A printer’s code from historical newspaper ads, explained with real examples from the archive.
Printers’ codes at the end of a newspaper ad, such as 1t or 3t, telling staff, not readers, how many times to run it.
| Type | Historical language |
|---|---|
| Category | Period vocabulary |
| Earliest example in the archive | October 27, 1855, Shasta Courier (California) |
| Most common | 1850s to the 1920s |
Printers marked ads for their own staff long before personal ads were common: colonial papers printed notes such as the issue numbers of an ad’s first and last appearance, so the compositor knew whether to set it again. In the archive, the codes read as a start date and a count. An 1855 notice in the Shasta Courier ends o20-3t, first run October 20, three times, and an 1872 ad ends dec 12-1t, December 12, one time. In the Arizona Republican of 1917 to 1922, 1t meant one time, and in El Tucsonense in 1919, 3t meant three. Other Arizona Republican ads end in letters, such as bg, bn, or dn, internal codes we haven’t been able to decode.
Sources: The Adverts 250 Project, on printers’ notations.
INFORMATION WANTED OF WM. FARRILL, who left Cabbottsville, Massachusetts, three years ago last March. His wife is now stopping at the St. Charles Hotel, Shasta, and will…
PERSONAL. A lady wishes correspondence with a gentleman of cents and refinement. Object, matrimony. Photographs exchanged. Address, PYCHON L. LEE, San Jose, Cal. dec…
WILL THE LADY wearing black skirt and white waist who got off Pullman Santa Fe train No. 9 at Ashfork Sept. 3rd and took branch train to Phoenix kindly send her name and…
GENTLEMAN of refinement, age 35, wishes to meet lady with means, between 30 and 40 years of age. Object matrimony. C. F. Brooks, Gen. Del., Phoenix, Ariz. 1t
WANTED—To meet lady between 30 to 50 yrs.; must be jolly and good entertainer. Object matrimony. Address Mr. Rollins, Adams hotel. Highest references. bn
Caballero, de 37 años trabajador, desea matrimoniarse con soltera o viuda no mayor de 40 años. El pretendiente no cuenta con más capital que su trabajo. Para informes…
WORKING MAN of small means, 40, employed, would like to keep company with working woman of suitable age; object, matrimony. Box 1B, Republican. r
WILL the lady who talked with gentleman at oil station and lost her purse address Box 861, City. d
HEALTHY widower with comfortable home, wishes to correspond with unincumbered, healthy christian lady, 30 to 35 years, object matrimony. Box 33T, Republican. dn
REFINED, healthy bachelor, 45, best of references, wish to correspond with healthy lady, 30 to 40. Catholic preferred. Box 38-T Republican. dl
Will the gentleman who wrote me at Ottowa, Kan., and signed Tom, write again and give full name? (Signed) S. B. bs
WELL educated and refined widow musically inclined and alone, desires the companionship of refined gentleman of means; object matrimony. All replies will be treated in a…
KIND-HEARTED woman (32), good-looking, desires to meet refined business gentleman (under 55), one who'd appreciate honest, lovable helpmeet. Object matrimony. Box 47V,…
Online posts don’t need them: an ad stays up until it expires or its writer takes it down.
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How this fits into 170 years of personal ad shorthand: From Object Matrimony to LTR: How Personal Ads Learned to Talk in Code.
All dictionary entries · The Personals Archive · How to write a personal ad
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