Transcriber’s notes
This transcription uses the following symbols for typographical features
in the source document: _text_ represents italicised text; =text= bold
face text, ^{text} superscript text, ~text~ spaced-out text, and ^text^
blackletter text. Small capitals have been replaced by all capitals.
More transcriber’s notes may be found at the end of this text.
A
HISTORY OF ADVERTISING.
PRINTED BY BALLANTYNE AND COMPANY
EDINBURGH AND LONDON
[Illustration:
A. Concanen, del. et lith.
Stannard & Son, imp.
MODERN ADVERTISING: A RAILWAY STATION IN 1874.]
A
HISTORY OF ADVERTISING
^From the Earliest Times^.
_ILLUSTRATED BY ANECDOTES, CURIOUS SPECIMENS, AND
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES._
BY HENRY SAMPSON.
[Illustration]
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS AND FACSIMILES.
^London:^
CHATTO AND WINDUS, PICCADILLY.
1874.
TO
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE
THOMAS MILNER GIBSON,
IN HUMBLE RECOGNITION OF THE IMPORTANT SERVICES
HE HAS RENDERED TO THE CAUSE OF
_ADVERTISING,_
AS WELL AS TO JOURNALISM GENERALLY,
^This Book^
IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED,
BY
HIS OBEDIENT SERVANT,
THE AUTHOR.
CONTENTS.
CHAP. PAGE
I. INTRODUCTORY--NEWSPAPERS AND NEWSPAPER ADVERTISING 1
II. INTRODUCTORY--STREET AND GENERAL ADVERTISING 19
III. ANCIENT FORMS OF ADVERTISING 33
IV. MEDIÆVAL AND OTHER VARIETIES OF ADVERTISING 43
V. NEWSPAPER ADVERTISING FORESHADOWED--ITS EARLIEST
USE--HOUGHTON’S LESSONS 61
VI. DEVELOPMENT OF ADVERTISING 94
VII. CONCLUSION OF SEVENTEENTH CENTURY 120
VIII. EARLY PART OF EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 142
IX. MIDDLE OF EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 176
X. THE EDUCATION COMPLETED 205
XI. CURIOUS AND ECCENTRIC ADVERTISEMENTS 240
XII. SWINDLES AND HOAXES 304
XIII. THE GREAT BOTTLE-TRICK SWINDLE 365
XIV. QUACKS AND IMPOSTORS 373
XV. GRAHAM AND HIS CELESTIAL BED 411
XVI. LOTTERIES AND LOTTERY INSURANCE 422
XVII. MATRIMONIAL ADVERTISEMENTS AND AGENCIES 475
XVIII. HANDBILLS, INSCRIPTIONS, ETC. 510
XIX. AMERICAN AND COLONIAL ADVERTISEMENTS 556
XX. ADVERSARIA 597
PREFACE.
In presenting the following humble attempt at history-writing to the
reader, I am selfish enough to admit a preference for his tender mercy
rather than for his critical judgment. I would ask him to remember that
there are many almost insurmountable difficulties to be faced in the
accomplishment of a work like this, and a narrowed space adds to rather
than diminishes from their antagonistic power.
When the work was first proposed to me, it was imagined that the subject
could be fully disposed of in less than five hundred pages. I have
already gone considerably over that number, and feel that the charge of
incompleteness may still be brought against the book. But I also feel
that if I had extended it to five thousand pages, the charge could still
have been made, for with such a subject actual exhaustion cannot be
expected; and so, despite the great quantity of unused material I have
yet by me, I must rest satisfied with what I have done. I trust the
reader will be satisfied also.
Almost everybody has in the course of his lifetime discovered some sort
of a pet advertisement without which he considers no collection can be
complete. During the progress of this “history” I have received many
hundreds such--have received sufficient, with accompanying notes, to
fill a bigger volume than this--and I can therefore imagine every fresh
reader turning to look for his favourite, and, in the event of his
finding it not, condemning the book unconditionally. I hope that in the
event of a reconsideration some worthy representative will be found
occupying the missing one’s place. In like manner, and judging by my own
friends’ observations, I have found that almost every one would have
treated the “history” differently, not only from my way but from each
other’s. Every one would have done something wonderful with such a
wonderful subject. It will not be out of place perhaps, therefore, to
ask the reader to think, that because the system adopted has not been
that which would have suggested itself to him, it is not necessarily the
wrong one after all.
I have received much assistance during the time I have been at work, in
the way of hints and observations. For those which I have accepted, as
well as for those I have been compelled to reject, I hereby tender my
heartfelt thanks. Little in the way of so-called statistics of modern
advertisers will be found in the book, as I fancy it is better to be
silent than to make untrustworthy statements; and this remark will
particularly apply to the amounts of annual outlay generally published
in connection with the names of large advertising firms. My own
experience is that the firms or their managers are not aware of the
exact sums expended by them, or, if they are, do not feel inclined to
tell in anything but the vaguest manner. Another observation I have made
is, that extensive advertising is likely to result in a desire for the
exaggeration of facts--at all events, so far as the individual
advertisers themselves are concerned. That any firm, tradesmen,
manufacturers, agents, quacks, perfumers, patentees, or whatever they
may be, pay a settled annual sum, no more and no less, for advertising,
I do not believe now, whatever I may have done before commencing my
inquiries.
I have endeavoured as much as possible, and wherever practicable, to
make the advertisements tell their own story. At the same time I have
tried hard to prevent waste of space, and so far have, if in no other
way, succeeded. This is but little merit to claim, and if I am allowed
that, I shall be satisfied. Also, if my endeavour should lead to a
development of that laudable spirit of emulation so apparent nowadays
after the ice has been once broken, I shall be happy to supply any
fresh adventurer with copious material which has grown up during the
progress of this “history,” and which has been omitted only through lack
of room. As far as my judgment has allowed me, I have selected what
appeared best; other tastes might lead to other results. With this I
will take leave of a somewhat unpleasant and apparently egotistical
task; and in doing so beg to say that I trust to the reader’s kindness,
and hope he will overlook the blemishes of a hurried and certainly an
unpretentious work, which may, however, be found to contain a little
amusement and some amount of information.
