William Staunton Jr., the organist of Trinity Episcopal Church, took out a front-page ad in the May 9, 1823, edition of The Pittsburgh Gazette.

In it, he "respectfully informed the lovers of MUSIC, in Pittsburgh and its vicinity, that he has commenced a course of instruction in the science of Thorough Bass, or the Principles of MUSICAL COMPOSITION ..."

He planned to select his pedagogical examples from "the works of the most eminent European masters." Staunton's list illustrates how musical fashions and reputations rise and fall. His choices were "Corfe, Calcott, Shield, Liston, Kirnberger, Marpurg, Burney, Kollman &c. &c." While all were once well known, J.W. Calcott, the composer of "Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyes," may be the only one whose music is regularly played today.

Pittsburgh had a population of about 7,300 at the start of the 1820s -- fewer people than live in Bellevue or Carnegie today. While the city had been a center of trade and manufacturing more than a half century, early 19th-century newspaper advertising indicates its residents also were interested in a wide variety of cultural pursuits.

Potential teachers touted their Continental training. Staunton, for example, told prospective pupils his musical studies had included time spent in Europe.

One of his competitors for Pittsburgh's self-improvement dollars was Willis Midford. In the May 30 edition of The Gazette, he touted "SWORD EXERCISE." Midford, "who served 16 years in one of the best Cavalry Corps of Europe, would offer instruction in the use of the broad sword."

"Military and other Gentlemen who wish to avail themselves of this opportunity to become masters of this most essential part of the science of attack and defense will please make early application," he wrote. "The terms will be moderate."

A May 2 ad in The Gazette provides evidence that the Midford family -- or perhaps just Willis Midford himself under a slightly different name -- was multi-talented.

"Geo. Willis Midford, PROFESSOR OF MUSIC," offered to teach violin and cello in his residence, on what is now Third Avenue, between Market and Wood streets. That location was only a few buildings away from where Willis Midford would provide his instruction in sword handling. His biweekly lessons would be given at Col. Ramsay's Hotel on Wood Street.

Despite the pursuit of culture, the business of Pittsburgh remained business, and most public notices and advertisements focused on commercial matters. These items included lists of steamboat arrivals and departures and wholesalers' offers to sell everything from rye whiskey to made-to-order glass equipment. Tradesmen, including two makers of wood planes for carpenters, advertised for new customers.

Pittsburgh, via the Ohio River, was a gateway to the West. That translated into opportunities for ambitious indentured servants and apprentices who grew tired of the demands of their masters.

On May 23, tailor Leonard Louy offered a 6-cent reward for the return of his apprentice, Robert Hutchenson. The insultingly small offer made it clear that Louy probably didn't want the boy back, but he wished to alert any potential employers of his former apprentice's untrustworthy nature.

In a postscript to his reward notice, Louy indicated that he planned to be more particular about whom he trained next time: "An apprentice wanted to the above business. None need apply but such as can come well recommended."

The May 30 edition of The Gazette also offered leisure-time options for those interested in literature. "Eichbaum & Johnston, Booksellers," had for sale a new work of historical fiction. Set at the Forks of the Ohio during the French and Indian War, it was called "The Wilderness; or Braddock's Times, A Tale of the West."

Napoleon had died May 5, 1821, on St. Helena. Eichbaum & Johnston had "a few copies" of a memoir about his last years, "Napoleon in Exile, by Barry O'Meara, Esq., his late Surgeon."

Another author sought local financial support for his project: a multistanza poem about the City of Pittsburgh. Writer W. Skinner offered readers of The Gazette an excerpt from his work in progress:

Here once the savage hunters proudly sought

The nimble deer, or for some trophy fought;

Here the brave Washington to glory led

His undaunted warriors, who freely bled,

Whose names the weeping Muse shall yet rehearse,

Embalm'd in many a sweetly melting verse,

For here in Pittsburgh it shall ne'er be said,

No Muse weeps o'er the great, the honor'd dead.

Skinner promised potential backers that they wouldn't have to wait long to see the final version. If support was forthcoming, the poem would be "put to the press in the course of a few weeks."