Format

April 3

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

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

“M‘Knight’s Harmony of the
Duhamel’s Husbandry     (Gospel.”

Connecticut Journal (April 3, 1776).

Like other printers throughout the colonies, Thomas Green and Samuel Green, the printers of the Connecticut Journal, stocked and sold an array of imported books, pamphlets, and other merchandise.  Beyond newspaper subscriptions and advertisements and job printing, they cultivated other revenue streams.  As newspaper printers, the Greens had ready access for promoting their wares, doing so, for instance, with an oversized advertisement in the April 3, 1776, edition of the Connecticut Journal.

Connecticut Journal (April 3, 1776).

Listing dozens of titles, that advertisement dominated the third page.  The format distinguished it from any other, extending across two columns in the upper left corner, yet the columns within the advertisement did not align with the rest of the columns in the newspaper.  Rather than the standard width, the Greens used three narrow columns.  They listed one title per line, leaving white space that made it easier for readers to navigate their notice than if they had resorted to a paragraph of dense text.  A couple of advertisements on the facing page received similar treatment.  Anthony Perit’s advertisement for a “large assortment of Dry GOODS” and William Battle’s advertisement for a “general assortment of GOODS suitable for the season” each had their inventory arranged in two columns with a line running down the center, but those notices did not exceed the standard width for the newspaper.  On the other hand, either the Greens or a compositor who set the type realized that one title per line in the catalog of books and pamphlets available at their printing office in New Haven would leave too much white space.  As a matter of both efficiency and design, their advertisement thus featured a format that distinguished it from others.

That efficiency included limiting the number of lines and the overall space required for the advertisement.  Near the bottom of the first column, an incomplete entry for “M‘Knight’s Harmony of the” concluded at the end of the next entry for “Duhamel’s Husbandry” with “(Gospel.”  The complete entry listed M‘Knight’s Harmony of the Gospel.”  The “(” signaled to readers that “Gospel” belonged with either the previous or the following entry.  Similarly, about one third of the way down the second column, an incomplete entry for “Manners & Customs of the Ro-” concluded with “(mans” on the line above and an incomplete entry for “Treatise on the Diseases of Wo-” near the bottom of the final column concluded with “(men” at the end of the previous line.  While not always elegant, the format enhanced the visibility of the advertisement the printers ran to promote book sales.

February 12

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

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

New-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury (January 12, 1776).

“JOHN RICHARDSON’s HARDWARE and JEWELLERY STORE.”

John Richardson ran an advertisement for his “HARDWARE and JEWELLERY STORE” in the February 12, 1776, edition of the New-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury.  He was not alone in his marketing efforts.  Richard Sause also placed an advertisement for a “JEWELLERY, CUTLERY, HARD-WARE, and HABERDASHERY STORE.”  Both emphasized consumer choice as a marketing strategy, but they deployed very different formats in demonstrating the choices they offered to customers.

The bulk of Richardson’s advertisement consisted of a dense paragraph of text that listed his inventory, including a “neat and general assortment of jewellery, and jewellers materials; watches and watch materials, good choice of gilt and plated buckles, metal and steel buckles; materials for coach-makers, ditto for saddlers and cabinet-makers; … ladies pocket books, hand vices, plyers, nut crackers, buckle patterns, metal shoe clasps, lables for bottles, mother of pearl tea tongs, [and] gilt sleeve buttons.”  It was an array of merchandise that Richardson invited readers to imagine and, hopefully, examine for themselves.

Sause listed even more items in his advertisement, yet that was not the only reason that it occupied more than twice as much space on the page.  Rather than cram everything together in a single paragraph, Sause opted to list small collections of items – one, two, or three at a time – together yet on separate lines.  Those lists sometimes overflowed onto indented second and subsequent lines; the indentations provided a visual cue that further distinguished the wares that Sause promoted.  For instance, the entry for “Gold lace, tinsel and com- / mon watch braids” did not run into the next entry for “Silver corals, and a variety of / fashionable silver buckles.”  Sause also divided his advertisement into two columns (just as he had done in a previous advertisement), making it even more visually distinctive.

Although Richardson and Sause sold similar merchandise and both made appeals to consumer choice, they made different decisions about how to present their goods to prospective customers in the public prints.  Richardson may have opted for economy by purchasing less space in the New-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury, while Sause, drawing on experience, could have considered it worth the investment to take up more space in the newspaper.

July 10

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , , ,

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

Rivington’s New-York Gazetteer (July 10, 1774).

“Fashionable silver, and metal shoe buckles.”

