Milliner

September 7

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , ,

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

South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal (September 7, 1773).

“She expects a large and neat Assortment of Millinary from London soon.”

Jane Thomson, “SOLE-DEALER AND SEPARATE TRADER,” ran her own business in Charleston in the 1770s.  The milliner took to the pages of the South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal to inform current and prospective clients that she “has removed from Tradd-Street to Old Church-Street, next Door to Mr. Sarazin, Silversmith,” and invited them to visit her at her new location.  She wished to maintain her clientele, expressing “grateful Thanks to her Friends and Customers for their past Favours” and stating that she “will be much obliged to her former Customers for the Continuance of their Commands.”  The milliner also hoped to expand her share of the market, promising “steady Attention” to all orders that would “give Satisfaction to all who are pleased to employ her.”

In addition to exemplary customer service, Thomson emphasized the hats as well as fabrics, ribbons, laces, other adornments, and supplies she stocked for making hats.  She declared that she “has a neat Assortment of Goods suitable for her Business.”  To further entice current and prospective clients, the milliner did not rely on her current inventory alone.  Rather than settle for leftovers that she moved from one shop to another, her customers would soon have access to a “large and neat Assortment of Millinary from London.”  Thomson expected a delivery that would replenish her supplies and keep her current with the latest fashions in the most cosmopolitan city in the empire.  On occasion, merchants, shopkeepers, tailors, milliners, and other advertisers previewed new merchandise as a means of generating excitement among prospective customers.  They leveraged anticipation to market goods not yet available, encouraging consumers to watch for subsequent advertisements or visit their shops frequently to find out what kinds of new goods recently arrived.  On another occasion, Thomson promoted “A fresh Supply of MILLINARY GOODS” that she imported from London, naming the ship and captain that delivered them to demonstrate that she did indeed carry goods recently arrived in the colony.  Like many other advertisers, she recognized that consumers placed a premium on the newest arrivals … and might even find promises of imminent arrivals even more alluring.

May 29

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , ,

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

Providence Gazette (May 29, 1771).

“POLLY CHACE … now carries on the Millinery Business.”

Purveyors of consumer goods and services placed advertisements in newspapers throughout the colonies.  Men constituted the vast majority of those advertisers.  In newspapers published in smaller towns, male merchants, shopkeepers, and artisans accounted for nearly all of the advertisers who hawked consumer goods and services, while in major urban ports – Boston, Charleston, New York, and Philadelphia – women, primarily shopkeepers and milliners, gained greater visibility in the marketplace via their newspaper advertisements.

Women rarely placed advertisements about consumer goods and services in the Providence Gazette in the early 1770s, but in late spring and early summer of 1773 Polly Chace published advertisements alongside those inserted by Jabez Bowen, Nicholas Brown and Company, Joseph Russell and William Russell, Ebenezer Thompson, John Updike, Nathaniel Wheaton, Samuel Young, and other men who frequently ran newspaper notices.  Chace informed the public that “she now carries on the Millinery Business, in the Shop formerly occupied by her Father.”  In addition, she sold a “large Assortment” of accessories and a “Variety of Goods suitable for the Season, either for Town or Country.”

Most printers ran advertisements for three or four weeks for a set fee and then continued them for as long as the advertiser desired at a weekly rate.  Most advertisers who ran notices in the Providence Gazette opted for the standard package rather than extending the run, but that was not the case for Chace.  Her advertisement appeared for nine weeks, starting with the May 8 edition and concluding with the July 3 edition, before she decided to remove it.  As advertisements for textiles, accessories, and other goods came and went in the public prints, Chace’s notice became a familiar sight for readers.  If her circumstances had recently changed, perhaps due to the retirement or death of her father who “formerly occupied” her shop, Chace may have considered the prolonged exposure necessary to establish herself.  If she had previously worked in the shop under her father’s supervision, she may have wished to advise former customers that she continued offering the same goods and services.

In Providence and elsewhere, women had less visibility as purveyors of goods and services in newspaper advertisements than their numbers merited.  Many women worked in stores, shops, and workshops associated with the male entrepreneurs whose names appeared in those advertisements.  That may have previously been the case for Polly Chace, but for nine weeks in 1773 her name boldly appeared as the headline of an advertisement that promoted the business that she operated.

March 2

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

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

South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal (March 2, 1773).

“She carries on the MILLINARY BUSINESS in all its branches, and will be much obliged to her FRIENDS for a continuance of their favours.”