H. S.
LONDON, _September 1874_.
A
HISTORY OF ADVERTISING.
CHAPTER I.
_INTRODUCTORY--NEWSPAPERS AND NEWSPAPER ADVERTISING._
It must be patent to every one who takes the least interest in the
subject, that the study of so important a branch of our present system
of commerce as advertising, with its rise and growth, cannot fail to be
full of interest. Indeed it is highly suggestive of amusement, as a
reference to any of our old newspapers, full as they are of quaint
announcements, untrammelled by the squeamishness of the present age,
will show. Advertising has, of course, within the last fifty years,
developed entirely new courses, and has become an institution differing
much from the arrangement in which, so far as our references show, it
first appeared in this country; its growth has been attended by an
almost entire revulsion of mode, and where we now get long or short
announcements by the hundred, dictated by a spirit of business, our
fathers received statements couched in a style of pure romance, which
fully compensated for their comparatively meagre proportions. Of course,
even in the present day, and in the most pure-minded papers, ignorance,
intolerance, and cupidity exhibit themselves frequently, often to the
amusement, but still more often to the annoyance and disgust, of
thinkers; but in the good old days, when a spade was a spade, and when
people did not seek to gloss over their weaknesses and frivolities, as
they do now, by a pretence of virtue and coldness, which, after all,
imposes only on the weak and credulous, advertisements gave a real
insight into the life of the people; and so, in the hope that our
researches will tend to dispel some of the mists which still hang over
the sayings and doings of folk who lived up to comparatively modern
days, we present this work to the curious reader.
It is generally assumed--though the assumption has no ground for
existence beyond that so common amongst us, that nothing exists of which
we are ignorant--that advertisements are of comparatively modern origin.
This idea has probably been fostered in the public mind by the fact that
so little trouble has ever been taken by encyclopædists to discover
anything about them; and as time begets difficulties in research, we are
almost driven to regard the first advertisement with which we are
acquainted as the actual inaugurator of a system which now has hardly
any bounds. That this is wrong will be shown most conclusively, and even
so far evidence is given by the statement, made by Smith and others,
that advertisements were published in Greece and Rome in reference to
the gladiatorial exhibitions, so important a feature of the ancient days
of those once great countries. That these advertisements took the form
of what is now generally known as “billing,” seems most probable, and
Rome must have often looked like a modern country town when the advent
of a circus or other travelling company is first made known.
The first newspaper supposed to have been published in England appeared
in the reign of Queen Elizabeth during the Spanish Armada panic. This
journal was called the _English Mercurie_, and was by authority
“imprinted at London by Christopher Barker, Her Highnesses printer,
1583.” This paper was said to be started for the prevention of the
fulmination of false reports, but it was more like a succession of
extraordinary gazettes, and had by no means the appearance of a regular
journal, as we understand the term. It was promoted by Burleigh, and
used by him to soothe, inform, or exasperate the people as occasion
required.[1] Periodicals and papers really first came into general use
during the civil wars in the reign of Charles I., and in the time of the
Commonwealth; in fact, each party had its organs, to disseminate
sentiments of loyalty, or to foster a spirit of resistance against the
inroads of power.[2] The country was accordingly overflowed with tracts
of every size and of various denominations, many of them displaying
great courage, and being written with uncommon ability. _Mercury_ was
the prevailing title, generally qualified with some epithet; and the
quaintness peculiar to the age is curiously exemplified in the names of
some of the news-books, as they were called: the _Dutch Spye_, the
_Scots Dove_, the _Parliament Kite_, the _Screech Owle_, and the
_Parliamentary Screech Owle_, being instances in point. The list of
_Mercuries_ is almost too full for publication. There was _Mercurius
Acheronticus_, which brought tidings weekly from the infernal regions;
there was _Mercurius Democritus_, whose information was supposed to be
derived from the moon; and among other _Mercuries_ there was the
_Mercurius Mastix_, whose mission was to criticise all its namesakes. It
was not, however, until the reign of Queen Anne that a daily paper
existed in London--this was the _Daily Courant_, which occupied the
field alone for a long period, but which ultimately found two rivals in
the _Daily Post_ and the _Daily Journal_, the three being simultaneously
published in 1724. This state of things continued with very little
change during the reign of George I., but publications of every kind
increased abundantly during the reign of his successor. The number of
newspapers annually sold in England, according to an average of three
years ending with 1753, was 7,411,757; in 1760 it amounted to 9,464,790;
in 1767 it rose to 11,300,980; in 1790 it was as high as 14,035,636; and
in 1792 it amounted to 15,005,760. All this time advertising was a
growing art, and advertisements were beginning to make themselves
manifest as the main support and chief source of profit of newspapers,
as well as the most natural channel of communication between the buyers
and sellers, the needing and supplying members of a vast community.
[Illustration:
^Numb. 49^
^Domestick Intelligence,^
Or, News both from
CITY and COUNTRY.
^Published to prevent false Reports.^
^Tuesday^, _Decemb. 23. 1679_.
_London_ Decemb. 22.