Like other merchants and shopkeepers who advertised imported goods for sale in the July 7, 1774, edition of Rivington’s New-York Gazetteer, William Millbourn listed many of his wares to give consumers a sense of the array of choices available to them.  Yet Millbourn’s advertisement had a different format than most others in that issue.  In the process of giving an inventory of everything from “Carving and oyster knives” to “Chess boards, and men” to “Paper snuff-boxes, and Venetian tooth-picks” to “neat dressed dolls, and a variety of toys,” he named only two or three related items on each line and centered each line.  That gave Millbourn’s advertisement a distinctive appearance with white space on the left and right, ebbing and flowing depending on the length of each line.

Other advertisers deployed other design elements to draw attention to their notices.  James Webb adorned his advertisement for “FRENCH BURR MILL-STONES” with a woodcut depicting a millstone.  Others used headlines in much larger font than the rest of their copy, such as “MUSIC,” “BULL-BAITING,” “NEW RICE,” and “CHINA, GLASS, AND Earthen Ware.”  Below their headline for “IRISH LINENS,” Woodward and Kip gave descriptions in two columns, including “Purple, blue and red copperplate furniture calicoes” and “Black, blue, brown, green, yellow, straw-colour, crimson, garnet, pink and purple moreens.”  Most entries ran two or more lines, with the second and subsequent lines indented and all lines justified on the right.  The indentations introduced some white space into what would have been a dense paragraph, the method that John Haydock used for listing his wares.  Still, the format of Millbourn’s advertisement included much more white space than most others.  He likely submitted instructions concerning how he wished his advertisement to appear along with the copy.

The compositor, either James Rivington himself or someone working in his printing office, apparently liked the look of Millbourn’s advertisement and decided to apply it to a notice about “THE FOLLOWING WINES … Sold by the Printer hereof.”  Both had their initial appearance in the July 7 edition, the advertisement for wine running immediately below Millbourn’s notice.  That suggests that the compositor set the type for one right after the other.  Rather than competing with Millbourn’s advertisement, the second advertisement may have helped focus attention on both notices by extending the unusual use of white space, especially since paragraphs with little white space ran on the right and left as well as above and below.  The distinctiveness of the format had the potential to incite curiosity, increasing the chances that readers engaged with Millbourn’s advertisement.

January 3

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , , ,

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

Boston-Gazette (January 3, 1774).

“A large Assortment of Hard-Ware GOODS, Cutlery, Jewellery, Goldsmith’s, Clock and Watch Articles.”

Readers almost certainly noticed John Welsh’s advertisement in the January 3, 1774, edition of the Boston-Gazette.  The shopkeeper announced that he imported and sold “A general Assortment of English GOODS, suitable for all Seasons” and “A large Assortment of Hard-Ware GOODS, Cutlery, Jewellery, Goldsmith’s, Clock and Watch Articles.”  To demonstrate the selection he offered to consumers, Welsh published an extensive list of his inventory.

The length of that list alone distinguished Welsh’s advertisement from others that ran in that issue of the newspaper.  More significantly, the format and placement made his notice notable.  Rather than extending in one column and continuing in the next, the advertisement spanned two of the regular columns, an unusual format in the Boston-Gazette or any other colonial newspaper.  Within the space occupied by the advertisement, the list of goods was divided into three columns with lines, but no space, separating them.  While that made the dense text more difficult to navigate, Welsh did provide some guidance with a series of headers.  The “English GOODS,” mostly textiles and accessories, that appeared first did not have a header, but “Hard-Ware,” “Goldsmith’s & Jewellery,” and “Clock & Watch Articles” each had headers that directed readers to items of interest.

The advertisement’s position on the page also enhanced its visibility.  It ran in the upper left corner on the first page, right below the masthead, making it the first item that readers saw when they perused the first issue of the Boston-Gazettepublished in 1774.  Even if readers who knew that the latest news often appeared on the second and third pages rather than the front page immediately flipped past the first page, they likely noticed Welsh’s advertisement as they skimmed to make sure they did not miss any news that might have appeared on the front page.  After all, the organization did vary from week to week depending on the amount of “intelligence” and advertisements submitted to the printing office.  Welsh’s advertisement dominated the first page, as it would have done on any page.  The unusual format underscored the wide selection of merchandise that he made available to customers.

Boston-Gazette (January 3, 1774).

December 6

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , ,

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

Supplement to the South-Carolina Gazette (December 6, 1773).

“CHRISTOPHER GADSDEN, Gives Notice to his Friends … THAT he is ready to serve them as FACTOR.”

