Emergence of Advertising in America - R.C Maxwell Company Outdoor Advertising (2-CD Set)
	Someone once stated that doing business without advertising is akin to winking at a girl in the dark - you know what you are doing, but she doesn’t. Witness how manufacturers adapted this simple principle in the early part of the 20th century to market their wares in this rare and historic set of CDs. In the period between 1865 and 1920, while the United States shifted from a rural farming economy to an urban-manufacturing one, a major transformation also occurred in the behavior of American consumers. Nowhere is this transformation better illustrated than in the advertisements that appeared in every popular magazine and on every conceivable outdoor location. By the 1920s Americans had become more prosperous and laid greater emphasis on spending on luxuries than ever before.

This set of CDs contains superb photographic evidence of how manufacturers used advertising to persuade people to buy products they had never used or seen before, much less purchased. The many outdoor hoardings and billboards you will see in these CDs illustrate the appeal that manufacturers used to build markets for their products, many of which had previously been produced locally or in the home. These advertisements, serve as mirrors of society, reflecting the values, trends and lifestyles of the period.


This twin set of CDs contains images of early outdoor advertisements.

Sample thumbnails taken from the collection. Click on image to view larger picture.

EDITORIAL REVIEW:

"Michael Wilde’s Oration in ‘The True Story of Andrew Reale’ reads: "But what does an advertising man do? He induces human beings to want things they don't want. Now, I will be obliged if you will tell me by what links of logic anybody can be convinced that your activity - the creation of want where want does not exist--is a useful one. . . . Doesn't it seem, rather, the worst sort of mischief, deserving to be starved into extinction?"

Wilde’s outlook seemed to have had few takers in the early apart of the 20th century, going by the graphic images of outdoor advertising efforts from the early part of the 20th century seen in this historic set of CDs.

The science of advertising had already come of age by the late 19th century, but the advertisements were confined to the pages of periodicals that found their way on to newsstands. The increased mobility of people ushered in by availability of affordable automobiles saw advertisers rushing to grab every available square inch of space - from rooftops to the sides of transport vehicles and alongside streets and highways.

This CD contains scores of graphic black and white images, which exemplify the emergence of outdoor advertising. It provides examples of advertisements in their many forms - from hand-painted signs to huge hoardings using neon tubes and electric lighting. The large array of products, which appear in these advertisements - from garments to soft drinks and food - speak of growing success of this form of marketing and also of an increasingly affluent society.

Invaluable in terms of its historic content, these CDS, help in preserving a valuable record of a significant period in American history of advertising, philosophy and lifestyle.

I was entertained, amused and educated by the information on these CDs and recommend them to any budding or experienced, amateur or professional practitioner of the exhilarating science of marketing and advertisement."

CUSTOMER'S REVIEWS:

"I work as a graphic designer in an advertising firm in Philadelphia and was thrilled to see this fabulous and historic set of CDs in my office last week. Boy, I thought we were doing a great job till I saw all those creative signs and hoardings, which were made at a time when even the typewriter was a symbol of luxury, leave alone the benefits of modern day computer assisted programs. Hats off to those great ad men, who perhaps undertook great risks in setting up advertising businesses. I must thank the nice people at a2zcds for producing this wonderful set of CDs on the history of advertising."

Customer's Name: Al Greene (Albany, New York)