South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal

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.

February 9

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

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

South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal (February 9, 1773).

“ALL Persons indebted … for News-Papers, Advertisements, &c. are requested to make immediate Payment.”

Charles Crouch, the printer of the South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal, inserted a notice in the February 9, 1773, edition that called on his customers to pay their bills.  “ALL Persons indebted to the Printer hereof,” Crouch stated, “for News-Papers, Advertisements, &c. are requested to make immediate Payment, as he is in REAL Want of his Money.”  Throughout the colonies, printers frequently ran similar advertisements in their newspapers, often going into much greater detail.  Some printers invoked significant dates when they asked subscribers and others to settle accounts, especially the anniversary of the founding of their publication.  When they commenced a new year of printing and distributing their newspapers, they considered it a good time for customers to catch up on their payments.  Many threatened to sue, giving recalcitrant customers a deadline for paying their bills before handing the matter over to an attorney.  Some outlined the significant expenses they incurred in publishing newspapers.  Others underscored the value that the entire community derived from access to the news, those “freshest Advices, both Foreign and Domestic” promoted in so many mastheads.

Crouch was not nearly as elaborate as other printers. Beyond stating that he “is in REAL Want of his Money,” he did not offer other details.  His notice differed from many, but not all, others in another significant way.  He called on those who owed money “for News-Papers, Advertisements, &c.” rather than addressing subscribers.  Historians have often asserted that eighteenth-century printers extended generous credit to subscribers (which explains the frequency that similar notices appeared) while requiring advertisers to pay in advance.  Advertising thus represented an important revenue stream that allowed printers to continue publication, even when they did not follow through on threats of legal action against subscribers who neglected to pay.  As I have examined newspapers from the late 1760s and early 1770s for daily entries for the Adverts 250 Project, however, I have encountered notices in which various printers have named advertisers alongside subscribers when they called on customers to pay what they owed.  In some similar instances, they seemed to establish new policies, indicating that they previously allowed credit for advertising but planned to discontinue doing so.  Advertisers needed to submit payment along with their advertising copy.

In this instance, Crouch apparently allowed credit for newspapers, advertisements, and goods and services available at his printing office.  The “&c.” (an abbreviation for et cetera) likely included “all Manner of Printing Work” mentioned in the newspaper’s colophon.  That could range from handbills and broadsides to printed blanks and circular letters to other sorts of job printing.  It may have also included books, prints, and patent medicines since printers often created supplement revenue streams by peddling those items.  According to Crouch’s notice, he did not make some sort of exception when it came to advertisements and credit.  Instead, he allowed advertisers access to the public prints with promises to pay later.

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.

January 12

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 12, 1773).

“Their Customers may depend on being as well supplied by them as they could be by any House in this Province.”

Atkins and Weston informed readers of the South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal that they carried a “great Variety of GOODS” imported from Glasgow as well as “GOODS from BRISTOL” and “two large Cargoes of Goods” from London.  Their inventory included a “large Supply of SILKS,” a “great Assortment of LINENS of all Sorts,” a “great Variety of flowered, striped, and plain MUSLINS,” a “large Supply of the most fashionable RIBBONS and VELVET COLLARS,” and a “good Assortment of well-chosen BED FURNITURE.”  Throughout their advertisement, Atkins and Weston underscored the array of choices that they made available to consumers.

To make sure that prospective customers did not overlook that fact, the merchants added a note that explained no other shop, store, or warehouse in the colony had a larger selection of merchandise than they did.  “Their late Importations have been very large, and their Assortments general,” Atkins and Weston asserted, adding that “they buy their Goods on the best Terms, and design constantly to keep up a large Stock.”  As a result, “their Customers may depend on being as well supplied by them as they could be by any House in this Province.”  Colonizers might browse elsewhere, but they would not encounter more choices anywhere else.

Other advertisers made similar pronouncements.  Hawkins, Petrie, and Company, for instance, declared that they “keep one of the largest assortments [of goods] in the province.”  Even entrepreneurs located in towns beyond Charleston highlighted the choices they offered and made provisions for keeping local customers supplied with the wares they wanted and needed.  John Tunno and Company in Jacksonburgh promoted a “complete assortment of GOODS” and listed a variety of items in their advertisement.  They pledged that “Should they be out of any article, they will always send to town for it by the first boat, without any extra charge to their friend here.”  Tunno and Company did not explicitly acknowledge that their inventory might not be as extensive as the shops in Charleston, though they presented a workaround in an effort to convince prospective customers that shopping with them would be just as fulfilling as if they were in the bustling urban port.

