Domestic Manufactures

February 6

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

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

Newport Mercury (February 6, 1775).

“A METZOTINTO … of that truly staunch Patriot, the Hon. SAMUEL ADAMS.”

On February 6, 1775, Charles Reak and Samuel Okey took to the pages of the Newport Mercury to advise “subscribers to the METZOTINTO print of the Rev. JAMES HONIMAN … that it will be ready to be delivered in a few days.”  As printers often did for books, Okey, a British printmaker who migrated to Rhode Island, gauged the market by seeking subscribers to his print of James Honyman, the former rector of Trinity Church in Newport, before executing it.  That allowed him to determine whether the project would be viable and how many prints to produce to meet the demand of subscribers who reserved copies.

The print has been dated November 2, 1774, based on a line beneath the title that reads, “Printed by Reak & Okey, Newport Rhode Island, Novr. 2 1774,” yet the newspaper advertisement suggests that even though the engraving may have ready on that day that Reak and Okey printed the portrait in the following months before distributing it in February 1775.  The advertisement gives further evidence that was the case.  The partners informed readers of a forthcoming print depicting “that truly staunch Patriot, the Hon, SAMUEL ADAMS, of Boston.”  Reak and Okey explained that they “have on copper, and in great forwardness” that mezzotint.  The engraving was complete, but printing took time.

When they did deliver copies of the Honyman mezzotint to subscribers, Reak and Okey offered more than just the print to “those gentlemen and ladies who should think proper to have them framed and glazed in the modern taste.”  They promoted “some elegant carved and gilt frames, made in this colony, on purpose for the print, equal to any imported from England.”  With the Continental Association in effect, Reak and Okey gave their customers access to frames without departing from that nonimportation agreement.  The copy in the collections of the Preservation Society of Newport County is “housed in a black painted wood frame with an interior gilt gesso border,” though the description does not give the provenance of the frame.

In their choices about their latest subject, John Adams, and the frames for the James Honyman mezzotint, Reak and Okey courted customers who supported the American cause as the imperial crisis intensified.  They joined other artists and publishers who commemorated the American Revolution even before the war began at Lexington and Concord, doing so with both an image of a “staunch Patriot” and frames imbued with political as well as artistic significance.

February 5

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , , ,

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

Massachusetts Spy (February 2, 1775).

“BUTTONS. MADE and sold … at the Manufactory-house, Boston.”

John Clarke’s advertisement for buttons that he “MADE and sold … at the Manufactory-house” in Boston was one of several in the February 2, 1775, edition of the Massachusetts Spy that hawked goods produced in the colonies.  He advertised at a time that the harbor had been closed and blockaded for more than eight months because of the Boston Port Act, one of several measures that Parliament enacted in response to the Boston Tea Party.  The other Coercive Acts included the Massachusetts Government Act, the Administration of Justice Act, and the Quartering Act.  In turn, the colonies refused to import British goods, having previously pursued that strategy in response to the Stamp Act in 1765 and the duties imposed on certain goods in the Townshend Acts in the late 1760s.  The Continental Association, devised by the First Continental Congress, went into effect on December 1, 1774.  In addition to prohibiting imports, it called on colonizers to encourage “domestic manufactures” or goods produced in the colonies.

Clarke not only made buttons in Boston, he made “two sorts of new fashioned buttons.”  One was a “plain flat Button, with a corded edge round it, either gilt or plated.  The other bore an inscription, “UNION AND LIBERTY IN ALL AMERICA,” that made a statement.  Consumers could express political sentiments and sartorial sensibilities simultaneously.  (Similarly, the Adverts 250 Project previously examined another newspaper notice that included “glass buttons having the word liberty printed in them.”)  Clarke’s “Liberty button,” well worth the investment, cost just a little more than the “plain flat Button,” at twenty shillings per dozen compared to eighteen shillings per dozen.  Clarke also gave “good allowance to shopkeepers to sell again.”  In other words, he offered discounts to retailers who purchased his buttons and presented them to their customers.  After all, shopkeepers had their own part to play in promoting American products to consumers and supplying them with alternatives to goods imported from Britain.  When it came to buttons, what better way to do that than with the inscribed “Liberty button” made in Boston?

