Billboard advertising (July-Dec 1897)

- -"•■-.- — ■»■ J..V-' :- 4 * r.*SasP^JS$Jv 5i THE BILLBOARD tHE BlLLBOARt) Signs $ Sign Painters Address all communications for this department to K. II Fokgrave, Pickerington, Ohio. No kind of a bristle brush should be washed in lye water, such as sal soda and Babbet's potash It makes but little dif- ference how weak it is, it has a tendency to soften the bristle. Bristles placed in sal soda water will burn in a few days. Always keep brushes in oil or water. To prevent water from freezing put in some glycerine. When a tin or brass-bound brush begins to come loose, squeeze it to- gether a little. When the hair in a brush ^becomes crooked, place it on a warm sur- face and stroke it with your hand until it becomes straight. Brushes should always be hung suspended in the liquid. Stand- ing them on end is what makes the hair crooked- There never was, nor never will be, a brush made of camel's hair. The so-called camel's hair grows on a squirrel's tail. The Western Painter says: To pre- _rve paper signs in damp places, where a formation of mold takes place in the paper under the varnish, the following has been recommended: Paste the signs on with mucilage containing salicylic acid, allowing the solution—i part gum, 3 parts water-to soak in or dry on the back of the sign, then, apply more and fix the signs with it. The labeled vessels are wanned either in the oven or by pouring in warm water, so that the signs are really dry—not only air dry. In varnishing, breathing on the work should be avoided. The varnish should be applied only upon the completely dry signs. After a few days a thin varnish is still put on. These signs keep well and without spots. In this manner any decomposition is pre- vented as far as possible. The varnish should be applied well beyond the edges. TRADE NOTES. ■ New York varnishers, striking for $3 per day, have won. Several hundreds of painters* and dec- orators' unions were organized the past year. It is queer that sign painters never organized. John Lees and George Smith were in- jured by falling from a scaffold in Chi- cago October 1. Both will recover. r Sid. Holmes, sign painter, killed Octo- ber 4 at Newbury, Mich., by a falling scaffold. Two companions were also se- riously injured. . The principal reason that linseed oil is sd cheap, says an exchange, is because there are so many adulterants and substi- tutes on the market. Menhaden oil, made from a fish of that name and but little known to the painting trade, is one of the chief adulterants. The market price of the same is about 50 %er cent, less than linseed oil. Other varieties of fish oil, whale, cod or seal oils are used in conjunction with a comparatively small quantity of linseed oil, the smell and color, especially-with regard to whale oil, being preferable to that of Menhaden. Answers to Correspondents. Wm. D.—The Painters)' Magazine says: There are a number of methods practiced in laying gold leaf. Some workmen pre- fer one method and some another. The cushion and tip method to which you re- fer has been practically suspended for a number of j ears. The turpentine method, employed at one time somewhat exten- sively in the ornamenting of furniture, consists in cutting the book at the bind- ing. Then with a small sponge wet with turpentine moisten quite profusely the back of the paper as it lies on the cut book. The volatile liquid goes through the paper, causing the leaf to adhere. The turpentine evaporates very quickly, hence it becomes necessary to use the sheets of leaf immediately following their preparation. Again, the books of gold leaf are cut into strips a trifle wider than the stripe to be gilded. Many old-time painters are firmly welded to the belief that cut- ting and using the leaf from the strips is the most economical way of hand- ling it. Still another method is to cut the book at the binding, and then pick up the top leaf or cover, lay it on a smooth piece of board and rub it carefully with a small cake of beeswax. This waxed side of the paper is then laid upon the gold and smoothed out nicely. The gold sticks so tenaciously to the paper that it can now fairly be handled with impunity. Bach page of leaf, or, rather, as many pages as are needed for the work in hand are treated in this way. The pages of leaf are next cut into strips to correspond to the width of the stripe, after which the strips can be rapidly applied to the work. Among first-class gilders, however, the above methods do not find favor at the - present time. They are accounted too slow. Laying leaf directly from the book is'now generally practiced, especially bv those having much gilding to do. It re- quires a little practice to acquire pro- ficiency in laying leaf from the book di- rect, bnt from experience in a shop where a change from the old way of laying leaf to the comparatively recent one here ad- vised was recently made, and the writer cheerfully subscribes to the economical virtues of the laying-from-the-book method. Formerly it was the practice in railroad car shops, where a great amount of