At this time period husbands became liable for their wives’ debts and contracts, as well as any breaches of the law committed by them before or during marriage. Also even if they were just living together (what we might call a common law marriage), if they appeared as husband and wife to the outside world, again he would be responsible for her debts. However, if the husband gave notice to those tradesmen (or whoever) that his wife may run up a debt, he would no longer be liable. The simplest way to do this was with a newspaper notice.
Here is an extract from The Complete English Lawyer, first printed in 1820:
Quote:
The Complete English Lawyer, Chapter X - Of Husband and Wife : Pages 380-381 states the following-
"With respect to the husband's liability for his wife's contracts it may be observed in general, that a husband being bound to provide his wife with necessaries, if she contract debts for them, he is answerable, unless he give express notice to the tradesman not to trust her…
…If the wife with consent of her husband, live apart from him, and has separate maintenance, and contract debts for necessaries, it is incumbent on the husband to shew that the tradesman had notice of the separate maintenance.
If a man cohabit with a woman to whom he is not married, and permit her to assume his name, and appear to the world as his wife, and in that character to contract debt for necessaries, he will become liable, although the creditor be acquainted with her real situation."
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I'm not certain when the earliest of these newspaper notices were printed. I presume the end came with the Married Women’s Property Act of 1882. This act (amongst other things) allowed married women to enter into a contract and be liable for her own debts in the same way as an unmarried woman.