In the fall of 1773, Christopher Gadsden took to the pages of newspapers published in Charleston to offer his services “as FACTOR, upon the usual Terms,” to plantation owners who raised rice, indigo, and other crops “in the Country.”  For those who did not wish to employ him as an agent buying and selling commodities on their behalf, he also rented space in a “great Plenty of Stores” or warehouses “on his Wharf.”

The copy in Gadsden’s advertisement read much the same as the notices placed by his competitors.  The format, however, distinguished his advertisement from the dozens of others placed for many different purposes.  At least that was the case in the South-Carolina Gazette.  In that newspaper, Gadsden’s advertisement extended across two columns.  His name served as a headline, the size of the font rivaling the title of the newspaper in the masthead.  The rest of the copy appeared in larger font than other notices, also demanding the attention of readers.

South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal (December 7, 1773).

That differed from Gadsden’s advertisement in the South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal.  Featuring identical copy, it had a much different format.  His name once again served as a headline, but in a font the same size used for headlines of other advertisements.  Most significantly, the compositor confined that advertisement to a single column, one more notice among the many that ran in that newspaper.

Compositors usually made decisions about the format of advertisements after advertisers submitted copy to printing offices.  In this instance, however, the extraordinary format for Gadsden’s advertisement in the South-Carolina Gazettesuggests that he successfully negotiated for some sort of design to set his notice apart from others.  Did he envision an advertisement spanning two columns?  Or did the compositor make that decision after learning that Gadsden wanted something different?  Did Gadsden make a similar request for his advertisement in the South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal, only to have it rejected?  Some printers and compositors seemed more amenable to instructions from advertisers than others.  In Boston, for instance, decorative borders enclosed Jolley Allen’s notices in every newspaper except the Massachusetts Spy.  Isaiah Thomas, the printer, presumably rejected Allen’s trademark format.  Similarly, Gadsden may have had more luck working with Peter Timothy and the South-Carolina Gazette than with Charles Crouch and the South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal.

August 16

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , , ,

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

New-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury (August 16, 1773).

“IRISH / LINENS, / Sheetings, cotton and / Linen checks; calicoes.”

The format of an advertisement for upcoming sales at Templeton and Stewart’s Auction Room in the August 16, 1773, edition of the New-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury almost certainly caught the eye of readers.  Rather than appear in a blocky paragraph of text or side-by-side columns with one or two items per line, as was the case in other advertisements for consumer goods in that issue, the list of items for sale formed a diamond.  The entries at the top and bottom of the diamond, “IRISH LINENS” and “PLAYING CARDS,” had one word per line, all in capital letters spaced appropriately to create a pleasing and attractive form.  The compositor realized that lowercase letters at the top and bottom of the diamond would have had a jarring and unpleasant visual effect.  Likewise, too many uppercase letters would have crowded the rest of the diamond, so other items appeared in lowercase letters as the list progressively widened and then progressively narrowed.

Using type to form geometric shapes, especially diamonds, was rare but not unknown in newspaper advertisements of the period.    On September 30, 1771, all of the copy in Gilbert Deblois’s advertisement in the Supplement to the Boston-Gazette appeared within a diamond, though the compositor did not manage to create lines nearly as straight as those in Templeton and Stewart’s advertisement.  Such was also the case for Deblois’s advertisement in the Massachusetts Gazette and Boston Weekly News-Letter later that week.  The compositor for the Essex Gazette achieved better results in an advertisement placed by John Cabot and Andrew Cabot in the December 3, 1771, edition of the Essex Gazette.  All of the copy ran at a forty-five-degree angle, filling an entire square.  Two weeks later, the compositor and the Cabots experimented with the same copy, devising a shape that resembled a bulb as much as a diamond.  Still, the unique format set it apart from other advertisements.  With a shorter list of goods, Duncan Ingraham, Jr., concluded his advertisement in the April 20, 1772, edition of the Massachusetts Gazette and Boston Post-Boy with a diamond that featured straight edges.

Each of these advertisements demonstrates one manner for experimenting with graphic design elements of newspaper notices.  The advertisers likely made special requests or sent instructions.  They may have even submitted copy arranged the way they wished for it to appear in print, though compositors exercised final discretion in making innovative designs work.  While some of these advertisements evidenced greater skill than others, each presented a novelty to readers and prospective customers.  Such innovative graphic design demanded attention on pages largely devoid of visual images, the format encouraging readers to peruse the content.