leafing was annually done, to cut the leaf and apply in strips. In such estab- lishments it is now almost "the universal practice to apply the leaf direct from the book. Why was the change inaugurated? Because there was money to be saved thereby. For this reason our correspond- ent is counseled to begin laying his leaf from the book. Hold the book flat in the left hand. Turn over the top leaf a bit wider than the stripe, making a clean, smooth fold, holding the overlapped pa- per down on one side with the left thumb, the right one performing the same office at the other extremity of the fold. The fingers afford support to the under side of the book, as it is carried to the surface. The whole operation occupies but a jiffy of time, and is totally free from the fussy maneuvers associated with the wax, tur- pentine or strip clearing methods. ' J. P. H —See the answer to your query in the June issue of Biuboard. OUT-DOOR ADVERTISING IN ENG- LAND. BV JOHN C. GRAHAM. Although we, as a nation, are far and away ahead of all other countries in the matter of newspaper and magazine adver- tising, although our ideas and methods of publicity are bolder and more'original than those of any other people, we can not deny the fact that when it comes to out-door advertising the "old country" easily takes the lead. Every known form of out-door advertising that is practiced here is in vogue across the water, but very many mediums of publicity are used in Europe that are not indulged in here. Every available inch of space on the walls of the big railroad terminals in Lon- don is crowded with display signs and posters, advertising all manner of goods, and in smaller wayside stations it is often impossible to pick out the usual sign, bearing the name of the place, from a host of similar boards announcing "Keen's Mustard," "Column's Starch," "Reckitt'sBlne," "Pears" Soap,""Bovrii" "Electropoise," "Cadbury's Cocoa," and a thousand other articles bidding for pub- licity. Just imagine the whole of the in- terier of the Grand Central depot covered with painted and glass signs advertising almost every known product of this coun- try, and you have an idea of what a great London terminus looks like. English advertisers not only invade all street cars and omnibuses, but use all the outside space on such vehicles to such an extent as to puzzle a stranger as to where the car is going. The destination is al- ways painted on the side of tram cars and omnibuses, but a countryman could not tell whether the conveyance was going to Battersea or "Beecham's Pills/' to Bays- ■ water or to "Herbaline." It must be try- ing to the out-of- town visitor to wait on a crowded corner for a 'bus going to Brix. ton. and see a string of them passing, en which he can read, in bold letters, "Yorkshire Relish," "Hovis Bread," Brooke's Soap," "Provost Oats," etc., but no decipherab'e mention of where the car would take him to. All London street cars are double deckers—you can ride on the roof and smoke if you wish to, and all the "risers" of the winding staircases are used for advertising purposes, just as the "risers" of the "L" road stairs are in New York City. In fact, every large public vehicle in London is an advertising wagon, and the outside show is much better than the in- side spaces, for the reason that there are alwas's more people in the street than in the car, and so the "circulation''- is greater. Of. course, the cars going through the most populous districts are most sought after, and the revenue accru- ing from the renting of such advertising space must be quite an item annually. The theaters are the best ptarons of the big spaces on the tram cars and omni- buses. The roof seats are railed all round, and a board about twofeet high, and run- ning the full length of the car—perhaps from 12 to 20 feet—is firmly fastened to this railing, doing the double duty of protecting passengers' legs from wind and weather and at the same time bearing a bold ad, which everybody on the side- walk sees. English advertisers do not use large fence signs in the rural districts adjoin- ing railroads as we do, but every station of any importance on all lines it literally covered with every kind of advertising signs. This shows that our English cous- ins believe rather in concertrating than in scattering their advertising efforts. Wher- ever crowds congregate, there you will find a multitude of signs and posters. Where crowds are not likely to be, you will look in vain for attempts at pub- licity. The river steamboats also add to their revenue by letting out advertising spaces, on which signs are hung or painted; and, in fact, whichever way you turn in the British metropolis you are confronted with the fact that out-door display adver- tising is much more liberally indulged in there than in our own cities.