LAst Friday being the nineteenth of this Instant _December_, the
Justices of the Peace of _Middlesex_ and _Westminster_ attended His
Majesty in Council, to receive Power and Instructions for the removal
of all Papists from the Cities of _London_ and _Westminster_, in
pursuance of His Majesties late Proclamation to that Purpose, and
being called in, there were Orders given them, to make strict search
for all _Papists_ that are His Majesties Subjects, or any other
_Popish_ Recusants who have not the Priviledge of continuing here, (in
_Sommerset_ House in the Absence of the Queen, as also in His
Majesties Palace at St. _Jame’s_,) and that the said Justices of the
Peace, shall seize and Imprison all that be found Transgressors of the
Law, and Condemners of His Majesties Authority. His Majesty hath also
sent Orders into the Countrey to the several Knights of the Shire, to
take an Exact List of the Names of all the Papists of any repute in
their Respective Counties, and to return the said List to the
Secretary of State, to be communicated to the Council, and that
thereupon such Effectual proceedings would be used against them as the
utmost Severity and Rigour of the Law will allow, and the said Lists
being accordingly returned to the Lords of the Committee appointed to
consider of the most Effectual means for putting the Laws in Execution
against Papists, and for the suppression of Popery (mentioned in our
last) the Lord Chancellor has order to prepare Commissions (in which
the said Lists are to be Inserted) which do Impower and require the
Justices of Peace of the several Counties in _England_ and _Wales_, to
tender the Oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy to all Persons mentioned
therein, and in case of their Denial to take the same, to proceed
against them according to Law, in order to their speedy Conviction;
with the said Commissions are also to be sent special Instructions for
the better direction of the said Justices therein, and also Letters
from the Council Board, to require and Encourage them diligently to
Execute the said Commissions, and to send up an Account of their
proceedings, as likewise the Names of all other Papists and Suspected
Papists as are not in the said Commissions, And that no Papist shall
be allowed a License or Dispensation to stay in Town; Further that a
List be taken of all House-keepers, and especially such as entertain
Lodgers within the Bills of Morality, and of all Midwives,
Apothecaries and Physicians that are Papists or suspected to be such,
and to return the List to the Council: And that no Papist may Harbour
in any of His Majesties Palaces, a Commission is ordered for the
Green-cloth to offer the Oaths of Allegiance, Supremacy and the Test
to all Papists and Suspected Papists as shall be found in _Whitehall_,
and the Precinct thereof, who upon refusal are to be proceeded against
according to Law, And the Messengers and Knight-Marshals men are
ordered to seize and bring them before the said Officers, and a Reward
of Ten pound is to be paid to those who shall discover any Papist or
suspected Papist in any of His Majesties Houses, and the Officer that
harbours them shall be turned out of his Place, and Imployment. And
the Officers of the Parishes, where Ambassadors and Forreign Ministers
reside shall have Lists brought them of their Menial Servants, and if
any others shall presume to resort to their _Popish_ Chappels they
shall be seized and prosecuted.
It hath been given out that _Francis Smith_ the Bookseller, was upon
the seventeenth of this Instant _December_, by order of the Council
Board, Committed to _Newgate_ for Printing the Association, and
Seditious Queries upon it, and Promoting _Tumultuous Petitions_, but
our last gave you a _True_ Account of his Committment as expelled in
the Warrant, and that he had brought his _Habeas Corpus_ upon the late
Act of Parliament, and we can now assure you that upon Friday the
Nineteenth Instant he was thereupon restored to his Liberty.
This day, _December 22._ was the Election (according to the Custom of
the City of _London_) of the Common-Council-men for the year ensuing,
and all good Protestants are abundantly satisfied, that those who are
chosen are such as will stedfastly adhere to the _Protestant_
Interest, and will upon all occasions assert their own, and the Rights
of this City.
The _Gazette_ having told you, That the Lord Mayor and Aldermen of
_London_, were directed by the Lord Chancellor, by His Majesties
Command, not to suffer such persons as should sign tumultous Petitions
to go unpunished, but that they should proceed against them, or cause
them to be brought before the Council Board to be punished as they
deserve, according to a Judgment of all the Judges of _England 2
Jacobi_, we suppose it may gratifie our Readers curiosity, (and
prevent this danger too) to see what the Law Books say therein. Judge
_Crook_ in his _Reports, folio 37._ saith, That by command from the
King, all the Justices of _England_, and divers of the Nobility, with
the Archbishop of _Canterbury_, and Bishop of _London_, were Assembled
in the _Star-chamber_, when the Lord Chancellor demanded of the
Judges, whether it were _an Offence_ punishable, and what punishment
they deserve, who framed _Petitions_, and Collected a multitude of
hands thereto, to present to the King in a publick cause, as the
_Puritans_ had done, (_which was as it seems for Alteration of the
Law_ (with an intimation to the King, that if he denied their Suit,
many _Thousands_ of his Subjects would be _discontented_;) whereto all
the Justices answered, “That it was an Offence fineable at
_Discretion_, and very near Treason and _Fellony_, in the punishment,
for they tended to the Raising of Sedition, Rebellion, and Discontent
among the People,” To which Resolution all the Lords agreed, and then
many of the Lords declared that some of the _Puritans_ had raised a
false Rumor of the King, how he intended to to grant a Toleration to
_Papists_, which offence the Justices conceived to be highly fineable
by the Rules of the Common Law, either in the Kings Bench, _or by the
King and his Council_, or now since the Statute of the 3. _Henry_ 7.
in the _Star-chamber_, The Lords severally, declared how the King was
discontented with the said false Rumor, and had made but the day
before a Protestation unto them, _That he never Intended it, and that
he would spend the last Drop of Blood in his body before he would do
it, and prayed that before any of his issue should maintain any other
Religion then what he truly professed and maintained, that God would
take them out of the world_.
There were Eleven Persons Condemned to dye the last Sessions in the
_Old Baily_, six Men and five Women, but one man and three women
received a Gracious Reprieve from His Majesty, the other seven
suffered at _Tyburn_ upon _Friday_ last the Nineteenth Instant, whose
Names and Crimes follow, _John Parker_ by Trade a Watchmaker, for
Clipping and Coining, having been formerly Convicted of the like at
_Salisbury_; _Benjamin Penry_, a lusty stout man, convicted of being a
Notorious Highway-man, and Companion with _French_ Executed last
Sessions; _John Dell_, who with _Richard Dean_, his Servant were
heretofore Tryed, for the Murder of _Dells_ wives Brother, and now of
his wife, which seemed rather to want Proof then Truth, they were both
Condemned for stealing a Mare, and Executed for the same; This _Dean_
set fire of the Room wherein he lay at two Places the Night before he
was Executed; _William Atkins_ for Fellony, being an old Trader in
that way; The two women, _Susan White_, and _Deborah Rogers_ were both
old Offenders.
The Right Honourable the Earl of _Shaftesbury_ hath been lately ill,
but is pretty well recovered to the Joy of all Good _Protestants_.
