Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1899-03-04
aflistellanenus 8eading.
ROBERT BONNER'S FORTUNE.
The Proprietor of the New York Ledg'
Knew How to Advertise.

~sN>t
The first advertisement appeared in
London in 1648. 1t made hit and
was the talk of the town because
nothing like it had ever been seen be-
fore.
In these days, however, such an ad-
vertisement would attract very little
attention.
Advertising is finer art now than
it was $50 years ago.
And it is more profitable than it was
then. 1t is said that the only legacy
left by John Walter to his daughter,
was one advertising column in the
London Times during her lifetime.
Do you know what that column was
worth to Miss Walter? 1t tyielded her
an income of $3.50 day.
The young lady doubtless managed
to get along in some fashion on this
amount of ready pocket money. 1t at
least paid her way until she married
and settled down. But our British
cousins have never distinguished them
selves by anything brilliant or start
ling in the advertising line. The
Frerch are far ahead of them. In
Paris business men employ frst-class
literateurs to write their advertise
ments, paying them higher rates than
the magazines offer them for sketches
and stories.
This is enterprising, but the Ameri-
cans have been in the lead for at least
so years.
Not quite half century ago Robert
Bonner bought the New York Ledger,
and gradually dropped its commercial
features, turning it into a literary
weekly.
At first The Ledger's circulation was
small but its proprietor began pushing
it to the front by spending money ju-
diciously on attractive features. He
paid Fanny Fern $10O for one column {;
then be gave Edward Everett $4,000
for his short series of "Mount Vernon
Papers,"
Mr.. Bonner soon found that it was
no use to spend money making a good
paper unless he could let the people
know what he was doing.
Publicity was the thing and the way
to get it was to make use of the big
dailies.
The Ledger's editor studied the mat
ter closely. He saw that an ordinary
advertisement passed unnoticed. The
only way TO strike the popular mind
was to come to the front with some
thing original and novel.
One morning a good old preacher in
New York opened The Herald at the
breakfast table. He glanced over the
headlines, but the telegraph news was
suddenly eclipsed by something great
er.
He turned over the pages rapidly
and uttered an exclamation of sur
prise and astonishment. "My DEAR"
be said to his wife, ~ want you to
look at this and then give me your
opinion"
The preachers wife took The Her.
aid and looked at the two columns on
each page pointed out by her hasband.
"Read 'The Gun Maker of Moscow
by Sylvanus Cobb, Jr., in The New
York Ledger"
This sentence in large display type
was repeated all the way down the
column.
Just this one sentence over and over
again, without a word changed in it.
II think" said the good lady, "that
Mr.. Bonner is crazy" eff not crazy,
ne is losing his mipd," said the preach
er, "and 1 feel it my duty as his pastor
to see him at once"
The old gentleman hurried through
his breakfast and despite the bad
weather put on his overcoat and over
shoes and started out on his mission.
At The Ledger Office the preacher
talked on general subjects until he was
satisfied that Mr.. Bonner was calm
and rational enough to profit by a few
words of advice.
The matter of the advertisement in
The Herald was brought up and the
editor of The Ledger laughed heartily.
"Give me your idea of an adver-
tisement," he said.
"Well," replied the pastor, "if you
simply desired to call attention to
Cobb's new story in your paper, l
think you could have done it very
handsomely in 10 inches of space; but
10 printed lines would have been suf-
ficient."
"Would it have attracted your at
tention ?" asked the other.
"No, 1 don't think it would"
"Would such a notice disturb your
mind and cause you to talk about ?'
"No, of course not"
Would it start you out in this in
clement weather to talk it over with
me?"
"No, sir" answered the preacher,
"it would have passed unnoticed in my
house-nobody would have read it,"
EXACTLY" laughed Mr.. Bonner. 81
knew what / was about. There are
thousands of people in New York to-
day who are talking about that adver-
tisement and The Ledger. l paid The
Herald $4,000 for it and it will bring
me in $2OO,OOO."
"That is a great deal of money!" said
the visitor, "but I believe that you
are right. You have long head, Mr..
Bonner, and you have taught me a
lesson in the art of advertising"
Such methods gave The Ledger an
immense circulation and its owner ac-
cumulated a fortune Of millions of
dollars.
Every successful business man in