Thomas Griffith

January 26

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

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

Pennsylvania Journal (January 26, 1774).

“THOMAS & MARY GRIFFITH, Are removed from Christian-street, to … Sixth-street.”

When Thomas Griffith and Mary Griffith took the pages of the Pennsylvania Gazette at the end of January 1774, they incorporated the same headline they used in their advertisement the previous August.  They promoted their services “TO THE LADIES” of Philadelphia and nearby towns, Thomas his “FAN-MAKING business” and Mary cleaning various kinds of laces “to look like new.  The Griffiths had recently “removed from Christian-street” and now operated their businesses on Sixth Street, occasioning the new advertisement.

Despite deploying the same headline, this notice was shorter than the other one.  Perhaps the Griffiths felt that they had established their reputations in Philadelphia and did not need to provide as much information for a clientele that they wished to follow them to their new location as they had when they introduced themselves upon arriving in a new city.  Thomas had described himself as a “Fan-Maker from London, but last from Charlestown,” but did not do so in the new advertisement, nor did he go into any detail except to say that he “intends to continue the FAN-MAKING business in general.”  Similarly, Mary provided only a brief overview, but did not mention her “new method” for cleaning laces to entice prospective customers.  The Griffiths did “return thanks to the Ladies for the encouragement they received,” another suggestion that they had cultivated a clientele over the last six months.

The secondary headline for their new advertisement included both their names, “THOMAS & MARY GRIFFITH,” whereas Thomas’s name alone ran as the secondary headline in their other advertisement.  This time, Mary’s contribution to the household economy received the same visibility as Thomas’s “FAN-MAKING business,” though his enterprise still received top billing.  It may have been that publishing a shorter advertisement prompted this change, though the Griffiths may have also realized that Mary’s enterprise brought as many or more of “THE LADIES” to the shop in their house as the fans that Thomas made and sold.  Whatever convinced them to take a new approach, they apparently considered their previous newspaper advertisements effective enough to merit investing in a new advertisement when they moved to a new location.

August 4

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

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

Pennsylvania Journal (August 4, 1773).

“MARY GRIFFITH also begs to acquaint the Ladies, that she cleans blonds and gauses.”

Thomas Griffith received top billing in an advertisement addressed “TO THE LADIES” in the August 4, 1773, edition of the Pennsylvania Gazette, though Mary Griffith also provided services for “the Ladies … at their house … in Christian-street” in Philadelphia.”  Thomas’s name served as a secondary headline, making him as visible in his notice as “JOSEPH CRUKSHANK, PRINTER,” “JOHN LAUGEAY,” “SAMUEL SMITH, & SONS,” and other male advertisers were in their own notices.  Although Mary’s name did appear in capital letters, it did not appear in a larger font or centered and extended across the column.  Instead, “MARY GRIFFITH” ran in the same size font as the rest of the paragraph that described her contributions to the family business.

Thomas introduced himself as a “Fan-Maker from London, but last from Charlestown,” establishing that he had experience serving genteel ladies in both the most cosmopolitan city in the empire and one of largest ports in the colonies.  He stocked “every material belonging to the fan-trade” imported from London, including “a new assortment of FAN-MOUNTS of beautiful paintings, and of various coloured grounds, some curiously sprigged and bordered with silver” and “a few cut carved and painted ivory fan-sticks.”  That inventory made it possible for customers to create unique fans that reflected their personalities, according to their own tastes and budgets.  Thomas invited ladies to find or select “their own sticks” and choose a mount (as well as bindings, rivets, and buttons) that he would then use to construct a new fan “in a few hours … in as compleat a manner as any in London.”  His customers could confidently display their fans, knowing that no friends or acquaintances possessed any duplicates.  For her part, Mary “cleans blonds and gauses by a new method to look like new.”  Prospective customers knew that “blonds” referred to silk lace made of two threads twisted and formed in hexagonal meshes and “gauses” (or “gauzes”) were a very thin, transparent fabric made of silk.  Mary advised that ladies could view a specimen of her work, a clever way of enticing them to visit the shop that she shared with Thomas.  In addition, she made “all foreign and minionet [or mignonette] laces to the greatest of perfection.”

Between them, Mary and Thomas supplied various kinds of accessories that helped genteel ladies enhance their appearance and distinguish themselves from others in a society enmeshed in consumer culture and conscious of the latest fashions on both sides of the Atlantic.  Thomas achieved greater visibility in their shared newspaper advertisement, but Mary likely assisted in cultivating rapport with his customers seeking fans in addition to other customers interested in her laces.  The format of the advertisement in the public prints did not necessarily reflect the extent of the partnership in their shop.