William Russell

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.

April 4

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , ,

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

Providence Gazette (April 4, 1772).

“They have just opened a large and fine assortment of Spring and Summer Goods.”

Joseph Russell and William Russell were among the most prolific advertisers in the Providence Gazette in the late 1760s and early 1770s.  Two of the city’s most prominent merchants, the Russells generated significant advertising revenue for the printers of the Providence Gazette.  They sometimes ran multiple advertisements at once, especially when they received new shipments of imported goods via vessels arriving in port.  Even when the Russells were relatively quiet, they inserted a new advertisement approximately once a month or every six weeks.  In doing so, they maintained their visibility in the public prints much more consistently than their competitors.  That likely contributed to their prominence, both in the Providence and in other towns where the Providence Gazette circulated.

As part of their ongoing advertising campaign, the Russells inserted a new advertisement in the April 4, 1772, edition of the Providence Gazette.  It did not include much by way of prologue, sporting a headline that read, “To be Sold by JOSEPH & Wm. RUSSELL,” before listing a variety of goods in two columns.  The Russells apparently marketed items they previously had on hand or else they would have resorted to a convention adopted by many merchants and shopkeepers in their advertisements.  That standard format proclaimed that the advertisers had “just imported” certain goods and named the vessels and captains that transported them across the Atlantic.  Prospective customers could compare that information to the shipping news to determine how recently the merchandise made it to shops and stores.

Lacking such an introduction, the Russells’ advertisement suggested to readers that they had not just received the “Cream coloured plates and mugs,” “Brass kettles,” and “Looking glasses of all sizes.”  The advertisement concluded with a note that the merchants “have just opened a large and fine assortment of Spring and Summer Goods” for those who wished to peruse them, but savvy consumers realized that they would choose from among items imported during a previous season.  If the Russells had new goods recently delivered from England, they would have incorporated that information into their new advertisement.

February 15

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

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

Providence Gazette (February 15, 1772).

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

Joseph Russell and William Russell were among the most prominent merchants in Providence in the era of the American Revolution.  The brothers were so successful that in 1772 they built what is now the “earliest extant and most impressive of the cubical, three-story houses that symbolized wealth and social standing in Providence for several generation beginning at the eve of the Revolution,” according to the Providence Preservation Society’s Guide to Providence Architecture.  The building stands at 118 North Main Street (formerly King Street), though its original interiors were removed and installed in several museums a century ago.  In addition, the building “was raised to insert a storefront” in the middle of the nineteenth century, resulting in the original entrance, “taken from the English architectural pattern book Builder’s Compleat Assistant (1750) by Battey Langley,” appearing to adorn the second floor rather than opening onto the street.

The Russells frequently advertised in the Providence Gazette in the 1760s and 1770s.  Perhaps their marketing efforts contributed, at least in part, to their mercantile success.  As they embarked on building their new house in 1772, the brothers advertised a variety of commodities on February 15.  They focused primarily on grocery items in that notice, though in others they promoted a vast array of textile, housewares, hardware, and other goods imported from England.  Among the groceries they offered to consumers, the Russells listed “Nutmegs, Cinnamon, Mace, and Cloves” as well as “Pepper by the Bag” and “Chocolate by the Box.”  They concluded their advertisement with “Choice Bohea Tea.”  Most advertisers did not offer much commentary about that popular commodity, but in this instance the Russells elaborated on what made their tea “Choice” for consumers.  They proclaimed that the “Smell and Flavour exceeds almost any ever imported.”  In conjuring such associations with their tea at the conclusion of their advertisement, the Russells may have incited greater interest in all of the groceries they sold.  Sales of “Choice Bohea Tea” and so many other goods helped finance the house they built in 1772.  The Russells almost certainly enjoyed “Choice Bohea Tea” in the parlor of their new home, partaking in popular social rituals with family and guests.

August 24

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , ,

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

Providence Gazette (August 24, 1771).

“Just imported by Joseph and William Russell.”

In the early 1770s, each edition of the Providence Gazette concluded with a colophon in which John Carter, the printer, solicited paid notices.  “ADVERTISEMENTS of a moderate Length (accompanied with the Pay),” the colophon advised, “are inserted in this Paper three Weeks for Four Shillings.”  That fee covered setting type the first time an advertisement ran and the space it occupied in three consecutive issues.  Advertisers could also pay additional fees for their notices to make additional appearances.

