What was advertised in a colonial American newspaper 250 years ago today?
“Wine, Spirit, Rum and Sugar Store.”
John Mitchell ran the “Wine, Spirit, Rum and Sugar Store” on Front Street in Philadelphia in the 1770s. Thomas Batt’s “WINE and SPIRIT STORE” was among his competitors for customers in the bustling urban port and its hinterlands. To attract the attention of prospective customers, Mitchell provided an extensive list of his inventory in his advertisement in the June 1, 1774, edition of the Pennsylvania Journal. He sold “Best genuine MADEIRA WINES, Old JAMAICA SPIRITS, [and] BRANDY of the best Quality, by the Pipe, Hogshead, Quarte Cask or Gallon.” Similarly, his patrons could purchase several kinds of wine, including “Genuine OLD PORT, [and] TENRIFF, LISBON, SHERRY, FYALL and MOUNTAIN” wines, “by the Pipe, Quarter Cask or Dozen. Like Batt, he offered a choice among quantities. “Excellent bottled CLARET,” “SHONE’S best London PORTER,” and “West-India and Country Rum” rounded out his selection of alcohol. Mitchell also stocked groceries, including sugar, molasses, coffee, rice, and the increasingly problematic “Green and Bohea Tea.”
Beyond such a selection, Mitchell also aimed to convince readers that he made shopping at his store convenient. He advised “Friends in the Country” that they “may depend on being as well and punctually supplied by Letter, as if they were Personally present.” In other words, Mitchell did not give preference or better treatment to customers who visited his store; instead, he cultivated relationships with customers in towns and villages outside of Philadelphia by providing the same level of service, including filling orders as quickly as possible, so they felt comfortable continuing to buy from him rather than turn to his competitors. That also meant maintaining “a constant supply” of the merchandise listed in his advertisement so customers did not have to wait on his supply chain after placing their orders. Mitchell combined these appeals with promises of superior quality and fair prices, declaring that he “will be careful to have the best of their kinds” and that “the Public may depend on being served on the most reasonable terms.” Although the list of his wares accounted for most of the space in his advertisement, Mitchell deployed a variety of other marketing strategies to entice customers to shop at the “Wine, Spirit, Rum and Sugar Store.”