace the “warranted” bolting cloths with other items if buyers tried them and were not satisfied.  “If any on Trial should not answer the Purpose intended,” Melcher pledged, “he engages to take them back, and to supply the Parties with others in their Room.”  The option of exchanging merchandise, however, came with a condition.  Buyers had to return bolting cloths that did not meet their needs “without Damage” to qualify for that provision.

At a glance, Melcher’s advertisement may not appear very flashy to modern eyes.  Like almost every other advertisement that appeared in that issue of the Pennsylvania Gazette, it consisted entirely of text without any images.  (One advertisement seeking freight and passengers included a stock image of a ship at sea.)  Yet Melcher did not merely announce that he had bolting cloths for sale and then hope that prospective customers would do business with him.  Instead, he incorporated two marketing strategies intended to motivate millers not only to purchase bolting cloths but to acquire them from him rather than any of his competitors.  He promised discounts for large orders while also allowing for exchanges after customers tried his bolting cloths.  That attention to customer satisfaction made purchases more than perfunctory transactions.  While not as sophisticated as modern marketing practices, advertisements like those placed by Melcher should not be dismissed as mere announcements of goods for sale.  After all, Melcher devised strategies to engage prospective customers.

June 17

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

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

Supplement to the Pennsylvania Packet (June 15, 1772).

“Sweeping brushes as 19 s. per dozen, and lower by the half or whole gross.”

John Hannah described himself as a “WHOLESALE AND RETAIL BRUSHMAKER” in an advertisement that appeared in the supplement that accompanied the June 15, 1772, edition of the Pennsylvania Packet.  Although he stocked “a good assortment of painting brushes” and “a general assortment of bone brushes” that he “imported in the last vessels from England and Holland,” he focused on the items that he produced in his own shop “AT THE HOG, … At the north-east corner of Second and Chestnut Streets” in Philadelphia.  A woodcut depicting a boar, the bristles on the crest of its back evident, adorned his advertisement.

Hannah declared that he “made and manufactured” all kinds of brushes “in the best manner” at his shop, assisted by “the best hands in the city.”  The quality of his brushes derived from both the materials, “a large and general assortment of Bristles” imported from Europe, and the skills of those who worked in his shop.  In addition to quality, Hannah promoted low prices, especially for wholesale transactions.  He proclaimed that he “can sell on as reasonable terms as any manufacturer in the province,” challenging prospective customers to compare his prices to those set by his competitors. To demonstrate that he did indeed offer good bargains, he listed some of his prices.  Hannah sold a dozen sweeping brushes for nineteen shillings.  He offered discounts to buyers who purchased in greater volume.  Similarly, he charged four shilling for a dozen “weavers brushes” and “lower by the half or whole gross.”  That he did not specify how deeply he discounted such purchases suggested that customers could negotiate the prices.

Hannah incorporated several appeals into his advertisement.  He emphasized the quality of his finished product as well as the skills of the workers who labored in his shop.  He promoted the range of choices available to customers.  He also promised the lowest prices in the colony, listing his prices and offering discounts to retailers and others who purchased large quantities of brushes.  To draw attention to his advertisement, he included a woodcut that resembled the sign that marked the location of his shop, a rudimentary form of branding his business.

November 24

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

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

Massachusetts Gazette and Boston Weekly News-Letter (November 22, 1771).

“Proper Allowances made to those that sell again.”

Numerous merchants and shopkeepers regularly placed advertisements in the Massachusetts Gazette and Boston Weekly News-Letter as well as the other newspaper published in Boston in the early 1770s.  While the shopkeepers aimed their notices at consumers, some merchants address both retailers and consumers.  William Bant, for instance, stocked a “large and general Assortment of GOODS … to sell by Wholesale and Retail.”  Not every advertiser identified their intended customers so explicitly; some instead made more specific appeals that invited both retailers and consumers to purchase their merchandise.

John Adams and Company advertised a “complete Assortment of Cream-colour’d China, Glass, Delph and Stone Ware” as well as groceries and a “small Assortment of English Goods” available at their shop near the Old South Meeting House.  Adams and Company informed prospective buyers that they sold their wares “very low for Cash – with proper Allowances made to those that sell again.”  In other words, retailers who bought in volume received discounts.  Similarly, William Bant concluded his extensive advertisement that listed dozens of items with a nota bene that alerted “Traders and Shopkeepers” that they “may be supplied with Assortments of the foregoing Articles, upon as good Terms, as at any Store in Town.”  Bant hoped to entice retailers by offering to match the prices set by his competitors.

