The Origins of a Free Press in Prerevolutionary ... - Web Publishing

72
“Enter’d in the Upper District of James River, 1738, Oct. 23. Sloop Anne, of
Bermuda … with 4 Barrels of Sugar, 3 Hogsheads of Rum…” 38 “Clear’d out. June
7. Snow Phoenix, of Virginia, William Spry, Master, for London, with 204
Hogsheads of Tobacco, 5 Hogsheads of Skins, 4 Hogsheads of Ipecacuana, 1 Box
of sundry return’d Goods, 6000 Staves, and 1 Hogshead of Sassafras.” 39
Following the news of shipping was another consistently local portion of the
newspapers: advertisements. Parks’ Maryland Gazette typically had one-quarter to
one full page of advertisements, on the last page out of four. The earliest issues still
extant had only local advertisements, with none from nearby Virginia or other
colonies. The cost for an ad was “Three Shillings for the first Week, and Two
Shillings for every Week after.” There was often land for sale, houses for sale or
lease, or a common product being offered by a local merchant: “Very good
Madera-Wine, to be sold, for Twelve Pounds Sterling, or Three Thousand Pounds
of Tobacco per Pipe, by Peter Hume, at London Town.” 40 More striking to the
modern reader are the common ads for runaways: animals, servants, and slaves. For
example, “Stolen or strayed from the City of Annapolis, Two horses belonging to
the Subscriber; One being a large white Horse, with a standing Mane and long
Switch Tail …” or “Run away from the Subscriber, near the Upper Ferry of
Sassafras, a Servant Man named Samuel Davis …” or “Run away from Samuel
Peel’s Quarter … a Negroe Fellow called Lime-house, about Thirty Years old. He
had on when he went away, a new felt Hat, a new grey Fear-nothing Coat …
38 Virginia Gazette (Jan. 5, 1739), 4.
39 Ibid., (June 9, 1738), 4. Ipecacuana is an alternate spelling of ipecacuanha, a South
American plant used as an emetic.
40 Maryland Gazette (July 15, 1729), 4. Three shillings per ad was the price for both Maryland
and Virginia newspapers into the 1760s. Wine was often sold by the “pipe,” the measure of a size
of a large barrel of wine. Tobacco was a common currency as it was more generally available than
was hard currency. “London Town” refers to a Maryland community just a few miles from
Annapolis.