Thomas’s Massachusetts Spy

February 16

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , ,

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

Thomas’s Massachusetts Spy (February 16, 1776).

“An ORATION will be delivered … to commemorate the horrid Massacre perpetrated in Boston.”

It was an annual tradition that commenced the year after the Boston Massacre.  The residents of the town gathered for an oration that commemorated the event.  James Lovell spoke in 1771, Joseph Warren in 1772, Benjamin Church in 1773, and John Hancock in 1774.  Joseph Warren once again delivered the oration in 1775, about six weeks before the imperial crisis became an armed conflict at the battles at Lexington and Concord and just three months before Warren, a major general in the colony’s militia, was killed during the Battle of Bunker Hill.  As the siege of Boston continued in 1776, the tradition continued, though in Watertown where the Massachusetts Provincial Congress met rather than in occupied Boston

About three weeks in advance, Thomas’ Massachusetts Spy, which had relocated to Worcester from Boston just as hostilities commenced, carried a notice for the “freeholders and other inhabitants who were inhabitants of Boston, in March last.”  It advised that “agreeable to their vote in a town-meeting legally assembled on the 5th of said month,” the fifth anniversary of the Boston Massacre, “an ORATION will be delivered at the meeting-house, in Watertown, on the 5th of March next … to commemorate the horrid Massacre perpetrated in Boston … by a party of Soldiers of the 29th Regiment, under the command of Capt. Thomas Preston.”  As usual, the oration would not merely honor those who died when British soldiers fired into a crowd of protestors; the speaker would also “impress upon our minds the ruinous tendency of Standing armies being placed in large and populous cities, in time of peace.”  The presence of British soldiers in Boston led to what colonizers often called the “bloody Tragedy.”  The oration was also a call to action, asserting “the necessity of such exertions as the inhabitants of Boston then manifested, whereby the designs of the conspirators against the public safety, have been frustrated.”  The annual gathering had even greater significance now that colonizers were fighting a war against British troops and many of them increasingly contemplated declaring independence rather than seeking redress of their grievances within the imperial system.  With an advertisement in the public prints, the organizers hoped to draw crowds for the oration and, in turn, strengthen the resolve of those who attended.

January 26

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , , ,

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

Thomas’s Massachusetts Spy (January 26, 1775).

“Leather-Dresser and Breeches-Maker, from BOSTON.”

William Dawes, Jr., a “Leather-Dresser and Breeches-Maker, from BOSTON,” placed an advertisement in the January 26, 1776, edition of Thomas’s Massachusetts Spy.  Just as Isaiah Thomas had moved his printing press from tumultuous Boston to the relative security of Worcester just as the Revolutionary War began, Dawes relocated to the inland town.  According to his advertisement, he now ran a shop “in WORCESTER,” adjoining a tavern and near the jail.  Since he was a newcomer, he could not expect that prospective customers knew his location, so he identified familiar landmarks to help them find him.  He had on hand “a quantity of choice good mill-washed leather, [and] deer and sheep skins, dressed in the best manner,” selling them either individually or “by the quantity.”  Dawes processed or “manufacture[d]” the leather himself, allowing him to “supply any customer on the most reasonable terms he can afford them.”  To that end, he sought “sheep skins, with the wool on or off,” and offered cash to his suppliers.

Under other circumstances, identifying himself as an artisan “from BOSTON” would have told prospective customers something about his origins and suggested that he possessed the skills and knowledge of changing styles that allowed him to run a business in one of the largest urban ports in the colonies.  While that was still the case in this advertisement, noting that he was “from BOSTON” likely resonated in another way.  The residents of that town had endured a lot during the imperial crisis, especially after the Boston Port Act closed the harbor to commerce on June 1, 1774, in retaliation for the destruction of tea the previous December.  The situation became even more precarious once the fighting began at the battles at Lexington and Concord in April 1775.  A siege of Boston ensued.  The Second Continental Congress appointed George Washington as commander of the Continental Army and dispatched him to lead the American forces that surrounded Boston.  Early in the siege, the Sons of Liberty and other leaders negotiated with General Thomas Gage for an exchange, allowing Loyalists to enter Boston and Patriots and others to depart.  Dawes may have been among those refugees in search of better fortunes and greater safety in other towns in New England.  By introducing himself as a “Leather-Dresser and Breeches-Maker, from BOSTON,” he may have hoped to play on the sympathies of prospective customers, giving them one more reason to support his shop in Worcester.