April 14

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

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

Pennsylvania Chronicle (April 12, 1773).

“A VERY great Variety of plain and changeable mantuas, both ½ ell and ¾ ell wide.”

Daniel Benezet’s extensive advertisement from the March 15, 1773, edition of the Pennsylvania Chronicle continued to run in subsequent issues of that newspaper, though the compositor made modifications to the format.  The advertisement featured the same copy, but the organization better fit the page.  The original version filled two columns and overflowed into a third, in part because it appeared on the first page and the masthead occupied a significant amount of space at the top of the page.  Upon moving the advertisement to other pages, the compositor gained space to confine it to two columns.  In another modification, the headline at the top of the advertisement and the nota bene that announced “BENEZET is leaving off Business” and, as a result, “determined to sell the above Goods on very low Terms” at the bottom both ran across multiple columns.  The new format looked like a handbill that could have been printed separately as well as an advertisement integrated into the pages of the Pennsylvania Chronicle.

Pennsylvania Gazette (April 14, 1773).

When it came to the visual appeal of the advertisement, the compositor made all the difference.  Benezet placed a notice with the same copy in the April 14 edition of the Pennsylvania Gazette, but it did not look like the same advertisement.  The compositor for the Pennsylvania Chronicle deployed generous amounts of white space to make Benezet’s advertisement easier for readers to navigate.  He did so by dividing each column into two columns and listing only one item or category of items on each line.  In contrast, the compositor for the Pennsylvania Gazette resorted to a much more crowded format, listing hundreds of items in a single paragraph that extended more than a column.  Readers almost certainly found it more difficult to navigate the dense text in the version of the advertisement that ran in the Pennsylvania Gazette, a feature that likely made it more difficult to engage prospective customers.

The variations in the format of Benezet’s advertisement demonstrate the division of labor that usually defined advertising in early American newspapers.  Advertisers composed and submitted copy, but compositors made decisions about format and other aspects of graphic design.  On occasion, consistency in design across advertisements placed in multiple newspapers suggests that advertisers made specific requests or even consulted directly with compositors.  That did not happen when Benezet submitted the advertising copy to the Pennsylvania Gazette.  He may have even provided the notice from the Pennsylvania Chronicle as reference, leaving it to the compositor to make final decisions about format while incorporating the copy in its entirety.

November 17

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

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

South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal (November 17, 1772).

“A large and valuable Assortment of Goods.”

Samuel Gordon promoted the “large and valuable Assortment of Goods” he sold at the “IRISH LINEN WARE-HOUSE” in an advertisement in the November 17, 1772, edition of the South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal.  Contrary to the name of his store, Gordon’s inventory extended far beyond textiles.  To aid prospective customers in perusing his notice, he identified more than two dozen categories of merchandise, including “MILLINARY,” “SHOES,” “HOSIERY,” “CHINA,” “GLASS,” “LOOKING-GLASSES,” “STATIONARY,” and “PEWTER.”  Each of those categories appeared in capitals, indented to form a new paragraph, and followed by a short description or list of goods.  The format likely made Gordon’s advertisement easier for readers to navigate than others that featured dense blocks of text.  Alexander Gillon’s advertisement, for instance, occupied a similar amount of space and included a similar number of items, but nothing about the format differentiated any of the goods from others.

In contrast, Gordon deployed short passages that invited prospective customers to engage with the various kinds of merchandise he stocked.  For “HATS,” he had a “choice of mens fine fashionable hats, felt ditto, ladies riding ditto.”  He did not go into greater detail, but instead encouraged readers to imagine the choices and then visit his store to see for themselves.  The “STATIONARY” items included a “great choice of pocket-books, quills, wax, wafer, paper of different qualities, and a complete set of large books, viz. ledger, journal, and waste-book.”  Gordon composed a longer blurb for “CUTLERY,” mentioning a “great choice of knives and forks, ditto in cases, razors, ditto in cases, … carving-knives, pen-knives,” and related items.  He repeatedly used the word “choice” to signal to prospective customers that they ultimately made decisions according to their own taste and budget rather than settling for whatever happened to be on the shelves.  Similarly, he used variations that included “large assortment,” “different sorts,” “large quantity,” and “variety.”  Many blurbs concluded with “&c.” (an abbreviation for et cetera), suggesting that far more choices awaited those who entered Gordon’s store.

