New-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury

March 27

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

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

Newport Mercury (March 27, 1775).

“Worth the Perusal of each TRUE SON OF LIBERTY.”

In the years after British soldiers fired into a crowd of protestors and killed several colonizers on March 5, 1770, the residents of Boston staged an annual commemoration of the “horrid MASSACRE.”  They called on a prominent patriot to give an “ORATION” about what occurred and the dangers of having British soldiers quartered in urban ports during times of peace.  Colonizers did not need to be present for the oration to experience it for themselves.  Each year, printers published and marketed the oration, commodifying an event that played an important role in the imperial crisis becoming a revolution.

New-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury (March 27, 1775).

In the first several years, printers in Boston published the oration and newspapers in Massachusetts carried advertisements for it.  In 1775, however, printers in other colonies produced their own editions of Joseph Warren’s oration commemorating the fifth anniversary of the Boston Massacre.  Benjamin Edes and John Gill, the printers of the Boston-Gazette, and Joseph Greenleaf, the publisher of the Royal American Magazine, partnered in printing and advertising a Boston edition.  Not long after, Solomon Southwick, the printer of the Newport Mercury, advertised his own edition, giving the notice a privileged place as the first item in the first column on the first page of the March 27 edition of his newspaper.  On that same day, John Anderson inserted a notice in the New-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury to alert readers of the imminent publication of a local edition undertaken “At the particular Desire of a Number of respectable GENTLEMEN.”  Patriots expressed intertest in obtaining their own copies of Warren’s oration; in turn, printers believed they could generate even greater demand.  To that end, Anderson declared, “The genuine Spirit of Freedom which breathes in every Line of this inimitable Performance, renders it worth the Perusal of each TRUE SON OF LIBERTY.”

The political climate had shifted since printers in Boston disseminated John Hancock’s oration commemorating the fourth anniversary of the Boston Massacre.  Since then, colonizers experienced how Parliament reacted to the destruction of tea during what has become known as the Boston Tea Party.  The Coercive Acts, including the Boston Port Act that closed the harbor until residents paid restitution, prompted delegates from throughout the colonies to gather in Philadelphia for the First Continental Congress in the fall of 1774.  They adopted a nonimportation agreement, the Continental Association, that remained in effect in the spring of 1775.  Given the events that transpired in 1774 and early 1775, it made sense that the anniversary of the “BLOODY TRAGEDY of the 5th of MARCH, 1770” garnered greater attention beyond Massachusetts.

March 6

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , ,

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

New-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury (March 6, 1775).

“Will be celebrated the Anniversary of the repeal of the STAMP-ACT.”

A manicule directed readers to take note of upcoming festivities to commemorate the “18th of MARCH” as they perused the advertisements in the March 6, 1775, edition of the New-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury.  Although that date is not familiar to most Americans in the twenty-first century, it certainly resonated with colonizers who associated it with the repeal of the Stamp Act on March 18, 1766.  Just as Americans today recognize the “4th of July” as Independence Day, “9/11” as the day terrorists hijacked four airplanes and used them as weapons to kill thousands of people, and “January 6” as the day insurrectionists attacked the United States Capitol at the bidding of a demagogue who refused to participate in a peaceful transfer of power after losing a free and fair election, colonizers knew the significance of the “18th of MARCH” without further explanation.

The Sons of Liberty and other supporters of the American cause had been gathering to celebrate “the Anniversary of the repeal of the STAMP-ACT” for many years, including in 1770, 1771, 1772, 1773, and 1774.  As the ninth anniversary approached, they prepared to dine “at the house of Mrs. De La Montagnie” with “those gentlemen and their friends, who associated there last year.”  The tavern operated by the De La Montagne family had often been the site of these commemorations.  “Mr. DE LA MONTAGNIE” served as host in 1774; following his death, his widow continued the tradition.  The celebrants did not know it at the time, but it would be the last time they commemorated the repeal of the Stamp Act before what would eventually become a war for independence began.  Just a month and a day later, the skirmishes at Lexington and Concord would occur.  While “those gentlemen and their friends” who marked the anniversary of the repeal of the Stamp Act did not yet know the significant of the “19th of April,” they did understand that the imperial crisis had intensified.  For many years they had already been commemorating the events that precipitated the American Revolution.  As John Adams suggested after the war, “The Revolution was in the Minds of the People … before a drop of blood was drawn at Lexington.”

