What was advertised in a colonial American newspaper 250 years ago today?
“Any gentlemen who shall employ him, will be freed from the unnecessary trouble of trying on the cloaths.”
Upon arriving in Philadelphia, “KIRK, TAYLOR, from London,” placed an advertisement in the Pennsylvania Journal to introduce himself to prospective clients. Like so many other artisans who migrated across the Atlantic, Kirk did not have the benefit of his new community’s long familiarity with his work. Instead, he had to establish his reputation by reporting on his prior experience serving customers in faraway places. To that end, Kirk proclaimed that he “has been employed in cutting in the most eminent shops of London and Dublin.” Prospective clients in the largest city in the colonies associated some level of cachet with such connections to even larger and more cosmopolitan cities. Furthermore, his origins suggested that Kirk had special insight into the latest trends in those places, especially when he declared that he made garments “in the most genteel and newest fashion.”
When he set up shop in Philadelphia, Kirk took the house “where William Robinson lately lived” on Fourth Street. Not only did he take over that residence, the tailor also hoped to acquire Robinson’s clientele, an efficient means of cultivating relationships in his new city. The newcomer “begs the favour to be employed by Mr. Robinson’s customers, who may depend on his care and fidelity.” Earning repeat business, generating word-of-mouth recommendations, and bolstering his reputation depended on attentive service and producing quality work for Robinson’s customers and anyone else who gave him a chance. Kirk clearly communicated that he was confident in his abilities. He was such a good tailor, he reported, that “gentlemen who shall employ him, will be freed from the unnecessary trouble of trying on the cloaths,” so precise were his measurements and sewing. They did not need to tarry in his shop, spending unnecessary time better devoted to their own business or leisure.
Kirk aimed to capture some portion of the market for tailoring services in Philadelphia. He devised an advertisement that gave prospective clients good reason to give him a chance and then decide for themselves if he merited more orders. He hoped to gain some of the clients accustomed to visiting a tailoring shop at the same location, but did not entrust his fate to that circumstance alone. Instead, he advised Robinson’s former customers and other prospective customers that he had experience in the best shops in London and Dublin, knowledge of the latest fashions, and the skills necessary “to give satisfaction to all his employers.”