February 2

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

GUEST CURATOR:  Ella Holtman

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

Massachusetts Spy (February 2, 1775).

“AMERICAN CAKE-INK.”

This advertisement is extremely interesting because we do not use the term or commonly understand what cake ink is today. As author Harry Schenawolf explains in his Revolutionary War Journal, the Nortons’ cake ink was most likely dried iron gall ink. With a dash of water, the powder became liquid and ready to use with a quill. Iron gall ink is made from a mixture of iron sulfate, oak galls, and tree gum, ensuring it to be long-lasting, adherent, and dark.

Samuel Norton produced his own dried iron gall cake ink. Anna Norton sold it in Boston. They offered their product to any patriotic supporter of America. In the advertisement, the Nortons also reminded the public that their cake ink went for “the same rates as the British Cake-Ink is sold at in London.” They offered an American product for the same prices charged in Britain, obeying a nonimportation agreement. This alludes to the growing tension between the American colonies and Britain’s perceived unjust control in February 1775.

When the Revolutionary War started a couple of months later, American soldiers went to fight, bringing few belongings and facing long travels. Officers and soldiers easily transported and utilized cake ink. They wrote home to loved ones and shared news. Purchasing and using cake ink, like that made and sold by the Nortons, aided in communication during the era of the American Revolution.

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ADDITIONAL COMMENTARY:  Carl Robert Keyes

As Ella notes, the Nortons advertised their cake ink at an important moment.  The Boston Port Act closed the city’s harbor on June 1, 1774, severely hampering commerce.  In response, the colonies enacted the Continental Association, a nonimportation agreement, on December 1.  In addition to boycotting imported goods, the Continental Association called on colonizers to “encourage Frugality, Economy, and Industry; and promote Agriculture, Arts, and the Manufactures of this Country.”

The Nortons did just that when they marketed “AMERICAN CAKE-INK” to “all true friends to America.”  They did so at a time when other advertisers also advanced “Buy American” messages or otherwise indicated their compliance with the Continental Association.  Consider some of the advertisements that ran alongside the Nortons’ notice in the February 2, 1775, edition of the Massachusetts Spy.  Henry Christian Geyer advertised printing ink that he “manufactured … at his Shop near Liberty Tree” in Boston’s South End.  A nota bene indicated that the Massachusetts Spy “has been printed with Ink made by said Geyer, for two months past.”  A similar nota bene appeared in his advertisement in the Massachusetts Gazette and Boston Post-Boy.  Enoch Brown’s notice sporting the headline “American Manufacture” ran once again, offering textiles produced in Massachusetts and glassware “manufactured at Philadelphia” as alternatives to imported goods.  Philip Freeman inserted an advertisement for gloves that had been running for six months, lamenting the “threatening” times and asking consumers to “encourage our own Manufactures” by purchasing the gloves that he made.  In a relatively new advertisement, John Clarke hawked the buttons that he produced “at the Manufactory-house, Boston,” each inscribed, “UNION AND LIBERTY IN ALL AMERICA.” Another advertisement notices announced the sale of “SUNDRY Goods … imported in the Brigantine Venus … from London” conducted under the supervision of the local Committee of Inspection according to the provisions of the tenth article of the “American Congress Association.”

The short advertisement for “AMERICAN CAKE-INK” that Ella selected for today’s entry played its part in disseminating messages about leveraging decisions about consumption to achieve political ends, especially when considered in concert with several other advertisements in the same issue of the Massachusetts Gazette.  Consumers, these notices reminded readers, participated in politics when they chose which items purchase.

February 1

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

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

Pennsylvania Journal (February 1, 1775).

