Daily Honolulu press. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1886, 1885-11-03
PAPER HANGINGS.
HOW THE BUSINESS OF SELLING
WALL PAPER is CONDUCTED.
Jobbers Looking Over the samples
What Il and what IL Not q Dcsir-
ablo Pattern Tho Fickie Pub
lie and Fashions
New York Times. |

That people should buy wall paper is not
at all singular, but the manner in which the
sale Of The SO goods il conducted IL strange
when compared with other methods Of tran
sactng business. On the 1st OF August the
work OF the designers, colorists, and print
ers Of all the wall paper makers OF the coun-
try is ready for inspection by the trade.
All OF the wall paper manufacturers, with
the exception OF three firms are members
Of pool called the American Wall Paper
association. or the twenty six firms in this
pool fifteen are located in this city or Brook
Ign, and these include the most important
firms in the buiness. New York Is, there
fore, the centre Of the trade, as It Is the
headquarters of the pool 1t is to this city
then, naturally. that the trade
coming season. The manufacturers in
other cities-al but two OF whom have their
factories In Philadelphia the
trade and meet 1t here annually. These out
of-town firms have brought ny hundreds
Of samples OF paper here, and have estab-
lished themselves in coy rooms at the Gil
sey house, where they are now engaged In
entertaining the jobbers and In selling goods
by sample between whiffs OF Reina Vic
torias and draughts of cooling drinks The
manufacturers who are situated here con-
vert their offices and warerooms into recep-
ton and show rooms for the benefit OF these
jobbers who make their selections there.
These jobbers will in turn carry on their
missionary work OF Identifying the homes
OF the people through the persuasive efforts
Of their drummers with the retailers scat
terel from Portland, Me-, to San Francisco
and from Winnipeg to San Antonio.
The great distributors of the manufact-
l.. Al. IA. H.. III
fifty in number, and each one is accom-
panied by lieutenant to assist him in his
labors OF culling from the mass Of many
colored and intricately designed papers such
patterns rs will please the artistic tastes Of
the particular class Of patrons to which he
caters. That this 1, no easy task may be as
sumed when it is stated that the sample,
now on exhibition at the Gilsey and at the
factories In this city and Brooklyn number
more than 1000. Il Is bewildering and
bedazzllng collection to look upon, and
seems to contain every possible combina.
ton OF color in gross, tint, or shade, and
every conceivable combination In line,
cure, AMI figure, with liberal informing
ling OF representations OF the animal and
vegetable kingdoms Of the labyrinth of
geometrical designs. or course the i'm.
preston is wrong, for next August there
win be presented an equally numerous col
lection of new colors and designs. 1t Is suf-
fciently bswildering as 1t Is without think
ing OF what the future will bring FORTH and
this is why each jobber Is accompanied by
an assistant to help in making selections.
Two heads and two pairs OF eyes are far
better than one Of each In dealing with
this mass of color and the seductive wiles
or the average wall paper manufacturer.
The Judgment Of these buyers, as a rule,
makes or condemns to obscurity any Of the
new patterns that may be shown. The
manufacturers Judgment Ia often supple
mented by the more mature judgment Of
these shrewd jobbers, who from their more
intimate contact with the trade, and SO
with the people, know what Is and what Is
not desirable pattern. By their decision,
then, does the product Of designer and
colorist either cover the walls Of thousand
homes, or Is condemned to the obscurity
into which have now departed patterns
that were once fashionable. BY that same
decision scores of patterns that have cost
much time and many dollars are condemned
never to be seen out.ide OF the factory
where they we're produced. There arbitrary
gentlemen are the cersors OF fashion and
taste in their line as much as IL the prince
OF Wales in the line OF clothing for swell"
"dude.." Fashions decreed by them stand I;
patterns rejected fall.
Tue selections made and orders booked,
the active work of manufacturing begins
aud continues throughout the fall and win
ter until enough goods are made to supply
all the people in this broad land the inte-
rior Of whose homes are to receive in the
spring a new and more or less respondent
coating OF wall paper. The work of the
manufacturer Is, Of course. supplemented
throughout the selling season by the labors
of the ubiquitous drummer" The labors
of that peculiar individual are, Of course,
reduced by the process OF sorting and OF
conde mnation now proceeding at the hands
of tho jObbers. This scheme Of bringing
trade and makers together II also OF very
material benefit to the manufacturer.
BY it he is saved from manufacturing
large quantity of paper which, II
the judgment Of the jobber IL cor.
rect would be unstable material He Ia
also saved the expense Of manufacturing
miles Of paper to be used by jobber', whole.
salers, and retailers for samples. That this
saving ia no inconsiderable amount IL shown
by the fact that last year one firm in this
city printed aud used as samples over 100-
QUO rolls of paper of various designs As
each roll contains twenty -four feet--sight
yards-of paper, their samples contained
2, 4JO, 00O feet If paper, and resulted in q sale
OF l4i.OOO,0O0 feet, or enough to entirely
band the globe at the equator AMI leave a
remnant" l2, 900 900 feet in length
A gentleman well informed as to the de.
tails OF this trade told the reporter that
mt one o. tie factories In this city the sale OF
Handmade goods was little over 800, 0o0
annually, and that the profit was between
60 aud 10 per cent
"Why don't other manufacturers embark
in this liner he was askel.
"The reason Is tnat tina demand Is limited,
the field well occupied, and lew manufact.
urers have the capital necessary for carry
ing on tho business. aud even those VINO
have the capital dare not undertake the
risk. The business Is peculiar In that 1t Is
one In which most thorough knowledge,
not only Of art but OF art tasts Is necessaryi
and this not one in a hundred Of the practi-
cal wall paper men possesses In sufficient
degree 70 dare to risk the venture. At
tempts to please In IL, as / know from OK.
perience, arc more often met with failure
than success. SO tickle is the public aud SO
widely do art ideas differ As for myself.
even with my years Of experience, l would
rather gamble on the rise or fall Of wheat
than on the success Of any handmade paper
design. 1t seems to me to be business as de
pendent for success upon the dictates OF an
extremely tickle party named Fashion. There
ara liberal profits in each line, II the ruling
powers ara satisfied; there is failure and
bankruptcy II they are not"
r,,a snn~.tre.., Ik.nIv