I recently shared advertisements from my 1862 New York Tribune newspaper. This time, I’m excited to relay some advertisements from my 1683 and 1820 historic newspapers. Ready to learn what ads were newsworthy nearly 340 years ago and over 200 years ago? Then keep scrolling!
You might be reading the above advertisement and wondering why many, but not all, of the words with s in them are replaced by a letter that looks more like an f. According to Live Science, this is called a long s, which you’ll find it numerous historical documents that date back a few centuries. For the sake of clarity, any transcriptions I provide from the 1683 newspaper will have this outdated grammatical style corrected.
The above advertisement is for a man, Roger Meredith, who is looking for a specific deed. Reading the advertisement, it appears Meredith is searching for a record regarding a land inheritance in the County of Kent. Apparently, anyone who is able to help Meredith locate this record “shall be by him gratified to their content,” which perhaps indicates they’ll receive a monetary reward.
My 1683 London Gazette dates to February 14, but there’s mention of three golden seals that were lost on Monday, January 7th. Apparently, these three seals, belonging to Mr. Rhodes, had interesting designs–an “Old Mans Head,” a “Womans Head,” and “the other with an Antick.” These seals were probably rather valuable, as one even had a diamond in the middle. If anyone was able to return these seals to the Bear Tavern, they would “have two Guinea’s rewards.”
Historically, horse thieving was a big issue, the equivalent of stealing one’s automobile. In bygone eras, horses (besides walking) were the primary mode of transportation, making horse thievery not only a crime, but also incredibly disruptive to everyday life. The above advertisement relays that “out of the Stable of William Porter” there was a “Blood bay Stone Horse” that was stolen. The ad even shares the horse’s characteristics. It was 14-15 hands high with white hairs on “one of his Feet.” The thief may have believed he was getting away with a great misdeed, but it sounds like he got the bad end of the deal. This horse was “given to bite and strike,” all the while “hardly suffering any man to ride him.” Even though the equine sounds like a nightmare, forty shillings were offered up as a reward.
Apparently, horse thievery was abounding in that area of London at the time, as a “Brown punch Horse” was also stolen. The equine stood about 13 hands high, “with a small Star on his Forehead,” a “little bob Tail,” and a saddle, stirrups, and bridle. In order to pull off the robbery, the thief had taken on a disguise. The rider “pretends to be a Seaman, with a pair of Red striped Breeches” and “thin Pumps.” The personal description notes the thief “hath a large head of Hair curls” and a face “full of Pockholes.” The reward was a Guinea for the horse or three Guineas if both the horse and thief were located.
My 1820 Niles’ Weekly Register doesn’t have many advertisements, but I did spot the one above. Apparently, in the District of Columbia (Washington, D.C.) there were thirty churches to serve 30,000 people. While thirty churches may seem like a lot, if all inhabitants attended church that would be about 1,000 congregants per church! Even if just half of the residents (15,000) were churchgoers, there would be about 500 attendees at each church. Those would have to be some pretty large churches! With the number of politicians and other famous Americans living in Washington, D.C. at that time, it’s likely that some of these churches were places of worship for some well known historical figures.
I hope you’ve enjoyed the Kassidy’s Corner posts regarding historical advertisements! Newspapers are superb primary sources, offering unique insight into various aspects of history. I mean, how amazing is it to be in the know about history from hundreds of years ago?!?
Whether you’ve decided to add some newspapers to your personal collection or not, remember how important it is to keep the history alive!
