Virginia Gazette [Dixon and Hunter]

September 22

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , ,

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

Virginia Gazette [Dixon and Hunter] (September 21, 1776).

“I HAVE still on Hand a considerable Quantity of CALF SKINS … and a tolerable Assortment of other Goods.”

Matthew Anderson ran a lengthy advertisement about merchandise available at his store in Gloucester, Virginia, in John Dixon and William Hunter’s Virginia Gazette in August and September 1776.  He listed dozens of items, enumerating an extensive array of textiles, housewares, hardware, and even books, noting at the conclusion that he also stocked “some other Trifles, too tedious to mention.”  Despite the disruptions caused by the war, consumers could still acquire certain necessities at Anderson’s shop or participate in some retail therapy to distract them for a moment.

By the end of September, Anderson ran a new advertisement, a much shorter one.  He used it to inform prospective customers that he “still [had] on Hand a considerable Quantity of CALF SKINS, HARNESS LEATHER, SOLE LEATHER, Mens strong SHOES, BAR IRON, COFFEE, BROWN SUGAR, [and] Mens coarse and fine HATS.”  In addition, his inventory included “a tolerable Assortment of other Goods.”  He did not replicate the catalog from his previous advertisement, nor did he use the same effusive language about having so many goods that they were “too tedious to mention.”  He also did not mention any of the books, such as “Watts’s Hymns and Psalms” and “Observations on Civil Liberty,” that he highlighted in his previous advertisement.  Perhaps he did not wish to make a significant investment in the new notice, so he reduced the length.  In addition, the changes may have indicated the effectiveness of his first advertisement and a considerable reduction in his inventory, yet he still had plenty of merchandise – that “tolerable Assortment of other Goods” – to delight shoppers when they visited his store.  Anderson may have assumed that many prospective customers who read his new advertisement would have also seen his previous one, making it unnecessary to do more than publish a reminder that mentioned some of the most popular items.  That he inserted a second advertisement suggests that he believed the first one worked.

September 8

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

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

Virginia Gazette [Dixon and Hunter] (September 7, 1776).

“Thread Laces, Shoe Thread, Observations on Civil Liberty.”

Matthew Anderson operated a store in Gloucester, Virginia, at the time that the Continental Congress declared independence.  He placed an advertisement in the September 7, 1776, edition of John Dixon and William Hunter’s Virginia Gazette, an advertisement that looked much like those that appeared before the imperial crisis and the Revolutionary War.  The lengthy list of goods he stocked testified to participation in the transatlantic consumer revolution.  Anderson sold everything from “Women’s Worsted Hose” and “Velvet Hoods” to “Thread Laces” and “common Sleeve Buttons” to “Desk and Cupboard Locks” and “Awl Blades” to “Punch Ladles” and “Queen’s China Dishes.”  If that was not enough to excite the imaginations of prospective customers, he also had “some other Trifles, too tedious to mention.”

Among the dozens of items that Anderson did mention, he listed some books.  He had a selection of “Psalters” and “Histories” that he did not name as well the popular “Watts’s Hymns and Psalms.”  He also stocked two books that resonated with current events.  Both had been widely advertised in other newspapers.  One was a work of political philosophy, Richard Price’s Observations on the Nature of Civil Liberty, the Principles of Government, and the Justice and Policy of the War in America.  Anderson shortened the title to “Observations on Civil Liberty.”  He may have sold an American edition published in Charleston, Philadelphia, New York, or Boston.  He also advertised “British Tyranny, or American Liberty triumphant,” a play that had also been printed and promoted in several cities and towns.  Most shopkeepers did not usually advertise such titles.  They tended to stick with almanacs and psalters, items with broad appeal that they had confidence customers would purchase, or popular devotional literature, like Watts’s hymns and psalms.  That Anderson included two books related to current events among his inventory (instead of relegating them “other Trifles, too tedious to mention”) may have been a way of signaling his political sentiments.  If so, that could have been an attempt to gain the approval of prospective customers who supported the American cause without taking a position that alienated other prospective customers who did not.  Anderson stocked the books, but he did not outright endorse their contents.  That allowed for flexibility in how he related to consumers who held a variety of views.

