The billboard (Nov-Dec 1894)

V '^ -BrfTboayd : j ^dVe>'tTsTqg. A DISTORTED REFLECTION. A crusade against billboards, noted as spontaneous in several cities, has broken out also in Chicago. As a matter of fact, the billboard is a relic of cruder theatri- cal.times, and it is in many respects an annoyance to theatre managers as •well as sometime a public eyesore. The above paragraph from the editorial page oitbe.ATewybri Dramatic Mirror, November iTth is a fair sample of-what a journal does not know about the boards. It is a little more remarkable than usual coming as it does front a recognized dramatic organ, which is supposed to be thoroughly in toach with things theatri- cal. Asa matter of fact, there nevernras a time when theatrical managers relied on the boards to the large extent that they do at present. Ne<^r in the history of the bnsiness, has the value of posters been so ftfly recognized and uriversallv utilized a condition by the way, which will continue to obt^n until a medium as quick,'economical and effective is dis- covered, and that will be—never. It would be interesting to know just what the show printers think of this un- commonly erudite e&usion. especially tho^e \yho have advertisements now run- tiing iu the colu-mns -of tl^e Jifirror- PASTE THIS IN YOUR HAT. Or What U Better. Get a Reliable BUI ' Poster to Paste It! It is a conceded fact that advertising makes a business. Successful business men all will testify ■ to the fact . But a novice in this science—for such it is— it prone to mistakes and often goes to a big outlay of money and misapplied brains, which is not pregnant with the right results. You advertise to let the people knnw what you have that they want. That's it in a nut shell. -The question is "How can I reach in the most vtriking way, the greatest number of people who need my goods or services in my particnlat line and at the least, cost?" To any thinking business.man, with all due regard for flur friend the neisrspaper man. there is but one answer — Box car letters on. billboards! Get them up loud! Print the-n.higt Mctor-. ial and.descriptivel The mercantile man reads them, they are in his line. The professional man reads them, they are catchy, and he can't help himself if he would. The laborer reads them, they are. a relaxation from Ms work. The women .read them, just to see what they say. The children .read them, they're built that way. Thev catch the masses, they bring the greatest results, for the least money. Bill by all means? News- paper work, is good in seme directions, but stop and figure how many .more people will read $ioo worth of judicious billing than will read $200 worth of news- paper ads? There is but one thing better than posters, and that is better because it lasts longer, and of course costs more, that is Advertising sigcs! Painted sign si Advertise my friend, but do. it right. It will make your business. Do it wrong and it vrfll, break your bnsiness. Yours on a prominent corner. Btmuiiw, THE Brci, PoS-EER. Harry W. Thompson, one of the-most ^skillful bill- posters on the coast, and a Jong time,with. John Williams.of Port- Hand, is now with<the-Seattle-City Bill- Posting Co; POSTERS FOR RETAILERS. The most concise and terse ol all 'di- rections for useing" is found upon the doors of public buildings ard business houses Just two words, one of which is "push" and the other "pull". Did it ever occur to you how emblematic they are? If yon wish to pass through the portals of success, you must either "push" or "pull". It is always best and easiest to push If yon pull you .have to stop and step out of the way of the door, while if you push you can keep right on a going. There are many ways to push a bus- iness, eepecially a retail bnsiness, and there never was any one yet who pushed hard enough, but whit acheived some fair measure- of success. Strangely enough however, the strong est.push of all is the one least employed We have reference to p-sters. How few retailers' realize the value of thismed ium. And yet there is- nothing so prompt, so reliable, and so sure, nothing that will yeild anywhere.near the resul's oA a like investment. Try it! just once! If you have no poster printer in your . city your local bill poster is likely an agent for some f. .reign show printer, or reference to our advertising columns will put you in commuiiication with some . responsible firm. Obtain your estimates and then try five hundred one sheet pos- ters Be careful with your copy; have it short, sharp and crisp. A good rule is one idea and one article to one poster. Then bill the city thoroughly, and get ttjem out" into' the couiitry also. Our word for it that you will not only find that it pays but you will do it again as soon as you' get the opportunity- ON ADVERTISING NOW. We have never insisted that general business^ and by that we mean the gen- eral activity in trade, would improve with any very great rapidity after -the election The unwise fariif legislation of the Democrats