Louis Lewisson $2 Ad Note

Early 1850s Ad Note, Providence

Advertising for a clothing store at 2 College Street and 2 South Main Street (likely the same building at the corner of these streets). Lewisson, an immigrant from Prussian Poland, was a manufacturer and dealer in wholesale and retail, “Readymade Clothing and Piece Goods.”

In the article “Rhode Island Advertising Currency” historian Russell DeSimone states, “As one of the earliest Jewish merchants in Providence, Lewisson not only was a pioneer, but he also was an innovator in the use of facsimile currency for advertising purposes. Competition for business was keen along South Main Street, with nearly a dozen similar clothing shops just minutes away. Wanting his business to stand out from the rest, Lewisson soon came up with the idea of issuing small advertising handbills.”

The design of Lewisson’s advertising note resembled that of the circulating currency of the day, such as this Newport Bank bill from April 1, 1856, whose ship looks looks like the masted sidewheel steamer above.

Lewisson was a master marketer. Left, an ad announcing spring and summer items at the Clothing Bazarar, Bristol Phenix, April 22nd, 1854. Right, a proclamation about a free Thanksgiving dinner for the poor in front of his “prosperous store,” Bristol Phenix, November 18th, 1854. A few days later, the Phenix reported that Lewisson had given away “1,000 loaves of bread and 2,000 lbs of meat of various kinds,” at his feast.