The Virginia Gazette (Purdie and Dixon), April 18, 1766.
The Virginia Gazette (Purdie and Dixon), April 18, 1766. Colonial Williamsburg Rockefeller Library Collections.
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Summary |
| VIRGINIA GAZETTE
Purdie-Dixon April 18, 1766 |
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| CATHERINE RATHALL, MILLINER, LATELY arrived from London, at present in Fredericksburg, Virginia, has a large assortment of European and other GOODS, suitable for Ladies and Gentlemen, which she sells very cheap. |
Catherine Rathall, hatmaker, recently arrived from London. She is located in Fredericksburg, Virginia and has a large assortment of goods for men and women from Europe and around the world. Her prices are very cheap. |
| Among other things she has the best flowered and plain satins, flowered and plain modes, sarcenets, and Persians flowered, striped, and plain English gauze, from 5s. 9d. to 12s. a yard, great variety of blond, minionet, thread, and black lace, joining blonds for Ladies caps and handkerchiefs, black and white gauze handkerchiefs, wedding and other fans from 4s. 6d. to 30s. ready made stomachers and knots, a great variety of ribands, French beads and earrings, Ladies caps from 2s. 6d. to 25s. fly caps and lappets, egrets of all sorts, silk and leather gloves and mits, summer hats and cloaks, cardinals, French tippets, black gauze and catgut love riband for mournings, silk, thread, and cotton stockings, for Ladies and Gentlemen, Gentlemen’s laced ruffles from 30s. to 10 l. bags for wigs and solitaires, Irish linens and tapers in variety, garnet and gold brooches, a variety of silver shoe buckles, in the newest fashion for Ladies and Gentlemen, with knee buckles for the latter, silver thimbles with steel bottoms, pencils in silver cases, enamelled nutmeg graters, best needles sorted in due proportion from the finest cambrick to the largest darning needles, in such variety as never before imported; with some articles of STATIONARY, viz. Black legers, memorandum and pocket books in great variety, and sundry articles too tedious to mention. | Here is a preview of what she has:
Various fabrics, with flowers or plain Fine threads and lace Gauze for handkerchiefs and fans Ready-made formal clothing Ribbons Beads Earrings Ladies’ caps and feathers Summer hats and cloaks Silk and leather gloves Stockings Lace ruffles for men Wig bags Irish linens Jewelry Shoe buckles Silver thimbles and pencils in silver cases Nutmeg graters Fine needles Stationary including ledgers and notebooks Too many other things to list |
| She also makes all sorts of MILLINERY, in the best and newest taste, for the following prices: Full dress suits at 11s. 6d. laced do. at 9s. 6d. plain do. at 7s. 6d. also washes and makes up all laces and gauzes, so as to be little inferiour to new. | She also makes all sorts of hats in the latest fashions. She also washes and refreshes lace and gauze so it looks new. |
| As the said Catherine Rathall is but lately come into the country, and her continuance here very uncertain, she sells for ready money only, and at a very low advance; and as she is contented to make a reasonable profit, she assures those who shall favour her with their commands that the fall of the exchange shall be to their benefit. And she flatters herself her goods, and prices, will give general satisfaction; for as they were chosen by herself, and bought with ready money from the best hands, they are both good and reasonable. | Since Catherine Rathall just arrived and is not sure how long she will be staying, she is accepting cash only. She is content to make a reasonable profit, so customers will find that her prices benefit them. She is confident that her goods and prices will please everyone. She picked everything herself and purchased only from the best crafters, so everything is high quality. |
The Virginia Gazette (Purdie and Dixon), April 18, 1766.
The Virginia Gazette (Dixon and Hunter), April 22, 1775.
The Virginia Gazette (Dixon and Hunter), April 22, 1775. Colonial Williamsburg Rockefeller Library Collections.
Document Text |
Summary |
| As I purpose going to England as soon as I dispose of my Goods (till Liberty of Importation is allowed) I am under the Necessity of not parting with a single Shilling’s Worth without Cash; and I request, as a Favour, that all who are indebted to me will pay off their Accounts this Meeting, and all Persons having demands against me are desired to call immediately for their money.
CATHERINE RATHELL. |
Since I plan to go to England as soon as I sell everything (until free trade is allowed again), I can only accept cash payments. I am also asking that every person who owes me money to pay off their debt when they visit my store. Anyone I owe money to should let me know immediately so I can pay you.
CATHERINE RATHELL. |
The Virginia Gazette (Dixon and Hunter), April 22, 1775.
Background
The English colonies of North America played an important role in the early years of the Industrial Revolution in England. The colonies provided many of the raw materials, like cotton, that could be refined in English factories. The colonies were also a good place to sell the goods produced by factories in England. Shops sprang up throughout the colonies to sell goods the colonists could not produce themselves. But when the English government and the colonists disagreed over the question of taxes, colonists began to boycott imported goods. The boycotts made it difficult for merchants to turn a profit. They also disturbed the economic balance that made the colonies so profitable for England.
About the Documents
The first document is an advertisement placed by a merchant named Catherine Rathell. It appeared in the Virginia Gazette on April 18, 1766. Catherine was new to the area and wanted to advertise her work as a milliner, highlighting that she specialized in importing fashionable accessories for women and men. Her advertisement offers clues about the kinds of goods colonists were interested in buying and how Catherine ran her business.
The second advertisement was placed by Catherine Rathell in the same newspaper nine years later on April 22, 1775. It reveals that Catherine had moved her shop to Williamsburg, Virginia. It can also be used to learn how fashions evolved in the nine years between the two advertisements. But it is the final paragraph that makes it a truly valuable historical document. Catherine announces she is giving up her store in the colonies because the new trade restrictions passed by Parliament are too much of a strain for her. It is also likely that the ongoing boycotts of English goods made her store less profitable. Catherine was able to wrap up her business and set sail for England, but her return trip ended in tragedy. She died in a shipwreck just off the coast of England sometime around October 1775.
Vocabulary
- boycott: Refusing to buy and/or use something as an act of protest.
- import: To bring goods or services into a country from abroad for sale.
- merchant: A person whose business is buying and selling goods.
- milliner: A person who makes or sells women’s hats.
Discussion Questions
- Why did Catherine Rathell decide to do business in Virginia? What evidence is there to tell us her business was a success?
- What do Catherine Rathell’s advertisements reveal about the tastes and fashions of the English colonies in North America?
- Why did Catherine Rathell close her business in 1775?
Suggested Activities
- To investigate the breadth and reach of colonial trade networks, ask students to research the items available in Catherine Rathell’s shop and create a map of where each item or its materials may have been sourced.
- To illustrate colonial fashion and culture, ask students to research the items in Catherine Rathell’s shop and create a catalog of images.
- Read A Woman of Business for another example of a woman merchant in the Colonial Era.
- Pair this resource with Life Story: Madame Montour and Life Story: Marguerite Faffart to consider how women’s business enterprises were shaped by their cultural contexts.
- To learn more about the challenges Catherine Rathell faced in the latter years of running her shop, read Protesting Tea, The Edenton Tea Party, and Spinning Wheels, Spinning Bees.
Themes
WORK, LABOR, AND THE ECONOMY