Advertisers regularly emphasized consumer choice in their newspaper advertisements during the era of the American Revolution.  Many did so by publishing long lists of merchandise.  Some, like Atkins and Westin, Hawkins, Petrie and Company, and Tunno and Company, added other appeals in their efforts to attract customers.  They declared that their inventory rivaled others in the colony or promised that they could quickly acquire whatever merchandise their patrons requested.

December 8

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , , ,

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

South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal (December 8, 1772).

“He has now opened a New CAROLINA, GEORGIA, FLORIDA, and PENNSYLVANIA COFFEE-HOUSE.”

When he became proprietor of Cole’s and Greenland Coffee House in London, Robert Benson launched an advertising campaign in newspapers published in Charleston, South Carolina.  He hoped to entice merchants and others who visited London to socialize and do business at his establishment rather than choose any of the many others in Cornhill near the Royal Exchange.  He first placed advertisements in the South-Carolina Gazette and the South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal in July and August 1772.  In December, he continued marketing the “New” and renamed “CAROLINA, GEORGIA, FLORIDA, and PENNSYLVANIA COFFEE-HOUSE.”

As he had previously done, Benson opened his advertisement by introducing himself as “BOB, late Waiter at the CAROLINA COFFEE-HOUSE.”  That established his experience and credentials.  Benson likely hoped that merchants and others who had visited that coffee house might remember “BOB” and the familiarity would convince them to seek out his services at his new location.  Even for those who had not previously interacted with “BOB,” the nickname may have suggested that they would encounter genuine friendliness when they were far from home and chose to visit his coffee house.

Benson provided amenities from home for the comfort and convenience of his patrons.  In particular, he “settled a regular Correspondence” for newspapers from the Carolinas, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and other colonies.  Merchants and others could stay informed of events on the other side of the Atlantic and follow the shipping news as they conducted business in London.  Benson asserted that he kept his subscriptions current and received the latest editions “on the Arrival of every Ship” from the Carolinas, Georgia, Florida, and Pennsylvania.  Other services included “Particular Attention … to all Bills, Letters, &c. left at the said Coffee-House.”

Benson did not rely solely on foot traffic near the Royal Exchange and word of mouth to generate business when he became the proprietor of a coffee house in Ball Court.  Instead, he placed advertisements in newspapers on the other side of the Atlantic, hoping that doing so would draw attention to his establishment and distinguish from others in the neighborhood.  Such efforts demonstrated to colonial merchants and other prospective patrons that Benson took seriously his commitment to serving them when they ventured to London.  In contrast, proprietors of other coffee houses did not advertise in American newspapers.  Benson likely hoped that difference would distinguish the Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and Pennsylvania Coffee House from others.

December 1

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , ,

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

South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal (December 1, 1772).

“PIKE’s ANNUAL BALL.”

The December 1, 1772, edition of the South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal carried an advertisement that proclaimed “BALL” in a larger font than anything else in the entire issue.  That headline drew attention to an announcement that “PIKE’s ANNUAL BALL, for the young LADIES and GENTLEMEN, under his Tuition, will be on Tuesday the Eighth of December.”  The event would begin “exactly at SIX o’CLOCK.”  Presumably members of the community other than the dancing master’s students were welcome to attend the ball to observe the skills that Pike taught in what he had promoted as a “NEW SUIT of ROOMS” in another advertisement that he published in September.

Pike concluded that advertisement with a message to the “Parents and Guardians of his Scholars, that his BALL will be on Tuesday the 8th of December next.”  He underscored that they needed to sign up for classes “as soon as possible, that they may be enabled to complete his Figures in a proper Manner” when they were on display at the ball.  The dancing master aimed to excite some anxiety about public scrutiny, knowing that colonizers carefully observed each other to assess whether their appearance and comportment revealed authentic grace and gentility …or whether they merely put on an act and went through the motions.  Effortless dancing, many believed, revealed virtue, while stumbling around the dance floor and awkwardly interacting with partners and other dancers suggested character flaws.

As a result, colonizers who wished to demonstrate that they truly belonged among the ranks of the genteel relied on the services of various instructors, including tutors who taught them how to speak French, tutors who taught them how to play musical instruments, and dancing and fencing masters, like Pike, who taught them how to move gracefully and how to engage in polite exchanges at social gatherings.  In cautioning the parents and guardians of his prospective pupils that “his SCHOLARS” would be on display at his annual ball in December, Pike reminded them that they needed his services just as much as he needed their patronage if they wished to safeguard their social standing.

November 17

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

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

South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal (November 17, 1772).

