The morning call., 1891-10-31
BARNUM's COMPOSITE BILL.

through in week. 1t is just what Artemus
Ward said of census taking-it requires
'experunSe."
BARNUM's COMPOSITE BILL.
Phineas T, Barnum is generally credited
with having revOlutiOuiz.d the art of bill
posting by introducing the composite show
bill, q huge sheet formed by FASTING to-
gether smaller numbered sheets, till 81
gantc whole was produced. II is in this
way that the tremendous advertising efforts
| on the board fences covering great pubic
improvements are made possible. 1t was
to Barnum's business genius that the idea OF
big advertising contracts was due Even
! the stage curtains in the great Snowman s
earlier shows were suhdivded into small
advertising spaces, eagerly bought up. and
which went to pay for Barnum's own big
posters.
The recent rumpus in the bll-posting
world, with its resultant arrests, caused a
| veteran bill-poster to remark to CALL re-
porter, with a significant wink, that ITS an
! i'll wind that blows nobody any good" He
did not think that any of the theatrical
! companies involved in the struggle bad lost
money over it. And he proceeded to talk
to the reporter in this fashion:
IN TIE OLD COUNTRY.
I've been bil-I osting all over this cOun-
! try for twenty-five years, but don't recollect
| any more exciting experiences than had in
| the old country before | came here. Very
! little money is spent in bll-p0sting at cleo
, tions in the United States, but in England
! money is poured out like water Tor this pur-
| pose. ! have had an order to go through
| county in one week. Going through county
| with election bills means $1,000 day, II
| there is anything of n close contest, for you
have to get over an immense amount OF
| ground. l have driven continuously for
| eighteen hours, billing twenty-One towns in
= fin ifNp nr
| and the bill-p0sters don't hurt. Ii they
! keep sober they can easily earn $50 day
| during an English election. Out here every
! thing depends, as the saying is. Chicago
IS the great advertising town, and when you
| start out bill-pOsting in the Windy City you
may as well take a weeks sleep in advance,
! for you VIII get little after you begin work.
| Night is the bill-poster'S time, and the more
liberties he can take with newly erected
fences and the walls of burned or dilapt-
dated buildings the better he is appreciated.
That SOFT of thing is liable TO get a man into
trouble anywhere, but bill-poster is ex-
pected TO take al chances.
A BILL-PosTING WAR.
when 1t comes to a bill-pOsting war the
risks are doubled OF course. The rule then
is 10 paste and post anywhere and every
where if a rival is in the fight FOR keeps
AS a general thing the best advertising po-
sitions are he'd at high prices and it doesn't
do to try any piracy or Notwithstanding
with the owners. but it is quite different
thing wien two big rival shows get into a
town at once. Then everything goes, and
bill-posters' fight is mighty entertaining
while it lasts. Expense counts for nothing,
and few dollars paid out IN fines and law
expenses are not thought oil"
"What does big show bill cost?" asked
the reporter
THAT depends on what you call big
bill. Once on a time the little twelve by
L tod - flrs frNnf
thought to be an effective advertisement.
Then it got to deny bills, then to double
deny in black and red, then came rainbow
bills and bills in three coloTs, and all the
time the bills were getting more artistic
they were getting larger. One of the modern
big circus posters is easily worth $50, in
Guiding the cost of pasting up.
BILLING A TOWN.
"Fnr town like San Francisco a good
all-round billing by big theatrical COM
pany or a circus will easily cost $500 day,
| even when the work is done on contract
| The circus, as a rule, pays much more, and
| as TIE agent works at least a week ahead OF
the concern, the total expense Of circus is
several thousands of dollars before penny
! finds its way into the pockets of the pro-
| prietOr.
rs a bill-posters' war a very deadly
| ?" asked the reporter, with some re-
cent revelations fresh in his mind.
"Well, even ii men come to blows with
! paste-brushes there is not apt 10 be much
| blood split, and little paste don't hurt the
| complexion Now and then lively compe-
| tition in the small hours of the morning,
| when all hands are full of rum and fight.
may result in something of the kind. But
| bill-posters are not engaged for their slog-
| ging powers. What is wanted is to get the
| desired space covered before aybreak. The
| bill-poster has but one mott0-'the night
cOmeth.' He is night-owl, first, last and
| all the time"