“No advantage shall be taken on account of the troubles between Britain and America.”

James Butland, a “FRINGE and LACE-MAKER, from BRISTOL,” set up shop in Philadelphia in the 1770s.  In an advertisement in the February 1, 1775, edition of the Pennsylvania Journal, he informed the public that he made and sold “COACHMAKER’s laces of all sorts in silk or worsted,” “all sorts of fringe and laces for beds and other furniture,” and other trimmings according to “any pattern in the English or French fashions.”

Colonizers observed the Continental Association, a nonimportation agreement enacted by the First Continental Congress in response to the Coercive Acts, at the time that Butland placed his advertisement.  Butland certainly had the Continental Association, in particular, and the imperial crisis, more generally, in mind when he made his pitch to prospective customers.  He made assurances to “the public, that no advantage shall be taken on account of the troubles between Britain and America.”  In other words, he would not raise prices on the fringe and lace he produced locally at a time that patriots refused to purchase imported goods.  Butland asserted that he had been in Philadelphia long enough that former customers knew his reputation on the matter: “any person that has had any dealings with him, knows, that he retails his goods cheaper than ever they were in this country before, and as good in quality as are imported.”  He did so even though “the materials that those goods are made with, cost more, and some of them twice the money, before they are put into the loom” compared to readymade alternatives from England.  That Butland offered such low prices under those circumstances suggested a significant markup on imported fringe and lace.

Butland did his part to satisfy consumers and to serve the American cause as the imperial crisis intensified.  Beyond his pledge not to gouge his customers with unreasonable prices during the boycott of imported goods, he sought to increase the inventory of locally produced fringes and laces available to them.  He planned “to establish a useful manufactory in this city,” vowing “to sell on the lowest terms possible.”  To that end, he sought an apprentice and an employee to assist him and aid in expanding his business.  As his advertisement made clear, Butland did his part as a producer to honor the Continental Association.  Readers now had a duty as consumers to do their part to support his endeavor.

January 29

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , , ,

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

Massachusetts Spy (January 26, 1775).

“American Manufacture.”

An advertisement in the January 26, 1775, edition of the Massachusetts Spy informed readers of “SUNDRY Goods, Wares and Merchandize Imported in the Brigantine Venus … from London” that would be “SOLD agreeable to The American Congress Association.”  That nonimportation agreement included provisions for selling goods imported between December 1, 1774, and February 1, 1775, yet it also called for encouraging “domestic manufactures” as alternatives to items acquired from Britain.

Enoch Brown emphasized such wares in his own advertisement in that same issue of the Massachusetts Spy.  The headline proclaimed, “American Manufacture.”  Brown reported that he stocked several kinds of textiles, a “LARGE assortment of Sagathies, Duroys, … Camblets, Calamancoes, Serge-Denim, [and] Shalloons … all which were manufactured in this Province.”  Like many other retailers who encouraged consumers to “Buy American” during the imperial crisis, Brown emphasized that his customers would not have to make sacrifices when it came to price or quality for the sake of abiding by their political principles.  These textiles, he insisted, “are equal in quality to any, and superior to most imported from England.”  In addition, customers could purchase them “much cheaper than can be procured from any part of Europe.”

Yet that was not the extent of Brown’s wares produced in the colonies.  He also stocked an “assortment of Glass Ware, manufactured at Philadelphia.”  Perhaps he stocked some of the “AMERICAN GLASS” advertised by John Elliott and Company in the Pennsylvania Journal just as the Continental Association went into effect at the beginning of December 1774.  Brown listed a variety of items, including decanters, wine glasses, and mustard pots, underscoring that “he will sell extremely cheap.”

