Taste

October 12

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

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

Providence Gazette (October 12, 1776).

“He flatters himself, that no one can finish or cut Cloaths with greater Elegance and Taste.”

When Richard Stevens, a “TAYLOR and HABIT-MAKER,” prepared to open a shop in the fall of 1776, he ran an advertisement in the Providence Gazette to launch his business.  Stevens announced that “all the various Branches of the Taylor’s Business will be executed in the most elegant Manner, with Fidelity and Dispatch,” deploying some of the most common appeals made by tailors and other artisans.  He emphasized skill, fashion, and customer satisfaction.

Then Stevens departed from the usual script that most tailors followed in their advertisements, declaring that he “does not aim at being pompous in his Advertisement, nor to detract from any Man’s Merit in his Profession; yet, he flatters himself, that no one can finish or cut Cloaths with greater Elegance and Taste.”  What started as a statement of humility and an acknowledgment of the fine work done by his competitors turned into a bold claim about his own abilities as a tailor.  Stevens practically challenged prospective customers to see for themselves whether he exaggerated his claim.  Perhaps he was a bit pompous, despite his claims to the contrary, but maybe clients could overlook (or even embrace) such pride if the tailor delivered on the “Elegance and Taste” that he so confidently declared.  In case that was not enough to entice readers to hire him, Stevens “also promises to pay for any Cloaths that should not fit.”  He offered a guarantee, giving prospective customers yet another reason to hire his services.  Other tailors promoted their skill, but rarely did they go as far as stating that they would refuse payment if their clients did not believe that their garments fit.

Following his innovative appeals, Stevens returned to standard language that appeared in so many advertisements for tailors and others who hawked goods and services.  He concluded by pledging that he “shall make it his Study to deserve the Favours of all those that should be so kind as to oblige him with their Work.”  Although he concluded with familiar language that could have appeared in other advertisements, Stevens distinguished himself from other tailors elsewhere in his notice, trumpeting the superior “Elegance and Taste” of clothing that he cut and finished and offering a guarantee that his clients would be satisfied or not pay for his work.

March 13

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

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

Providence Gazette (March 13, 1773).

“EXcellent Bohea Tea, which for Smell and Flavour exceeds almost any ever imported.”

Joseph Russell and William Russell ranked among the most prominent merchants in Providence in the early 1770s.  Their mercantile success allowed them to construct an impressive Georgian house in 1772, a landmark still standing in the city and the contents on display in museums.  The size of the house testified to the Russells’ wealth, while the style, including “an original principal entrance taken from the English architectural pattern book Builder’s Compleat Assistant (1750) by Battey Langley,” communicated their genteel tastes.  The massive house enhanced their visibility within the cityscape of the growing town, while their frequent advertisements in the Providence Gazette enhanced their visibility among readers of the public prints in town and beyond.  On occasion, they published full-page advertisements that accounted for one-quarter of the space in a standard four-page newspaper of the period.

Most of their advertisements were not that elaborate, yet the Russells still attempted to entice prospective customers with promises of some of the luxuries that they enjoyed.  Consider a notice from the March 13, 1773, edition of the Providence Gazette.  The merchants listed a variety of items available at the Sign of the Golden Eagle, a store so well known that the Russells did not consider necessary to name it in every advertisement.  Their inventory included “a few Quarter Casks of best Lisbon Wine,” coffee, chocolate, and imported “English and Hard Ware Goods.”  They did not provide additional details about those items, but they did open their advertisement by promoting “EXcellent Bohea Tea, which for Smell and Flavour exceeds almost any ever imported.”  The Russells did more than encourage prospective customers to imagine purchasing the tea; they encouraged them to imagine consuming the tea, to take into account the sensual pleasures of the smell and the taste.  The merchants presented an opportunity for consumers to treat themselves to a small luxury, one that was not reserved solely for the better sorts, hoping that would help to sell their tea.