The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1866-09-12
Advertising Mediums and Advertising Agen-


cics.
We notice that there are number Of per-
sons going about the city and country collect
ing advertisements for various papers. Some
times these men profess to have some c0nnec-
Lion with the HERALD and impudently receive
money and give receipts on our account In
other cases they will be more honest, and will
come and ask us to allow them to beg adyer-
tisements for us, paying them certain COM
mission. 1t ought to be generally known by
this time, however, that the HERALD never en-
ploys any such persons and has no agents to
collect either subscriptions or advertisements.
We deal directly with the public and have
nothing to do with mddle-men. II a merchant
wants TO advertise with us let him bring or
send the advertisement to our office, and we
will publish il at our regular rates. This is so
simple a business transaction that we can see
no necessity for complicating il by letting an
agent interfere and receive a commission either
from us or our customers.
The public should understand, once for all,
that only the small and weakly papers resort
to the agency dodge TO drum up patrons. The
moment that a journal is forced to adopt such
devices it is valueless as an advertising me-
dium. If it be not so generally known and
universally circulated as to require an agent
10 hunt up advertisers for it, then il is not the
paper for business men to patronize. The ad-
yertising agent tells you how excellent q GER
tain paper is and what large circulation ii
has and how much good it viii do you to ad-
vertisc in that journal; but if you need TO be
told all this the probabilities are that the story
is bogus; for an excellent paper widely circu-
lated is its own advertising agent, and does
not want any paid trumpeter to sound its
praises. This simple common sense principle
will apply not only to agents, but to those cir
culars headed with Irish harps and containing
flaming statements Of unparalleled circulation,
which certain of our contemporaries are in tas
habit of sending out, and also to those still
meaner notices with which wretched radical
rival annoys the HERALD advertisers.
Another point worth mentioning in regard
to advertisements Is that advertisers often de-
feat their own objects and injure their own
business by advertising injrdiciously The
practice Of disfguring the face OF nature by
unsightly daubs announcing various nostrums
is case in point. To such an excess has this
been carried that a rock near Niagara Falls
was once smerred by patent medicine ven-
der, and the cap-stone of one OF the pyramids
advised The tourist to buy 4 certain sort OF
backing Such advertising is q waste Of
money. The indignant traveller resolves never
to spend cent with tina man who is so desti-
tute Of good taste. Fortunately law passed
by the last Legislature has rendered these
dissertations of nature in this State penal
offences but the ridiculous habit OF sticking
up advertising cards in cars, ferry boats and
stages is hardly less to be condemned. II does
no good 10 the advertiser and really annoys
the travelling public. The great, full page,
big type, hand bill style of advertisements,
adorned with scraggy pictures OF ugly men
and women, whiskey Indians or trotiing
horses, which are admitted to the columns OF
some Of our struggling contemporaries are
equally offensive and Objectionable. The de-
sidcratum Tor a wise advertiser is neat, com
pact advertisement published in the paper hay.
ing The largest circulation, and this may BE-
secured in the HERALD without the inierposi-
ton OF an agent