Only after detailing products made in the colonies did Brown also mention a “general assortment of English Goods,” naming several textiles, such as “fine printed linens,” not included among those “manufactured in this Province.”  He likely attempted to liquidate inventory that had been on his shelves before the nonimportation agreement commenced, intending to “quite business very soon, unless the times mend.”  To that end, he vowed to “sell his Goods extremely cheap indeed.”  In the process, he gave priority to “American Manufacture” in his advertisement, directing readers to options that would allow them to be responsible consumers who did their part in support of the Continental Association and the American cause.

January 23

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , , ,

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

Massachusetts Gazette and Boston Post-Boy (January 23, 1775).

“This Paper, has been printed with ink manufactured by said Geyer, for several Months past.”

When the Continental Association went into effect, colonizers looked to “domestic manufactures” or goods produced in the colonies as alternatives to imports.  The eighth article of that nonimportation, nonconsumption, and nonexportation agreement even stated that “we will, on our several Stations, encourage Frugality, Economy, and Industry; and promote Agriculture, Arts and the Manufactures of this Country.”  Henry Christian Geyer did just that in an advertisement that appeared in the January 23, 1775, edition of the Massachusetts Gazette and Boston Post-Boy.  He announced that he “manufactured” printing ink “in large or small Quantities, at his Shop near Liberty-Tree South-End of Boston.”  Devoting such “Industry” to the “Manufactures of this Country” testified to Geyer’s support of the American cause; noting the proximity of his shop and such an important symbol underscored his patriotism.

Yet Geyer had more to say about the matter.  He proclaimed to “the Public” that “the Royal American Magazine, was not printed with his Ink.”  His advertisement gave no indication why he singled out the Royal American Magazine and not any of the newspapers published in Boston or any of the city’s printing offices.  After all, if he had captured the entire market (except for the Royal American Magazine) then he had less need to place an advertisement.  He chose to shame Joseph Greenleaf, the publisher of the Royal American Magazine, for not purchasing his product, perhaps intending to bully him into buying Geyer’s printing ink or perhaps settling some score by embarrassing him in a public forum.

Geyer’s advertisement concluded with a nota bene that clarified that “This Paper, has been printed with Ink manufactured by said Geyer, for several Months past.”  Geyer may have written the nota bene himself, presenting a testimonial of the quality of the ink that readers could assess for themselves as they held the Massachusetts Gazette and Boston Post-Boy in their hands.  Alternately, Nathaniel Mills and John Hicks, the printers of the newspaper, could have added the nota beneon their own as a means of demonstrating that they supported domestic manufactures even before the Continental Association went into effect.

December 12

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

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

New-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury (December 12, 1774).

“He will meet with due encouragement … by every real friend to American manufactures.”

Nicholas Cox, a hatter, made several appeals to consumers in his advertisement in the December 12, 1774, edition of the New-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury.  He commenced with a standard expression of gratitude for “the encouragement he had met with from the respectable publick since he commenc’d business.”  Many purveyors of goods and services did so in their advertisements, signaling to readers that other consumers already considered them worthy of their business.  It was a familiar means of bolstering an advertiser’s reputation.

The hatter also incorporated commentary specific to his trade, proclaiming that he “manufactures the new invented and greatly approved of CAP-HATS.”  For those unaware of this innovation, eh explained that by “outward appearance they are entirely like other hats, having only the addition of a cap fix’d in the bowl, which can be drawn out occasionally.”  In such instances, it “buttons under the chin, keeping the neck and ears entirely free from rain or snow.”  Cox marketed this new style, a very practical element, as “so very necessary for all those whose business exposes them to the inclemency of the weather.”  According to Kate Haulman, colonizers debated whether they should carry umbrellas, “stylistic spoils of empire hailing from India,” in the 1760s and 1770s.  “Some regarded umbrellas as ridiculous and frivolous,” she notes, “serving no purpose that a good hat could not supply.”[1]  Cox produced and sold such hats for men of business who sought to eschew the effeminacy and luxury associated with umbrellas.

