As part of some local history research, I've been reading a lot of newspapers from the mid 1800s. I've noticed that the classified ads often have what looks like a random string of characters at the bottom. It appears to be some sort of code or identifier. Here are some examples of what I mean:
"an22" from New Orleans Black Republican, 1865
"3tis*" from the Boston Post, 1834
"n7-3t*" from the Baltimore Sun, 1839
A page full of them, all starting with "d" in the Daily Alta California, 1853.
I'm very curious what these codes signify, but I haven't been able to find any information about them. What was their purpose? Is there a name for them? They were so ubiquitous, that I think that they must have been a fairly standard practice in the newspaper industry at the time. But all my searches for more information have come up empty.
The clue is where the ad says “address this paper”. The corespondent writes to the mailing address of the paper, c/o that number. It’s basically like a temporary P.O. box. The letter is filed under that number, and the person who placed the ad can pick up the responses. (These were the days when you could write a letter addressed: NAME, TOWN, STATE “general delivery” and it would be held in advance of that person arriving in that town. ) The paper made money providing this mailbox service, beyond the cost of a normal classified ad.