August 25

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

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

Virginia Gazette [Dixon and Hunter] (August 24, 1776).

“DIXON and HUNTER have on Hand the following BOOKS, which they will sell cheap, for Cash.”

John Dixon and William Hunter doubled the size of the Virginia Gazette that they published on August 24, 1776.  Like other newspapers, it usually consisted of four pages created by printing two pages on each side of a broadsheet and then folding it in half.  This time, however, they used two broadsheets, bringing the total number of pages to eight.  That meant printing the first, second, seventh, and eighth pages on one broadsheet and the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth pages on another, tucking the second folded broadsheet inside the first one.

The printers devoted the entire fifth page and half of the sixth page to a book catalog, something they did occasionally in other issues as well.  A brief introduction informed readers that “DIXON and HUNTER have on Hand the followingBOOKS, which they will sell cheap, for Cash.”  A lengthy list of books followed.  The printers arranged them in order of size – folios, quartos, octavos, and duodecimos – from largest to smallest.  The catalog included only four folios and nine quartos but dozens of octavos and duodecimos, some of them in multiple volumes.  Within each category, Dixon and Hunter arranged the titles in rough alphabetical order by author, such as “Burn’s Justice of the Peace” or “Pope’s Works,” but sometimes by title, such as “An Account of the Spanish Settlements in America.”  That made the list easier for readers to navigate, especially if they were looking for a particular volume.

The format of the catalog distinguished it from news, editorials, and other advertisements in that issue of the Virginia Gazette.  Most content appeared in two wide columns, but the catalog had three columns.  If an entry was too long or just one line in the narrower columns, the printers indented the second and subsequent lines, differentiating each entry from the ones above and below it.  On the sixth page of the newspaper, the second page of the catalog, that meant that three columns appeared on the top half of the page but only two columns on the bottom half.  Once again, the format distinguished Dixon and Hunter’s advertisement from other content.  The catalog concluded with a list of “SCHOOL BOOKS” and “STATIONARY” in dense paragraphs of text.  Readers had to invest more effort in finding “Ruddiman’s Grammatical Exercises” and “Entick’s Latin and English Dictionary” or “Pewter Ink Chests of various Kinds” and “Magazine Paper for Ladies to work upon.”

Dixon and Hunter printed twice as much content for subscribers and other readers of the August 24, 1776, edition of the Virginia Gazette, yet their own advertisement, their book catalog, accounted for a significant portion of the additional content.  They exercised their privilege as printers of the newspaper to promote another endeavor that generated revenue in their printing office.

June 16

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

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

Virginia Gazette [Dixon and Hunter] (June 15, 1776).

“A GOOD PRICE GIVEN FOR CLEAN LINEN RAGS, By the Printers of this Gazette.”

John Dixon and William Hunter continued to publish the Virginia Gazette on a smaller sheet than usual two weeks after running a notice that explained the circumstances.  The “present Scarcity of Paper” forced them to resort to what they had on hand, the smaller sheets, but they assured readers that despite “the Size of this Gazette” it did contain “all the material Intelligence that came to Hand this Week.”  The printers also declared that a “considerable Supply of Paper is daily expected from NEW YORK and PHILADELPHIA.”  Once they received it, “our Customers shall be served as formerly.”  Those deliveries took longer than anticipated.  Dixon and Hunter expanded the June 8, 1776, edition to eight pages printed on the smaller sheet, allowing them to disseminate more news and advertisements.  They did so again with the June 15 edition.  The new format meant that that could not include the usual masthead at the top of the first page, but that may have been the least of Dixon and Hunter’s concerns.