is fastened on the country for a time at least - It is just as well perhaps,- sauce the American business worldhad almost gone to the dogs, that this should be so, for evidently only half a chance to recover one's former circum- stonces-is something. The advantage which the business situation compre- hends at the-present moment, which it did not comprehend before the election, is this, that all persons engaged in bank- ing, transporta4on and. trade no* have a basis of operations upon .which to pro- ceed. They know nrhat is coming and hence know what to calculate upon. Consequently they are able to proceed, in some cafes rapidly in some only slowly. The bankers must necessarily be cautious for a time perhaps for a con- siderable time. A great body of consum- ers have gone without their wages, or at least without some part of thein. They cannot buy so generally. They must buy something, and they will, aiid so gradually in all directions in all branches of cominerce, business will pick up. It is the time, then, to begin to adver tise again, not lavishly, perhaps, but steadily. The mercl^nt is after the dol- lars and dimes of the people. The peo- ple will begin to have those indispens- able commodities irom this time forward and, while from necessity or caution, they will spend them rather slowly, s'ill they will spend them, and the merchant •who announces himself best, who posts in thecolttmna of good advertising me-- diums his daily bulletins of store news, who by one or another ingenious method of promoting his business, begins to do it now will reap the greatest gain. The procession is beginning to move and the person who does not join in is not going to fare well in the general distribution of prizes at the end of the march — Cin- cinnati Tribune, HOW IT LOOKED AND HOW IT SHOULD HAVE LOOKED. Take the following one-sheet poster, which, indeed, is far above the averagt commercial poster in point of composi- tion arrangement and display, and ex- amine it: A WOMAN bought a newfangled coffee pot from a peddler. In the evening she showed it to her husband, a hardware dealer, who told her he kept the same thing in his store for half the price she paid. "Well," said she, "why don't you advertise ? Nobody ever knows what you have for sale."— Fame. It's the number of ideas, rather than the number of words in an advertisement which makes it effective. The best ads contain but one —Boston Home Journal A. GOOD advertisement is read by buy- ers but a poor advertisement is read by nobody but the proof reader. — The Kind's Jester. Smith Hardware & Iron Co. Manufacturers of and Dealers In iTOVES, FURNACES AND HEATERS Tin, Copper & Sheet Iron Ware, Palnu. Oils. Class, Nalli. Reapari, Drills, Mowers. Plowi. Farm Haehlnery of every daterlptlon. Everything at St. Louis Prices. H4 Broadway. East Si Louis Ode to An Advertisement. . Lives there a man who doth not feel A pleasant duty o'er him steal. When in cold type, clear cut and dry. His advertisement meets his eye? Breathes there a firm in this broad land So good so wise, or yet so grand. That could not add to that fair name By the use of advertising fame? Who does not know this pleasitig sense, Ne'er feels the pleasing recompense— That peace of mind thatdoth entwine The brow of him who doth enshrine His bnsiness deeds, and advertise Before the truly gcKtd and wise ? O! Advertisement! Ensign fair! Keep on, o'er land, o'er sea, in air. Speak business to the distant isles; Tell pretty maidens of the styles ; Tell men. and women, young and old, The route to place to spend-their gold. O! Advertisement! Open door To wealth and fame forever more! Keep on—^in car, on fence and dome^ In paper going to the home. On wall of wood, or stone, or brick— And make the man who don't use you — sirk. Geo. S. Beck, In-Profilable Advertising. Then compare it with what it should have been. Can there be any question in regard to the relative advertising value of th- two? A SUQQESTiON. The following idea is submitted by Billboard Advertising for a one-sheet Properly executed and judiciously used it poster to advertise breakfast foods .w-^uld prove inos* effective. A Dainty I ROLLED ©flTS. DELICIOUS. APPETIZING. .NOURISHING It might be printed either in colors or monochrome. In fact, would look almost' I well in a rich Vandyke brown as it would in four or five printing*. News Hrom T he Fafrs. NOTES. nAPPENINGS. CO/n/HnNTS. BfTTboavd J^dV^vt^sriig. The editor is in|receipt o( many letters from Secretaries who received the first number of Billboard Advertising. They contain much favorable comment, and manifest keen interest in the under- taking. Unfortunately however, we are unable to print them, as for the most part, they fail to sanction such a course by giving us the necessary permission. This is the more to be tegreiied as inas- much as many are very bright,tnewsy and evidently intended for publication. Some few expressly request us not to publish, but not over half a do^en allow us to make use of