The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1891-04-22
ART IN ADVERTISING.
Men Who Know How 1t Ought to B
Done Can Make Big Incomes.

l met yesterday one of the gentle
men who has made quite name for
himself as the inventor of clever modes
of advertising, and realizes every year
a good income by the exercise of in
genuity in field of which few people
know anything, although it is now be-
coming more or less known through
the efforts of the magazines to make
people read the hundreds of pages of
advertisements which they now bind
up after the regular reading matter.
This is the age of specialties. The
gentleman speak of first came into
prominence among advertisement writ
ers by the skill with which he wrote
the advertisements of famous cloth
ing-house. The firm in question spent
a great deal of money upon newspa-
pers, and employed this writer to de-
vote his whole time to making up at
tractive advertisements, sometimes
using pictures. [ am told that the
salary paid for this work was $4, 900
year, but such is the money value of
notoriety that it seems $4,0 900 was not
enough, for the happy man who could
command such salary from one firm
gave it up and went into the business
of supplying people with advertise
ments-terms upon application. He
sent around letters to eveGy large firm
in New York. saying that he had writ
ten the famous lads" of - & Co..
and said that if any one wanted soap,
ink, -blacking, typewriters, sewing
machines, champagne or any other
commodity put before the public in as
attractive and irresistible shape as
could be done in print, he was the man
to do it. am told upon good author
ity that the business is enormously
profitable, and one can understand that
when the returns for many businesses,
such as that of patent medicines. for
instance, depend almost wholly upon
the skill of the advertising, such an ex-
pert's services would be greatly in de-
mand. There are more than fifty
firms in New York to-day who spend
100000 a year in advertising, and
each one of them can we'll afford to
pay S., 900 year to make sure that
their money is well used. This gentle
man charges $50 for making up a
magazine page, such as may be, found
in the back part of the Century or
Hdrper'S. and this is his price whether
you take the work he does or not. For
newspaper 'ad" his prices vary from
$25 to $50 column, according to the
work involved. Some time ago he sent
to certain soap manufacturer his
idea of page "ad' for magazine; it
consisted simply of one big exclama-
tion point in the middle of the page,
and then down in one corner, in very
fine type, Il statement that - & Co..
had sold fourteen million cakes of their
laundry soap in 1889. The firm in
question thought the charge was rather
high, but they paid it.
If they had refused to pay the expert
might have quoted the case of Meis-
sonier, the famous French painter, who
was once asked by lady visitor in his
studio to paint a small picture that she
could take away with her in her car
riage Meissonier sketched off some
thing in twenty minutes, and the de-
lighted visitor asked how much she
should have to pay him.
Five thousand francs" said Meis-
sonier.
Why" exclaimed the woman, five
thousand francs! 1t didn't take you
half an hour"
Madame, " replied Meissonier, calm
ly, lit has taken me twenty years to
paint that picture"
In the same way the expert writer of
| telling advertisements might say that
it had taken him twenty years to find
out that big exclamation point in
| the middle of a page would make peo-
pie read the fine type at the bottom
| NJ Y Letter to Charleston Neans u119
| Courier.