The printers aimed to do their part to increase the production of paper in the colonies amid the disruption in trade with England due to the war.  That meant collecting linen rags that could be transformed into paper.  They concluded the June 15 edition with a short advertisement, just three lines, that proclaimed, “A GOOD PRICE GIVEN FOR CLEAN LINEN RAGS, By the Printers of this Gazette.”  A border comprised of printing ornaments enclosed that notice, distinguishing it from all the other advertisements in that issue.  Dixon and Hunter used printing ornaments sparingly.   Plain lines separated most news items and paid notices, though a delicate line of decorative type indicated where news ended and advertisements began on the fifth page of that issue.  Even bolder lines of decorative type appeared above and below the poem in the upper left corner on the final page (a weekly feature in many colonial newspapers), setting the poet’s corner apart from the advertisements.  Dixon and Hunter also enclosed an initial capital for the first news item on the first page within decorative type.  Beyond these few examples, they did not use printing ornaments in that issue of the Virginia Gazette.  That made the border enclosing their call for “CLEAN LINEN RAGS” even more remarkable.  Even if readers quickly passed over other advertisements, the printers wanted to increase the chances that they took note of that final notice.

June 2

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

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

Virginia Gazette [Dixon and Hunter] (June 1, 1776).

“This Gazette … though small, contains all the material Intelligence that came to Hand this Week.”

The June 1, 1776, edition of John Dixon and William Hunter’s Virginia Gazette looked different than previous issues and opened with an explanation from the printers.  That newspaper usually consisted of four pages of three columns each with a large masthead at the top of the first page.  In addition to the title, date, names of the printers, and issue number, the usual masthead declared that the newspaper contained “THE FRESHEST ADVICES, BOTH FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC.”  Another line in the masthead proclaimed, “IN CIVITATE LIBERA LINGUAM MENTEMQUE LIBERAS ESSE DESERE” or “In a free state, there should be freedom of speech and thought.”  For a final layer, an advertisement for subscriptions, paid notices, and job printing ran across the bottom of the masthead.  An image depicting the arms of the monarch, similar to the one previously used by Alexander Purdie in the masthead of his Virginia Gazette, appeared in the center of Dixon and Hunter’s standard masthead.

The latest edition of their newspaper, however, consisted of four pages with two columns per page on a smaller sheet.  Rather than a masthead with five layers of text serving different purposes, a streamlined masthead gave the title on one line and the date, number, city, and names of the printers on the second line.  No image appeared in that masthead.  Subscribers could not help but notice that Dixon and Hunter’s Virginia Gazette had a new size and format.  Anticipating what kinds of reactions that might cause, the printers opened with a notice to readers: “THE Printers humbly hope that the present Scarcity of paper will sufficiently apologize for the Size of this Gazette.”  They tried to mollify their customers, asserting that the June 1 edition, “though small, contains all the material Intelligence that came to Hand this Week.”  They did not, however, make any sort of acknowledgment that some advertisements may have been omitted for lack of space.  “A considerable Supply of Paper is daily expected from NEW YORK and PHILADELPHIA,” the printers explained before ending with a promise.  “When it arrives, our Customers shall be served as formerly.”  It was not the first time during the Revolutionary War that colonizers in Virginia did not have access to as much news and advertising in the public prints as they had come to expect.  In January 1776, for instance, John Pinkney, the printer of another Virginia Gazette, ran an advertisement in Dixon and Hunter’s newspaper to explain that he missed an issue due to “a Disappointment in receiving Paper from the Northward.”  Dixon and Hunter faced the same challenge.  The following week they still did not have a new supply of paper, but they doubled the number of smaller pages to eight to serve their readers and their advertisers.

May 26

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , , ,

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

Virginia Gazette [Dixon and Hunter] (May 25, 1776).

“A CATALOGUE OF BOOKS FOR SALE … By DIXON & HUNTER.”