February 13

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , , ,

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

Supplement to the New-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury (February 13, 1775).

“Orders for the West-Indies and elsewhere, compleated on the shortest notice.”

Samuel Prince, a cabinetmaker, produced furniture in his workshop “At the sign of the chest of drawers, in William-Street, near the North Church, in New-York” in the 1770s.  In February 1775, he took to the pages of the New-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury to promote a “parcel of the most elegant furniture, made of mahogany,” imported from the West Indies, “of the very best quality.”  In addition to the “chest of drawers, … desks and book cases of different sorts, [and] chairs of many different and new patterns” that he had on hand, Prince made “all sorts of cabinet work in the neatest manner, and on the lowest terms.”

While he certainly sought customers in New York, he also indicated that he accepted “Orders for the West-Indies and elsewhere” and shipped the furniture to his clients.  That Prince addressed prospective customers in the West Indies testified to the circulation of the New-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury and other colonial newspapers.  The cabinetmaker had a reasonable expectation that prospective customers in faraway places would see his advertisement.

Prince promised that he “completed” orders “on the shortest notice, an appeal with additional significance since the Continental Association went into effect.  Devised by the First Continental Congress, that nonimportation, nonconsumption, and nonexportation agreement was designed to use commerce as leverage for convincing Parliament to repeal the Coercive Acts.  The fourth article specified that the “earnest Desire we have not to injure our Fellow Subjects in Great Britain, Ireland, or the West Indies, induces us to suspend a Non-exportation until the tenth Day of September 1775.”  If Parliament did not take satisfactory action by that time, “we will not, directly or indirectly, export any Merchandise, or Commodity whatsoever, to Great Britain, Ireland, or the West Indies.”  In other words, Prince and prospective clients in the West Indies had a short window of opportunity for placing orders, producing the furniture, and shipping it.  Prince did not violate the provisions of the Continental Association, but he likely had that looming deadline in mind when he pledged to fill orders “on the shortest notice.”

December 19

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , , ,

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

New-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury (December 19, 1774).

“He will undertake to make middle-siz’d men cloaths at the under-mentioned prices.”

William Thorne, a tailor, took to the pages of the New-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury to advertise his services in late December 1774.  He began his notice with an announcement that he had recently acquired various textiles, trimmings, and patterns, though he devoted half of the space to a list of prices that he charged for “middle-siz’d men cloaths.” Presumably he adjusted the prices accordingly depending on whether a client was tall or short or stout.  The “middle-siz’d” prices at least gave prospective customers an estimate of what they could expect to pay for an array of garments.

For instance, a ”Full figured Manchester velvet,” the most genteel item on the list, cost fifteen pounds and ten shillings “New-York Currency.”  For some items, the list revealed a progression of prices.  A “plain suit [made of] superfine cloth” cost eight pounds and ten shillings, a “Half trimmed suit” of the same material cost nine pounds, and a “Full drest suit,” also of the same material, cost ten pounds.  Clients interested in just a “Coat and waistcoat of superfine cloth” paid only six pounds and fifteen shillings, with a “Single coat of superfine cloth” costing five pounds.  For those of more modest means, a “Plain suit [made of] second best cloth” cost seven pounds.  The prices for the “Half trimmed” and “Full drest” suits made of superfine cloth suggested the likely increase in price for such items made of “second best cloth.”  Thorne also made other garments.  A “Surtout coat” or overcoat “of best bath beaver” cost two pounds and fifteen shillings and a “Pair of best black velvet breeches” went for two pounds.

Tailors only occasionally listed prices in their advertisements.  The list that Thorne published allowed “his friends, customers, and the publick in general” to do some comparison shopping without needing to visit his shop of contact him directly.  Readers could determine for themselves how Thorne’s prices compared to what they paid their own tailors for similar garments, perhaps prompting them to recognize bargains that made Thorne’s services attractive to them.

December 12

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

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

New-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury (December 12, 1774).

“He will meet with due encouragement … by every real friend to American manufactures.”

Nicholas Cox, a hatter, made several appeals to consumers in his advertisement in the December 12, 1774, edition of the New-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury.  He commenced with a standard expression of gratitude for “the encouragement he had met with from the respectable publick since he commenc’d business.”  Many purveyors of goods and services did so in their advertisements, signaling to readers that other consumers already considered them worthy of their business.  It was a familiar means of bolstering an advertiser’s reputation.

