Joiner

November 28

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

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

Dunlap’s Maryland Gazette (November 28, 1775).

“He will engage to make Looms for the weaving of Linen an[d] Woollen.”

At the same time that David Poe advertised that he “set up … the business of SPINNING WHEEL Making” in Baltimore in November 1775, Fergus McIllroy took to the pages of Dunlap’s Maryland Gazette to inform the public that he “will engage to make Looms for the weaving of Linen an[d] Woolen.”  Both artisans responded to demand for equipment for making textiles that arose in response to the Continental Association, a nonimportation and nonconsumption agreement devised by the First Continental Congress to leverage commerce as a means of achieving political goals.  The text of the pact stated that it would remain in place until Parliament repealed duties on tea and the Coercive Acts that punished Boston for the destruction of tea in what has become known as the Boston Tea Party.  It also issued a call to “encourage Frugality, Economy, and Industry; and promote Agriculture, Arts, and the Manufactures of this Country, especially that of Wool.”

Many colonizers, both men and women, wanted to do their part in producing domestic manufactures as alternatives to imported textiles and other goods, but they needed materials and equipment.  McIllroy reported that he “repeatedly had the opportunity of hearing several of the inhabitants of this country, complaining that they cannot get LOOMS made properly, for carrying on of the Linen and Woolen Weaving-business.”  Although he currently worked as a “House Joiner,” he claimed that he “has experience of making upwards of 200” looms before he migrated to Baltimore.  That being the case, he pledged that his looms were “as good as any made in the North of Ireland.”  Yet prospective customers did not have to take his word for it: “there is many Weavers in the country that has seen his Looms in Ireland, and can answer for their goodness.”  For good measure, he added that he was a “master” when it came to making looms and “there is not a man in the Continent capable to exceed him.”

In addition, McIllroy noted the “many ways that he can make them,” so he had “models of all the different kinds, so as his customers may please themselves.”  Furthermore, they could supply the materials for constructing their looms or leave it to McIllroy to provide the materials.  In the latter instance, customers had to pay a deposit of twenty shillings before McIllroy would make their loom.  He also outlined the conditions for visiting homes to “set them up properly.”  If a town within sixty miles of Baltimore wished to order twenty or more looms, he offered to do the work there to avoid transporting the new looms over long distances.  McIllroy stood ready to contribute to the American cause with his “Industry” that in turn “promote[d] … the Manufactures of this Country,” joining with other artisans who vowed to do the same.

March 11

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

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

Mar 11 - 3:11:1767 Georgia Gazette
Georgia Gazette (March 11, 1767).

“THOMAS LEE jun. House-Carpenter and Joiner.”

Thomas Lee, Jr. most likely placed this advertisement to introduce himself to residents of Savannah. As far as introductions went, it was brief but covered a lot of ground. In a single sentence, Lee assured “gentlemen who will be pleased to employ him, that they may depend upon having their work done in the best manner and at the most reasonable rates, with the utmost dispatch.” In so doing, Lee incorporated two of the most common appeals made in advertisements for consumer goods in the eighteenth century. Artisans and others who offered services often adapted those appeals to their own purposes. An appeal to price (“at the most reasonable rates”) required little shift in the meaning, but an appeal to quality (“”having their work done in the best manner”) moved the focus away from merchandise to the skills possessed by the advertiser offering the service. Lee added another appeal sometimes advanced by shopkeepers but more often deployed by artisans. When he pledged to complete work “with the utmost dispatch,” he promised attentiveness and efficiency. Then and now, customers hiring artisans (or contractors) to work on their homes value jobs completed in a timely manner. Similarly, Lee provided “estimations and plans” so customers could hold him accountable for the work he was hired to do.

In describing himself as a “House-Carpenter and Joiner,” Lee informed potential clients that he was a versatile craftsman. Like carpenters, joiners worked with wood, but they specialized in lighter and more ornamental work. Lee was qualified to work on the structure of a building or make and repair any of the fittings that adorned it. Those fittings might include simple doors and windows or they could include intricate pediments and mantels. That being the case, he addressed his introduction “to all gentlemen” in Savannah because affluent merchants and other members of the local gentry would have been most likely to hire (and afford) his services for more ornate work. As the consumer revolution placed an increasing number of goods in the hands of all sorts of colonists, the elite used architectural adornment to express their tastes and attempt to assert distinctions between themselves and others who sometimes mimicked their fashions.

At first glance, Lee’s advertisement looks like a simple notice, but the savvy “House-Carpenter and Joiner” actually incorporated several types of appeals to make a good first impression when introducing himself and his services to residents of Savannah.