Joseph Russell and William Russell, two of the city’s most prominent merchants, did not need the invitation in the colophon to prompt them to submit advertisements to Carter’s printing office.  They regularly placed notices promoting a variety of commodities and consumer goods.  Indeed, they advertised so frequently that sometimes they published new advertisements before older ones finished their runs.  That was the case in the August 24, 1771 edition of the Providence Gazette.  That issue featured two advertisements placed by the Russells, a new one on the third page and another that already appeared multiple times on the fourth page.  That made them the only purveyors of goods with more than one advertisement in that issue, not the first time the merchants found themselves in that position.

Did advertising work?  The Russells believed that it did.  Otherwise, they would not have paid to publish advertisement after advertisement in the Providence Gazette.  They also seem to have made some effort to draw attention to their advertisements by varying the formats rather than assuming that prospective customers would read them just because they appeared in the public prints.  Deploying a particularly unusual format, their names, which served as a headline of sorts, appeared halfway through the advertisement on the third page of the August 24 edition.  That distinguished their advertisement from others in the same issue.  In their advertisements on the fourth page, the merchants divided their inventory into two columns instead of a single paragraph of dense text, making it easier for readers to peruse the contents.  The Russells likely thought (or learned from experience) that advertising worked when designed with some creativity and variation.

August 3

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , ,

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

Providence Gazette (August 3, 1771).

“Just imported … by Joseph and William Russell.”

Joseph Russell and William Russell, two of Providence’s most prominent merchants, made shrewd use of the public prints to keep their names … and their merchandise … before the eyes of prospective customers.  Some merchants and shopkeepers advertised only when they received new shipments of goods, running their notices for three or four weeks.  The Russells, on the other hand, continuously updated their marketing efforts, inserting new advertisements in the Providence Gazette when they discontinued others.

For four weeks in the summer of 1771, they ran an advertisement for “A VERY large and neat Assortment of English Goods, Ironmongery, Brasiery, Cutlery, Haberdashery, [and] Stationary” that they “Imported from London, in the Ship Providence, and in the Snow Tristram.”  Two weeks after that notice ran for the final time, they inserted a new advertisement, a much lengthier one that listed a variety of textiles, housewares, and other goods in two columns.  The Russells stated that these items were “Just imported from London, in the last ships.”  Savvy readers probably assumed that the Russells did not advertise merchandise that actually just arrived (or else they would have specified which vessels delivered their inventory) but instead goods received many weeks earlier via the Providence and Tristram.

That purveyors of goods sometimes hedged a bit in their advertisements was not any more of a surprise in the eighteenth century than today.  The Russells did not advance any outright misrepresentations as they attempted to garner new attention for their inventory by publishing an advertisement that differed so significantly from the shorter one that previously appeared in the Providence Gazette.  Had they continued inserting the earlier advertisement, they risked readers skipping over content that looked too familiar.  The new notice, lengthier with a different format, allowed them to highlight particular items even as they promoted all of their merchandise more generally.  The Russells invested in repetition, enhancing the visibility and reputation of their business by keeping it in the public prints.

July 20

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , ,

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

Providence Gazette (July 20, 1771).

“A VERY large and neat Assortment of English Goods.”

Joseph Russell and William Russell, two of the city’s most prominent merchants, regularly advertised in the Providence Gazette in the early 1770s.  They placed their notices for short periods, sometimes running more than one at a time.  Consider their marketing efforts during the summer of 1771.  On June 29, they inserted an advertisement to inform prospective customers that they now stocked “A VERY large and neat Assortment of English Goods, Ironmongery, Brasiery, Cutlery, Haberdashery, Stationary,” and other goods imported from London.  That advertisement ran for four consecutive weeks before being discontinued on July 27.  Two weeks after first placing that notice, the Russells placed another advertisement, that one for “THIRTY Barrels of choice Connecticut Pork” as well as corn and textiles.  It also ran for four weeks, appearing in the July 13 and 20 editions of the Providence Gazette with the other advertisement.  On July 27, the Russells published just one advertisement, but on August 3, the last issue for the advertisement about pork, they ran a new advertisement for imported goods.  It also appeared for four weeks.