their communications. For this reason, we would request all corres- pondents to expressly state in. all futiue letters whether same is for publication whole or in^part. Names are not publish- ed unless desired, but no attention will be paid to anonymous communications. • The general tenor of the correspon- dence above mentioned is to the effect that a recognized organ and an establish- ed medium of communication has long been needed by the secretaries of Pairs iu America. As a rule they predict that B1U.B0.VRD ADVCRXisiKG will prove a great boon to secretaries, and.tend greatly ( to benefit fair Associations. Some few enthusiastic correspondents prophesj'ing the most lavish prosperity for the jour- nal, and promising unqualified.endorse- ments and steadfast support. For all of which we desire to extend our thanks and acknowledgements, at the same time voicing the assurance that every possible efibn will be made to make Biixboard Advertising efficient and satisfactory.in this particular field. • • • What is iOf,more importance however is the fact that ire have ^en ui^ed to agitate the necessity of a national organ ization or union of the sectetaiies of alj Fairs in the United States and Canada. It is argued that such a body would tend greatly toward eleminatiugmEiny annoy- ances and minor evils to which societies and associations lare now subject, and prove besides most profitable from a social point of view. We are moved to this mention of the ■ matter not only by the belief that, the suggestion is oppor- tune and valuable, but by reason of the fact that the feeling is widespread. We being io receipt of nine different letters from widely distant parts of the country identically similar in tone. ••• 'The concensus of opinion seems to be that a convention should be called to take place in some city as nearly central as possible, and at. as early a date as practicable. Without dwelling further upon the subject at this writing, we will merely state that our columns are open to all who desire to discuss the matter therein. "The-subject is worthy of grave considemUon jand the movement will nndoubtedly .speedily .Assume, definite .form We have . already-sent out in. quiries to many persons prominent iu the Pair iWotld, aoliciting an expreaaion ofopiuionasto the feasibility and prac- ticability of the scheme, and their answers will appear .in out next edition. We desire furthermore .loiiovite every secretary in America to participate in the discussion, promising to handle th correspondence judicously and expedi- tiously no matter how voluminous. • • Let no one imagine that the move- ment is unpracticable for such is not the case. To many, a successful issue may not appear promising, but never- theless an entirely satisfactory outcome is far from being impossible. When the Protective League of American Show- men (the national organization of show- men) was first broached it was scouted as visionary, and generally denominated a d—d -Utopian ideality. No one sought to deny its possibilities for good, yet no one seemed inclined to believe it would ever take-shape, but it did and to-day bids fair to be one' of the strong- est protective unions ever organized. • * • * -So it is now suggested that all Association, of the Secretaries and . CIRCUS MEN. The natronal organization of Circus Managers, known as the Protective League of American Showmen, will assemble at Cincinnati, O., January 8th next, for their Second Annual Conven tion. This Association, which is purely defensive in character, is the direct out- growth of the many abuses which have been heaped upon all itinerant organiza- tions in general and circus people in particular. These evils had grown so pronounced as to seriously menace the future of tent shows when the league was formed, and it has already been the means of materially checking the growth of antag- onistic influences Although but little over a year old it possesses a very strong membership which is growing larger from day to day, as the aims and objec-i tions of the Association become" better understood. Ultimately it bids fair to accomplish much good, although, of course, no immediate results of a start- ling nature need be looked for. Large bodies move slowly but they also move exceedingly sure. Boom next year's Pair in our New Year's Number. Stock Exiiibit at Butler County Fair, Hamilton, Oliio. General Managers of Fairs be organized for the promotion of the common inter- ests of Agricultural Societies and Fair Associations. All that I can say is, that the idea has my emphatic endorsement Such an organization would be of im- mense benefit to all concerned, and I sincerely hope that you will lend the movement your support. Respectfully yours, Obo. Dillsworth, To the Bditor of Billboard Adver- tising : Dear Sir—What the Pairs need more than anything else is a national associa- tion. »Why do you not propose a con- vention of all the secretaries, managers, and in fact all interested parties ? The time