Gordon did not rely on choice alone in marketing his wares.  He also offered a discount to “Merchants who may want any of the above articles.”  He extended credit, while promising a “discount of Ten per cent” to merchants who paid their accounts in January.  Gordon likely intended that the carefully formatted list of wares would spark interest and then the discount in the nota bene would seem like too good of a bargain for merchants to ignore.  The design of the advertisement suggests that Gordon carefully considered his marketing strategy rather than simply publishing an announcement that he had imported goods for sale.

August 25

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

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

Connecticut Courant (August 25, 1772).

“WINES.”

William Ellery stocked a variety of wares, but emphasized “WINES” in his advertisement in the August 25, 1772, edition of the Connecticut Courant.  Many purveyors of goods and services used their names as the sole or primary headline in their newspaper advertisements, but Ellery opted to open his advertisement with a segment of his merchandise that he thought would attract attention.  The headline, “WINES,” appeared in a large font, followed by a list of “CHOICE Old Madeira, Claret, Teneriff and Mountain, Malaga WINES.”  Only after that preview did Ellery give his name and location as a secondary headline before providing a more extensive account of beer, spirits, and groceries.  In contrast, an advertisement in the next column featured a more familiar headline, “Imported from LONDON, and to be sold by Stephen Mears, Opposite the North Meeting House in Hartford,” with “Stephen Mears” centered and in a larger font.

Ellery used graphic design to his advantage elsewhere in his advertisement as well.  The “N.B.” that marked the nota bene that followed his list of merchandise appeared in an even larger font than “WINES,” as did the “M” in “MR. ELLERY.”  Even if readers skimmed over “Bristol Beer, and Dorchester Ale, by the Cask, or Dozen Bottles” and “Coffee by the Bag or single Pound,” the large letters guided them to a message from the merchant.  He expressed “his Thanks to those People who have heretofore favour’d him with their Custom” and invited them to continue to “favour him with their Custom.”  Ellery deployed two of the most popular marketing appeals of the period, choice and price, proclaiming that he “his Shop is fuller sorted than ever, as he has just received a large Supply of the above Articles, and flatters himself he cans sell so low as to give intire satisfaction” to his customers.  In contrast, other advertisers tended to position such notes below the headline and above the list of goods.  Once again, Ellery adopted a format that distinguished his advertisement from others.

Ellery’s notice consisted entirely of text, as did all of the advertisements in most issues of the Connecticut Courant.  That did not mean, however, that every advertisement looked the same.  Some advertisers did rely on standard formats, but others sought to engage readers by presenting familiar messages in less familiar formats.  The design of Ellery’s advertisement challenged prospective customers to look more closely at his merchandise and the assertions he made about low prices and extensive choices.

June 2

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , ,

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

South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal (June 2, 1772).

“A Great Variety of {IRISH Linens, printed Linen …} of all Widths and Prices.”

When Wakefield, a merchant who went solely by his last name in the public prints, placed an advertisement in the June 2, 1772, edition of the South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal he relied on design elements to draw attention.  Like many other advertisers, he demonstrated the choices available to consumers by providing a list, but he did not resort to a dense paragraph of text (the format selected by Edwards, Fisher, and Company) or side-by-side columns with only one item on each line (the option favored by Daniel Hall and Stephen Smith).  Instead, he clustered his goods together in the center of the advertisement with decorative brackets pointing to descriptions on either side.

For instance, Wakefield listed “IRISH Linens, printed Linen, Chintz, Calicoes, Cotton, Diaper, Huckaback, Lawns, Cambricks, &c. &c.”  That list extended five lines, occupying the center third of the column.  Brackets enclosed the list on both sides.  An introductory phrase ran on the left, “A great Variety of,” to let readers know that Wakefield stocked an even more extensive inventory of those textiles.  To underscore the point, the phrase to the right promised “all Widths and Prices.”  Similarly, a shorter list of other fabrics extended three lines with brackets enclosing both sides.  Commentary to the left indicated that Wakefield had “An Assortment of” those items.  The rest of the advertisement reverted to standard paragraphs, but the unique format for the lists of textiles created enough visual interest that readers likely took note.

Creating this advertisement required some level of collaboration with the compositor.  When he submitted the copy, Wakefield may have arranged the lists as he intended for them to appear, but the compositor was ultimately responsible for setting type in a manner that honored any instructions or requests.  For instance, Wakefield probably did not devise a line break that divided “Calicoes” between two lines.  Instead, a compositor would have relied on experience and experimentation in determining the final appearance of the advertisement.  No matter how closely he worked with the compositor, Wakefield likely took greater interest in designing a distinctive advertisement than Edwards, Fisher, and Company or Hall and Smith or any other advertisers whose notices featured standard formats.