When it came to advertising, the Russells made deliberate choices.  According to the rates that John Carter, the printer of the Providence Gazette, inserted in the colophon, “ADVERTISEMENTS of a moderate Length (accompanied with the Pay) are inserted in this Paper three Weeks for Four Shillings.”  The Russells did not opt to have their notices run for the minimum amount of time before removing them.  Instead, they added an additional week to allow for greater exposure, but then retired their advertisements and devised new notices.  Doing so allowed them to keep their enterprise visible to prospective customers without risking readers dismissing advertisements that became too familiar.  Did advertising in eighteenth-century newspapers work?  The Russells seemed to believe that advertising was indeed effective, at least when properly managed, or else they would not have placed so many notices in the Providence Gazette and incurred the expenses of doing so.

May 18

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , ,

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

Providence Gazette (May 18, 1771).

“Just imported in the Snow Tristram, Capt. Shand.”

The arrival of the ship Providence in Providence on May 1, 1771, had a significant impact on the contents of the next several issues of the Providence Gazette.  Captain Phineas Gilbert carried a variety of letters and newspapers that contained information not previously available in the colony.  John Carter, the printer of the Providence Gazette, selected excerpts to publish for his readers.  The Providence also transported consumer goods that soon found their way into local shops.  Several merchants advertised that their inventory now included merchandise “imported in the Ship Providence.”  No matter where they looked in the Providence Gazette, readers encountered content connected to the Providence.

In the time that advertisements for goods shipped via the Providence continued to run in the newspaper, other vessels arrived with more news and their own cargoes.  Immediately below the masthead in the May 18 edition of the Providence Gazette, Carter noted that he reprinted news he received “By the Snow Tristram, Captain SHAND, arrived here from London.”  A cluster of new advertisements made reference to the same vessel.  Amos Throop proclaimed that he sold “Fresh DRUGS and MEDICINES. Just imported in the Tristram, Captain Shand, from London,” echoing Carter’s attribution to his source for the news.  Joseph Russell and William Russell similarly announced that they stocked a “LARGE and compleat Assortment of English and Hard Ware GOODS” that crossed the Atlantic on the Tristram.  On another page of the same issue, an advertisement the Russells initially placed two weeks earlier once again promoted “a large Assortment of GOODS, suitable for the Season” that arrived via the Providence.  The partnership of “Nicholas, Joseph & Moses Brown, In Company,” also ran two advertisements, one for goods transported on the Tristram and the other for goods transported on the Providence.

Those advertisements meant greater revenues for the printer, but they also suggested more choices for prospective customers who, then as now, often equated newer with better.  That so many advertisements for consumer goods mentioned which ships carried those goods may seem quaint to modern readers, but that detail provided important context for eighteenth-century consumers who were less likely to pick over items that lingered on shelves for months than to browse new items that recently arrived.

May 4

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

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

Providence Gazette (May 4, 1771).

“They have just arrived from London, in the Ship Providence, Captain Gilbert, a large Assortment of GOODS.”

The arrival of ships in port meant not only new goods in stores and shops but also new advertisements in colonial newspapers.  Such was the case in Providence in the spring of 1771.  The Providence delivered goods to merchants and shopkeepers.  In turn, they placed advertisements in the Providence Gazette.  Joseph Russell and William Russell published a notice to “INFORM their Customers, that they have just arrived from London, in the Ship Providence, Captain Gilbert, a large Assortment of GOODS, suitable for the Season, which are now opened and ready for Sale.”  John Brown placed a similar advertisement for a “compleat Assortment of European and India GOODS.”  He also reported that he imported his wares “from LONDON … In the Ship Providence, Phineas Gilbert, Master.”  Brown and the Russells placed their advertisements very shortly after the arrival of the Providence, hoping to convince customers that new merchandise meant more desirable merchandise.  The Providence had been in port for only three days, according to news accounts elsewhere in the May 4 edition of the Providence Gazette.

In addition to “European and India GOODS,” Captain Gilbert also delivered news, some of it concerning events in England and elsewhere in Europe and some of it concerning other vessels that made transatlantic voyages.  For instance, Gilbert reported that the Providence “met the Snow Tristram, Capt. Shard, of this Port, in the River as he came down” shortly after departing London on February 6.  Families with seamen working aboard the Tristram and merchants with business interests connected to the vessel must have been relieved to learn that it arrived safely in the Thames and continued toward London.  Furthermore, “Capt. Shand was to leave London the 10th of March, and may daily be expected” in Providence.  Gilbert also reported on three other ships the Providence encountered during its transatlantic journey, noting “all well on board each Vessel.”  More extensive news items also arrived via the Providence.  The printer, John Carter, reserved the front page for news from London “By the Ship Thomas, Capt. Davis, arrived at Boston” previously printed in newspapers in that city, but Gilbert and the Providence almost certainly carried other news “From a late London Paper” that Carter inserted in the Providence Gazette.

