William Holmes McGuffey (1800-1873) was a professor of languages at Miami University in Ohio when he developed a series of enduring readers for children.

Truman and Smith, a small Cincinnati publishing firm, brought out the First Reader in 1836, followed by the Second Reader in 1837. The Third and Fourth were published in 1837. These volumes were used to teach untold numbers of children the basics of reading, writing, arithmetic, and other subjects up through the end of grammar school. McGuffey's brother Alexander was the compiler of the Fifth Reader (1844) and the Sixth (1855) for students of a higher level.

Posted in 1790s 1830s 1840s Adams County Marsh Creek Ohio Universal York York County books education schools teachers

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1842 Strack Furniture ad

From the early days furniture makers prospered in Pennsylvania. A variety of sturdy woods were available and local craftsmen had the skills to fashion them into pleasingly utilitarian pieces.

Charles Strack of York regularly ran the advertisement below in the York Gazette of 1842 reminding residents of the vast selection of furniture he could manufacture for your family. He could fit you out from the cradle to the grave. In fact, as you can see from the ad, he would even take you to the grave.

Posted in 1840s Universal York York cabinetmakers coffins furniture manufacturing

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Yorkers did not lack for entertainment. Traveling performers and theater groups of all kinds made regular stops in York. The draw of the menagerie was usually the assortment of exotic animals, but the one the came to town in May 1843 added lots of drama to the animal acts.

The sizable announcement in the Gazette was an enticing piece of advertising:

Posted in 1840s Abbotstown Columbia, PA Universal York York animals circus entertainment menageries parades

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Variety Iron Works from 1868-69 city directory at York County Heritage Trust

I am glad to see that some of the remaining buildings of the Smyser-Royer Variety Iron Works complex are part of York City’s Northwest Triangle redevelopment project.

One of my York Sunday News columns outlined the metamorphosis of the company from a small stove manufacturer to a huge fabricator of mill gears and turbines; garden benches, fountains, and statuary; cast iron buildings fronts; light posts; lacy iron railings, such as the famous ones in New Orleans; iron bridge parts; and much more. You can read that column below.

Then I just came across an article in an 1867 York Gazette that added even more variety to the company’s products.

Posted in 1840s 1850s 1860s 1880s 1940s Universal York York City architecture buildings industry iron manufacturing steam power

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George Anstine's Patented Threshing Machine, 1843.

I recently wrote about the blossoming of York County inventors in the mid- nineteenth century.

Click here to read previous post on inventions.

Read the 1843 ad below to find out just how George Anstine's threshing machine worked.

Posted in 1840s Universal York York County advertising agriculture farm machinery grain inventions mills

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Smart marketing isn’t a recent innovation. Merchants were just as eager to get the customer’s attention 160 years ago as today. The top news story of that day was the Mexican War (1846-1848).

Local African American businessman William Goodridge used the interest in the war as the “hook” in the ad he ran in the Gazette during the winter of 1847-1848 to entice customers to check out his wares:

Posted in 1840s African Americans Mexican War Universal York York advertising children confectionary groceries retail stores toys

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