John Langdon

October 31

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , ,

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

Independent Chronicle (October 31, 1776).

“PUFFING, is not his Talent.”

On the last day of October in 1776, John Langdon published an advertisement addressed “TO THE PUBLIC in general; and all his good Friends, in Special,” in which he offered his services as an auctioneer.  He informed readers of the Independent Chronicle that they could find him on Fleet Street in Boston.

In his lively notice, Langdon commented on a common practice in other advertisements: “PUFFING.”  Many advertisers, including other auctioneers, bestowed elaborate praise on themselves and on the goods and services that they sold.  The Oxford English Dictionary notes that “puffery” appeared in print as early as 1731.  It originally meant “grandiloquent or bombastic language.”  Entrepreneurs adopted the practice to market goods as part of the consumer revolution in both Britain and the colonies.  By the time Langdon published his advertisement, “puffery” meant the “action or practice of ‘puffing’ someone or something; extravagant or undeserved praise, esp. for advertising or promotional purposes; writing, etc., intended to have this effect.”  Puffing and puffery had negative connotations since they suggested unwarranted exaggeration and perhaps even deception.

Langdon sought to assure his clients that “PUFFING, is not his talent,” yet he wanted them to know that he would make sincere efforts to “exert himself, and use his utmost Endeavours, to give Satisfaction to his Employers.”  They could depend on his “Fidelity, Assiduity, and Dexterity” when they engaged his services as an auctioneer.  In other words, he was faithful to his clients, seeking the best prices for them rather than for bidders; he gave constant and close attention to his business; and he adroitly applied cleverness and intelligence to running his auctions to achieve the best possible outcomes for his clients.  In a nota bene, he also made clear that “Moderate Commissions, will content him.”  He did not angle to claim a significant share of the proceeds from items his clients put up for sale.  Instead, he set a fair rate his part in successful transactions that resulted in the sale of their merchandise.  No part of his business, then, was over the top.  Rather than “PUFFING” his skills, Langdon wanted prospective customers to associate humble competence with his auctioneering.

February 13

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , , ,

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

Boston-Gazette (February 7, 1774).

“This Pamphlet run thro’ Ten Editions in London in less than twelve Months.”

American printers and booksellers marketed and sold a variety of political pamphlets and treatises during the imperial crisis that led to thirteen colonies declaring independence from Great Britain.  In addition to hawking items printed in London and imported to the colonies, some of those printers and booksellers also published American editions, as was the case with The Judgment of Whole Kingdoms and Nations, Concerning the Rights, Privileges and Properties of the People.  Three American editions appeared in 1773 and 1774, one in Philadelphia, one in Boston, and one in Newport, Rhode Island.

Several rare book dealers, including Bauman Rare Books, offer overviews of the publication history, contents, and significance of The Judgment of Whole Kingdoms and Nations.  Originally published as Vox Populi, Vox Dei in London in 1709, the pamphlet “examines principles of limited monarchy and the right of resistance to tyranny,” drawing on “historical precedents and reiterat[ing] opposition to absolute monarchy during the time of England’s Glorious Revolution.”  Colonial printers and booksellers both answered the demand for this sort of political philosophy and helped to stoke opposition to king and Parliament by publishing and disseminating this pamphlet and other tracts and treatises.  The Judgment of Whole Kingdoms and Nations “contains the seed of what would become the American Bill of Rights – reprinting the English Bill of Rights – and was read by many of the Founding Fathers, including John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, who owned the Philadelphia 1773 edition.”

Adams may have acquired his copy after reading the advertisement that John Langdon placed in the February 7, 1774, edition of the Boston-Gazette, a newspaper that took an especially vocal stance in support of the Sons of Liberty and the rights of Americans.  Langdon, a bookseller, published the book, engaging the services of Isaiah Thomas as printer.  To incite demand, Langdon informed prospective customers that “This Pamphlet run thro’ Ten Editions in London in less than twelve Months.”  How could anyone interested in politics in the colonies miss out on what was such a popular and influential work in the capital of the empire?  Readers of the Boston-Gazette had to decide for themselves how much to trust Langdon’s assertion about the rapid sales of the pamphlet in London.

That report, however, may have contributed to colonizers overestimating how much the general public on the other side of the Atlantic supported them in their disputes with George III and Parliament.  In Misinformation Nation: Foreign News and the Politics of Truth in Revolutionary America, Jordan E. Taylor argues that American newspapers selectively published reports from London, creating narratives of recent events that matched the ideologies of the printers.  Langdon’s note at the end of his advertisement for a political pamphlet used to support the American cause may have buttressed the narrative that Benjamin Edes and John Gill advanced in the news items and editorials they published elsewhere in the Boston-Gazette.  Declaring that The Judgment of Whole Kingdoms and Nations sold so rapidly in London suggested widespread support for the principles it contained as well as applying them to the American colonies.

October 18

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

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

Massachusetts Spy (October 15, 1772).

“The least favours gratefully acknowledged.”

John Langdon deployed a variety of strategies for marketing his inventory at the “New Book-Store” in Boston in the fall of 1772.  Like many other retailers, he emphasized the choices that he provided for consumers.  In an advertisement in the October 15 edition of the Massachusetts Spy, the bookseller informed prospective customers that he recently imported a “LARGE and Grand Assortment of BOOKS in all Arts and Sciences.”  Those new titles supplemented those he already had in stock.  He confidently proclaimed that he now offered “as large a collection as is to be found at any Store in America.”  His selection supposedly rivaled what consumers would encounter in shops in urban ports like Charleston, New York, and Philadelphia as well as in the shops operated by local competitors.  Langdon intended for that bold claim to double as an invitation for prospective customers to browse in his shop and discover titles of interest among his extensive inventory for themselves.

In addition, thew bookseller made appeals to price and customer service.  He explained that he planned to depart for England in the spring.  As a result, he wished to sell his inventory over the course of the next several months.  To do so, he set low prices.  Langdon pledged that “every Gentleman who may please to favour him with their custom may depend on purchasing at a little more than the sterling cost and charges.”  In other words, he did not mark up the prices exorbitantly but instead sought to make only a small profit on each book he sold.  Langdon concluded his advertisement with a note that the “least favours [are] gratefully acknowledged.”  He appreciated any business, no matter how large or small the transaction.  Even though he had such a large inventory, no purchase … and no customer … was insignificant. Langdon intended to cultivate relationships with everyone who entered his shop.

Langdon’s advertisement for the New Book-Store was no mere announcement that he sold books.  Instead, he crafted a notice that incorporated multiple marketing strategies.  He emphasized the size of his inventory, his motivation for setting low prices, and the importance of every customer in his effort to encourage consumers to acquire books from him.