S. Sp. Skinner

September 5

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , ,

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

New-York Journal (September 2, 1773).

“The Transpositions in Mr. SKINNER’S Advertisement, in our Paper … were owing to an Error in the Press.”

Something strange happened with S. Sp. Skinner’s advertisement for “the best of RUM” in the New-York Journal near the end of summer in 1773.  In the September 2 edition, a manicule directed attention to a note from the printing office: “The Transpositions in Mr. SKINNER’S Advertisement, in our Paper, Number 1597, and 1598, were owing to an Error in the Press.”  John Holt, the printer, apparently attempted to make amends with an advertiser after making mistakes in a notice that ran for several months.

Skinner’s advertisement first ran in the December 31, 1772, edition of the New-York Journal and then ran regularly for the next five months.  On May 27, 1773, he added a nota bene: “To prevent further Mistakes, desires his Country Customers to take Notice, that there is a Distillery adjoining Mr. Skinner’s Buildings, to the Southward, which is not occupied by him.”  Skinner did not want his advertisements to inadvertently send customers to his competitor.  The updated advertisement continued through August 5.  In the August 12 edition, however, six lines from the original advertisement were mistakenly printed below the nota bene, creating an advertisement that did not make sense.  Someone in the printing office noticed the error after that edition, “NUMBER 1597,” went to press … or perhaps Skinner contacted the printer …and attempted to make corrections for the August 19 edition, “NUMBER 1598.”  However, that only resulted in lengthening the advertisement by the nota bene a second time at the end.  It did not remedy the original error.  The compositor managed to make the necessary corrections for the August 26 edition.  The following week, Skinner launched a new advertisement, a shorter one, in the September 2 edition.  The first time it appeared, it included the note from the printing office, but not in subsequent insertions.

New-York Journal (August 5, 1773; August 12, 1773; August 19, 1773).

The various iterations of Skinner’s advertisement demonstrate a kind of error that was possible yet rarely occurred as printing offices throughout the colonies published advertisements for multiple weeks or even many months.  Typically, compositors set the type for each advertisement once, but then repositioned advertisements in each issue to make all the content fit.  That included adding new advertisements and removing others, all done without duplicating labor by setting type for any advertisement more than once.  What exactly occurred with Skinner’s advertisement, how the printing office introduced “The Transpositions” on August 12, is not readily apparent, though Holt and others clearly attempted to make corrections, introducing more “Transpositions” in the first attempt on August 19.  Most advertisements in colonial newspapers appeared week after week in the same format as their original insertion, printed from the same type. Something unusual, maybe even careless, happened with Skinner’s advertisement, prompting the printer to acknowledge the error, perhaps after receiving complaints from the advertiser about haphazard copy that made the notice border on gibberish.

September 2

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

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

Rivington’s New-York Gazetteer (September 2, 1773).

“An assortment of goods suitable to the season.”

A little more than four months after James Rivington commenced publication of Rivington’s New-York Gazetteer, many of the advertisements in that newspaper had a notable feature intended to attract readers’ attention.  Borders composed of decorative type enclosed five of the advertisements in the September 2, 1773, edition.  That gave the section devoted to advertising a distinctive look compared to the New-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury and the New-York Journal.  During that week, the latter did not carry any advertisements with borders.  The former carried one with a border, a short notice about “KEYSER’s PILLS” placed by Hugh Gaine.

Rivington’s New-York Gazetteer (September 2, 1773).

Gaine happened to be the printer of the New-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury.  Although he adorned one of his own advertisements with a border, he also appeared to reserve that format for his exclusive use.  S. Sp. Skinner, a distiller, ran advertisements for “the best of RUM” with identical copy in both publications, with a border in Rivington’s newspaper and without a border in Gaine’s newspaper.  The distiller also advertised, without a border, in the New-York Journal.  Rivington or a compositor in his printing office experimented with a format that enhanced the visual appeal of advertisements.  They either offered borders to advertisers or some advertisers learned that Rivington’s New-York Gazetteer would accommodate such requests.

Rivington’s New-York Gazetteer (September 2, 1773).

Other advertisements with identical copy in multiple newspapers demonstrate that Rivington incorporated a visual element not available in other printing offices in New York.  Robert Murray and John Murray ran an announcement that they dissolved their partnership and requested that “Persons Indebted to them” settle their accounts or face legal action.  Their advertisement had a border in Rivington’s New-York Gazetteer, but not in the New-York Gazette or Weekly Mercury or the New-York Journal.  Similarly, T.B. Atwood placed an advertisement for his “Medicinal Store” in all three newspapers.  It featured side-by-side columns listing patent medicines and other merchandise in each of them, apparently a format specified by the advertiser, but only Rivington’s newspaper enclosed Atwood’s notice within a decorative border.  Not only did the advertisement have a border, that border consisted of decorative type different from any that surrounded other advertisements or separated news accounts in that issue.  Taking the service to a higher level, the compositor chose printing ornaments that made the borders for each advertisement unique.

Rivington’s New-York Gazetteer (September 2, 1773).

Vincent Pearse Ashfield’s advertisement for coffee, tea, wine, and spirits also appeared in two newspapers, the New-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury and Rivington’s New-York Gazetteer, but embellished with a border in only one.  All of the advertisers whose notices had borders in Rivington’s newspaper – Ashfield, Atwood, the Murrays, and Skinner – simultaneously placed the same advertisement in at least one other newspaper.  Despite the identical copy, only the notices in Rivington’s New-York Gazetteer incorporated borders, suggesting that Rivington’s printing office worked with advertisers to offer an option not available in other newspapers.  In addition to drawing attention to those advertisements, that made the pages of Rivington’s new newspaper easy to recognize and perhaps more interesting for readers.