“A large and valuable Assortment of Goods.”

Samuel Gordon promoted the “large and valuable Assortment of Goods” he sold at the “IRISH LINEN WARE-HOUSE” in an advertisement in the November 17, 1772, edition of the South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal.  Contrary to the name of his store, Gordon’s inventory extended far beyond textiles.  To aid prospective customers in perusing his notice, he identified more than two dozen categories of merchandise, including “MILLINARY,” “SHOES,” “HOSIERY,” “CHINA,” “GLASS,” “LOOKING-GLASSES,” “STATIONARY,” and “PEWTER.”  Each of those categories appeared in capitals, indented to form a new paragraph, and followed by a short description or list of goods.  The format likely made Gordon’s advertisement easier for readers to navigate than others that featured dense blocks of text.  Alexander Gillon’s advertisement, for instance, occupied a similar amount of space and included a similar number of items, but nothing about the format differentiated any of the goods from others.

In contrast, Gordon deployed short passages that invited prospective customers to engage with the various kinds of merchandise he stocked.  For “HATS,” he had a “choice of mens fine fashionable hats, felt ditto, ladies riding ditto.”  He did not go into greater detail, but instead encouraged readers to imagine the choices and then visit his store to see for themselves.  The “STATIONARY” items included a “great choice of pocket-books, quills, wax, wafer, paper of different qualities, and a complete set of large books, viz. ledger, journal, and waste-book.”  Gordon composed a longer blurb for “CUTLERY,” mentioning a “great choice of knives and forks, ditto in cases, razors, ditto in cases, … carving-knives, pen-knives,” and related items.  He repeatedly used the word “choice” to signal to prospective customers that they ultimately made decisions according to their own taste and budget rather than settling for whatever happened to be on the shelves.  Similarly, he used variations that included “large assortment,” “different sorts,” “large quantity,” and “variety.”  Many blurbs concluded with “&c.” (an abbreviation for et cetera), suggesting that far more choices awaited those who entered Gordon’s store.

Gordon did not rely on choice alone in marketing his wares.  He also offered a discount to “Merchants who may want any of the above articles.”  He extended credit, while promising a “discount of Ten per cent” to merchants who paid their accounts in January.  Gordon likely intended that the carefully formatted list of wares would spark interest and then the discount in the nota bene would seem like too good of a bargain for merchants to ignore.  The design of the advertisement suggests that Gordon carefully considered his marketing strategy rather than simply publishing an announcement that he had imported goods for sale.

November 3

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , ,

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

South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal (November 3, 1772).

“A compleat ASSORTMENT of fashionable GOODS.”

Below the masthead, the entire front page of the November 3, 1772, edition of the South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal consisted entirely of advertisements.  The one placed by William Stukes dominated the page, due in large part to its size and unusual format.  That newspaper ran three columns per page.  Stukes’s advertisement extended across two columns.  This was not a case of a lengthy advertisement that overflowed from one column into another.  Instead, it had been designed to take up space in more than one column.  The notice ran at the top of the first two columns, making it the first item in that issue.  That enhanced its visibility, though readers could hardly have missed an advertisement that occupied about half the space on the page.

The notice opened with a standard headline and introduction, similar to those in other advertisements for consumer goods.  The advertiser’s name in capital letters, “WILLIAM STUKES,” served as the headline.  The introduction stated that he “ACQUAINTS hid Customers and Friends, that he has removed into Broad-Street … and is now opening a complete ASSORTMENT of fashionable GOODS, imported in the last Ships from LONDON.”  In addition, Stukes declared that he would sell his wares “on the most reasonable Terms, at the usual CREDIT, and extraordinary cheap for CASH.”  He used formulaic language even as the format differentiated his advertisement from others on the same page and throughout the rest of the issue.

While the headline and introduction ran across two columns, Stukes’s extensive list of merchandise ran in three narrow columns.  Other advertisers grouped goods together in dense paragraphs.  Stukes made it easier for prospective customers to skim his advertisement and spot items of interest by giving each item its own line.  That resulted in significantly more white space within his advertisement than in the news and other paid notices.  For instance, “Silk gauze handkerchiefs” appeared on their own line without other items crowding them.  That even allowed space for readers to make notations, if they wished.

Stukes deployed popular marketing strategies and incorporated formulaic language into his advertisement, depending on its size and unique format to draw attention to the low prices and range of choices he offered to consumers.  Even though this newspaper notice consisted entirely of text, Stukes effectively used graphic design to distinguish it from advertisements placed by his competitors.

October 13

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , ,

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

South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal (October 13, 1772).