The May 25, 1776, edition of John Dixon and William Hunter’s Virginia Gazette concluded with a “CATALOGUE OF BOOKS” for sale at their printing office.  It filled most of the final column on the last page.  An advertisement for a “VIEW of the late BATTLE at CHARLESTOWN,” now known as the Battle of Bunker Hill, appeared immediately above it.  Dixon and Hunter also sold that print.  While they certainly wished to generate revenue beyond newspaper subscriptions and advertisements, it appears that the printers also used these notices as filler to complete that edition of their newspaper.

Consider, for instance, the contents of the book catalogue.  Dixon and Hunter updated a book catalogue that previously appeared in the Virginia Gazette six months earlier.  That version classified books by size – folios, quartos, octavos, and duodecimos – and listed titles in alphabetical order by author.  The printers made adjustments to the folios, quartos, and octavos listed in the new catalogue based on their current inventory.  They did not, however, include any duodecimos.  Indeed, the list of octavos ended abruptly with “Martin’s English Dictionary.”  This indicates that Dixon and Hunter included as much of the catalogue as would fit in that final column but did not make it a priority to publish the entire catalogue in that issue.  They may have been printing and distributing the catalogue as a separate broadside or pamphlet, taking advantage of type already set when they needed material for the last page of the May 25 issue.

When they did so, the printers did not attempt to highlight those titles that they thought most likely to attract customers, nor did they make any sales pitch except stating they sold the books “at a low Advance.”  In other words, they charged reasonable prices with only a small markup from what they paid to acquire the imported books.  They did expect customers to pay “READY MONEY” at the time of purchase rather than take away any of the titles on credit.  In the masthead, Dixon and Hunter gave the prices for an annual subscription to the newspaper (twelve shillings and six pence) and running advertisements “of a moderate Length” (three shillings for the first insertion and two shilling for each subsequent insertion).  They also stated that they did job printing “in the NEATEST Manner, with Care and Expedition.” Like most other newspaper printers, they supplemented revenue from printing with revenue from selling books.  They hoped that the incomplete book catalogue would entice prospective customers to find out what other volumes they offered for sale.

May 19

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

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

Virginia Gazette [Dixon and Hunter] (May 18, 1776).

“To be SOLD … a considerable Number of other Articles too tedious to enumerate.”

In the spring of 1776, William Pitt advised the readers of John Dixon and William Hunter’s Virginia Gazette that he stocked a variety of items “at his Store in WILLIAMSBURG.”  His advertisement had a familiar format, a short introduction followed by a dense paragraph of text with his name at the end and a final note that drew attention to items of particular interest.

In the introduction, Pitt declared that he sold “the following Articles, for ready Money only.”  Generous credit had been an important aspect of the consumer revolution, but in times of distress many retailers insisted that their customers had to pay at the time of purchase.  Pitt certainly was not alone in doing so after the war began with the skirmishes at Lexington and Concord.  The body of the advertisement consisted entirely of a catalog of Pitt’s merchandise, a means of demonstrating the array of choices he made available to consumers.  He stocked everything from fabrics and accessories to housewares and tools, including “BROADCLOTHS, … Muslins, Gauze, Cambrick, Lawn and Gauze Handkerchiefs and Aprons, black Minionet and Blond Lace, … Women’s Hats and Bonnets, Gloves, Ribands, Fans, Necklaces, … large Dressing Glasses, black Walnut Tea Chest, … Saws, Scythes, … a Variety of China Cups, Saucers, and Teapots, Guns and Gun Locks, … broad and narrow Axes, … Brass and Iron Skillets, … Sheep and Tailors Shears, Scissors, Razor Straps, Combs, Fish Hooks, Cork Screws, Shoemakers and Saddlers Tools, Saddles, [and] Bridles.”  The length of the list was an appeal to customers in and off itself.  Some of those items, especially the textiles, are not readily familiar to modern readers, but eighteenth-century consumers recognized them and could distinguish among them.  Just in case he had not convinced prospective customers of the variety that awaited at his store, Pitt proclaimed that he sold “a considerable Number of other Articles too tedious to enumerate.”  That was a common pitch throughout the colonies.  He concluded with a shorter entry.  Many advertisers used “N.B.” for nota bene (“take note”), but Pitt inserted a manicule for the same effect.  “I have also,” he noted, “a LARGE and ELEGANT ASSORTMENT of SWORDS.”  Gentlemen looking to outfit themselves for military service or simply to defend themselves, Pitt suggested, should visit his store.  Even with the final entry about swords, his advertisement looked much like those published before the war began.