From _Holland_ they write, That there are some hopes of a League
Offensive and Defensive between His Majesty and the _States General_
of the _United Provinces_, but on the contrary many fear that a League
will be concluded between the said _States_, and the _French_ King.
The Report of the Death of the Dutchess of _Cleaveland_ is altogether
false and groundless, she having not been indisposed of late.
Mr. _Benjamin Claypool_ attended the Council again upon Fryday last,
and was discharged from the custody of the Messenger being told that
his word should be taken for his Appearance when he should be
summoned.
Mr. _Mason_ Attended the Council about writing News Letters, and
entred into Recognizance to appear after the Holidays, upon which he
was discharged from the custody of the Messenger.
Captain _Sharp_ attended upon summons for erecting some buildings upon
_Tower-hill_, and was ordered to produce all his Deeds and Records to
the Attorney General, who is to Inspect them and make a Report thereof
to the Council Board.
For the readier dispatch of Affairs, there are three Committees sit
this day _December_, the 22th. at _Whitehall_, one about _Jamaica_,
Another concerning Trade and the Forreign Plantations, and a Third
about _Tangier_, to which place we hear there is order for sending
more Forces and Provisions, for the reinforcing that Garrison, and
preventing any danger that may arise from the _Moors_. We hear further
from thence that there are several persons who were formerly _Roman_
Catholicks, and amongst the rest Captain St. _Johns_, _Captain
Talbut_, and one Mr. _White_ since made a Captain, with divers
_others_ who have freely and voluntarily renounced the said Religion,
and are become _Protestants_, having received the Sacrament according
to the usage of the Church of _England_, the chief motive of their
conversion proceeding from their conviction of the Horrid Principles
and the bloody Trayterous; and damnable practises of the _Popish_
Faction, and especially since the discovery of the Hellish _Popish_
Plot against His Majesties Person, the Protestant Religion, and for
enslaving the Kingdom.
There is a Report that three Suns were lately seen about _Richmond_ in
_Surrey_, by divers credible persons, of which different observations
are made according to the fancy of the People.
This day, Decemb. 22. Captain _William Bedlow_ one of the Kings
Evidence, who has been so instrumental in discovering the _Hellish
Popish_ Plot, and thereby (under God) for preserving his Majesties
Person and the whole Nation, was married to a Lady of a very
considerable Fortune.
There being Intimation given, that _Mrs._ Celier the _Popish_ Midwife
now a Prisoner in _Newgate_, would make some Discovery of the Plot,
and the Counter Plot; _She_ was brought before the Councill last week,
but would confess nothing; whereupon Justice _Warcup_ produced some
information against her taken before him; Upon which she acknowledged
the greatest part of what was charged against her, and thereby gave
very strong Confirmation to the Truth of Mr. _Thomas Dangerfields_
Depositions, concerning that cursed Conspiracy managed by the Lady
_Powis_, herself, and several others, for the destruction of many
Hundreds of his Majesties Loyal _Protestant_ Subjects.
It is reported, that a Quaker fell in love with a Lady of very great
Quality, and hath extraordinarily petitioned to obtain her for his
Wife.
Upon the 17th. instant in the evening Mr. _Dryden_ the great Poet, was
set upon in _Rose-street_ in _Covent Garden_, by three persons, who
calling him rogue, and Son of a whore, knockt him down and dangerously
wounded him, but upon his crying out murther, they made their escape;
it is conceived that they had their pay beforehand, and designed not
to rob him but to execute on him some _Feminine_, if not _Popish_
vengeance.
Mr. _Stretch_ the _Custome-house_ Waiter, who seized the Papers in
Colonel _Mansells_ lodgings, and was soon after suspended from his
place, upon his humble _Petition_ to His Majesty, was yesterday
restored.
In pursuance of His Majesties most strict order for the removing all
_Papists_ and Suspected _Papists_, from his Palace, the Dutchess of
_Portsmouths_ Servants that are of the _Romish_ Church are discharged.
It hath pleased His Majesty to take from His Grace the Duke of
_Monmouth_, the Office of the Master of the Horse, that being the only
place which remained to him; but we know not yet who shall succeed
him, and the Earl of _Feversham_ is made Master of the Horse to the
Queen.
Advertisements.
_THESE are to give Notice That the Right Honourable the Lord_ Maior,
_and the Commissioners of Serveyors for the City of_ London, _and the
Liberties thereof; have constituted and appointed_ Samuel Potts _and_
Robert Davies, _Citizens; to be the General Rakers of the said City
and Liberties, and do keep their Office in Red Lyon Court, in_
Watling-street, _where any Person or Persons that are desirous to be
Imployed under them, as Carters and Sweepers of the Streets, may
repair from Eight a Clock in the morning, till Twelve a Clock at noon,
and from two till six at night, where they may be entertained
accordingly: And if any Gardners, Farmers or others will be furnisht
with any Dung Soyl or Compost, may there agree for it at reasonable
rates; and all Gentlemen having private Stables, and all Inholders and
Masters of Livery Stables and all others, are desired to repair
thither for the carrying away of their Dung and Soil from their
respective Stables, and other places, according to an Act of Common
Council for that purpose._
_THERE is newly published a Pack of Cards, containing an History of
all the_ Popish _Plots that have been in_ England: _beginning with
those in Queen_ Elizabeth _time, and ending with this last damnable
plot against his Majesty_ Charles II: _Excellently engraved on Copper
Plates, with very larg descriptions under each Card. The like not
extant. Sold by_ Randal Taylor _near_ Stationers-hall, _and_ Benjamin
Harris _at the_ Stationers Arms _under the_ Royal Exchange _in_
Cornhill.
_THE Milleners Goods that was to be Sold at the Naked Boy near Strand
Bridge, are Sold at Mr._ Vanden Anker _in_ Limestreet.
_LOST on Sunday night the 11 Instant in the_ Meuse, _a pocket with a
Watch in a single Studded Case, made by_ Richard Lyons; _also a Bunch
of Keyes, and other things; whoever brings them to Mr._ Bently _in_
Covent-Garden, _or Mr._ Allen _at the_ Meuse _Gate shall have 20 s.
