John Gerrish and Company

February 9

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , , ,

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

Feb 9 - 2:9:1770 New-Hampshire Gazette
New-Hampshire Gazette (February 9, 1770).

“Auction-Hall, KING-STREET … BOSTON.”

John Gerrish, “Public Vendue-Master” or auctioneer, continued his endeavor to extend the range of his advertising by developing a marketing campaign for his auction hall that incorporated newspapers published in towns other than Boston. In early February 1770, he placed notices in the Providence Gazette, the Essex Gazette, and, eventually, the New-Hampshire Gazette, in addition to three of the five newspapers in Boston. In so doing, he coordinated a campaign that involved six newspapers in four cities spread over three colonies. The Adverts 250 Project has been tracking the development of that campaign in several entries published during the past week.

Not surprisingly, Gerrish’s efforts radiated outward from Boston. His advertisement ran in the New-Hampshire Gazette only after it ran in the Essex Gazette, moving from Boston to Salem to Portsmouth. That the notice in the New-Hampshire Gazette included exactly the same copy, down to the punctuation (such as the brackets around “[Public Vendue-Master]”), as the one in the Essex Gazette suggests one possible mode of transmission. While Gerrish might have carefully written out identical copy in letters sent to the two printing offices, he may very well have instructed Samuel Hall, printer of the Essex Gazette, to forward instructions to reprint the advertisement in the New-Hampshire Gazette when he sent an exchange copy to Daniel Fowle and Robert Fowle, the printers of that newspaper. The Fowles, like every other colonial printer, liberally reprinted news items, letters, and editorials from other newspapers when selecting the content for the New-Hampshire Gazette. When sent instructions (and promises of payment) they could have done the same with an advertisement.

Although the advertisements in the Essex Gazette and the New-Hampshire Gazette featured identical copy, they did have variations in format, including capitalization, italics, and line breaks, though certain key appeals to prospective customers did appear in capitals in both newspapers (“EXCEEDING CHEAP” and “VERY CHEAP TERMS INDEED”). That was standard practice in the production of newspaper advertisements. Advertisers provided the copy and sometimes made suggestions or requests concerning format, but printers and compositors exercised broad discretion when it came to typography and graphic design.

For Gerrish, the format, as long as it was done well, likely mattered less than disseminating his advertisements over greater distances than he managed previously by inserting them solely in the Boston newspapers. He aimed to create a much larger regional market for himself by boosting the circulation of his notices in additional publications and new places where prospective bidders and clients had less awareness of his “Auction-Hall” on King Street in Boston.

February 8

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , , ,

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

Feb 8 - 2:81770 Massachusetts Gazzette and Boston Weekly News-Letter
Massachusetts Gazette and Boston Weekly News-Letter (February 8, 1770).

“AUCTION HALL … JOHN GERRISH, (And COMPANY).”

This week the Adverts 250 Project has examined John Gerrish’s attempts to expand his media market beyond newspapers in Boston. In the late 1760s, he regularly inserted notices in several newspapers published in the city where he operated an auction hall, but in 1770 Gerrish experimented with running advertisements in newspapers in other towns as well. On February 3, for instance, he placed an advertisement in the Providence Gazette. On February 6, he ran a different advertisement in the Essex Gazette. The copy in those advertisements differed from what previously appeared in Boston’s newspapers; each included material likely of special interest to prospective buyers, bidders, and clients who resided away from the city. Gerrish promoted “Wholesale and Retail” sales of a “GREAT Variety of ARTICLES” in the Providence Gazette rather than promoting the goods up for bid at any particular auction scheduled for a particular time. In the Essex Gazette, Gerrish made note of “Very Good Lodgings and Boarding, for COUNTRY GENTLEMEN, Travelers, and Traders” who might journey to Boston for the auctions he held “chiefly on TUESDAYS, and THURSDAYS.”

Even as he attempted to create a larger regional market for his goods and services by advertising in newspapers published in Salem and Providence, Gerrish understood that newspapers printed in Boston already served a region much larger than the bustling port and nearby neighboring towns and villages. Until recently, no other town in Massachusetts produced a newspaper; even after the Essex Gazette commenced publication, Boston’s newspapers continued to enjoy wide circulation throughout the colony and beyond. For that reason, some of the special appeals that Gerrish made in the Providence Gazette (wholesale and retail sales from a stable inventory rather than auctions) and the Essex Gazette (lodging and boarding for clients who traveled to the city) would also find ready audiences among readers of the Boston newspapers who resided in places other than Boston.