May 11

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , ,

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

Virginia Gazette [Dixon and Hunter] (May 11, 1776).

“Those who are deficient will have their Names exposed in the Gazette.”

George Lafong, a hairdresser in Williamsburg, meant business.  In the spring of 1776, he took to the pages of John Dixon and William Hunter’s Virginia Gazette to call on “ALL Persons in my Debt, for Shaving, Dressing,” and other services “to discharge their Accounts.”  In particular, he addressed clients from “before I entered into Partnership with Mr. Wylie” at the beginning of the year, reporting that some of those unsettled accounts “have been standing for years.”

He started by asking those clients to be reasonable and consider his own situation and, especially, his responsibilities to support his family.  He asked them to make payment “that I may be enabled to pay those Debts which I have been under a Necessity of contracting for the Support of my Family” but had been forced to “Neglect” because of his recalcitrant clients.  In other circumstances he could have threatened legal action against those who refused to pay their overdue bills, but Lafong suggested the possible that “the Law” (or the courts) might not “be open to force Compliance,” perhaps due to disruptions caused by the war that began at Lexington and Concord and spread to other colonies.  Without legal remedies, he would resort to public shaming by publishing the names of those who owed for the services he provided: “those who are deficient will have their Names exposed in the Gazette.”  Notices about settling accounts frequently appeared in early American newspapers, but rarely did anyone make such threats.  In November 1768, Daniel Fowle and Robert Fowle, the printers of the New-Hampshire Gazette, threatened to publish “a List of those Customers … whose Accounts are of long standing, with the Sum due, in order to show how injuriously they are treated by them,” though they did not follow through on it.  In September 1774, Charles Willson Peale did publish an advertisement calling on Elie Vallette to pay for a family portrait he had painted.  Peale and Vallette made their dispute public with a series of advertisements in the Maryland Gazette.

Would Lafong publish the names of clients who did not settle accounts?  He made clear that “Gentlemen who pay me punctually may rely on my constant Attendance, and utmost Endeavours to give Satisfaction,” yet “others can expect no more of my Service.”  At the very least, they could not depend on Lafong extending additional credit, but the possibility of even more drastic consequences remained.

April 6

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , ,

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

“The celebrated high bred Horse YOUNG FEARNOUGHT, WILL … cover Mares …”

Virginia Gazette [Dixon and Hunter] (April 6, 1776).

With the arrival of spring in 1776, the final page of the April 6 edition of John Dixon and William Hunter’s Virginia Gazette looked as though it could have doubled as a catalog of stud horses.

  • “KING HEROD STANDS here [at Rosegill], and will cover Mares …”
  • “The noted swift Horse TRISTRAM SHANDY … will cover Mares …”
  • “FEARNOUGHT STANDS at Hick’s Ford … to cover …”
  • “The celebrated high bred Horse YOUNG FEARNOUGHT, WILL … cover Mares …”
  • “The beautiful high blooded bay Horse LAUREL … will cover Mares …”
  • “OSCAR, A BEAUTIFUL Sorrel … stands this Year to cover Mares …”
  • “The beautiful high bred chestnut Horse DAMON … will cover Mares …”
  • “CYPHAX … covers Mares …”
  • “GODOLPHIN, A BEAUTIFUL bright Bay … to cover Mares …”
  • “ROCKINGHAM, A FINE bay Horse … to cover Mares …”
  • “The noted Horse OLD PARTNER … WILL cover Mares this Season …”