The hatter also incorporated commentary specific to his trade, proclaiming that he “manufactures the new invented and greatly approved of CAP-HATS.”  For those unaware of this innovation, eh explained that by “outward appearance they are entirely like other hats, having only the addition of a cap fix’d in the bowl, which can be drawn out occasionally.”  In such instances, it “buttons under the chin, keeping the neck and ears entirely free from rain or snow.”  Cox marketed this new style, a very practical element, as “so very necessary for all those whose business exposes them to the inclemency of the weather.”  According to Kate Haulman, colonizers debated whether they should carry umbrellas, “stylistic spoils of empire hailing from India,” in the 1760s and 1770s.  “Some regarded umbrellas as ridiculous and frivolous,” she notes, “serving no purpose that a good hat could not supply.”[1]  Cox produced and sold such hats for men of business who sought to eschew the effeminacy and luxury associated with umbrellas.

His next appeal made an even more explicitly political argument to prospective customers.  He made “the best black and white superfine FELT and WOOL HATS,” like the tricorne hat depicted in the woodcut that adorned his advertisement.  Cox asserted that patriotic consumers had a duty to support his business when they made choices about where to acquire their hats.  He expressed confidence that he “will meet with due encouragement at this spirited time, by every real friend to American manufactures.”  The Continental Association, a boycott of British goods adopted in response to the Coercive Acts, had recently gone into effect.  Cox offered an alternative to colonizers who desired to acquire hats yet wished to remain patriotically correct, either according to their own principles or at least to avoid the ire of others who observed the purchases they made.  Furthermore, his customers did not have sacrifice quality for principles.  The hatter pledged that “he will warrant [his hats] to be far superior to the best imported from England.” That being the case, the crown that appeared above the tricorne hat at the top of his advertisement may have testified to the superior quality of his hats, a general sense of pride in being part of the British Empire, or reverence for the monarch whom many colonizers still hoped would intervene on their behalf in their altercation with Parliament.

In addition to those appeals, Cox included two more common marketing strategies.  He promised a “[g]reat abatement … to those who take a quantity at a time.”  In other words, he gave discounts for buying multiple hats, both for consumers and for retailers who intended to sell them in their own shops.  He also provided a free ancillary service: “Customers hats brush’d at all times, gratis.”  Cox saw to the care and maintenance of the hats he made and sold long after the time of purchase.  He cultivated relationships with customers by encouraging them to return to his shop for assistance in keeping their hats in good order.  Overall, Cox resorted to a variety of familiar and specific appeals when advertising his hats, distinguishing him from competitors who did not put as much effort into marketing their wares.

**********

[1] Kate Haulman, “Fashion and the Culture Wars of Revolutionary Philadelphia,” William and Mary Quarterly, 3rd ser., 62, no 4 (October 2005): 632.

November 28

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , ,

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

Supplement to the New-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury (November 28, 1774).

“All sorts of organs, harpsichords, spinnets and Fortepianoes.”

In the fall of 1774, John Sheybli, an “ORGAN-BUILDER,” took to the pages of the New-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury to advise the public that he “MAKES, repairs and tunes all sorts of organs, harpsichords, spinnets and Fortepianoes, on the most reasonable terms.”  In addition, he “has now ready for sale, one neat chamber organ, one hammer spinnet, [and] one common spinnet” at the workshop he shared with Samuel Prince, a cabinetmaker.

Readers of the New-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury likely perused the copy in Sheybli’s advertisement only after noticing the visual image that accompanied it.  A woodcut featured a scene with two men within an oval frame.  The man on the left stood at a workbench with an array of tools hanging on the wall over it and the man on the right was seated at an organ, maybe tuning it or maybe playing it.  Perhaps it was a depiction of the workshop where Sheybli built organs and other instruments on Horse and Cart Street, though it may have been an idealized portrait of the artisan at work and a customer enjoying the product of those labors.  Readers could determine for themselves how they wished to interpret it.

No matter which narrative they imagined, Sheybli treated them to a visual image unlike others they encountered in the New-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury and other newspapers.  Advertisers sometimes included woodcuts that represented some aspect of their business, but they focused on specific goods or replicated their shop signs.  They almost never showed people, neither at work producing the items offered for sale nor at leisure enjoying their purchases.  The November 28, 1774, edition of the New-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury and its supplement had three advertisements with woodcuts commissioned by the advertisers.  Lyon Jonas, a furrier, once again ran his notice with an image of some of the goods he produced, a muff and a tippet, while Nicholas Cox, a hatter, incorporated what may have been a variation of the sign that marked his location.  His woodcut showed a crown above a tricorne hat.  Readers were accustomed to those kinds of images, but much less often saw the sort of scene that Sheybli presented in his advertisement.  That almost certainly helped in making it memorable.