Reward._
London, Printed for _Benjamin Harris_ at the _Stationers Armes_ in the
_Piazza_ under the _Royal Exchange_ in _Cornhill_, 1679.
]
The victories of Cromwell gave Scotland her first newspaper. This was
called the _Mercurius Politicus_, and appeared at Leith in October 1653;
but it was in November 1654 transferred to Edinburgh, where it was
continued until the 11th April 1660, when it was rechristened, and
appeared as the _Mercurius Publicus_. This paper was but a reprint, for
the information of the English soldiers, of a London publication. But a
newspaper of native manufacture, we are told by a contemporary writer,
soon made its appearance under the title of _Mercurius Caledonius_. The
first number of this was published at Edinburgh on the 31st December
1660, and comprised, as its title sets forth, “the affairs in agitation
in Scotland, with a summary of foreign intelligence.” The publication,
however, extended to no more than ten numbers, which, it is said by
Chambers, “were very loyal, very illiterate, and very affected.” After
the Revolution the custom was still to reprint in Scotland the papers
published in London, an economic way of doing business, which savours
much of the proverbial thrift peculiar to the Land o’ Cakes. In February
1699 the _Edinburgh Gazette_, the first original Scotch newspaper or
periodical, was published by James Watson, author of a “History of
Printing;” but he, after producing forty numbers, transferred it to a Mr
John Reid, whose son continued to print the paper till even after the
Union. In February 1705, Watson, who seems to have been what would now
be called a promoter of newspapers, established the _Edinburgh Courant_,
but relinquished it after the publication of fifty-five numbers, and in
September 1706 commenced the _Scots Courant_, with which he remained
connected until about 1718. To these papers were added in October 1708
the _Edinburgh Flying Post_; in August 1709 the _Scots Postman_,
“printed by David Fearne for John Moncur;” and in March 1710 the _North
Tatler_, “printed by John Reid for Samuel Colvil.” In 1715 the
foundation was laid of the present splendid Glasgow press by the
establishment of the _Courant_, but this did not in any way affect the
publications in the then far more important town of Edinburgh. In March
1714 Robert Brown commenced the _Edinburgh Gazette_ or _Scots Postman_,
which was published twice a week; and in December 1718 the Town Council
gave an exclusive privilege to James M‘Ewen to publish three times a
week the _Edinburgh Evening Courant_, upon condition, however, that
before publication “the said James should give ane coppie of his print
to the magistrates.” This journal is still published, and it is but fair
to assume that the original stipulation is yet complied with. The
_Caledonian Mercury_ followed the _Courant_ on the 28th of April 1720,
and was, like its forerunner, a tri-weekly organ. In these, as well as
in those we have mentioned, advertisements slowly but gradually and
surely began to make their appearance, and, as the sequel proves, to
show their value.
It is stated by several writers that the earliest English provincial
newspaper is believed to be the _Norwich Postman_, which was published
in 1706 at the price of a penny, and which bore the quaint statement,
that a halfpenny would not be refused. Newspaper proprietors,
publishers, and editors were then evidently, so far as Norwich is
concerned, less strong than they are now in their own conceit, and in
their belief in the press as an organ of great power. This _Postman_ was
followed in 1714 by the _Norwich Courant_ or _Weekly Packet_. York and
Leeds followed in 1720, Manchester in 1730, and Oxford in 1740. It was
not, however, until advertising became an important branch of commercial
speculation that the provincial press began in any way to flourish. Now
the journals published in our largest country towns command extensive
circulations, and are regarded by many advertising agents, whose
opinions are fairly worth taking, as being much more remunerative media
than our best London papers. For certain purposes, and under certain
circumstances, the same may be said of colonial newspapers, which have,
of course, grown up with the colonies in which they are published; for
it must be always borne in mind that the essence of advertising is to
place your statement where it is most likely to be seen by those most
interested in it, and so a newspaper with a very limited supply of
readers indeed is often more valuable to the advertiser of peculiar
wares or wants than one with “the largest circulation in the world,” if
that circulation does not reach the class of readers most affected by
those who pay for publicity. It would seem, however, that the largest
class of advertisers, the general public, who employ no agents, and who
consider a large sale everything that is necessary, ignore the argument
of the true expert, and lose sight of the fact that, no matter how
extensive a circulation may be, it is intrinsically useless unless
flowing through the channel which is fairly likely to effect the purpose
for which the advertisement is inserted. It is customary to see a sheet,
detached from the paper with which it is issued, full of advertisements,
which are, of course, unread by all but those who are professedly
readers of public announcements, and who are also, of course, not only
in a decided minority, but not at all the people to whom the notices are
generally directed. The smallest modicum of thought will show how
grievous is the error which leads to such a result, and how much better
it is to regard actual circulation but as so much evidence as to the
value of an advertisement only, and not as a whole, sole, and complete
qualification. Not in any incautious way do those who are most qualified
to judge of value for money act. Turn to any paper of repute, and it
will be seen that the professional advertiser, the theatrical manager,
the publisher, the auctioneer, and the others whom constant practice
has made wary, lay out their money on quite a different principle from
that of the casual advertiser. They have learned their lesson, and if
they pay extra for position or insertion, they know that their outlay is
remunerative; whereas, if it were not governed by caution and system, it
would be simply ruinous. In fact, advertising is a most expensive luxury
if not properly regulated, and a most valuable adjunct when coolness and
calculation are brought to bear upon it as accessories.
The heavy duties originally imposed upon newspapers, both on them and
their advertisements, were at first a considerable check to the number
of notices appearing in them. For, in the first place, the high price of
the papers narrowed the limits of their application; and, in the second,
the extra charge on the advertisements made them above the reach of
almost all but those who were themselves possessed of means, or whose
business it was to pander to the unholy and libidinous desires of the
wealthy. This, we fancy, will be extensively proved by a reference to
the following pages; for while it is our endeavour to keep from this
book all really objectionable items, we are desirous that it shall place
before the reader a true picture of the times in which the
advertisements appeared; and we are not to be checked in our duty by any
false delicacy, or turned from the true course by any squeamishness,
which, unfortunately for us in these days, but encourages the vices it
attempts to ignore.