Some advertisers claimed that their horses already had such reputations that they needed to say little to promote them, though that did not stop them from making a pitch.  Thomas Field, for instance, stated that the “number of Mares put to Godolphin, since he has been allowed to cover, has gained him such Reputation, as well for the Certainty of his getting Colts, as for their Size and Beauty, that a further Description of him is needless.”  William Gay proclaimed that Young Fearnought’s “Figure, together with the Size and Form of his Colts, are such to render him, in the Esteem of the best Judges, deservedly one of the best covering Horses in America,” while also asserting that the “Pedigree of this Horse is so well known as to make a Description needless.”  In contrast, others went into detail about pedigrees.  According to Neill Buchanan, Jr., Oscar was “got by YOUNG SNIP, his Dam by Lord Morton’s ARABIAN, his Grandam by OLD CRAB, his Great Grandam by the BALD GALLOWAY, his Great Great Grandam by Darley’s ARABIAN, out of BAY BOLTON’s Dam.”

Advertisements placed for other purposes also appeared in the Virginia Gazette, yet notices for stud horses dominated that issue.  They testified to the popularity of horse breeding among the colony’s gentry and the popularity of horse racing as a pastime in Virginia during the era of the American revolution.

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Advertisements in the New-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury that same week showed a similar enthusiasm for breeding horses.  That newspaper also incorporated images.

New-York Gazette and Weekly Mercury (April 8, 1776).

February 10

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , , ,

Who was the subject of an advertisement in a revolutionary American newspaper 250 years ago today?

Virginia Gazette [Dixon and Hunter] (February 10, 1776).

“Runaway Negroes … going to the Governor.”

For several weeks in January and February 1776, the Virginia Gazette carried an advertisement about a canoe recovered from “some runaway Negroes” making their way down the James River.  John Watkins described the canoe and noted that the enslaved men also possessed “sundry Clothes, some of which were stolen, and have since been claimed by the Owners.”  He assumed that the remaining clothes belonged to the enslaved men.  Watkins offered the canoe to its rightful owner and the clothes to the enslavers of the Black men who sought to liberate themselves.  He did not, however, indicate that those men had been captured and imprisoned until their enslavers claimed them.  Perhaps the men managed to make their escape when Watkins seized the canoe.

Whatever happened, Watkins believed that the men “were going to Governor.”  That detail meant a lot to eighteenth-century readers of the Virginia Gazette and even more to enslaved people residing in the colony.  On November 7, 1775, John Murray, the earl of Dunmore and royal governor of Virginia, issued a proclamation that declared martial law in the colony.  He hoped to restore order as the fighting that started at Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts spread to Virginia.  To that end, he “declare[d] all indented Servants, Negroes, or others, (appertaining to Rebels,) free that are able and willing to bear Arms, they joining His MAJESTY’s Troops as soon as may be.”  In other words, Dunmore offered freedom to enslaved people (and indentured servants and other unfree laborers) who fled from their enslavers, joined his forces, and fought for the king (but only those Black people enslaved by Patriots since the governor did not want to alienate Loyalists).  As word spread, enslaved men, women, and children flocked to Dunmore’s lines.  The men who stole the canoe that Watkins advertised had good reason for acting when they did.  They recognized what may very well have been their best possible chance to make good on their escape and achieve freedom.  As colonizers complained about their figurative enslavement by Parliament, enslaved people saw this offer by the British as a beacon of liberty.  Several months later, the Declaration of Independence counted Lord Dunmore’s Proclamation among the many grievances against George III.  The charge that the king “has excited domestic insurrections amongst us” referred to Dunmore’s efforts to rally enslaved people to join him in fighting against the “Rebels” who opposed the king.