November 24

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , , ,

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

Thomas’s Massachusetts Spy (November 24, 1775).

“This Almanack contains … a very particular Account of … the Battle of Lexington.”

In the fall of 1775, Isaiah Thomas promoted “The NORTH-AMERICAN’s ALMANACK, For the Year 1776.”  He advertised the handy reference manual in the November 24 edition of his newspaper, Thomas’s Massachusetts Spy, Or, American Oracle of Liberty.  According to the imprint on the title page, the almanac was printed in “MASSACHUSETTS-BAY … by I[SAIAH] THOMAS, in WORCESTER, B[ENJAMIN] EDES,” the printer of the Boston-Gazette, “in WATERTOWN; and S[AMUEL] & E[BENEZER] HALL,” the printers of the New-England Chronicle, “in CAMBRIDGE.”  The advertisement also indicated that each of those printing offices stocked and sold the almanac.

Each of those printers earned reputations for their support of the American cause.  In this instance, their marketing efforts reflected their politics.  The advertisement noted that the almanac included “many interesting and entertaining matters” in addition to “what is necessary and useful,” singling out “a very particular Account of the commencement of Hostilities between Great-Britain and America, and the Battle of Lexington, by the Rev. Wm. Gordon.”  The contents listed on the title page included other items that resonated with current events, including “Description of a Tory and a Whig,” “Directions for preserving the Health of the Soldiers in the Camp,” and “Sir Richard Rum’s advice to the Soldiers, shewing the good effects of Spirituous Liquors when they are used with moderation, and their pernicious effects when they are used to excess, with a cure for Drunkenness.”  Such moral lessons often appeared in almanacs, but it had new significance as the siege of Boston continued.

Thomas and his fellow printers considered the account of the Battle of Lexington “worthy to be preserved by every American,” signaling that their almanac featured more than just “interesting and entertaining matters.”  Readers had a patriotic duty to purchase The North-American’s Almanack and then commemorate the first battle of the Revolutionary War and renew their commitment to defending American liberties each time they consulted the almanac.  The printers sought to disseminate it widely, selling it “by the Thousand, Hundred, Groce, Dozen or single,” intending that retailers purchase in volume for resale.  The price on the title page offered a discount, “6 Coppers Single, and 20 Shillings the Dozen,” and the printers may have negotiated even better deals for those purchasing in even greater quantity.  At the same time that they earned their livelihoods by selling almanacs, they also seized an opportunity to commemorate the Battle of Lexington.  Consumers, they asserted, had a patriotic duty to choose this almanac over any of the alternatives.

November 17

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , , ,

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

Thomas’s Massachusetts Spy (November 17, 1775).

“A CONSTITUTIONAL POST-OFFICE is established in this town.”

Isaiah Thomas, the printer of Thomas’s Massachusetts Spy, gained a new title in the fall of 1775.  He became the postmaster for the “CONSTITUTIONAL POST-OFFICE” in Worcester.  In an advertisement in the November 17 edition of his newspaper, he informed the public that “the Post-Mater General of the United Colonies” established the post office in Worcester.  That meant that “letters sent to this office, may be dispatched to all the principal towns on the continent” via a network of post offices and riders authorized by the Second Continental Congress as an alternative to the imperial postal system.  Thomas provided a schedule.  Outgoing mail “sent by the Eastern Post is closed every Tuesday evening by six o’clock.”  For outgoing mail, the post office dispatched letter received “Friday morning by nine o’clock.”  That corresponded with the arrival of new mail: “The Western mail arrives at this OFFICE every Tuesday evening; and the Eastern, every Friday morning.”  Patrons who planned accordingly could use the new postal system to correspond with friends, relatives, and associates throughout the colonies.

