I have recently been revising my chapter on the ethics of legal advertising in the Kansas Bar Association's Handbook of Legal Ethics. Consistent with my personal inclination towards legal antiquarianism, I could not stop myself from doing some research into nineteenth century American lawyer's ads. Among those I found one, in particular, stood out: an advertisement placed by Calvin Fletcher and J.A. Breckridge in the Indianapolis Gazette, which ran from March 22 to May 17, 1822. In my opinion, this advertisement should win the all-time prize for truth in advertising. The text of this ad is to be found in Gayle Thornborough, ed., The Diary of Calvin Fletcher, vol. 1 [1817-1838] (Indianapolis, Ind.: Indiana Hist. Soc. 1972).
