The Jersey City news., 1903-05-09
MONEY SPENT IN
BILL POSTING.
Newark Is One Of the Cities
Most Highly Adorned
With This Form
Of Art.
COSTLY STREET SIGNS
How the Buriness Has Grown
and the Dollars It Rap
!. resents.
COSTLY STREET SIGNS

~ - Hot 7SeHeruHy huoBh tual VIEW
ark comes pretty near leading the world
as bAlpostirg and display advertising
centre. In the city and its vicinity arc
over twenty miles Of billboards and bui-
letins, and hundreds Of thousands Of
square feet of leased walls for painted
signs.
On the meadows between Newark and
Jersey City, in particular, are displayed
a greater number of billboards than in
any other territory Of a similar extent
on the face Of the globe. Oyer this
marshy tract pass the Pennsylvania. the
Delaware, Lackawanna and Western,
the Erie, the Lehigh Valley, the New
Jersey Central the Baltimore and Ohio
and the Philadelphia and Reading Rail-
roads. besides several trolley lines. which
carry millions Of passengers to and from
New York City every year. 1t is not to
be wondered at therefore, that adver-
tisers should seek displays on this high
" favored territory, and that every adj
vantageous point on the meadows should
be occupied by bill board.
There is seldom a time when the bill
boards around Newark are not covered.
Their capacity, estimated in sheets of
paper is something enormous. From
Newark as a centre an average of 5O0.-
900 pieces of advertising matter is dis
tributed each month, and in some months
as high as ], 200, 900 pieces are handled
To place all this business from sixty
to ninety men are employed. Twenty
five billposters and score of carpenters
are constantly engaged erecting boards
and posting paper, and dozen expert
sign painters are kept busy the year
around. Twelve horses and as many
wagons are employed each day in con-
veying materials and workmen about the
/ Newark territory, where hundreds of
| thousands Of dollars are expended an
nuaily in posters and painted signs.
| The old time "bell criers would turn
over in his grave could he but see the
present army of artists, painters. bill
posters, carpenters and electricians--all
helping to spend the millions devoted
each year to advertising In the United
States. The business has grown to such
magnitude that the abiest men are con-
tinually called into consultation as to
i which is the best way to spend $780,
600, OF even 81 ,000, 900, in a given space
of time. OF course the newspapers Of
the country get the preference, expert
i ence having proved them to be the best
advertising medium yet invented by man
but billboards and display signs are al
ways taken into the account.
/ All space devoted to display advertis-
ing is covered more or less by lease
rights, for some of which large sums art
paid. ror example On DroaaNas' rs"
iorA' s'aius 'ne nanuso'nese - "s'' -
the most expensive .ausef'isins sisns y
the world Al hlent y y 'naliiuu'so
Dy eieetrieily' ana masses y psausiiui W
pearanee' Ine cost Of space main'e
nance ana operatlon OF 'nis one siel
alone Is Ss'V'Voo per anhum' ihere arg
thirteen other specially conspicuous signs
along the same thoroushiare that COST
collectively, S6o'ooos 70 maintain eacf
year.
It is no uncommon thing for some q
the large advertisers to place carte
blanche orders with their agents to speno
1 large sums Of money at their own dis
cretion. Not long ago the proprietors Of
household article sent these few writ
ten Instructions to their Billboard agent;
4 'sGentlemen. You will please spend foi
US during the next six months in the
States, as per verbal discussion. the sun