Placement on Page

August 29

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , ,

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

Aug 29 - 8:29:1768 New-York Gazette Weekly Mercury
New-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury (August 29, 1768).

“Many other Articles too tedious to mention.”

In a brief notice in the August 29, 1768, edition of the New-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury, William Moor advertised “a great Number of School Books” as well as “A large Assortment of Bibles, Testaments, Psalm Books, Psalters and Primers, with a great Variety of other Books on Law, Physick, and Divinity.” In addition, he stocked “a large Assortment of Saddles, Carpets, and many other Articles too tedious to mention.”

That Moor designated some of his merchandise “too tedious to mention” rather than publishing an extensive list of goods (an alternate strategy adopted by several other retailers whose advertisements appeared on the same page) had the unintended effect of influencing the placement of his advertisement in that issue. Moor’s entire notice extended only eight lines, making it short enough that the compositor could divide it into columns of four lines each, both printed perpendicular to the rest of the content on the page.

Compositors sometimes deployed this strategy as a means of squeezing more items, especially paid advertisements, into current issues rather then delay publication until the following week. Even though a two-page supplement devoted entirely to advertising accompanied this particular issue, it did not offer space to insert all of the advertising. Not so much remained to justify adding an additional page to the supplement. Instead, the compositor looked to the margins.

The standard issue consisted of four pages, each with three columns. The compositor converted the outer margin, away from the fold, of the first, third, and fourth pages into advertising space by dividing short notices into multiple columns of no more than four lines each and then positioning them perpendicular to the columns that ran the length of the page. In addition to Moor’s advertisement on the fourth page, a sixteen-line advertisement for a runaway servant appeared on the first page, divided into four columns of four lines each and positioned along the outer margin to the right of the masthead and essay that comprised the rest of the page. A bankruptcy notice, eight lines divided into four columns, ran in the outer margin of the third page. A short estate notice divided into two columns ran alongside Moor’s advertisement on the fourth page.

Moor likely had no choice concerning the unusual placement of his advertisement in the New-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury. All the same, the compositor’s efforts to find more space for paid notices may have served Moor’s interests by producing the unconventional format since readers may have been especially curious to see what sorts of items had been consigned to the margins. Rather than becoming marginal, the advertisements in the margins may have evoked additional notice.

June 21

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , ,

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

Jun 21 - 6:21:1768 South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal
South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal (June 21, 1768).

“Just published in Pamphlets, and to be sold by CHARLES CROUCH.”

In an advertisement that appeared in the June 14, 1768, edition of the South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal, Charles Crouch announced an auction of “A COLLECTION of LAW BOOKS” scheduled to occur in just over a week. He offered a brief description of the books, arguing that they were “valuable” and “rarely to be found.” He also pledged to insert a catalog in the next issue of the newspaper, a promise that he fulfilled in the June 21 edition. The catalog provided an additional description of the books up for bid: “the best Editions, well bound, and in good Condition.”

As the printer of the South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal, Crouch exercised considerable discretion when it came to the placement of his advertisements in that publication. The original announcement about the auction appeared first among the paid notices, immediately under a header that marked “New Advertisements.” The catalog occupied an even more privileged place in the next edition. Except for the masthead, it was the first item on the first page. The catalog comprised more than half the page, filling the entire first column as well as more than two-thirds of the second. Other advertisements for Crouch’s interests also appeared on the front page, including one seeking a tenant for “THE front STORE and CELLAR, in the House I now live in.” In another short notice, he announced that he sold “THE FARMER’s LETTERS to the Inhabitants of the BRITISH COLONIES,” a pamphlet that collected and reprinted John Dickinson’s series of essays that appeared in newspapers throughout the colonies. In yet another advertisement, Crouch alerted readers that he had just received a shipment of “EDWARD JOYCE’s famous Great American BALSAM,” a patent medicine made in New York. A lengthy description of the remedy and its uses extended nearly half a column. Finally, Crouch inserted a short advertisement for printed blanks and stationery, the last item on the first page.

Advertising accounted for three of the four pages of the June 21, 1768, edition of the South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal. Paid notices generated significant revenue for Crouch, making it possible to distribute the newspaper as well as give over space to his own advertisements. It hardly seems a coincidence that so many of his advertisements were clustered on the first page of the June 21 issue. As the proprietor of the newspaper, he likely instructed the compositor to give his advertisements prominence of place, thereby increasing the number of readers likely to examine them.

Jun 21 - 6:21:1768 South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal Page 1
Charles Crouch placed five of his own advertisements on the front page of the newspaper he published. (South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal, June 21, 1768).