To that end, Gerrish placed three advertisements in the February 8, 1770, edition of the Massachusetts Gazette and Boston Weekly Post-Boy. The first was a standard announcement of an imminent auction to take place “THIS EVENING.” By the time many readers outside of Boston received the newspaper with this notice, the sale already took place. For those prospective customers, Gerrish placed his advertisement from the Providence Gazette in its entirety, though he made two additions after signing his name. This slightly revised version added “Sets of China Cups, Saucers, &c.” to the list of inventory. It also assured colonists concerned about potential violations of the nonimportation agreement currently in effect that “The above Goods have been imported above a Twelve Month past.” In other words, the merchandise arrived in the colony prior to the agreement. Another advertisement appeared immediately below, that one advising “Country Gentlemen, Strangers, Traders, [and] Travelers” of “Lodgings and Boarding” available near Gerrish’s auction hall. It deployed copy nearly identical to what appeared near the end of Gerrish’s advertisement in the Essex Gazette. It also instructed interested parties to “Enquire of the Printer, or at Auction-Hall, King-Street.” Gerrish undoubtedly placed that advertisement as well.

John Gerrish and Company faced constant competition from other vendue masters and auctioneers in Boston. In an effort to maintain and expand his share of the market, Gerrish devised an advertising campaign that extended to newspapers published in places other than Boston and reiterated the strategies he developed in those advertisements in notices that he placed in local newspapers.

February 3

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , ,

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

Feb 3 - 4:3:1770 Providence Gazette
Providence Gazette (February 3, 1770).

“AUCTION HALL, In Court-Square, near the Town-House, opposite the Royal Exchange.”

Like other auctioneers, John Gerrish frequently inserted advertisements in several newspapers published in Boston. In a single week, he placed notices about upcoming sales in three local newspapers. On Monday, January 29, 1770, he ran nearly identical advertisements in the Boston Evening-Post and the Boston-Gazette to advise prospective customers of a “publick Vendue” or auction that would take place at his “Auction-Hall,—King-Street” the following evening. On Thursday, February 1, Gerrish placed another advertisement in the Massachusetts Gazette and Boston Weekly News-Letter, this time announcing an auction scheduled for ‘THIS EVENING.” Often promoting specific events happening within a matter of days, advertisements by auctioneers tended to run only once or twice, though Gerrish and others industriously submitted new notices to several printing offices almost every week.

Vendue masters in Boston, however, did not tend to advertise in the Providence Gazette. The short time that elapsed between announcing a sale and it taking place did not allow for sending notices to the printing office in Providence or for readers of that newspaper to make their way to Boston to participate in a particular auction. Yet Gerrish did not solely sell merchandise at auction. He ran a “Wholesale and Retail” operation out of his auction hall to supplement his revenues. For that enterprise he acquired a stable inventory that did not go to the highest bidder at the next sale, prompting him to experiment with placing an advertisement for those goods in the Providence Gazette in hopes of widening the market.

In so doing, Gerrish addressed “Country Gentlemen, Traders, [and] Shopkeepers,” that he offered a “GREAT Variety of ARTICLES.” He listed several items, including popular textiles, different kinds of paper, and more than one brand of snuff. Realizing that he addressed prospective customers much less familiar with his auction hall than residents of Boston, he provided much more extensive directions than he usually included in his local newspapers. Instead of “Auction-Hall,—King-Street,” he directed readers to the “AUCTION HALL, In Court-Square, near the Town-House, opposite the Royal Exchange.” He also assured prospective customers of “Constant Attendance given at said Hall.” Prospective customers from Providence and elsewhere in the “Country” need not worry about traveling some distance and arriving at the auction hall only to be inconvenienced by finding it closed or understaffed.

In the late 1760s and early 1770s, most purveyors of consumer goods and services did not advertise in newspapers other than those published in their own towns. Some, however, did make the investment in hopes of enlarging their clientele. They imagined regional rather than local markets for their wares.