The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1869-11-30
THE ART OF ADVERTISING.
History of Its Development sn England

Tho advertising spirit IN England, according |
TO the London Nows, is ''ambltious, energetic,
restless, uniiring, dnuntlcss, possessed of IL !
limiiablc ingenuity und resources. One can- !
not help admlring the boundlcss fertility of in
venion with which the great leaders of tho
advertising world have appropriated one
medium alter another for the publication
of what they desire people to know" The
News adds some Interesting historical Items:
Public Journals began little before tho
period of the Civil War, and later In the cen
Jury they contained advertisements Of all
SORTS By l7l0 the system Ind developed IT.
self TO such proportions Tint the Tattler
thought It worth his while to devote whole
paper to dissertation OH the subject. Ad-
vrrlscmcnts, IN the opinion of the Phoso-
pher of Shire Lane, are to be considered ns
''accounts OF news from the little world, In
the same manner that the foregoing parts or
hear that sovereign prince Is fled from his
capital city, In the other we hear OF q trades
man who hath shut up his shop and run away"
The writer cOnfcsses to q weakness In connec-
ton with the 'little domestic occurrences"
| sometimes found alluded to In the advertising
| columns of q newspaper, and records that lie
has been caught with tears In Ills eyes over
| melancholy announcement. The Tattler re-
CARDS this species of literature as conducive
| 10 the ambition OF humble folks. An adver-
| tisement from piccadlly goes down TO pos
tsr! with an arjss em e,A Ans" Is Celebrated r
| IN the same paper with the Emperor OF Ger
| many.
It Is curious to find that even at That carly
| date many of the tricks of advertisers that We
/ believe 10 be quite Modern were already in
vogue. Controversies between rival trndcrs,
which had then been carried to such an cX-
| tent "that," say3 the writer, 'nbove half the
| advertisements one meets with now -a-days are
| purely polcmical;" the adoption of various de-
vices .to catch the readers eye" such rs the
| Use of astcrsks, hands, little cuts and figures,
&c; the occasional resort to "the blind Italian
| character" which, being almost lllcgiblc, fixes
the eye and proyOkcs the attentions; the
flourish of mentioning "the universal esteem
never heard Off aud the device Of advertising
| changes of residence, "for the Information or
the nobility and gentry" all these methods of
soliciting or compelling. attention aro men,
toned III the 224th number of the Tnttler for
Thursday, September IA, ITO.
Relatively to the size of the town. the qnacks
| were as busy In those days as In theso. We
read OF many kinds of pills, Of wonderful cures,
OF spring tr,isscs and Of scents Of such miracu-
| lous powers that their effect Is not to be Gre
| ditcd without actual experience. We also hear
OF advertisements not at oil proper to ap-
pear in tho works OF popular wrlters"--a class
which IN certain quarters Is not yet extinct.
"Strops for ra7ors' seem 10 have engaged
as much attention In the reign OF Queen Anne
as In later days. and there were few wants,
real or imaginary, which vigorous advertisers
did not express their readiness to supply q
hundred and sixty years ago.
Modern times hnvc OF course been more VA
rlous In their methods of advertising, because
every walk Of life Is more crowded than for
merry, and the struggle 10 exist Inns become
SD much the lerccr. l'octical advertisements
came In, If we mistake not, some forty years
ago or more. with Warrens Jet Hacking,
which used to be further commended hy q. pic
lure of II gentleman shaving himself by the
reflection OF his face In IL big Wellington boot,
noilshcd TO gnssy brlghtness by the applIc,l--
was more largely employed few years later
by the great rcady-Iladc clothing establish
ncnts, and the little novclcttes were intro
duced, adding vastly 10 the entertainment OF
the reader. Doudney's "lteforn your Tailors'
Bills !" was very orihamme In the era of Earl
Grey's great measure, nnd for u long time after
ant we rccollccl famous cure for the tooth
ache the pictorial Illustration of which wns ns
good rs comic wOodcut In Punch.
Then came In the 'santlwlch-incn," with
their boards In front and bchind and then
everything seemed to be considered fit place
Tor posting MI Ddvortiasmcnt on. Tlir sIues
fsf 0mnibusses, the slllash-bonrtln Of fiaiisomi
cabs, tho partitions OF railway carriages, tho
walls of railway stations, the backs of railway
varied and often Psi 5eolored annonncements. G s.
Advertising agency hna become u distinct and
very important branch ofbuslness. BIll-sticking
has almost advanced to The dignity of nm art;
aud wo have ''champion biil-slickels," WHO
rival one another In their pretcnsions.
"Warrens Backing" has been scored on the
Great Pyramids; and the Americans have car
ricd this species Of vulgurity (Which really has
n serious and lnmcnta6le side,) to monstrous
extent. Even Barnum, unscrupno,ls though,
he avows himself to be, denounces, in Ills
Book on lIumbugs, tho ''bed-bug- -soulcd fel-
lows" lthe eplthct is his, and is so we'll de-
served that we reproduce 1t without apology J
who proclaim the virtues of their corn-pias-
teTs or qunck medicines on places TINT should
be held sacred from such associations. He
mentions that tho Legislatures of New Hamp-
shire and New York were compelled TO pass
laws to prevent this misdemeanor; and 1t Is
Just possible that we I'm England may be forced
into the adoption of q similar measure.