November 21

Carl Robert Keyes Uncategorized , , , , ,

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

New-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury (November 21, 1774)

“A General and compleat assortment of muffs and tippets in the newest taste.”

As winter approached in 1774, Lyon Jonas, a “FURRIER, from LONDON,” took to the pages of the New-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury to advertise the “General and compleat assortment of muffs and tippets in the newest taste” available at his shop on Little Dock Street.  He also “manufactures and sells gentlemens caps and gloves lined with furr, very useful for travelling,” “trims ladies robes and riding dresses,” and “faces and lappels gentlemens coats and vests.”  In addition to those services, Jonas “buys and sells all sorts of furrs, wholesale and retail.”

To attract attention to his advertisement, the furrier adorned it with a woodcut that depicted a muff and a tippet (or scarf) above it with both enclosed within a decorative border.  It resembled, but did not replicate, the woodcut that John Siemon included in his advertisements in the New-York Journal, the Pennsylvania Chronicle, and the Pennsylvania Journal three years earlier.  That image did not include a border, but perhaps whoever carved Jonas’s woodcut recollected it when the furrier commissioned an image to accompany his notice.

Whatever the inspiration may have been, Jonas’s woodcut represented an additional investment in his marketing efforts.  First, he paid for the creation of the image.  Then, he paid for the space it occupied each time it appeared in the newspaper.  Advertisers paid by the amount of space rather than the number of words.  The woodcut doubled the amount of space that Jonas required in the New-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury, incurring additional expense.  Jonas presumably considered it worth the cost since the woodcut distinguished his notice from others.  In the November 21 edition and its supplement, five other advertisements featured stock images of ships and Hugh Gaine, the printer, once again ran an advertisement for Keyser’s “Famous Pills” with a border composed of ornamental type.  Beyond that Jonas’s notice was the only one with an image as well as the only one with an image depicting an aspect of his business and intended for his exclusive use.  Readers could hardly have missed it when they perused the pages of the New-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury.

July 4

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , ,

Who was the subject of an advertisement in a colonial American newspaper 250 years ago today?

New-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury (July 4, 1774).

“RAN AWAY … a Negro Man named GEORGE.”

On June 4, 1774, a “Negro Man named GEORGE” liberated himself from his enslaver, Abraham Lawrence of “Flushing on Long-Island,” by running away.  In hopes of recovering George and returning him to slavery, Lawrence ran an advertisement in the New-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury.  It first appeared in the June 13 edition and continued for several issues, including the one published on July 4.  The enslaver hoped to enlist the aid of the public, offering “FIVE DOLLARS Reward” and providing a description of George so readers could identify him as they engaged in surveillance of Black men they encounter.  Lawrence also issued a standard warning: “All Masters of Vessels and others, are forbid carrying off, or harbouring said Run-away, as they will be dealt with according to Law.”  Already utilizing the power of the press, Lawrence was prepared to deploy the power of the state to return George to slavery and punish anyone who assisted this fugitive from slavery.

Lawrence’s description of George differed significantly from how George would have described himself, focusing on physical characteristics.  According to the enslaver, George “is of a yellowish Complexion, has black bushy Hair, which he commonly wears tied behind; 5 feet 8 Inches high.”  Lawrence did not indicate George’s approximate age, which language(s) he spoke, any skills he possessed or trades he followed, or whether he had been born in the colonies or Africa, nor did he mention any relations with other enslaved people.  Other advertisements often included such details.  Lawrence devoted the most attention to George’s clothing: “a whitish Linen Coat, a grey homespun Coat, blue Jacket, Buff coloured half-worn Velvet Breeches, with some Patches, black Stockings, and old Shoes.”  The enslaver reporter that George “most commonly wears his Hat cocked” and suspected that he “may change his Coat to a brown.”  In so doing, Lawrence acknowledged that George was clever, but condemned him for applying his intelligence to what the enslaver considered nefarious purposes.

