Lynchburg daily Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1852-1861, 1860-03-21

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Tho Ass Of Advertising.
The vast improvsmseis that have marked tn
present err. which Longisllow has not inaptly de
scribed . - grand and awful age" have no
Assa eo.nusa - say psRticaias scsnce or vocation
Every branch Of industry and enterprise, ha,
kept paco with the other, in the greatly accelera
ted march with which the world lie moving for.
ward. and they who are content to stand still in
the old path" viii soon fnd themselves outstrip-
], ped by their moro eager and enterprisug compan-
IONS and b Left % mourn over opportunities
neglected and lost The application of steam to
useful purposes and ths sabserviency of the light
ming 10 he behests Of man; have, however, been
the most striking and signal evidences-and per-
hsps the sasst bsnsfcent--of the Improvements OF
ths aga Other improvements, entitled to rank
next to these, have laid them under contribution,
and amons a. The mostimportant to which they have
been auxiliary, is the Press. The subtle and pow
erfnl mind Of Bacon. long ago originated the now
universally received axiom, that knowledge is
power" and the influence of newspapers, collect
ing and concentrating INTEL gence by means Of
the ghtning, and then scattering it abroad
through the agency Of steam; 10 multiplying the
sources Of human knowledge to an almost infinite
extent, and constitute ono cf the marvcls Of this
woodworking age Men have not been slow to
avail themselves Of this great agency. in the
matter Of advertising; and what in the begin
ming of the present century was little appreciated
has now grown TO be system. marked change
has bssn wrought in public sentiment, and to
uses the language d The Baltimore american.
I; ia not only respectable now.adays to adver'
tise extensively. but Il is indispensable. When
the power Of steam was applied to the slow ma
chinery Of the press, and thought began to trnv-
erse the earth upon thc wings of the lightning,
the old time process Of building up business by
means of q succession of generations OF merchants
inhabiting the same dingy Old house and using
the same obscure and almost iegible sign, dsap-
pcarcd. It was found that by proper use Of the
newly discovered agencies rs much could be &c.
compshed in an hour as formerly in day, and
q business could DO built up in FIVE years that
could hardly have been acquired In n century be-
fore the discovery and general ntroductonof the
new invention. Tho art of printing kept pace
with the speed Of travelling. AZ business transao'
tions could take place in few hours which tho
old ftgy merchant never thought Of accomplishing
in less than several weeks. and as the of traf
ic was almost infinitely EXTENDED by the railroad
and the steamboats, 80 it became incumbent on
the factor Of goods to avail himself of every means
to make known his name his place Of business
and the kind and quality Of his wares by the con-
stanty widening circle Of customers. lie found
the steam press ready 10 his hand. Printing was
not only thousand times more rapid than it had
been but II was cheaper. very much cheaper. All
the merchant had to do was to send his ADVERTISE
ment to the principal newspapers, and the set
ting Of the morrow's sun. myriads Of people who
had never before dreamed of his existence wcro
aware OF his name, his residence, his occupation,
and the minutie Of his trade. 1t was US though
he had sent phalanx after phalanx, regiment aftor
regiment of men, equipped with trumpets. gongs,
cymbals and other means of making noise and
attracting attention, TO proclaim his name and his
business throughout the length and breadth of
the land 1t was as If Il proclamation of his arti-
Giles of sale had been made from the heavens aud
heard over whole continents.
This system once adopted-and there was no
the practical return of an immensely increased
custom, and ITS general use became business ne
ccssiy of the age. 1t is true that those houses
which bad acquired a reputation by the slow
method Of the olden time, lost very little of their
regular trade by refusing to join in the move
men,. But it is impossible to estimate the gains
they nigh. have made by siding at once with the
spirit OF improvement and by free use Of the
wonderful appliances which seem to have been
discovered for their especial advantage. As the
nineteenth century wears on, and as tho age Of
advertising discloses feature after feature Of its
astounding aud bcwillering Development it DO
comes more and more imperative upon the cnlight
ened man of business to lay fearless hands upon
the swift genius Of the press and, being fastened
to it as by hooks Of steel, to the inexbausi
BILE advantages of it's tireess and unbuundcd fight
over the habitable globe.
The representative man Of this age Of advertis-
ing is, by common consent, one Bonner of the city
of New York His daring aud apparently fool
hardy use of the newspaper press was the theme
of endless ridiculc. But by and by the ridiculers
looking to results, began to change their tune
In place Of derision. there came imitation, which
is said TO be the sinccrest form Of hauery Bon
ner 10 initiated not in America alone The Lon
don Times begin to display the name Of Z" Macmil-
Ian Co." from the top to the bottom Of its col
umns. just rs the Virginian and n thousand Other
papers have time and again displayed the name
of the Ledger and its contributors. And thi,
movement is destined TO go on. Its end Is nc,
yet nor 10 il in the power Of man to say where il
will or can stop. But this much is proven Every
business lee nov . new department added to it
that Of advertising. lie Is wise who spares nc