The stamp duty on newspapers was first imposed in 1713, and was one
halfpenny for half a sheet or less, and one penny “if larger than half a
sheet and not exceeding a whole sheet.” This duty was increased a
halfpenny by an Act of Parliament, 30 Geo. II. c. 19; and by another
Act, 16 Geo. III. c. 34, another halfpenny was added to the tax. This
not being considered sufficient, a further addition of a halfpenny was
made (29 Geo. III. c. 50), and in the thirty-seventh year of the same
wise monarch’s reign (c. 90) three-halfpence more was all at once placed
to the debit of newspaper readers, which brought the sum total of the
duty up to fourpence. An Act of 6 & 7 Will. IV. c. 76 reduced this duty
to one penny, with the proviso, however, that when the sheet contained
1550 superficial inches on either side, an extra halfpenny was to be
paid, and when it contained 2295, an extra penny. An additional
halfpenny was also charged on a supplement, which may be regarded, when
the use of supplements in the present day is taken into consideration,
as an indirect tax on advertisements. In 1855, by an Act 18 & 19 Vict.
c. 27, this stamp duty was abolished, and immediately an immense number
of newspapers started into existence, most of which, however, obtained
but a most ephemeral being, and died away, leaving no sign. There are,
however, a large number of good and useful papers still flourishing,
which would never have been published but for the repeal of the
newspaper stamp duty. To such repeal many rich men owe their prosperity,
while to the same source may now be ascribed the poverty of numbers who
were once affluent. At this time, of course, the old papers also reduced
their rates, and from thence has grown a system of newspaper reading and
advertising which twenty years ago could hardly have been imagined. Up
to the repeal of the stamp duty few people bought newspapers for
themselves, and many newsvendors’ chief duty was to lend the _Times_ out
for a penny per hour, while a second or third day’s newspaper was
considered quite a luxury by those whom business or habit compelled to
stay at home, and therefore who were unable to glance over the
news--generally while some impatient person was scowlingly waiting his
turn--at the tavern bar or the coffee-house. Now almost every one buys a
penny paper for himself, and with the increase in the circulation of
newspapers has, in proportionate ratio, gone on the increase in the
demand for advertisements. The supply has, as every one knows, been in
no way short of the demand. The repeal of the paper duty in 1861 also
affected newspapers much, though naturally in a smaller degree than the
abolition of the compulsory stamp. Still the effect on both the papers
and their advertisements--especially as concerns those journals which
were enabled to still farther reduce their rates--was considerable, and
deserves to be noted. In September 1870 the compulsory stamp, which had
been retained for postal purposes, was abolished, and on the 1st of
October papers were first sent by post with a halfpenny stamp affixed on
the wrappers, and not on the journals themselves.
But it was to the abolition of the impost upon advertisements that their
present great demand and importance can be most directly traced. For
many years a very heavy tax was charged upon every notice published in a
paper and paid for, until 1833 no less than 3s. 6d. being chargeable
upon each advertisement inserted, no matter what its length or
subject-matter. People then, we should imagine--in fact, as application
to the papers of that time proves--were not so fond of cutting a long
advertisement into short and separate pieces as they are now, for every
cut-off rule then meant a charge of 3s. 6d. In 1832, the last year of
this charge, the produce of this branch of the revenue in Great Britain
and Ireland amounted to £170,649. Fancy what the returns would be if 3s.
6d. were charged on every advertisement published throughout the United
Kingdom for the year ending December 31, 1873! It seems almost too great
a sum for calculation. There is no doubt, however, that many people
would be very glad to do the figures for a very slight percentage on the
returns, which would be fabulous, and which would, if properly
calculated, amaze many of those _laudatores temporis acti_ who, without
reason or provocation, are always deploring the decay of everything, and
who would unhesitatingly affirm in their ignorance that even newspapers
and newspaper advertisements have deteriorated in tone and quantity
since the good old times, of which they prove they know nothing by their
persistent praises. Certainly if they did say this, they would not be
much more wrong than they are generally when lamenting over a period
which, could it but return, they would be, as a rule, the very first to
object to. Of the sum of £170,649 just referred to, about £127,986, or
three-fourths of the whole, may be regarded as being drawn from
newspapers, and the other fourth from periodical publications. In 1837,
four years after the reduced charge of 1s. 6d. for each advertisement
had become law, a table was compiled from the detailed returns of the
first six months. As it will doubtless prove interesting to those who
take an interest in the growth and increase of newspapers, as well as in
those of advertisements, we append it:--
+--------------------------+-------+----------+-------+-------------+
| |No. of | No. of | No. of| Amount of |
| |Papers.| Stamps. | Adver-|Advertisement|
| | | | tise- | Duty. |
| | | | ments.| |
+--------------------------+-------+----------+-------+-------------+
|London Papers, | 93 |15,100,197|292,033|£21,902 9 6|
|English Provincial Papers,| 217 | 7,290,452|317,474| 23,810 11 0|
|Welsh Papers, | 10 | 190,955| 6,499| 487 6 6|
|Edinburgh Papers, | 13 | 768,071| 20,579| 1,543 9 6|
|Scotch Provincial Papers, | 46 | 1,121,658| 45,371| 3,402 16 8|
|Dublin Papers, | 21 | 1,493,838| 45,848| 2,292 8 0|
|Irish Provincial Papers, | 60 | 1,049,358| 41,284| 2,064 4 0|
| +-------+----------+-------+-------------+
|Total in Great Britain } | | | | |
| and Ireland, } | 460 |27,014,529|769,088|£55,503 5 2|
+--------------------------+-------+----------+-------+-------------+
The reduction to which we have alluded was followed in 1853 by the total
abolition of the advertisement duty, the effect of which can be best
appreciated by a glance at the columns of any daily or weekly paper,
class or general, which possesses a good circulation.