His next appeal made an even more explicitly political argument to prospective customers.  He made “the best black and white superfine FELT and WOOL HATS,” like the tricorne hat depicted in the woodcut that adorned his advertisement.  Cox asserted that patriotic consumers had a duty to support his business when they made choices about where to acquire their hats.  He expressed confidence that he “will meet with due encouragement at this spirited time, by every real friend to American manufactures.”  The Continental Association, a boycott of British goods adopted in response to the Coercive Acts, had recently gone into effect.  Cox offered an alternative to colonizers who desired to acquire hats yet wished to remain patriotically correct, either according to their own principles or at least to avoid the ire of others who observed the purchases they made.  Furthermore, his customers did not have sacrifice quality for principles.  The hatter pledged that “he will warrant [his hats] to be far superior to the best imported from England.” That being the case, the crown that appeared above the tricorne hat at the top of his advertisement may have testified to the superior quality of his hats, a general sense of pride in being part of the British Empire, or reverence for the monarch whom many colonizers still hoped would intervene on their behalf in their altercation with Parliament.

In addition to those appeals, Cox included two more common marketing strategies.  He promised a “[g]reat abatement … to those who take a quantity at a time.”  In other words, he gave discounts for buying multiple hats, both for consumers and for retailers who intended to sell them in their own shops.  He also provided a free ancillary service: “Customers hats brush’d at all times, gratis.”  Cox saw to the care and maintenance of the hats he made and sold long after the time of purchase.  He cultivated relationships with customers by encouraging them to return to his shop for assistance in keeping their hats in good order.  Overall, Cox resorted to a variety of familiar and specific appeals when advertising his hats, distinguishing him from competitors who did not put as much effort into marketing their wares.

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[1] Kate Haulman, “Fashion and the Culture Wars of Revolutionary Philadelphia,” William and Mary Quarterly, 3rd ser., 62, no 4 (October 2005): 632.

December 7

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

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

Pennsylvania Journal (December 7, 1774).

“White and Green Glass Ware; Such as are usually imported from Great-Britain.”

A headline in capital letters and a large font proclaimed, “AMERICAN GLASS.”  In a secondary headline composed of font of the same size, John Elliott and Company promoted “White and Green Glass Ware” that they produced ay their “GLASS HOUSE” near Philadelphia.  That advertisement happened to appear in the December 7, 1774, edition of the Pennsylvania Journal, the first issue published since the Continental Association went into effect on December 1.  Throughout the colonies, retailers and consumers adopted that boycott of goods imported from Britain, some enthusiastically and some under pressure.  They hoped that measure would help convince Parliament to repeal the Coercive Acts passed in retaliation for the Boston Tea Party.

Ever since the boycotts inspired by the Stamp Act nearly a decade earlier, supporters of the American cause emphasized the importance of “domestic manufactures” or goods produced in the colonies.  Such products offered an alternative to imported wares while also bolstering local economies and creating jobs.  The Continental Association had the potential to disrupt consumption practice, but it also presented opportunities for American entrepreneurs, including Elliott and Company.

In their advertisement, the proprietors of the Glass House reported that they had “procured a sett of good Workmen” and the glassworks were “in blast.”  That meant that the public “may be supplied with most kinds of White and Green Glass Ware; Such as are usually imported from Great-Britain.”  Prospective customers did not need to worry about the quality or cost of this alternative.  Elliott and Company offered assurances that they produced glassware “in a neat manner, and at moderate prices.”  In their appeal to “the PUBLIC,” Elliott and Company did not address consumers alone.  They also hoped to entice retailers, noting that “Orders from store-keepers and others, both of town and country will be executed with care and dispatch.”  They hoped these various appeals would “induce the friends of their country, and their own interest, to promote the undertaking.”  It was a win-win-win situation for the protest against Parliament, for customers, and for Elliott and Company.

November 10

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

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

Virginia Gazette [Pinkney] (November 10, 1774).

“A WOOLEN and WORSTED MANUFACTORY … American manufactures.”

