The Olneyville tribune. (Providence, R.I.) 1893-189?, 1893-12-02
PHOTOGRAPHS IN BUSINESS.
The Expense of samples Done Away with
In Many Lines of Goods.

The Expense of samples Done Away with
In Many Lines of Goods.
What looked like sample card OF
knives lay upon a wholesale cutters
table An observer easily noted upon
y nearer approach that the card really
bore only a photograph OF "A dozen
knives arranged as knives commonly
are upon the sample cards OF whole
salers All the qualities of the
knives that can be detected by the
eve seemed present in the photograph.
Such card OF samples If made up OF
the objects themselves would cost
somewhere bet~een S5 and SS. The
Photographic samples may be pro.
duced tor tlfth as much.
The application OF photography 70
the matter OF mercantile samples has
wrought a marvellous economy in
scores OF wholesale trades. The loss
upon samples is millions of dollars
annually, Hundreds OF thousands OF
sample hats are sold AT absurd prices
In this city. A successful retail
trade in shoes has been built up by a
concern that began by buying samples
brought in by commercial travellers
At the end OF each season. What is
true OF hats and shoes is equally true
OF 100 other articles OF merchandise.
The loss upon solid silverware sent
out as samples has been very great,
SO great indeed, that many houses
now sell solely by Photographic
samples. When the actual pieces are
sent out the salesman must hire a
showroom in each city he visits, and
must pay for expressage, while the
item OF insurance is worth consider
ing. Photography has made IL pcs
sible TO sell To advantage by sample
bulky articles that cannot be carried
all over the country hy travelling
salesman. Furniture, iron, and brass
works, massive clocks. and hundred
and one other such articles are thus
sold. Cut glass and china are among
the samples most successfully photo
graphed.
III the dream OF photographing in
colors shall ever lie realized, the ap-
plication OF photography TO the mat
ter OF mecantile samples will be wider
than ever. Fairly good work in col
ored Photographic samples is already
done. Young women, many OF them
technically educated at Cooper In
stitute, are usually the colorists en-
ployed in this work. Wages for such
work have sometimes been as high as
S25 a week, but 1t was only women
OF much skill and industry who could
earn so much. Most OF the work is
done at home, the Photographic
samples being intrustcd TO the color
lists In large patches Analnc colors
are used, so that the work usually
lacks softness OF tone.
The actual work OF photographing
samples is done at the photographers,
the shop, or factory. The art OF COM
mercial photography is one requiring
considerable technical skill and in a
certain way knowledge OF posing.
The essential thing in the pose OF
sample Is that IL shall result In pro-
ducing faithful picture OF the orig
inal, and the chief advantage that
photography has over many cheaper
pictorial processes Is It's truthful.
ness.
Photo-cngraving is vastly cheaper
process, since, the first cost OF the
plate having been met, the after ex-
pense is simply matter OF printing
and paper The costly chemicals
used In Photographic printing make
IL expensive.
An interesting outcome OF what
was essentially commercial phOtog-
raphy IL the career of New York
photographer with unique place IN
the artistic world. He was much
employed by architects 20 make
photographs OF buildings and archi-
tectural details. Then few men.
noticing his nice, artistic taste and
feeling, employed him In portraiture.
From these patrons his fame spread
TO others engaged In kindred arts,
and In time he came TO be the one
photographer TO whom literary and
artistic celebrities were recon-
mended. A few persons outside the
world OF art have gone TO him for
portraits. but the architects and their
artistic brethren have always been
Jealous and anxious 10 keep him for