The Bowers continued their advertising efforts in the South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal in March 1773. William gave directions to the new location for his shop and advised readers that he “continues to carry on the CLOCK and WATCH-MAKING BUSINESS in all its branches.”  Katharine, a milliner and shopkeeper, promoted the “very neat ASSORTMENT of MILLINARY GOODS” she recently imported and sold at the same location that William made and repaired clocks and watches.

The two previously placed a joint advertisement with the primary purpose of informing current customers and the general public of their new location.  William’s portion of the original notice was a little longer than Katharine’s portion, mostly as a result of providing more extensive directions to the new shop at “the fourth corner of Tradd-street and the Bay, lately possessed by Messrs. Mackenzie & Tunno, and next door to The Great Stationary and Book Store.”  In terms of describing the goods and services they provided, William and Katharine occupied similar amounts of space in that earlier notice.

Such was not the case with the new notice.  William’s portion of the advertisement repeated, the type still set from the previous iteration, but Katharine submitted entirely new copy that required twice as much space as William’s portion.  That made her business the focal point of the shared advertisement, especially since her headline for “MILLINARY GOODS,” in a larger font than anything else in the notice (including their names), appeared in the center of the advertisement.  In addition, Katharine adopted a strategy deployed by many merchants and shopkeepers.  She listed a “Neat assortment of fashionable CAPS, … a great variety of sash and other RIBBONS, fashionable FANS, women and girls white and coloured GLOVES,” and various other items.  In a nota bene, Katharine declared that she “carries on the MILLINARY BUSINESS in all its branches, and will be much obliged to her FRIENDS for a continuance of their favours.”  In other words, she hoped the clientele she cultivated would follow her to her new location.

Although William and his endeavors had a privileged place at the beginning of the shared advertisement, the length and format of their respective sections made Katharine’s business more prominent in this variation.  That may have been an indication that she contributed as much to the household income through her entrepreneurial activities as he did. William’s name appeared first, but not in a way that overshadowed Mary’s business.

January 19

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

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

South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal (January 19, 1773).

“WILLIAM BOWER … continues to carry on the CLOCK and WATCH-MAKING BUSINESS.”

“KATHARINE BOWER … carries on the MILLINARY BUSINESS.”

When clock- and watch-maker William Bower moved to a new location, he placed an advertisement in the January 19, 1773, edition of the South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal to inform current and prospective customers.  Now located “next door to The Great Stationary and Book Store,” he continued to offer the same services “as cheap and expeditiously done, as by any [other clock- and watchmaker] in the province.”  Katharine Bower, a milliner, also advised the public that she moved to a new location “where she carries on the MILLINARY BUSINESS in all its branches, and will be much obliged to her friends for a continuance of their favours.”  William and Katharine, presumably husband and wife, but possibly otherwise related, now ran businesses from the same location at “the store the fourth corner of Tradd-street and the Bay, lately possessed by Messrs. Mackenzie & Tunno.”  Previously, William had a workshop on Broad Street, while Katharine kept shop on Church Street.

In addition to sharing a store at the corner of Tradd Street and the Bay, William and Katharine also advertised together, purchasing a “square” of space in one of the local newspapers.  Husbands and wives (and other male and female relatives) who pursued separate occupations sometimes did so, especially in newspapers published in Charleston.  Those advertisements tended to adhere to certain patterns.  The husband or other male relative usually appeared first, followed by his wife or other female relative.  In some instances, the female entrepreneur appeared only in a brief note at the end of the advertisement.  In this case, however, both William and Katharine had headlines in larger fonts that made their names visible to readers.  William had a secondary headline that gave his occupation, “CLOCK and WATCH MAKER,” while Katharine did not.  Even when female entrepreneurs were not relegated to a short note, the amount of space devoted to promoting the husband’s business usually exceeded that amount of space for the wife’s business.  At a glance, that looked like the case in the Bowers’ advertisement.  However, much of the additional space in William’s portion of the notice gave extensive directions to the new shop, directions that Katharine did not need to repeat.  Katharine did not make as elaborate appeals about price and customer service as William, but she did encourage existing customers to visit her at her new location.

The Bowers pooled their resources to insert an advertisement in the South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal.  Their notice gave preference to William by listing his business first and including a secondary headline that listed his occupation, but this did not overshadow Katharine’s enterprise as much as some other advertisements placed jointly by men and women.  Katharine’s name appeared as a headline in the same size font as William’s name and, aside from the directions to the new location, the details about her business occupied a similar amount of space.  In general, the notice communicated that both William and Katharine were competent entrepreneurs responsible for their own participation in the marketplace.