— Printers' Ink. PARETIC ADVERTISING. The sign painter has done everything in his power to deface every bit of land- scape, and, longing for future worlds to conquer, wonders how he could make the moon, Mars or the sun a subject for'his vandalism. "Hote," the personal friend of many newspaper men, is said to have moments of frenzy because he cannot ap- ply a paint brush to a comet Sign painters are all right under cer- tain restrictions, and their efforts at ad- vertising have grown so grotesque in their hideousness that many are willing to for- give them because of the fun of the very absurdity of their undertakings. Advertising is a vast field, challenging the ambition of every sort of genius, the poet, the painter, the artist, contributing to the work of celebrity through pub- licity. Unfortunately, in the race for popular- ity in ad writing there are those who shut their eyes to decency, and are apt to pitch headforemost into the stone wall of disapproval or dive inadvertently into the ditch of disgrace. George P. Rowell was the first of the leaders to take the dirty road with the idea that it was the shortest. Everyone knows, and all decent men have acknowl- edged, that a recent advertisement of his in the New York Sun was the most inde- cent that has appeared in many years. The surprise and stench were only aggra- vated by the fact that the Sun has been inclined to be spotless in its advertising columns. The next to go' astray was the clever advertiser of a celebrated soap, who pictured two little children on their koees saying the Lord's Prayer and asking for their daily soap, instead of their daily bread. This irreverent advertisement de- feats the purpose of creating popularity. Perhaps it will be regarded as wonder- fully clever by those who have forgotten that they were taught to pray at their mother's knees. It does not pay to offend the public. There are many fools on earth, and it is too bad that so many imagine them- selves clever, who are either unclean or reckless in offending public sentiment — Fourth Estate. The Christmas issue of Billboard will consist of 15,000 copies,' covering the entire English speaking world. Fair Department.) The Only Fair in Georgia This Year. The first annual fair of the Waycross Fair Association, to be held at Waycross, Ga., November 2 to 6, inclusive, gives promise of being a success from every point of view. It is the purpose of the promoters of the affair to have all of the standard departments common to such occasions, and to fill them with exhibits illustrating the progress of the country at large, and of South Georgia especially. A number of interesting races, both horses and wheel, will be ananged. Knowing the pluck and enterprise of the Waycross people, we have no hesitancy in predict- ing for the fair a week of prosperity, and for those who attend it a week of enjoy- ment. HURRAH! For Oneonti—Now Let Others Follow Suit. We clip the following from the Repub- lican of Cooperstown, N. Y , viz: The dates for the Oneonta fair for 189S have already been- fixed ; they are Sep- tember 12 to 15. RIVAL BILL POSTERS. How the Mercer County Fair Boomers Do Business. Considerable feeling has been caused by a piece of work on the part of the Stoneboro fair bill poster. When the Stoneboro bill poster was out with the bill wagon billing his fair, he was seen to paste dates over the Mercer fair dates, and not only cover over the Mercer dates, but receive the benefit of their advertis- ing matter.— Pittsburg Leader. Indications point to a lively fight be- tween the two factions among the Chi- nese colony in Chicago over the conces- sions at the Transmississippi and Inter- national Exposition to be held at Omaha next year. Some weeks ago Wong Chin Foo, ed- itor of the Chicago Chinese Nexvs and president of the Chinese Equal Rights League of this country, was appointed Chinese commissioner of the Omaha Ex- position, and has in his possession a cer- tificate to that effect, properly signed by the president and secretary of the expo- sition. Wong Chin Foo represents the best element of the Chinese in Chicago, and works as a missionary among his people for their elevation. Notice of his appointment as commissioner has been duly certified to Secretary Gage at Wash- ington, and he has been in communica- tion with the secretary for some time with a view of securing a permit from the gov- ernment to import about 300 of hii countrymen, representing all branches of manufacture and of the skilled arts iu China. He wants to show the American people that the Chinamen are practical and capable of development and great- ness in all kinds of skilled labor. He has seen how unscrupulous countrymen of his in this country* have been iu years past importing Chinese, men and women, to the World's Fair, Atlanta Exposition and'Nashville Exposition for the purpose of making money by selling them as slaves. He has not been unmindful of the dishonesty practiced by these alleged leaders on their ignorant countrymen and their manner of smuggling them into the United States in violation of the laws of the country. Wong Chin Foo says these methods have served to accentuate the prejudice of the American people against his people. He wants it stopped, and says he will put an end to it. As commissioner of China at the Omaha Exposition he will have en- tire control