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

“JOSEPH TURPIN, has opened a LIVERY STABLE.”

When he opened a livery stable in Charleston in the summer of 1767, Joseph Turpin turned to the advertising pages of the South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal to encourage potential customers to contract his services. Most eighteenth-century advertisers rarely mentioned anyone who provided assistance in their shops and other places of business. In general, advertisements obscured the labor of family members, apprentices, indentured servants, and employees, usually equating the operation of businesses exclusively with the proprietors themselves. Turpin, on the other hand, made one of his employees, William Swindle, “an experienced English Groom,” a central feature of his advertisement. It was not the proprietor’s skill, expertise, or experience marketed to potential clients but rather the qualifications and contributions of a subordinate.

To that end, in addition to asserting that Swindle had previous experience that made him “equal to the Task in every respect,” Turpin also included the groom’s recent work history in the advertisement, noting that he had been “lately in the employ of Robert Jones, of North-Carolina.” Although not exactly a reference in the current sense, revealing Swindle’s former employer further established his credentials and suggested that Jones would indeed provide a positive recommendation.

Swindle alone, however, was not responsible for the care horses at Turpin’s stable received. The proprietor did not abdicate other responsibilities; instead, he managed the business, overseeing its employees and operations. Turpin pledged that “those Gentlemen who will intrust the Care of their horses” to his stable “may depend they will be used in the best Manner.” Hiring an experienced groom to care for the horses was only part of fulfilling that promise. Providing “good Provinder” to feed the horses was another part. Swindle might make suggestions on that account, but the proprietor ultimately approved decisions concerning purchasing and paying for supplies.

Turpin crafted an advertisement that credited an employee for the specialized skills and experience he contributed to the business. While that comprised the primary appeal made to prospective clients, the proprietor also marketed his own management and oversight as further assurances of the quality of the services provided.