Original Masthead Still a Highlight
A little more than a year into its existence, the Jewish Exponent of July 13, 1888 looked a lot different than newspapers of today.
For one thing, the striking masthead, with “The” remaining part of the publication’s title — and the legend, “A Weekly Journal Devoted to the Interests of the Jewish People” — is far more elaborate than what’s seen today. If you wanted to buy a copy, you had to fork over 7 cents, while the annual subscription rate of $3 offered a yearly savings of 64 cents.
And second, the entire cover is devoted to advertisements.
Pfaelzer Bros. & Co. touted themselves as importers of diamonds and manufacturers of diamond jewelry. Directly below that ad is one for a would-be competitor (H. Muhr’s Sons) that manufactured watches and jewelry a few blocks away.
Meantime, in the far left column, three coal dealers hawked their wares, such as “Choice Lehigh Coal.”
There also are ads for the Keystone Stained Glass Works, a tailor, a furniture store, a bargain underwear purveyor and Norman’s Flavoring Extracts, described as “the essence of purity.”
And the bottom right corner contains an oddity — a sideways ad for Chas. Weinman & Co. Furniture Makers and Upholsterers.
