Semi-weekly herald., 1912-07-25
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THE ORIGIN OF ADVERTISING.
Emil steln.


ing about advertising, but find that
have overlooked an important point,
the "origin of today's adveru sements."
| want you to know everything per-
tanning to advertisements, and | am
therefore going into the practical as
well as the historca side of adver-
tisemients and asa you TO f TOW tins
article very closely and jot down in
the tablets of your memory the most
important points.
The word, advertisement, is derived
from advertisement" meaning
warning or notice, and the first ad
that ever appeared in any periodical
was in London newspaper entitled :
"The Moderate" The ad was an of
fer of reward for the recovery of
a piebald nag. This ad made its ap-
pearance on March 27, 1919, about
two months after the execution of
Charles |. London also has the hon
or Of being the origin of quack medi-
cine proclamations. Mrs. Claudio Fa-
Der advertised an article called: au-
hem potobile, in the London Gazette
Of 1852. This is doubtless some exil-
irating cordial and the first patrons of
Mrs. Faber, in response to the adver-
tisement, were members of the royal
family
Now comes the show and amuse-
ment advertisements to which we musI
contribute the origin of such an
nouncements to America. The very
first show advertisement which ap-
peared was in the New York Ga
zette or Weekly Postboy, of Novem-
Der %, 1756. This will give the read
er an idea of the show advertising
in the eighteenth century, and close
observation and study of this ad will
prove that the advertisements of the
show business today are as misrepre-
sented and ridiculous as two centuries
ago. The ad is as follows: Here is
the curiosity to be seen at the sign
of the Golden Apple at Peck's Slip,
price six pence, children four coppers.
A large snake skin, 21 feet long and
four feet and one inch wide. 1t was
killed by some of Gen. Braddocks' men
by firing six balls into him close by
the Allegheny mountains, supposed to
be coming down TO feed on dead men.
When it was killed there was found
in its belly a child, supposed to be
four years old, together with live
dog. 1t had horn on its tail seven
inches long and it ran as fast as
horse. All gentlemen and ladies desir-
Gus to see it may apply to the sub
scribers at Pecks' Slip. Signed; Jonas
Spoek"
Spoek must have been the Barnum
of those days. Indeed it must be gra-
tifying to the curious to be made ac-
quainted with the real origin of news
paper advertisements. Ads are the
pulse of commerce and unicersal ac-
tiVities. They contain not only rare
specimens of human idiosyncrasies,
but afford general view of life in
every possible phrase. They aid the
arts and sciences; they minister to
love; they speak change; sometimes,
they excite smile, sometimes a tear.
10 the poor they offer wealth; the
book buyer learns the price and til
tie of the latest work; the pleasure
seeker is posted in amusements, the
real estate man learns of desirable
tenant without children or dogs for his
clients house. The traveller the best
means of conveyance; the unemployed
find employment; in fact every imax-
Unable human want is supplied abund-
antly by the advertisement depart
ment of magazines and newspapers.
The public have too much reason
to complain that it is too frequently
the case that advertisements give an
sound. Newspaper columns
are open to the honest as well as the
dishonest, alike, so that even the high
toned, laborer, moral, religious char
acter of the journal publishing GER
tain advertisement affords no guar
antee the public that respondents
may not be swindled In this conenc-
ton it is not necessary to refer to
advertisements of lotteries, gift en-
terprises but to such medical ads as
you see advertised, no exception made,
and ridiculous extraordinary price
cutting as practiced by some city de-
partment stores, together with ads like
the following which made their pre-
sentation in the Farmers Mail, and
of Topeka, Kan, May IS, 1912: "Here
is the land of never failing crops. You
can double your profits with one-half
your present investments. This ad
to say that irrigation pre-
vents the crop failures. and water be