As John Pinkney published updates from the First Continental Congress in the Virginia Gazette in November 1774, Elisha White and Robert White ran an advertisement to announce that they were “engaged in the erection of a WOOLLEN and WORSTED MANUFACTORY” that they anticipated would meet with great success.  They had already been “encouraged by many of the most patriotic gentlemen of the country,” yet sought even greater support for “so beneficial an undertaking” among the public.  In other words, they sought investors to defray the costs of this endeavor, addressing those “who may incline to promote American manufactures” as alternatives to goods imported from Britain.  The Whites had already gone to some expense, recruiting “a number of the best workmen,” though they still needed to “compleat the works, and procure the necessary utensils.”  Their enterprise would have even greater urgency as colonizers learned more about the Continental Association, a nonimportation pact, adopted by the First Continental Congress.

To raise the necessary funds to make their “MANUFACTORY” viable, the Whites established a subscription and designated local agents in several towns who collected the money on their behalf.  They also outlined their scheme for repaying these loans: “Half the price of our work to be received in cash, the other half, from time to time, is to be placed to the credit of our generous benefactors, till the whole is repaid.”  In case that seemed like too much of a gamble, the Whites appended a note from some of those “most patriotic gentlemen” to offer assurances.  Samuel Meredith, Barrett White, John Stark, and Richard Chapman pledged that they “will be responsible to the gentlemen who have or may subscribe for the encouragement of Elisha and Robert White’s WOOLLEN MANUFACTORY.”  If the project did not succeed, those four men “shall return the subscribers their money.”  That promise reflected their confidence in the Whites’ ability to “carry on their business with life and spirit” while simultaneously underscoring that civic duty called for supporting the “MANUFACTORY” through investing in it and, eventually, purchasing the goods produced there.  Political principles guided participation in both production and consumption of “American manufactures” as the imperial crisis intensified in 1774.

November 7

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

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

Newport Mercury (November 7, 1774).

“American SNUFF … equal to any imported from Great-Britain.”

George Lawton and Robert Lawton hoped that their marketing strategy would help them to edge out the competition when they advertised “American SNUFF” in the November 7, 1774, edition of the Newport Mercury.  They explained that the product they sold was “MANUFACTURED in Pennsylvania, and esteemed there equal to any imported from Great-Britain.”  Apparently, it was not yet familiar to consumers in Rhode Island, but the Lawtons hoped that the enthusiasm for the snuff in another colony would convince local customers to give it a try.  Furthermore, they suggested that patriotic consumers had a duty to select this “American SNUFF” and support domestic manufactures over imported alternatives.  “[I]t is hoped,” the Lawtons declared, “that the public spirit of this colony will not be wanting to promote the use of this article, if on trial it should be found to merit it.”  They allowed for some wiggle room, leaving it to consumers to assess the quality of the snuff for themselves, yet proposed that those who did consider it “equal to any imported from Great Britain” should shift their allegiance to the product from the colonies.

Elsewhere on the same page, John Bell a shopkeeper who frequently advertised in the Newport Mercury, hawked “ENGLISH and INDIA GOODS” that he sold “as cheap as can be bought in any shop in AMERICA.”  Following a catalog of some of his inventory, he concluded with a separate entry for “Best Tilloch’s snuff, just imported from Glasgow.”  That city was well known for the quality of the tobacco products made there and then shipped to consumers on both sides of the Atlantic.  Bell expected that customers in Newport recognized “Tilloch’s snuff” as a familiar brand, not an unreasonable supposition considering that other entrepreneurs also advertised that product.  Bell’s effort to market imported snuff did not have the same visual appeal as the advertisement placed by the Lawtons.  Their notice featured “American SNUFF” as a headline in a larger font, calling attention to both the product and the argument about the political principles associated with it at a time that many colonizers advocated for boycotts of British goods as a means of resisting the Coercive Acts passed by Parliament earlier in the year.  They seemingly considered this strategy effective, resorting to it once again after using it several months earlier.