In another advertisement in the Massachusetts Gazette and Boston Weekly News-Letter, Smith and Atkinson made it clear that they intended to deal with retailers exclusively.  They acquired a “Large and General Assortment of European and India Goods … on the very best Terms,” allowing them to sell their merchandise “(by Wholesale only) at such Prices as shall give full Satisfaction to those in Town and Country who purchase their Assortments here.”  In addition, they encouraged retailers who imported goods on their own to supplement their inventories and “compleat their Assortments” by selecting from among the items Smith and Atkinson had on hand.

Readers encountered numerous advertisements for consumer goods in just about every issue of newspapers published in Boston in the early 1770s.  Merchants and shopkeepers hoping to sell directly to consumers placed the majority of those advertisements, but not all of them.  William Bant, John Adams and Company, and Smith and Atkinson were among the many merchants who sold imported goods wholesale, designing marketing materials aimed at retailers rather than consumers.

November 2

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , , ,

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

Providence Gazette (November 2, 1771).

“West’s SHEET-ALMANACK, For the Year of our LORD 1772.”

In the fall of 1771, Benjamin West, an astronomer and mathematician, and John Carter, printer of the Providence Gazette, collaborated in producing, marketing, and selling the “NEW-ENGLAND ALMANACK, OR, Lady’s and Gentleman’s DIARY, For the Year of our LORD 1772.”  It was West’s tenth almanac.  Over a decade he worked with a succession of printers of the Providence Gazette, including William Goddard (almanacs for 1763, 1764, and 1765), William Goddard and Sarah Goddard (1766), Sarah Goddard and Company (1767), Sarah Goddard and John Carter (1768), and John Carter (1769, 1770, 1771, and 1772).  West not only provided the “usual Astronomical Calculations” but also assisted in selling copies to both readers and retailers.  Advertisements for the New-England Almanack consistently informed buyers that it was “Sold by the Printer hereof, and by the Author.”

West and Carter also collaborated in developing more than one format to suit the needs of their customers.  In late September, they announced the imminent publication of the standard edition, a pamphlet containing twenty-four pages.  In early November, they marketed an additional product, “West’s SHEET-ALMANACK, For the Year of our LORD 1772.”  Colonists who purchased that broadside as an alternative to the standard edition could post it for easy reference throughout the year.  The broadside cost a little less than the standard edition, four coppers compared to six.  In addition, West and Carter offered discounts for purchasing a quantity.  For the standard edition, buyers paid a lower rate “per single Dozen” and an even lower rate “per Dozen by the Quantity.”  The pricing structure for the broadside edition, however, was less complicated; buyers received a discount “per Dozen” regardless of how many dozens they purchased.

Rather than combine the marketing into a single advertisement, West and Carter promoted the two editions separately.  Doing so may have allowed them to gain greater notice through repetition since the advertisements ran on different pages of the Providence Gazette.  As printer of the newspaper, Carter exercised control over where notices appeared, an advantage not available to other advertisers.  In their efforts to sell the New-England Almanack, West and Carter brought together several strategies, including multiple formats, discounts for retailers and others who bought a quantity, and privileged placement on the page within the newspaper.

October 27

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

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

Massachusetts Spy (October 24, 1771).

“Neatly engraved … The BOSTON MASSACRE.”

In the fall of 1771, Isaiah Thomas, the printer of the Massachusetts Spy, advertised an almanac for the coming year.  In the October 27 edition of his newspaper, he announced that he published the “Massachusetts CALENDAR; or an ALMANACK, for the year, 1772.”  He deployed several strategies to market the almanac to both retailers and readers.  Like many printers, he listed the contents as a preview for prospective buyers.  In addition to the usual astronomical calculations, this almanac included “Several Select Pieces … On Liberty and Government; Thoughts on Government; On the Culture of Silk,” and other essays.  In addition, it contained poetry and useful tables, including one for calculating interest “on a Entire new Construction.”

Thomas also noted the price, including discounts for retailers and others who bought in volume.  A single copy cost three shillings, but a dozen only twenty-two shillings and six pence.  That meant that anyone who purchased eight copies received four additional copies for free, a pricing scheme that allowed booksellers, shopkeepers, and others to charge competitive prices that still allowed them to generate profits on the sale of the almanac.  In addition, Thomas emphasized that he published “The SECOND Edition,” suggesting that this particular almanac was especially popular among the many choices available to consumers.  Anyone interested in acquiring copies needed to act quickly.

To further entice customers, Thomas also promoted the “FOUR Plates, neatly engraved” that embellished the almanac.  Those images included “The four Seasons, with the Twelve Signs of the Zodiac,” rather standard fare in eighteenth-century almanacs, as well as portraits of “The King of Denmark” and “Mr. Weatherwise,” whose “Prognosticks” appeared among the contents.  Thomas considered one image especially significant, a depiction of “The BOSTON MASSACRE, on the evening of the 5th of March 1770.”  He listed it first and used capital letters to draw attention to this relief cut from an engraving attributed to Paul Revere.  The combination of essays examining “Liberty and Government” and an image of the Boston Massacre made clear that this almanac incorporated a particular political ideology among its contents.  This was an almanac for American patriots who remained vigilant throughout the imperial crisis.