of the Chinese exhibit, which will be known as the North China Trad- ing Company. It will be composed of the representative Chinamen of many branches of skilled labor 2nd arts, and will be a permanent organization after the exposition, with headquarters either in Chicago or Omaha. Since Wong Chin I-'oo's appointment as commissioner. Hip Lung, Hong Sing, Lem Lett and others in Chicago have se- cured a concession from the Omaha expo- sition for a Chinese theater, farm, bazaar and joss-house on the Midway to be. This, however, has been conditioned on their ability to import about 500 of their people. In order to secure the necessary permit from the government authorities at Washington, Hip Lung, Hop Sing and Lem Lett have been there in person to see Secretary Gage. Messrs. Sing and Lett are now in Washington. Hip Lung has returned, but declined to say any- thing about the matter, since it had not been definitely settled. These men are representatives among their fac ion of Chinamen Jjere, and have a strong back- ing to assist them in carrying out their plans. There is a strong belief at Washington that the Chinese exhibits at these exposi- tions are made for the sole purpose of smuggling in Chinese who could never enter this country under other circum- stances. It is also suspected very strongly that the Chinese pay high prices to the concessionaries for the privilege of join- ing the Chinese exhibits. It is also be- lieved that not a few of the Chinese, and especially the women, brought over here for such purposes are sold for from (500 to $500 each, the women bringing the largest amount. It is known that of the several hundred Chinese who were brought over to the Nashville exposition only about fifty are now there, the others having gone elsewhere in the states to en- gage in the laundry business. It is a fact, however, that many of those who were brought over to the World's Fair and At- lanta exposition were returned, in most cases, however, because they would not sta«. Wong Chin Foo is opposed to Hop Lung company's method, and the fight will be carried on between them with vigor. South Carolina, If the consent of the Board of Trustees of Clemson college can be obtained an exhibition of dairying and cheese making will be given by the students at the State fair this fall. The whole process, from milking the cows to separating the cream from the milk, aud finally to converting it into cheese, will be gone through with. Secretary Holloway, who is trying to se- cure this feature for the fair, writes: "The acting president and the agricul- turist of the college give every encourage- ment that the college arid experimental station will be better represented than ever at the fair." [As the above letter was not sent us for publi- cation, we withhold the writer's name It is only one of the many received by* us, all ex- pressing the most unqualified disapprobation.— Editor.] * E6CC6RS epitw. <fc Under this heading the publishers invite a A free and full discussion ofanv and all inal- jji ters of interest to advertisers. Sill posters, dis- A iributors, sign painters and Fair managers, 4) when couched tn courteous language. Of 9s course -ve do not necessarily endorse the views ft and opinions of our correspondents. ^ WW WW ww ww www Grand Forks, N. D., Oct. 21, 1S97. Editor The Biliaoard. Cincinnati. O. Dear Sir—We were steadily losing money at the published association rates, the expenses of building and maintaining boards being greatly in excess of the receipts. Even figuring that the boards were full all the time at three cents, that would give us only 36 cents per annum, or $36 revenue for a 100-sheet board. If the boards would last forever this amount might pay the bill poster for his work, but would leave a mighty small margin for license, brushes, paste, interest on the money invested in boards, to say nothing of the amount we have to pay for ground rent. So we 1 * concluded rather than do work at three cents or four cents and lose money, or to do poor work, with half or all the paper on inside of city sewers, that the adver- tiser would prefer to pay a fair prv-e and get just what he pays for. We are doing some work for a cigar firm in your city at the rate of 9 cents, and all new con- tracts will pay the same. There are a few old contracts out at less than the new rates, and, of course, we will have to fill them, but they were made before we cut all our teeth. Ringling Bros, paid us is cents per foot for what boards they used last spring owned by us. They used some of the opera house boards, but I don't re- member -what they paid for them. We are going to try and ma&e this rate stick. Our boards may stand idle for awhile, but we think we can keep most of them filled -with one week stuff at 3 cents per week, to keep the wheels turning at least for a while. Very respectfully. A. W. Dennis. [We will watch the above experiment with in- terest Something has got to be done in the small towns to enable than to give better ser- vice. Nine cents looks like a prohibitively ex- orbitant price, but if results justify, our expe- rience teaches us that advertisers will pay it without a murmur.