November 22

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

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

Maryland Gazette (November 19, 1772).

“They are well acquainted with the newest Fashions.”

When they settled in Annapolis, Jane Nelson and Anne Nelson took out an advertisement in the Maryland Gazette to introduce themselves to the community and encourage “Ladies … to favour them with their Commands” or orders for “all Kind of Milliners and Mantua-makers Work.”  As newcomers to the colony, they could not rely on their reputations to market their services.  Instead, they emphasized their connections to London, the cosmopolitan center of the empire, and their knowledge of current styles there.

In the deadline for their advertisement, the Nelsons proclaimed that they “Just arrived from LONDON.”  Artisans, tailors, milliners, and others often trumpeted that they were “from London” in their advertisements, sometimes long after they crossed the Atlantic.  The Nelsons made it clear that they only recently made that journey.  Accordingly, prospective clients could trust that they were indeed “well acquainted with the newest Fashions” and capable of making hats, cloaks, and other garments “in the most elegant and fashionable manner.”  Having recently come from London, the Nelsons could also provide guidance about “Ladies fashionable dress and undress Caps” and other items.

The Nelsons also aimed to convince prospective clients that they offered exemplary customer service.  They asserted that “Ladies … may depend on having their Work neatly done, and with the utmost Dispatch.”  If given a chance, the Nelsons assured those ladies that “they will not be disappointed in their Endeavours to please, as it shall be their constant Study and greatest Ambition.”  In addition to serving clients who visited them in Annapolis, the Nelsons also took “Orders from the Country,” pledging to punctually complete them.

These “Milliners and Mantua-makers” deployed a two-pronged approach to marketing their services upon arriving in Annapolis.  They promoted their connections to London, underscoring their familiarity with the latest tastes there, while simultaneously vowing to meet and exceed the expectations of their clients in terms of customer service.  The Nelsons hoped that combination of appeals would entice the ladies of Annapolis to engage their services.

July 5

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , , ,

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

Massachusetts Gazette and Boston Weekly News-Letter (July 2, 1772).

“M. ASBY, Millener from LONDON.”

In the summer of 1772, James Asby took to the pages of the Massachusetts Gazette and Boston Weekly News-Letter to inform the public that he imported a “compleat Assortment of Gold, Silver, Pinchbeck & Tortoishell WATCHES” and sold them at his shop “nearly opposite the British Coffee-House in King-street.”  He placed that notice in collaboration with M. Asby, a “Millener from LONDON” who advised “her Customers and other Ladies” that she “removed from the Corner of Cross-street to a Tenement in Capt. Joy’s Buildings in Quaker-Lane.”  James and M. did not disclose their relationship.  They might have been husband and wife operating businesses at different locations, but they might have been brother and sister, father and daughter, or mother and son.

Whatever their relationship, promoting the millinery shop accounted for two-thirds of the advertisement, an interesting contrast to most advertisements shared by male and female relations.  In most instances, women’s contributions to the family business or enterprises that they pursued on their own amounted to a brief sentence or two at the end of an advertisement, if they were mentioned at all.  In this case, however, M. described in some detail the “compleat Assortment of dress and undress Caps of the newest Fashions, Ribbons, Gauzes, silk Gloves and Mits, Ladies Patterns for Ruffels, and Handkerchiefs, and many other Articles in the Millenary Way” that she imported.  In addition, she declared that she made cloaks, hats, bonnets, and other garments “on the shortest Notice, and in the most fashionable Taste.”  By reiterating “newest Fashions” and “most Fashionable Taste,” she sought to reassure prospective customers that they could trust her to outfit them according to the latest styles.  Underscoring that she was an entrepreneur in her own right, M. concluded the advertisement with a note that “An Apprentice is wanted to the said Business.”

Even as James and M. invested in an advertisement together, she became the focal point of the notice.  Her name and occupation, “M. ASBY, Millener from LONDON,” appeared in larger font and centered, drawing attention.  In contrast, James’s name, though in all capitals, appeared in the same size font in the middle of a paragraph.  Only on closer examination would readers have discovered that the two placed the advertisement together.  At first glance, most readers likely assumed the advertisement concerned M. and her business alone.  Even though her name appeared second, she took the lead in the advertisement that James and M. shared.

