Part 15 (1/2)

So intimate had become this relation, so efficient was the service rendered, that its readers could not be pried loose fro and ready, when the do matter, they explained to their husbands or fathers that _The Ladies' Home Journal_ was a necessity--they did not feel that they could do without it The very quality for which theand unthinking had become, with hundreds of thousands of women, its source of power and the bulwark of its success

Bok was beginning to realize the vision which had lured hi into the field of Aazines a periodical that should beco-house as virtually to make it an institution

He felt that, for the present at least, he had sufficiently established the personal contact with his readers through the more intimate departments, and decided to devote his efforts to the literary features of thea delightful ti a delightful time with them The editor's publicity sense made him realize how valuable for his purposes was all this free advertising The paragraphers believed, in their hearts, that they were annoying the young editor; they tried to draw his fire through their articles But he kept quiet, put his tongue in his cheek, and deterive them some choicefamiliar to the public the women ere back of the successful men of the day He felt sure that his readers wanted to know about these women But to attract his newspaper friends he labelled the series, ”Unknown Wives of Well-Known Men” and ”Clever Daughters of Clever Men”

The alliterative titles at once attracted the paragraphers; they fell upon thean This is exactly what the editor wanted; and he followed these two series ihter of Charles dickens to write of ”My Father as I Knew Him,” and Mrs Henry Ward Beecher, of ”Mr Beecher as I Knew Hih ammunition to last for so up a azine

The two authors of that day who commanded more attention than any others were Willia Bok knew that these tould give to his azine the literary quality that it needed, and so he laid theht Mr

Howells's new novel, ”The Coast of Bohe's new novelette upon which he orking should coazine editors had expected Bok to break out along these an to realize that a new co up in Philadelphia

Bok knew they would feel this; so before he announced Mr Howells's new novel, he contracted with the novelist to follow this with his autobiography This surprised the editors of the older azines, for they realized that the Philadelphia editor had co novelist of the day for his next two years' output

Meanwhile, in order that the newspapers ht be well supplied with barbs for their shafts, he published an entire nuhters of famous hters of Charles dickens, Nathaniel Hawthorne, President Harrison, Horace Greeley, William M Thackeray, William Dean Howells, General Sherman, Jefferson Davis, Mr Gladstone, and a score of others This issue silee Then once more Bok turned to articles calculated to cement the foundation for a more permanent structure

Theand the authors that he was laying under contribution began to have azine, and it was not long before the original figures were doubled, an edition--enormous for that day--of seven hundred and fifty thousand copies was printed and sold each ht, and the periodical was rapidly taking its place as one of the largest successes of the day

Mr Curtis's single proprietorshi+p of the ed into a corporation called The Curtis Publishi+ng Company, with a capital of five hundred thousand dollars, with Mr Curtis as president, and Bok as vice-president

The azine had by noof the subscription price to one dollar per year had e advertising bills, so three hundred thousand dollars a year, were difficult to pay; large credit had to be obtained, and the banks were carrying a considerable quantity of Mr Curtis's notes But Mr Curtis never wavered in his faith in his proposition and his editor In the first he invested all he had and could borrow, and to the latter he gave his undivided support The two ether rather as father and son--as, curiously enough, they were to be later--than as e Mr

Curtis finance his proposition in suasp with sceptical astonishment was a wonderful opportunity, of which the editor took full advantage so as to learn the intricacies of a world which up to that time he had known only in a limited way

What attracted Bok immensely to Mr Curtis's methods was their perfect simplicity and directness He believed absolutely in the final outcome of his proposition: where others saw mist and failure ahead, he saw clear weather and the port of success Never did he waver: never did he deflect from his course He knew no path save the direct one that led straight to success, and, through his eyes, he made Bok see it with equal clarity until Bok wondered why others could not see it But they could not Cyrus Curtis would never be able, they said, to come out from under the load he had piled up Where they differed from Mr

Curtis was in their lack of vision: they could not see what he saw!

It has been said that Mr Curtis banished patent-azine only when he could afford to do so

That is not true, as a simple incident will show In the early days, he and Bok were opening the mail one Friday full of anxiety because the pay-roll was due that evening, and there was not enough money in the bank to meet it Froures for a contract equal to five pages in theof the pay-roll for that week and two succeeding weeks But the check was fro patent-medicine company Without a moment's hesitation, Mr Curtis slipped it back into the envelope, saying: ”Of course, _that_ we can't take” He returned the check, never gave the ht, and went out and borrowed more money to meet his pay-roll

With all respect to American publishers, there are very feho could have done this--or indeed, would do it today, under similar conditions--particularly in that day when it was the custo; _The Ladies' Ho in the United States refusing that class of business!

Bok no advertising done on a large scale by athe announcement in the advertiseraphy, and Mr Curtis spent 50,000 in advertising it ”It is not expense,” he would explain to Bok, ”it is invest in a trademark It will all come back in time” And when the first 100,000 did not coured, he would send another 100,000 after it, and then both ca was now to stand him in excellent stead He wrote all the advertisements, and from that day to the day of his retireazine ritten by him

Mr Curtis believed that the editor should write the advertiseazine's articles ”You are the one who knows them, what is in them and your purpose,” he said to Bok, who keenly enjoyed this advertise He put less and less in his advertiseer in the space which they occupied in the media used In this way _The Ladies' Home Journal_ advertisements became distinctive for their use of white space, and as the advertising world began to say: ”You can't miss them” Only one feature was advertised at one time, but the ”feature” was always carefully selected for its wide popular appeal, and then Mr Curtis spared no expense to advertise it abundantly Asonly a few features--a gigantic sum in those days, approached by no other periodical But Mr Curtis believed in showing the advertising world that he illing to take his own n of publicity announcing the azine of the day had but one effect: the circulation leaped forward by bounds, and the advertising coluazine rapidly filled up

The success of _The Ladies' Hoan to look like an assured fact, even to the most sceptical

As a , as both publisher and editor knew But they desired to fill the particular field of the azine so quickly and fully that there would be sazine field was to belong to them!