The arrival of the Providence in Providence on May 1, 1771, generated various kinds of content for the next edition of the Providence Gazette.  Among the advertisements, merchants hawked consumer goods delivered on the ship.  The printer selected items from London newspapers carried by the captain to reprint for local readers.  The news also included updates about the progress of several vessels crossing the Atlantic, providing welcome updates for both families and merchants.

February 23

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

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

Providence Gazette (February 23, 1771).

“Brass candlesticks.”

Joseph Russell and William Russell regularly placed advertisements in the Providence Gazette in the late 1760s and early 1770s.  Like many other purveyors of goods, they listed some of the many items in stock at their store, including “Mens silk hose,” “Womens newest fashioned furr’d hats,” “Brass candlesticks,” and “Looking glasses.”  In so doing, they demonstrated to consumers the wide array of choices available to them.  The descriptions of some items further underscored that prospective customers could choose according to their own tastes and desires, such as “SCarlet, claret, tyrean, mixed, drab, cinnamon, green & blue broadcloths” and “Sewing silks of all colours.”  The Russells’ notice in the Providence Gazette constituted a catalog of their merchandise in the format of a newspaper advertisement.

In addition to making an appeal to consumer choice, the Russells also deployed graphic design to draw attention to their advertisement and aid readers in navigating it.  Their notice featured two columns of goods with a line down the center.  Only one or two items appeared on each line, creating white space that made the entire advertisement easier to read.  In contrast, most other items in the Providence Gazette (and other colonial newspapers) ran in dense blocks of text.  News items almost invariably took that form.  Most advertisements did as well, including the majority that enumerated the many items offered for sale.  As a result, the design of the Russells’ advertisement likely caused readers to notice it before they actively set about reading it, encouraging them to look more closely.  When they did read it, they could scan the contents more efficiently than working through a lengthy and dense paragraph.  Primitive by modern standards, the two-column design distinguished the Russells’ advertisement from most other items in the newspaper.

That design cost more money since newspaper printers charged by the amount of space advertisements occupied rather than the number of words.  The Russells apparently considered the additional expense worth the investment if it increased the number of readers who engaged with their advertisement.

July 28

Carl Robert Keyes Daily Advert Update , , , ,

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

Jul 28 - 7:28:1770 Providence Gazette
Providence Gazette (July 28, 1770).

“JOSEPH AND Wm. RUSSELL.”

Joseph Russell and William Russell were among Providence’s mercantile elite in the decade prior to the American Revolution.  They conducted business at a shop marked by the Sign of the Golden Eagle, a device that became inextricably associated with the Russells.  Their name and the sign were interchangeable in advertisements that ran in the Providence Gazette.  Sometimes their notices included their names and the sign, sometimes just their names, and sometimes just the sign.  When advertisements included just their names, readers knew that they could find the Russells at the Sign of the Golden Eagle.  When advertisements directed readers to the Sign of the Golden Eagle, they knew that they would be dealing with the Russells.  No matter which configuration appeared in their advertisements, the Russells’ use of the public prints to promote their various enterprises enhanced and contributed to their visibility as prominent merchants.

They achieved that visibility with a variety of novel approaches to advertising, including full-page advertisements and multiple advertisements in a single issue.  In November 1766, they published what may have been the first full-page advertisement for consumer goods in an American newspaper.  (This excludes book catalogs that printer-booksellers inserted into their own newspapers, taking advantage of their access to the press.)  In addition, placing multiple advertisements per issue helped keep their names in the public eye, a strategy adopted by a small number of advertisers in the largest port cities.  Consider the July 28, 1770, edition of the Providence Gazette.  It featured fourteen paid notices and a short advertisement for blanks inserted by the printer.  Of those fourteen advertisements, the Russells placed two, one on each page that had advertisements.  One of them presented various commodities for sale, while the other offered cash in exchange for potash and salts.  The Russells certainly were not the only American entrepreneurs to use the strategy of drawing readers’ attention to their names multiple times in a single issue of a newspaper, but they were the only ones who did so regularly in the Providence Gazette, a publication that tended to run fewer advertisements than its counterparts in Boston, Charleston, New York, and Philadelphia.  As a result, their advertisements were all the more noticeable because they competed with fewer others for attention.