and place to be determined by the convenience of a majority of those who signify a wish to attend. Yours truly, M. M. AVKRV. ••• BiLCBOARo Advertising: Gentlemen—Allow me to suggest that you .interest yourselves in the matter of a national organization of local Fair Associations. Advocate a union or league of this nature and you will be serving the best interest of the secreta- ries of AHerica. Very trulyyours, A. P. H. KIAIMS. Seud the name of your fair to the uttermost parts of the earth by means of an advertisement in our New Year's Number. The illustration on this page is taken from a photograph, made by the Helle- berg Photo-Graving Co, of the stock exhibit of the BuUer County Fair, HamU- ton, Ohio. It was a snap shot on a very cloudy afternoon. The Helleberg Co. have several cuts of different views of the above fair. Duplicates of cut pre- sented herewith will be sold at $150 each. Write them. The Rutland County Agricultural So. ciet}-, of Rutland, Vermont, was founded in 1S45. Officers for the ye%r 189*: Presi- dent F. D. Proctor, ProctoT-.Vt; First Vice-President G. T. Chaffer, City of Rutland, Vt.; Second Vice-President J. H. Mead, West Rutland; Treasurer F. -A.. Field, City of Rutland, Vt.; Secre- tary F. H. Chapman, City ol Rutland,Vt. Next annual meeting will be held in City of RuUand, Vt, jirst Wednesday in January, 1895. This society is soon to come to the front again. New life has been placed into it. Remember our splendid New Year's Number. CHRISTMAS EDITION of Leander Richardson's Dramatic News By far the most artistic and creditable of all the many Christmas piiblications is the Christmas Number of Leander Richardson's Dramatic Jfews. Superb- ly iUustrated by such artists as Rix, Cotiltans,Meyers,Frederick,-JuniE,Berger and the Donaldson Lithograph Co., it displays artistic excellence of the very highest order, while from a literary standpoint it has never been equalled. Among those who have contributed may be mentioned Hon. David McAdam, A. H. Hummel, Wilton Lackaye. Helen Ten Broeck, Charles T. Dazey, Clay. M. Greene, Hon. Chas. Hoyt, May Wheeler, J. Charles Davis, Georgia Waldron, Chas. H. Day, Ed. W. Dunn, Cecile Joyce, Pro- fessor Harry Kellar.John Irving Dillon, Mrs. Eugene Sandow. Fay Templeton, Minnie Milne, Jane Corcoran, and ' H. C. C." Every article it contains is exceptionally well ^written and happily chosen. Numerous full-page portraits of cele-"" brated players and theatrical folk inter- sperse and adorn the work, besides many smaller pictures reproduced by the finest known process of engraving. It fully justifies the prodigious outlay in the matters of time, labor and money expended upon it and reflects the great- est credit upon Mr. Richardson and Mr. McCloy. They may well feel proud of their handiwork. It is deserving of the highest praise unstinted and unqnahfied. CAN THIS BE TRUE? The following is from The Bill Poster a journal published in London, Eng! We would like to hear from some one of the '-audience" that looked on: Iu another column we give the impres- sions of an £nglish b'U poster ol bill posting in the United States, and we have also been favoured with the sight of a letter written by Mr. W. Turner, who was formerly in business at Belfast, but who, some years ago, went out to Australia. Writing from Sydney, Mr. Turner says the firm with which he IS connected employs thirteen men, and ' have 5 horses and carts. They start work ' at seven a. m., have dinner from one tiU two, cease work at six, p. m , with a half holiday on Saturdays. He then goes'on to say that they recently had a large circus there irom America, run by Sells Brothers, who look out .*ith them eight of their own bill posters, amongst them being one man who was called the Light- ning Bill Poster. The firm Mr. Turner was connected with let some of their spaces to the circus, and thay did their own work. One of the gables rented was so high that the men said they could not post It, the brushes they used were very large ones, costing 25s each, and they saia they could not use them up a high ladder. Mr. Turner was asked to post the gable which the Americans were afraid O', and borrowing one of their large brushes he moonted the laddet and quickly covered the gable, the others looking on as spectators. When Sell's Circus are at home in America they, em- ploy twenty-eight biUx>osters. and those they took with them to Sydney were the pick of the lot, yet a Britisher beat them a feat of which he felt justly proud. THE DONALDSON GUIDE. Now that the.New York Clipper has formally, adopted The Donaldson Cipher, it will be but a short time until the code of this well known system will be in • general use among theatri-;al managers and showmen. All billposters should have a copy on hand for their own con- venience, as well as that of their custom;. • ers. It is worthy of note too that thisi valuable book contains the most accurate list of the billposters of the United States and Canada ever published. - 4 Ill n <