The first paper published in Ireland was a sheet called _Warranted
Tidings from Ireland_, and this appeared during the rebellion of 1641;
but the first Irish newspaper worthy of the name was the _Dublin
Newsletter_, commenced in 1685. _Pue’s Occurrences_, a Dublin daily
paper, originated in 1700, was continued for half a century, and was
followed in 1728 by another daily paper, _Faulkner’s Journal_,
established by one George Faulkner, “a man celebrated for the goodness
of his heart and the weakness of his head.” The oldest existing Dublin
papers are _Saunders’s_ (originally _Esdaile’s_) _Newsletter_, begun in
1744, and the _Freeman’s Journal_, instituted under the title of the
_Public Register_, by Dr Lucas in 1755. The _Limerick Chronicle_, the
oldest Irish provincial newspaper, dates from 1768. Ireland has now
nearly 150 newspapers, most of them celebrated for the energy of their
language and the extreme fervour of their political opinions. Their
Conservatism and Liberalism are nearly equally divided; about a score
take independent views, and nearly fifty completely eschew politics.
Irish newspapers flourish as vehicles for advertisement, and their
tariffs are about on a par with those of our leading provincial
journals.
Colonial newspapers are plentiful and good, and the best of them filled
with advertisements of a general character at fairly high rates. Those
papers published in Melbourne are perhaps the best specimens of colonial
journalism, and best among these are the _Argus_ and _Age_ (daily), and
the _Australasian_ and _Leader_ (weekly). In fact, we have hardly a
weekly paper in London that is fit to compare on all-round merits with
the last-named, which is a complete representative of the best class of
Australian life, and contains a great show of advertisements, which do
much to enlighten the reader as to Antipodean manners and customs.
American newspapers are of course plentiful, and their advertisements,
as will be shown during the progress of this volume, are often of an
almost unique character. Throughout the United States, newspapers start
up like rockets, to fall like sticks; but now and then a success is
made, and if once Fortune is secured by an adventurous speculator, she
is rarely indeed allowed to escape. The system of work on American
(U.S.) journals is very different from that pursued here, everything on
such establishments as those of the _New York Herald_, the _Tribune_,
and the _Times_, being sacrificed to news. This is more particularly the
case with regard to the _Herald_, which has an immense circulation and
great numbers of highly-priced advertisements, most of which are
unfortunately regarded more in connection with the amount of money they
produce to the proprietor than in reference to any effect, moral or
otherwise, they may have on the community. It is the boast of American
journalists that they have papers in obscure towns many hundreds of
miles inland, any one of which contains in a single issue as much
news--news in the strictest meaning of the word--as the London _Times_
does in six. And, singular as it may at first sight seem, there is a
great element of truth about the statement, the telegraph being used in
the States with a liberality which would drive an English proprietor to
the depths of black despair. The Associated Telegraph Company seem to
enjoy a monopoly, and to exercise almost unlimited powers; and not long
ago they almost completely ruined a journal of standing in California by
refusing to transmit intelligence to it because its editor and
proprietor had taken exception to the acts of some members of the
Associated Telegraph Company’s staff, and it was only on receipt of a
most abject apology from the delinquents that the most autocratic power
in the States decided to reinstate the paper on its list. This Telegraph
Company charges very high rates, and the only visible means by which
this system of journalism is successfully carried out is that of
advertisements, which are comparatively more plentiful in these papers
than in the English, and are charged for at considerably higher rates.
Some of these newspapers, notably a small hebdomadal called the _San
Francisco Newsletter_, go in for a deliberate system of blackmailing,
and have no hesitation in acknowledging that their pages, not the
advertisement portions, but their editorial columns, are to be bought
for any purpose--for the promotion of blasphemy, obscenity, atheism, or
any other “notion”--at a price which is regulated according to the
editor’s opinion of the former’s value, or the amount of money he may
have in his pocket at the time. This is a system of advertising little
known, happily, in this “effete old country,” where we have not yet
learned to sacrifice all that should be dear and honourable to
humanity--openly, at all events--for a money consideration. It is almost
impossible to tell the number of papers published throughout the United
States of America, each individual State being hardly aware of the
quantity it contains, or how many have been born and died within the
current twelvemonths. The Americans are a truly great people, but they
have not yet settled down into a regular system, so far, at all events,
as newspapers and advertisements are concerned.[3]
The first paper published in America is said to have been the _Boston
Newsletter_, which made its appearance in 1704. The inhabitants of the
United States have ever been wideawake to the advantages of advertising,
but it would seem that the Empire City is not, as is generally supposed
here, first in rank, so far as the speculative powers of its denizens
go, if we are to believe the New Orleans correspondent of the _New York
Tribune_, who says in one of his letters:--“The merchants of New
Orleans are far more liberal in advertising than those of your city, and
it is they alone which support most of our papers. One firm in this
city, in the drug business, expends 20,000 dollars a year in job
printing, and 30,000 dollars in advertising. A clothing firm has
expended 50,000 dollars in advertising in six months. Both
establishments are now enjoying the lion’s share of patronage, and are
determined to continue such profits and investments. A corn doctor is
advertising at over 10,000 dollars a month, and the proprietor of a
‘corner grocery’ on the outskirts of the city has found it advantageous
to advertise to the extent of 7000 dollars during the past winter.”
In London the _Times_ and _Telegraph_ absorb the lion’s share of the
advertiser’s money. The former, the leading journal of the day, of
independent politics and magnificent proportions, stands forth first,
and, to use a sporting phrase, has no second, so far is it in front of
all others as regards advertisements, as well as on other grounds. An
average number of the _Times_ contains about 2500 advertisements,
counting between every cut-off rule; and the receipts in the
advertisement department are said to be about £1000 a day, or 8s. each.