May 22

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , ,

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

Connecticut Journal (May 22, 1771).

“Mrs. SMITH takes this Method to acquaint the Ladies, That she makes up all Kind of Millenary.”

When Joseph Smith relocated from New York to New Haven, he took to the pages of the Connecticut Journal to “acquaint the Public, That he has open’d a Store … and has for Sale a Variety of fancy’d GOODS, proper for the Season.”  He then listed a variety of textiles, including “Flower’d and plain Sattins of all colours,” “Strip’d Camblets,” and “Flower’d and strip’d Muslins.”  He also carried accessories, such as “Black & white Silk & Thread Laces for Caps,” “Feathers & Flowers of all Colours,” and “All Kinds of Trimings for Cloaks.”  In addition to enumerating dozens of items, Smith asserted that he stocked “sundry other Articles too tedious to mention.”

Although Smith presented himself as the primary purveyor of these goods, the advertisement revealed that his wife also contributed to the family business.  In a brief note that followed the catalog of merchandise, she addressed prospective customers.  “Mrs. SMITH takes this Method,” she declared, “to acquaint the Ladies, That she makes up all Kind of Millenary either plain or fashionable, such as Caps, Hats, Bonnets, Cloaks, Childrens Jockies, &c.”  She provided an ancillary service that enhanced the retail business.  She undoubtedly assisted her husband in serving customers, making recommendations about what was “plain or fashionable,” and taking care of other aspects of running the store, but her contributions did not end there.  She was an entrepreneur in her own right, even if the advertisement emphasized Joseph as the proprietor and only made reference to her skills and labor at the very end.  Still, Mrs. Smith gained greater visibility in the public prints than most wives, daughters, and other female relations who aided male heads of households in operating their businesses.  Elsewhere in the same issue of the Connecticut Journal, Hubbard and Atwater, Isaac Beers and Elias Beers, and Paul Noyes advertised various goods, from medicines to textiles to leather breeches.  None of their notices mentioned anyone other than the proprietors of their businesses, but all of them almost certainly benefited from invisible labor provided by women.  Even in what appeared as a postscript to a much longer advertisement, Mrs. Smith gained greater public recognition as an entrepreneur than most other women did for their contributions to their family businesses.

January 30

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , , ,

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

Massachusetts Spy (January 30, 1772).

“The copartnership between HANNAH and HEPHZIBAH CARNES is mutually dissolved.”

For a time in the early 1770s, Hannah Carnes and Hephzibah Carnes operated a millinery shop together.  In December 1771, however, they “mutually dissolved” their partnership and set up their own businesses.  The former partners became competitors, both placing advertisements in the Boston-Gazette and the Massachusetts Spy.

Both women were conscious of the costs of advertising.  They placed their notices in only two of the five newspapers published in Boston at the time.  In addition, each of them listed some of the items available among the “large and compleat assortment of Millinery and piece Goods” in their shops, but also stated that their wares were “too numerous to particularize in an advertisement.”  Hannah went into greater detail in her advertisement, perhaps a necessity because Hephzibah remained in the shop “near the Town pump, in Cornhill,” and Hannah “removed to the shop opposite to Mr. Cranch Watch-Maker’s near the Mill Bridge.”  With Hephzibah having the advantage of a location already familiar to former customers, Hannah may have found it necessary to elaborate on the goods and services she offered as a means of catching the attention of “the Ladies” that she hoped would seek out her new shop.  Unlike Hephzibah, Hannah also mentioned that she sold “Bohea Tea” to entice prospective customers.

Their notices happened to appear one after the other on three occasions in the Massachusetts Spy, likely the result of happenstance rather than design on the part of the milliners.  Hannah launched her advertising campaign first, placing a notice in the Boston-Gazette on December 23, 1771.  It ran in that newspaper for five consecutive weeks.  Hephzibah also placed advertisements in the Boston-Gazette, starting on December 30, but only for three weeks.  On only one occasion, January 13, did their advertisements appear together.  Once again, Hannah may have invested in more advertising in order to direct customers to her new location.  Both women ran advertisements in the Massachusetts Spy on January 2, 9,16, and 30.  In that newspaper, their notices appeared together in all but the January 16 edition.  These variations suggest that compositors made decisions about the placement of the advertisements when they set the type for each issue.  Hannah and Hephzibah may not have appreciated their advertisements appearing in such close proximity, but advertisers exercised little control over where their notices appeared in eighteenth-century newspapers.

