10 



HOKTICU LTU RE. 



July 6, 1907 



square inches of paper to the page 

 there are 49 square inches of type sur- 

 face, allowing good margins. The pro- 

 portion of type surface to white paper 

 is thus 71 per cent., and this size is 

 thus 5 per cent, more economical than 

 the smaller size upon that basis alone. 



But the working of engravings, de- 

 scriptions and headings on the 7x10 

 page is not only easier but better from 

 the standpoint of effective display. 

 \\ ith a type width of 5 1-2 inches on 

 the normal page, the opportunity for 

 large engravings appears, while the 

 arrangement of the wording can be 

 managed to i nuch better result. En- 

 gravings of varying sizes can be 

 worked into this page without undue 

 waste of space, and as I shall show 

 later by example, the 7x10 size is a 

 very successful one. 



The postage consideration, under the 

 present governmental handicap on 

 catalogues, fits the 7x10 size fairly well. 

 By using paper of very light weight^ 

 too light for the best results, but not 

 as flimsy and futile as the miserable 

 stuff offered in the trade as "Bible" 

 paper— and by sacrificing margins 

 somewhat, 32 pages, cover, order sheet, 

 return envelope and outside envelope 

 can be mailed for one cent. For two 

 cents there can be mailed 64 pages and 

 all the trimmings, with paper a trifle 

 heavier and margins not so scanty. 



An advantage of this 7x10 size not 

 to be overlooked is its lower relative 

 printing cost for both covers and in- 

 teriors, as compared with larger sizes. 

 Obviously the color preparation of 140 

 square inches of cover will cost less 

 than 160 square inches, while the econ- 

 omy of printing the inside in 32-page 

 forms instead of 16-page forms is even 

 more apparent. 



The third standard size approximates 

 8x10 inches, and this size is used by 

 many of the leaders in the seed trade. 

 Not only does it give the utmost fa- 

 cility in the arrangement of illustra- 

 tions, in the division of matter into 

 various column widths and in the ar- 

 rangement of prices, but it also lends 

 itself to a more striking and symmetri- 

 cal arrangement. Taking the size 

 which may be trimmed from standard 

 32x44 paper as a basis, each page of 

 this form contains 79 square inches of 

 paper, of which 63 square inches is oc- 

 cupied by type surface. Thus in this 

 the third standard form, the propor- 

 tion of type surface to paper area is 78 

 per cent. This Is 7 per cent, beyond 

 the relatively economical 7x10 stand- 

 ard and 12 per cent, beyond the un- 

 economical 6x9 standard. The actual 

 advantage is much greater, because of 

 the facility for the handling of illus- 

 trations given by the larger size. In 

 this approximate 8x10 size the cata- 

 log-ue if not too heavy may be folded 

 lengthwise, when it becomes easy to 

 handle and travels through the mails 

 without damage. It is not practicable 

 to thus fold when the catalogue ex- 

 ceeds 48 pages and cover. 



The Question of Postage. 



Few seedsmen carrying a general as- 

 sortment and doing a trade of consider- 

 able volume can get along with a cata- 

 logue under the three cent postage 

 limit. The 8x10 size permits the mail- 

 ing of 80 pages, cover, order sheet, re- 

 turn envelope and outside envelope or 

 wrapper within Uncle Sam's six-ounce 

 pinch. 



Properly handled, 80 pages gives a 

 fair opportunity for satisfactory de- 



scriptions on a complete line, with 

 good illustrations and reasonable space 

 for novelties. 