“He continues to carry on the PAINTING and GLAZING BUSINESS.”

Colonial printers often resorted to publishing advertising supplements to accompany their weekly newspapers that featured both news and paid notices.  This was especially true for newspapers in the largest port cities, Boston, Charleston, New York, and Philadelphia.  Each standard issue consisted of four pages created by printing two pages on each side of a broadsheet and then folding it in half.  When printers had sufficient additional content to justify the resources required to produce additional pages, they printed two- or four-page supplements.  Although news sometimes appeared in those supplements, additions, and extraordinary editions, they most often consisted of advertising.

That was not the case for the October 13, 1772, edition of the South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal and the Addition that Charles Crouch distributed on the same day.  The bulk of the news appeared in the two-page Addition after Crouch devoted ten and a half of the twelve columns in the standard issue to paid notices, including more than a dozen that offered enslaved people for sale or offered rewards for the capture and return of enslaved people who liberated themselves by running away from those who held them in bondage.  Paid notices filled the entire first page below the masthead.  They also filled the entire third and fourth pages.  A short note, “For more London News, see the Addition,” appeared at the bottom of the first column of the second page, the only full column of news.  Halfway down the next column, a header for “NEW ADVERTISEMENTS” alerted readers to the content on the remainder of the page.

The two-page Addition gave three times as much space to news compared to the standard issue.  News that arrived via London, most of it extracts from letters composed in various cities on the European continent, filled the first page and overflowed onto the second.  A short proclamation from the governor of the colony ran as local news midway through the second column on the other side of the sheet.  Crouch managed to squeeze in a few more advertisements, including one that promoted a “COMPLETE GERMAN GRAMMAR” that he sold at his printing office.  Instead of an advertising supplement that accompanied the newspaper, the Addition amounted to a news supplement that accompanied an advertising leaflet.  In many instances, colonial newspapers were vehicles for delivering advertising.  That was especially true of the October 13 edition of the South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal and its Addition.

October 6

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , ,

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

South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal (October 6, 1772).

“Advertisements omitted this Week, for want of Room, shall be in our next.”

Charles Crouch had more content than would fit in the September 29, 1772, edition of the South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal.  To resolve the dilemma, he inserted a notice advising that “Sundry NEW ADVERTISEMENTS omitted this Week, in order to give Place to the LONDON NEWS, &c. shall have particular notice in our next.”  The following week, the October 6 edition consisted almost entirely of advertising.  A header for “NEW ADVERTISEMENTS” ran at the top of the first column on the first page.  Advertisements filled all three columns on that page.  Another header for “NEW ADVERTISEMENTS” appeared midway down the final column of the second page.  The first two and half columns featured news items, but the remainder of the second column as well as the entire third and fourth pages consisted entirely of advertising.  Crouch presumably made sure that “Sundry NEW ADVERTISEMENTS” that he omitted in the previous issue did indeed run in the October 6 edition.

Still, he found himself once again in the position of not having sufficient space to publish all of the advertisements received in the printing office.  He inserted a notice at the bottom of the final column on the third page: “Advertisements omitted this Week, for want of Room, shall be in our next.”  Why did the notice appear there instead of the bottom of the last page?  Understanding the process for producing newspapers on manually-operated presses reveals the answer.  A standard issue of the South-Carolina Gazette and Country Journal (and other colonial newspapers) consisted of four pages created by printing two pages on each side of a broadsheet and then folding it in half.  Printers often produced the first and last pages first.  After the ink dried, they then printed the second and third pages on the other side of the sheet.  In his effort to give the advertisements omitted the previous week “particular Notice” in the October 6 edition, Crouch printed them first, placing them on the first page.  Other new advertisements also ran on the fourth page, interspersed with notices that appeared in previous editions.  Crouch made publishing all of those advertisements a priority.  He also made advertisements a priority for the second and third pages, though he realized that subscribers who expected to receive news would not be satisfied with an issue that served solely as a mechanism for delivering advertisements.  He opted for a couple of columns of news on the second page before filling the rest of the newspaper with advertisements.  The notice at the bottom of the final column on the third page would have been the last of the type set and placed into position for the October 6 edition once Crouch determined that he did not have space for all the advertisements he intended to publish.

Crouch did have other options.  He could have produced an advertising supplement to accompany the September 29 edition or the October 6 edition or both.  He may have decided, however, that he did not have enough additional content to warrant doing so.  He may not have had the time to print a supplement.  He may not have considered doing so worth the resources required.  He apparently believed that advertisers would be patient with a short delay, though he made certain to acknowledge that he owed them space in his newspaper.