June 11

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , ,

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

Supplement to the South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal (June 11, 1771).

“She continues to make up EVERY ARTICLE in the MILINARY WAY.”

Readers encountered many advertisements that listed dozens of consumer goods when they perused the June 11, 1771, edition of the South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal and the supplement that accompanied it.  Indeed, rather than news accounts the first items on the first page consisted of advertisements for “a general and very compleat ASSORTMENT of GOODS, just imported … from London” that listed many kinds of textiles, garments, and adornments.  Male entrepreneurs placed most of those advertisements, but women also made an appearance in the public prints.  Jane Thomson ran her own notice for a “neat assortment of MILINARY GOODS.”

Thomson stocked everything from “pink, green, white, sky blue, and black English persians” to “women and girls silk and leather gloves and mitts” to “blond lace, single and double edged.”  After listing dozens of items, she proclaimed that her inventory also included “many other articles, too tedious to enumerate.”  She offered as many choices to consumers as her male competitors.  In addition to retailing those goods, Thomson informed prospective clients that she “continues to make up EVERY ARTICLE in the MILINARY WAY, and FINE JOINS LACE as usual.”  That made her a producer as well as a purveyor of goods.

Editorials in early American newspapers often framed women solely as consumers, usually to critique their activities in the marketplace, but Thomson demonstrated that women filled other roles during the consumer revolution.  They ran their own businesses, negotiated with English merchants who supplied their inventory, kept ledgers and other records, collected debts, produced goods, placed advertisements, and mentored other women.  Thomson informed readers that she sought “one GIRL a[s] an apprentice,” someone she could train as a milliner who might eventually operate her own business.

Many more women pursued shopkeeping and other occupations in eighteenth-century American than placed newspaper advertisements.  As a result, the public prints did not give a complete accounting of the presence of women in the marketplace as producers and purveyors of consumer goods.  As they went about their daily business, however, colonists certainly knew that many of their female friends, relatives, and neighbors operated businesses of one kind or another.  Jane Thomson’s advertisement only hints at the number of women who made or sold goods in Charleston in the early 1770s.

June 17

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , , ,

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

Jun 17 - 6:14:1770 Pennsylvania Gazette
Pennsylvania Gazette (June 14, 1770).

“Proposes to return as soon as the Importation is opened.”

Although many colonists promoted “domestic manufactures” as alternative to imported goods in the late 1760s and early 1770s, many consumers and purveyors of goods embraced those products only temporarily.  Items produced in the colonies gained popularity when nonimportation agreements were in effect as a means of economic resistance to Parliament imposing duties on certain imported goods, but many colonists anticipated repeal of such odious legislation and looked forward to resuming business as usual.  For some, domestic manufactures represented a temporary measure; merchants and shopkeepers intended to import goods from England once again when the political situation calmed, just as consumers intended to purchase those items as soon as they became available once again.

In the summer of 1770, Anne Pearson, a milliner in Philadelphia, was among those purveyors of goods who expressed enthusiasm about acquiring and selling imported merchandise once again.  She placed an advertisement in the June 14, 1770, edition of the Pennsylvania Gazette to announce that she sought to liquidate her current inventory before traveling to London in the fall.  She offered a “LARGE and general Assortment of Millinery and Linen-drapery Goods” at low prices.  Yet Pearson did not plan to relocate to London; instead, she would stay for only a short time and then “return as soon as the Importation is opened” in the wake of the repeal of the duties on imported paper, glass, paint, and lead that had been established in the Townshend Acts.  Some colonists continued to argue for the importance of domestic manufactures even after Parliament capitulated, but they did not sway purveyors or consumers to continue to abstain completely from imported goods.  Recognizing the demand for such goods, Pearson attempted to put herself in the best position to serve customers in Philadelphia.  Not only would she “return as soon as the Importation is opened,” she would bring with her “a fresh Assortment of the very best and most fashionable Goods.”  In journeying to London to select those goods herself, Pearson seized an advantage over competitors who relied on English merchants and correspondents to supply them with goods.  Pearson would not have to rely on the judgment of others, judgment that might be compromised by their desire to rid themselves of wares unlikely to sell in England.  Instead, she could inspect the merchandise before placing her order and observe the current trends in London in order to make her case to prospective customers that she did indeed stock “the very best and most fashionable Goods” upon her return to Philadelphia.