Quite possibly, this may be the only trace of George that survives in the historical record, an account of his escape from slavery written not by himself but by an enslaver seeking his capture and return.  It tells an exceptionally truncated account of George’s life.  Despite the intentions of its author, this advertisement tells a story of courage, resilience, and resistance during the era of the American Revolution.  News coverage and editorials elsewhere in the July 4, 1774, edition of the New-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury focused on the imperial crisis, especially the aftermath of the Boston Port Act devised as punishment for the Boston Tea Party.  George may or may not have heard rumblings about that.  Either way, he made his own declaration of independence on June 4, 1774, much to the dismay of his enslaver.

For other stories of enslaved people liberating themselves originally published on July 4 during the era of the American Revolution, see:

June 6

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , ,

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

New-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury (June 6, 1774).

“Stove Grate Warehouse, in Beaver-street, (late Parker’s printing-office).”

William Bayley hawked a variety of merchandise to decorate a home according to the latest styles at his “Stove Grate Warehouse” in New York, far more than the name of his shop suggested.  In an advertisement in the June 6, 1774, edition of the New-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury, he listed an array of items recently imported from London, including a “New and general assortment of hard-ware, toys and trinkets; plated, japan’d and brown tea urns and coffee pots of the newest fashions; [and] a large assortment of paper hangings [or wallpaper] of the newest patterns.”  Bayley also stocked a “small assortment of china” and “a number of other articles too tedious to mention.”  He catered to taste while giving consumers choices for outfitting their homes for their own comfort and to impress visitors.

To give prospective customers a glimpse of what they might encounter at his “Warehouse” of decorative arts, Bayley adorned his advertisement with a woodcut depicting an ornate mantel with a stove grate.  Perhaps a similar image appeared on a sign that marked the location of his shop.  The border that enclosed it suggested that might have been the case. Incorporating such an image into his advertisement represented a significant investment for Bayley.  He had to commission the woodcut plus pay for twice as much space in the newspaper, yet he must have considered it worth the expense to increase the chances that customers would come to his new store in the space previously occupied by Samuel F. Parker’s printing office.  Given that the “Stove Grate Warehouse” was a new endeavor, Bayley may have considered even more necessary to make an impression in the public prints, strategically choosing a visual image over the lengthy lists of their inventories that other entrepreneurs, including James Morton and Richard Sause, published in the June 6 edition of the New-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury.  In the early twentieth century advertising executives coined the phrase “a picture is worth a thousand words,” but Bayley and other advertisers already deployed that concept during the era of the American Revolution.

April 4

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

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

New-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury (April 4, 1774).

“West-India and New-York rum.”

Delia Lee, a student in my Revolutionary America class, selected advertisements placed by local distillers in the April 4, 1774, edition of the New-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury to feature today.  Richard Deane frequently placed advertisements in the public prints.  The Adverts 250 Project previously examined one of his advertisements that he ran in the New-York Journal in 1772.  Philip Kissick, “DISTILLER and VINTNER,” on the other hand, is making his first appearance among on the Adverts 250 Project.

New-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury (April 4, 1774).

Delia, who was enrolled in business courses at the same time she was studying Revolutionary America, was interested in the production, distribution, and consumption of alcohol in early America.  When she set about her research, she consulted W.J. Rorabaugh’s overview of “Alcohol in America” in the OAH Magazine of History.[1]  According to Rorabaugh, “By 1770 Americans consumed alcohol, mostly in the form of rum and cider, routinely with every meal.”  Deane and Kissick stood ready to meet that demand.  Both included “West-India and New-York rum” among the lists of spirits that they sold.  Rorabaugh also notes that each colonizer “consumed about three and a half gallons of alcohol per year.”  Deane asserted that demand for his “Rasberry brandy,” “Cherry rum,” “Shrub of Jamaica spirits,” and other products “exceeded his expectations ten-fold,” suggesting a brisk market, especially for his wares.

Over the next couple of decades, the American Revolution and its aftermath “drastically changed drinking habits.  When the British blockaded the seacoast and thereby cut off molasses and rum imports, Americans looked for a substitute.”  Whiskey, distilled by Scot-Irish immigrants on the western frontier, replaced rum at the end of the eighteenth century “since the British refused to supply it and the new federal government began to tax it in the 1790s.”  Neither Deane nor Kissick included whiskey among the many spirits they advertised on the eve of the American Revolution.  Their advertisements provide a snapshot of the alcohol industry in the colonies at that time, an industry that politics and war would soon alter in significant ways.

**********

[1] W.J. Rorabaugh, “Alcohol in America,” OAH Magazine of History 6, no. 2 (Fall 1991): 17-19.