September 21

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , ,

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

Providence Gazette (September 21, 1771).

“Price Three Shillings per single Dozen, Two Shillings and Sixpence per Dozen by the Quantity.”

As fall arrived in 1771 advertisements for almanacs began appearing in newspapers throughout the colonies.  On September 21, John Carter, the printer of the Providence Gazette, inserted an advertisement that he would publish “THENEW-ENGLAND ALMANACK, OR, Lady’s and Gentleman’s DIARY, For the Year of our LORD 1772” by Benjamin West.  For several years West, an astronomer and mathematician, and Carter collaborated on almanacs, the former as author and the latter as printer.  As always, the newest edition included “a Variety of Matter, useful, instructive, and entertaining” in addition to “the usual Astronomical Calculations.”

Like others who promoted almanacs, Carter and West offered the New-England Almanack wholesale and retail.  Consumers could purchase single copies for “Six Coppers” or six pence from the author or at the printing office.  Shopkeepers, booksellers, peddlers, and others who bought by the dozen, however, received discounts.  Carter and West charged “Three Shillings per single Dozen,” but offered an even better bargain to those who bought in even greater volume.  Those customers paid “TWO SHILLINGS and Sixpence per Dozen by the Quantity.”  In other words, a dozen almanacs cost thirty-six pence (or three pence each), but two dozen almanacs cost thirty pence per dozen (or two and a half pence each).

This pricing structure suggests just how much retailers could mark up prices for almanacs.  Those who bought only a dozen still acquired them for half the retail price that Carter and West charged.  Retailers who purchased two dozen or more could double the price they paid to five pence per almanac and still charge less than Carter and West did for single copies.  The printer and author probably did not worry too much about being undersold by retailers who assumed the risk for finding consumers for the almanacs, preferring the revenues guaranteed in bulk sales.  For their part, some readers may have decided to hold off on purchasing new almanacs for their homes, hoping to get better bargains from local shopkeepers and booksellers.

July 28

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , ,

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

Pennsylvania Gazette (July 25, 1771).

“JAPANED WARE … now made and sold by TIMOTHY BERRET, and COMPANY.”

Advertisements for domestic manufactures, goods produced in the colonies, appeared in colonial newspapers with greater frequency when nonimportation agreements remained in effect in response to the Stamp Act, the Townshend Acts, and the Coercive Acts in the 1760s and 1770s.  They tapered off, but did not disappear altogether, when colonists resumed regular trade with merchants in Britain.  Some advertisers continued to encourage consumers to acquire domestic manufactures, even if doing so did not have the same political valence when tensions between colonists and Parliament eased.

In the summer of 1771, for instance, Timothy Berret and Company advertised “JAPANED WARE” made in Pennsylvania.  The partners recognized the popularity and demand for fashionable housewares with patterns carved into thick black varnish, following styles and techniques that originated in Japan.  Such items testified to commercial networks that extended far beyond the Atlantic as well as to the cosmopolitanism of consumers who acquired and displayed “JAPANED WARE,” no matter whether made in Britain, the colonies, or elsewhere.  Berret and Company adamantly proclaimed their merchandise “Equal in quality to any that can be imported from Great-Britain.”  They underscored the point, declaring their wares “no way inferior, either in neatness of workmanship, japaning, painting, or polishing, to any that is made in England.”  For those consumers skeptical that Berret and Company achieved the same quality as imported items, the partners had on hand “very neat bread-baskets, tea-boards, and waiters” for sale and inspection.

In an effort to gain more orders for their “new Manufactory,” Berret and Company sought buyers among retailers as well as end-use consumers.  They offered discounts, a “great allowance,” to shopkeepers and others “who buy to sell again.”  In addition to quality that matched imported goods, they passed along bargains to their customers with prices “as cheap as in England.”  Purchasers did not have to pay a premium when acquiring domestic manufactures from Berret and Company instead of imported goods produced in greater quantities.

The “young beginners” in Philadelphia refrained from inserting political commentary into their advertisement, instead choosing to reassure hesitant buyers that the quality and price of their “JAPANED WARE” rivaled anything imported.  For many advertisers and consumers, politics did not matter as much in 1771 as they did in 1766 or 1769 or would again in 1774.  Several times in the 1760s and 1770s, the marketing appeals in newspaper advertisements, the arguments in favor of purchasing domestic manufactures, shifted depending on current events and the relationship between Parliament and the colonies.