— Editor.] Dayton, O., Oct 29,1897. Editor The Billboard, Cincinnati, O. We distributed 12,000 pamphlets for the Dr. David Kennedy Corporation of Roundout, N. Y., 17,000 books for the Dr. Chase Co., of Philadel- phia. Expect work from Dr. Kilmer & Co. soon The following firms advertised here lately, and all matter was thrown in yards : The Lydia E Finkham Co., Dr. Miles, Merrill-Soule Co., Gold Dust Washing Powder. Dr. Miles end Lydia E- Pinkham matter was put out after dark in my neighborhood. There is an ordinance prohibiting the distrib- uting of samDles of medicine in this city. Dis- tributors have been too careless in handing out samples, aud some serious results have been narrowly averted. Yours truly, Montgomery Adv. Co. Octobers?. 1S97. Editor The Billboard. Cincinnati, O. Dear Sir—I suppose you are aware that we have been expelled from the A. B. P. A. Well, it is not because we are unable to pay our dues. On the contrary, it is entirely due to a determi- nation on our part not to contribute to the sup- port of the organization as long as it is ran solely in the interest of the clique now in con- trol. If it is ever operated for the benefit of the members again we will go in once more. Until then we ate out and intend to stay out. Yours truly. McMinnville, Ore., Oct. 25, 1S97, Editor The Billboard. Cincinnati. O. Dear Sir—Since our September report we are still postiug for about the same firms, with two new customers. This is good evidence that we give satisfaction to advertisers. Our October list of bill posting includes Lig- gett & Myers Tobacco Co., S-sheet stands; Drum- mond Tobacco Co.. 6 10-sheet stands: American Tobacco Co., S 8-sheet stands; and i-sheets; Bee- men's Pepsin Gum. S S-sheets, Aunt Jemima's Pancake Flour, S-sheet stands; Blackwell's Bull Durham Tobacco Co., 6 S-sheets and 15 2-sheet stands distributed for Dr. Miles' Medicine Co. This is the fourth order this year from them. Population of city, 3,000: county, 18,000. Fromlthe posting of the Aunt Jemima Pancake Flour, the grocery dealers say that it has in- creased the demand for the Aunt Jemima Pan- cake Flour. Thanking you for favors, we remain Yours truly, G F. Bangasseb * Co " Bill Posters and Distribniors. . October 23, 1897. Editor The Billboard. Cincinnati. O. Dear sir—I am surprised to know that they turned down my friend, Sam Hoke. I am very sorry to hear about it. We need all the friends we possibly can have, and if certain people in the East are going to handle or run the associa- tion for their own personal benefit. I think, it is time to call them down. I think the same as other bill posters with whom I have been corre- sponding, that no solicitor whatever should be on the Executive Committee, that it should be composed of bill posters only, who make a busi- ness of .bill posting and not-soliciting. I also know of the Memphis affair and one or two others, of which, of course, you know yourself. . Now 1, for one, will take work from anyone who sends it. -We are here for business, and not to cater to the very few and leave the majority go. I did not think the committee would do as they have done, and as all biU posters ot the country well know that the more solicitors there are, providing they are "reliable and good busi.' ness men, of course, the more business the bill poster will get. We. ourselves, keep three solicitors constantly. Now. if we can afford to support and pay three solicitors, surely the As- sociated BiU Posters' of the Umled States could afford to support thirty. We have one man who works on nothing; but painted contracts, another on bill posting, and still another general solic- itor for tacking and distributing. Look at the International Distributors'Asso- ciation, the good work they are doing. Of course, I believe when a person is not all right, or is dis honest and does not live up to the contracts he makes, drop him, and the quicker you drop him the better off you are. I remain yours. Kansas City, Mo.. Oct. 25.1897. Editor The Billboard. Cincinnati. O. Dear Sir—I have been a Teader of your very valuable magazine for the last few months, aud I find it of great benefit as well as a source of pleasure. 1 very much enjoy the letters from the distributors, many ot them somewhat origi- nal, but all instructive and encouraging. Not, many years since there 'was no su;h business as distributing service. If there was any distrib- uting to be done, the merchant sent out after some blind man, some lame or otherwise dis- abled charity-deserving person to do it. Today the distributor must be a wide-awake, live, active business man. able to defend his calling and to advocate the business in which he Is engaged With your permission, and if space can be spared, I will, in compliance with the request of some of my associates in the distributing busi- ness, relate some of my experiencs and observa- tions in the last six months. Respectfully yours, Joseph Reid. [The article referred to in the above letter ap- pears in another column.— Editor.]