A number of the _Daily Telegraph_ in December 1873 contains 1444
advertisements (also counting between every cut-off rule), and these may
fairly be calculated to produce £500 or thereabouts, the tariff being
throughout little less than that of the _Times_; for what it lacks in
power and influence the _Telegraph_ is supposed to make up in
circulation. This is rather a change for the organ of Peterborough
Court, which little more than eighteen years ago was started with good
advertisements to the extent of _seven shillings and sixpence_. The
_Telegraph_ proprietors do not, however, get all the profit out of the
advertisements, for in its early and struggling days they were glad,
naturally, to close with advertisement agents, who agreed to take so
many columns a day at the then trade price, and who now have a vast
deal the best of the bargain. To such lucky accidents, which occur often
in the newspaper world, are due the happy positions of some men, who
live upon the profits accruing from their columns, and ride in neat
broughams, oblivious of the days when they went canvassing afoot, and
have almost brought themselves to the belief that they are gentlemen,
and always were such. This must be the only bitter drop in the cup of
the otherwise happy possessors of the _Telegraph_, which is at once a
mine of wealth to them, and an instrument by which they become quite a
power in the state. They can, however, well afford the lucky
advertisement-agents their profits, and, looking back, may rest
satisfied that things are as they are.
But there are many daily papers in London besides the _Times_ and
_Telegraph_, and all these receive a plentiful share of advertisements.
The _Standard_ has, within the past few years, developed its resources
wonderfully, and may be now considered a good fair third in the race for
wealth, and not by any means a distant third, so far as the _Telegraph_
is concerned. This paper has a most extensive circulation, being the
only cheap Conservative organ in London, if we may except the _Hour_,
and as it offers to advertisers a repetition of their notices in the
_Evening Standard_, it is not surprising that, spacious as are its
advertisement columns, it manages to fill them constantly, and at a rate
which would have considerably astonished its old proprietors. The _Daily
News_, which a few years back reduced its price to one penny, has, since
the Franco-Prussian war, been picking up wonderfully, and with its
increased health as a paper its outer columns have proportionally
improved in appearance; many experienced advertisers have a great regard
for the _News_, which they look upon as offering a good return for
investments. The _Morning Advertiser_, as the organ of the licensed
victuallers, is of course an invaluable medium of inter-communication
among members of “the trade,” and in it are to be found advertisements
of everything to be obtained in connection with the distillery, the
brewery, and the tavern. Publicans who want potboys, and potboys who
want employers, barmaids, barmen, and people in want of “snug”
businesses, or with “good family trades” to dispose of, all consult the
_’Tiser_, which is under the special supervision of a committee of
licensed victuallers, who act as stewards, and annually hand over the
profits to the Licensed Victuallers’ School. An important body is this
committee, a body which feels that the eye of Europe is upon it, and
which therefore takes copious notes of everything; is broad wideawake,
and is not to be imposed on. But it is a kindly and beneficent body, as
its purpose shows; and a little licence can well be afforded to a
committee which gives its time and trouble, to say nothing of voting its
money, in the interest of the widow and the fatherless. A few years back
great fun used to be got out of the _’Tiser_, or the “Gin and Gospel
Gazette,” as it was called, on account of its peculiar views on current
questions; but all that is altered now, and since the advent of the
present régime the _Advertiser_ has improved sufficiently to be regarded
as a general paper, and therefore as a general advertising medium. The
_Hour_ is a new journal, started in opposition to the _Standard_, and
professing the same politics. It is hardly within our ken so far, and
the same may be said of the _Morning Post_, which has its own exclusive
_clientèle_. In referring to the foregoing journals, we have made no
remarks beyond those to which we are guided by their own published
statements, and we have intended nothing invidious in the order of
selection. For obvious reasons we shall say nothing of the evening
papers, beyond that all seem to fill their advertisement columns with
ease, and to be excellent mediums of publicity.
The weekly press and the provincial press can tell their own story
without assistance. In the former the advertisements are fairly classed,
according to the pretensions of the papers or the cause they adopt,
while with the provincials it is the story of the London dailies told
over again. Manchester and Liverpool possess magnificent journals, full
of advertisements and of large circulation, and so do all other large
towns in the country; but we doubt much if, out of London, Glasgow is to
be beaten on the score of its papers or the energy of its advertisers.
[1] This paper seems to have been an imposture, which, believed in at
the time, has been comparatively recently detected. A writer in the
_Quarterly Review_, June 1855, says, “The _English Mercurie_ of 1588
[Qy. 1583], which professes to have been published during those
momentous days when the Spanish Armada was hovering and waiting to
pounce upon our southern shores, contains amongst its items of news
three or four book advertisements, and these would undoubtedly have
been the first put forth in England, were that newspaper genuine. Mr
Watts, of the British Museum, has, however, proved that the several
numbers of this journal to be found in our national library are gross
forgeries; and, indeed, the most inexperienced eye in such matters can
easily see that neither their type, paper, spelling, nor composition
are much more than one instead of upwards of two centuries and a half
old.” Haydn also says, “Some copies of a publication are in existence
called the _English Mercury_, professing to come out under the
authority of Queen Elizabeth in 1588, the period of the Spanish
Armada. The researches of Mr J. Watts, of the British Museum, have
proved these to be forgeries, executed about 1766. The full title of
No. 50 is ‘_The English Mercurie_, published by authoritie, for the
prevention of false reports, imprinted by Christopher Barker, Her
Highnesses printer, No. 50.’ It describes the Spanish Armada, giving
‘A journal of what passed since the 21st of this month, between Her
Majestie’s fleet and that of Spayne, transmitted by the Lord Highe
Admiral to the Lordes of Council.’”
[2] The _Quarterly_ mentions a paper which appeared late in the reign
of James I.: “The _Weekly News_, published in London in 1622, was the
first publication which answered to this description; it contained,
however, only a few scraps of foreign intelligence, and was quite
destitute of advertisements.” And then, as if to prove what has been
already stated by the _Encyclopædia Britannica_, the writer goes on to
say, “The terrible contest of the succeeding reign was the hotbed
which forced the press of this country into sudden life and
extraordinary vigour.”
[3] In 1830 America (U.S.), whose population was 23,500,000, supported
800 newspapers, 50 of these being daily; and the conjoined annual
circulation was 64,000,000. Fifteen years later these figures were
considerably increased--nearly doubled; but since the development of
the Pacific States it has been almost impossible to tell the number of
papers which have sprung into existence, every mining camp and every
village being possessed of its organ, some of which have died, and
some of which are still flourishing. A professed and apparently
competent critic assures us that there are quite 3000 newspapers now
in the States, and that at least a tithe of them are dailies.