JF Ptak Science Books, Quick Post
Benjamin Butterworth, the Commission of Patents, produced in 1892 a superb work on the history of state of technical achievement in the U.S., The Growth of Industrial Art. The "art" part of the title actually referred to the creation-as-art of industry/technology more so than the design aspect of it, though the two are pretty closely related. There were 200 plates of illustrations for inventions for windmills, mails, screws, cork, bicycles, harvesters, threshers, glass makers,, ice harvesters, cigar manufacturing, sweeping, telephones, telegraphy, and so on, in more than 150 categories. Among these images some of my favorites are for advertising apparatus and means. For example, in the historical timeline below we find in #7 an automated flying leaflet distributor, and according to the text it was (unlikely) patented in 1862:
#6 is cringeworthy, showing the very common practice of covering optimally-placed buildings with billboards--I've seen numerous early-ish images (19th c) showing large swaths of buildings on busy streets nearly entirely covered by ads.
From Internet Archive, the full text with illustrations can be found here: https://archive.org/stream/growthindustria00Unit#page/n9/mode/2up
Text from the illustrations:
- The ancient Greeks made their public announcements by writing. The Romans also largely advertised private and public matters by writing as well as by word of mouth; they had criers who, in addition to their other public duties, announced the times and the places of sales of goods, and cried things lost.
- Street advertising in its most original form was derived from the Romans.
- The first advertisement in newspapers appeared not more than 200 years ago.
- Advertising seems to have become general among the French towards the close of the 16th century.
- The first known newspaper advertisement, something like the present form, app« >red in 1652, in the " Mercurius Politicus," an English publication.
"The earliest articles advertised were books. Advertising had become general m the year 1700.
The first advertising agency in the United States was established in 1828. In 1865 a single number of the "London Times" contained 2,575 advertisements. The largest advertising publishing house in the United States employs 40 persons and has files of 6,000 periodicals.
In 1867 Government taxes were collected on nearly $10,000,000 worth of advertisements."
"Advertisements, in some form, have existed from time immemorial . Signs over shops seem to have been the first effort in this line. The signs of Herculaneum and Pompeii appear to have been made of stone or terra cotta relievo, and set into the pilasters or the sides of the open shop fronts. Thus there have been found a goat, the sign of a dairy, and a mule driving a mill, the sign of a baker, etc."
"In the middle ages, the houses of the nobility, when the family was absent, were used as hostelries for travelers. The family arms always hung in front of the house, and the most conspicuous object in those arms gave a name to the establishment amongst travelers, who, being unacquainted with the mysteries of heraldry, called a lion gules or azure by the vernacular name of the " Red or Blue! Jon." From this source the inn keepers adopted tli= hanging out of red lions and green dragons as the best way to acquaint the public that they offered foud and shelter. The tradesmen used typical object , as a knife for the cutler, a hand for the glover, and . pair of scissors for the tailor. etc. Every shop had its peculiar sign suspended in the street, and thus, by obstructing the free circulation of the air, it is said to have been one of the causes of the frequent epidemical disorders in London."
"All kinds of devices are in use at the present time for advertising purposes, such as automatic smoking and other figures, miniature balloons, revolving show stands, reflecting signs, clocks, picture exhibitors, cigar lighters, umbrellas, casters, hats, pincushions, mirrors, wagons, show cards and card racks."
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