I have several times mentioned with 

 some acerbity the postage limit. I 

 venture to interject at this time my 

 feeling of the injustice under which 

 all the catalogue trade suffers by 

 reason of the discrimination shown 

 against it in the governmental postage 

 arrangements. Take the case, for in- 

 stance, of a 32-page 7x10 catalogue 

 mailing for one cent, or 8 cents per 

 pound. At the last moment before is- 

 sue the seedsman is made aware of a 

 change in prices or of a new thing of 

 meritorious character, which makes it 

 essential for him to insert a small 

 slip in this catalogue, previously cal- 

 culated to just pass the two-ounce 

 limit. This slip, if inserted, doubles 

 the postage, and thus the defenseless 

 seedsman is compelled to pay just a 

 trifle less than 16 cents a pound to 

 mail his catalogue. If instead of being 

 a catalogue man he is engaged in the 

 business of printing a newspaper or 

 periodical, he could add with impunity 

 and mail in bulk, without aflJxing 

 stamps, at one cent a pound. Where 

 the justice in this matter comes in it 

 may be possible for the post office 

 authorities to show, but they have 

 never yet done it. A united, insistent 

 demand, expressed not only by resolu- 

 tions of sucfi a body as this, but by 

 conlinual, direct and personal prote.st 

 to the Congressmen reachable through 

 each member of such an association as 

 this, for justice and equity in govern- 

 mental transactions with the import- 

 ant interests usin.g- catalogues, would 

 break down, I believe, eventually, the 

 crass and sometimes insolent inertia 

 and stupidity of the congressional 

 postal conditions. There should be a 

 vigorous and insistent agitation for a 

 a pound rate for catalogues, even if 

 the rate is not lowered. The govern- 

 ment has no right to maintain an an- 

 tiquated system which imposes a 

 penalty upon business enterprise. I 

 believe personally that the rate should 

 be lower, but even if it was fixed ai 

 S cents per pound and the tradesman 

 was permitted to mail in bulk in the 

 same manner that the "yellowest" 

 newspaper or the filthiest magazine 

 mails every day, a great step in ad- 

 vance would be scored. I sincerely 

 hope that the seedsmen will not rest 

 easy under the prevailing injustice, 

 which causes them to take it out of 

 the printer and the paper maker when 

 they should be pounding at the heads 

 of their obdtirate and inattentive con- 

 gre.ssmen. 



About Catalogue Illustrations. 

 In considering the case of a 

 Twentieth Century Seed Catalogue, we 

 must take into account all the forms 

 of illustration, a subject in itself suf- 

 ficient for several such presentations 



TIC 



^VORK 



$7.00 

 1.25 



bettees - 



Window 



Boxes 



Arm Chairs 3.25 



Tubs - - 1.25 



Vases with \ <, 7^ 



Stands I "'•'•' 



W. Elliott & Sons 



.^^^^^ 201 Fulton St, N.V. 



as I am endeavoring to make. The 

 catalogues we all remember as pre- 

 vailing ten to twenty years ago were 

 illustrated primarily by wood cuts, en- 

 graved principally by one imaginative 

 illustrator in America or obtained from 

 the more accurate foreign sources. 

 The day of these has passed, and the 

 more attractive halftone, photographi- 

 cally produced, either from a dra^ving 

 or from a photograph, now prevails. 

 The people who get the catalogues 

 have been wonderfully cultivated in 

 estimation of beauty by the vast flood 

 of magazines poured upon the country 

 each month, and they can no longer 

 be said to l)e indifferent to exagger- 

 ated, inappropinate, ugly or mislead- 

 ing illustrations. The present tend- 

 ency is wholesome and honest, and 

 the most successful seedmen use the 

 fairest and most beautiful illustra- 

 tions. 



Passing hurriedly over this problem 

 of illustrations, I may only urge a 

 reasonable consistency. It is a mat- 

 ter of common remark that a good 

 halftone on a page "kills" the old- 

 fashioned wood cut which jostles it. 

 No one knows better than myself after 

 many years of endeavor, the difficulty 

 of getting photographic illustrations 

 of all the articles listed in a great 

 seed catalogue. If the seedsmen were 

 wise enough to maintain their own 

 capable trained photographers, oper- 

 ating in their own trial groimds and 

 inspecting their own crops, this diffi- 

 culty would be diminished. I firmly 

 believe that the truly representative 

 twentieth century catalogue will come 

 to be illustrated from photographs 

 prepared either by or under the direct 

 control of the seedsman from sources 

 he has within reach. 



The wood out having dropped out 

 of sight, the line engraving, a some- 

 what cheaper form resulting only from 

 hand-made drawings, is yet used, but 

 in a diminishing ratio. If the draw- 

 ings are well made, consistent line en- 

 gravings are satisfactory and com- 

 mendable. 



The Problem of the White Space. 



I must not negleot to call attention 

 to the importance of the arrangement 



ZIRNCIEBEL'S GIANT PANSIES 



Fresh Crop Now Realty 



Famed for a quarter of a century and when you buy them you get the best In exist' 

 ence. I am continuing the pansy business on exactly the same standard as carried on by 

 my father, the late Denvs Zikngieeel. None genuine unless sold by me. 



AUGUSTUS ZIRNCIEBEL, Needham, Mass. 



GIANT MARKET. "The Variety for the Million." Trade packet, 2000 seeds, $1.00. 

 GIANT FANCY. The Ne Plus Ultra in Pansies. Trade packet, 1000 seeds, $1.00. 