Thomas gave this advertisement a prominent place when he published it, placing it immediately below a notice that the Second Continental Congress created a committee to compile a “just and well authenticated account of the hostilities committed by the ministerial troops and navy in America since March last,” including “proper evidence of the truth of the facts related.”  In documenting buildings destroyed, vessels seized, and stock taken, they justified their resistance and engaged in public relations to demonstrate that colonizers had legitimate grievances.  Thomas could have placed any number of other advertisements below that notice, yet he opted for one that promoted another effort undertaken by the Second Continental Congress to protect American liberties.  It was a fitting editorial decision for a newspaper with American Oracle of Liberty as its secondary title.  In this instance, Thomas deployed an advertisement as a continuation of news about current events, keeping readers updated not only about what occurred but also about how they could support the American cause.

September 13

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , ,

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

Thomas’s Massachusetts Spy (September 13, 1775).

“Furnish him with correct lists of the names of all gentlemen in office, proper for such a publication.”

The September 13, 1775, edition of Thomas’s Massachusetts Spy consisted almost entirely of news selected by the Isaiah Thomas.  It featured only a few advertisements.  Among them, one promoted one of printer’s upcoming projects.  He announced that he “intends publishing as soon as may be, a compleat ALMANACK and REGISTER for the ensuing year.”  The “REGISTER” portion would contain listings of officials, an especially useful resource at the beginning of the Revolutionary War.  Yet there had been so much upheaval in the five months since the battles at Lexington and Concord that Thomas needed assistance with this endeavor.  To that end, he asserted that he “will be much obliged to gentlemen in this and the neighbouring provinces … to furnish him with correct lists of the names of all gentlemen in office, proper for such a publication.”  He hoped that they would do so “with all convenient speed” so he had sufficient time to compile the almanac and register, take the combined volume to press, and market it before the new year.

Yet that was not the only information that Thomas wished to update in this annual publication.  He also requested that correspondents submit “[w]hatever alterations there may have been in the names of persons who keep public houses, since the publication of the Almanack last year.”  Taverns were important gathering places for discussing politics and current events as well as convenient places to deliver letters and newspapers.  Thomas likely desired that information to aid in conducting his own business, not solely for publishing in the almanac and register.  Other Patriot printers in Massachusetts joined Thomas in compiling an accurate list of the proprietors of public houses.  The notice indicated that Benjamin Edes, “Printer and Watertown,” and Samuel Hall and Ebenezer Hall, “Printers in Cambridge,” also collected that information.  Edes printed the Boston-Gazette and Country Journal, having briefly suspended the newspaper and moving out of Boston to Watertown once the fighting began.  The Halls printed the New-England Chronicle.  Until recently, they had published the Essex Gazette in Salem.  They relocated to Cambridge and renamed their newspaper as the newspapers in Boston ceased or suspended publication.  Although Thomas, Edes, and the Halls would eventually compete to sell almanacs, they pursued a common cause in compiling a listing of public houses.

Printers sometimes called on readers to participate in this eighteenth-century version of crowdsourcing.  A year earlier, Nathaniel Mills and John Hicks, printers of the Massachusetts Gazette and Boston Post-Boy, ran a notice to “beg the Favour” of tavernkeepers to submit their names for Bickerstaff’s Boston Almanack, for the Year of Our Redemption 1775.  Not long after that, they made a similar request for “Lists for their REGISTER,” asking “Gentlemen (both in this and the neighbouring Governments) that have been appointed into Office, either Civil, Military or Ecclesiastical” to submit their names for inclusion.  When Thomas issued his request in the fall of 1775, he utilized a familiar practice.