260 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



ll-EimuAkv 1. 1914. 



NEW TRADE PUBLICATIONS. 



THE LITERATURE OF THE UNITED STATES RUBBER CO. 



' I 'HE L"iiitfd Stales Riil)l>er Co. in its annual issue of catalogs 

 ■*■ has not as yet reached the number of kinds associated — in 

 quite another line — with the energetic pure food advertiser who 

 lays such stress upon his "57 varieties," but it is not far behind 

 him, as its catalogs and price lists issued on the first of Jan- 

 uary numbered forty-two — which might be called a liljrary of 

 modern rubber footwear. 



Of these 42 different publications 10 are handsome catalogs 

 of a uniform size of 4'/i x Syi inches ; that is, good pigeon-hole 

 or coat-pocket size. These are books of 64 pages, unstintedly 

 illustrated and bound in handsome covers. These ten volumes 

 describe the footwear of the following ten companies : The 

 American, Banigan. Boston, Candee, Goodyear Glove, Lycom- 

 ing, Meyer and Jersey, Maiden. Wales-Goodyear and Woon- 

 socket. The cover designs are strong and striking and while 

 all entirely different in design are imiformly artistic. 



The text is printed on high grade heavy coated paper, which 

 I)rings out the halftone illustrations in the most effective way. 

 These halftones, by the way, are of large size and are photo- 

 graphed direct from the object, giving a very exact idea of what 

 the different boots and shoes look like and the shapes of the 

 different lasts. 



In addition to the larger illustrated catalogs there are 32 

 small price lists about Syi x S'/i inches in size. Ten of these 

 give the gross prices of the different brands mentioned above, 

 and another set of ten gives the net prices of the same brands. 

 Formerly the comjiany issued only gross lists with an accompany- 

 ing card showing what the net would amount to when the vari- 

 ous discounts were deducted, but as the retailer was quite likely 

 to lose his discount card it often devolved upon him to work 

 out from his own personal knowledge of mathematics how much 

 a boot with a gross price of $3.67 would cost him with a chain 

 of discounts of 15, 8 and 3 per cent. That was a problem suffi- 

 cient to drive many a retailer into socialism, if not open anarchy. 

 Now they have been relieved from this mental strain and can 

 tell at a glance just what they will have to pay for any par- 

 ticular item they wish to put in stock. 



The other price lists include those of the Empire brand, of 

 the much advertised Everstick Rubber, the Felt Boot and Knit 

 Boot combinations, the Unika brand of Tan and White Rub- 

 bers, a list of miscellaneous goods and another list — paradox- 

 ically called the Unlisted List — which shows special shoes that 

 can be had if desired but for which evidently the company is not 

 anxious to excite too great a demand. 



One of President Wilson's strongest desires in relation to 

 large corporati<ms is that their operations shall be conducted 

 with great publicity. In view of these 42 different catalogs and 

 price lists, he cannot complain that the selling department of 

 the United States Rubber Co. is trying to hide anything. 



METALINE. 



In a neat booklet, the Metaline Co., of Long Island City (of 

 which R. W. Rhodes & Co. are lessees'), has published a 

 synopsis of answers to the question "What is Metaline?" 

 It is stated that the substance is a standard material, recog- 

 nized by mechanical and engineering handbooks, and is a 

 typical solid lubricant, which permits bearings thus fitted to 

 run without any other lubrication. It is composed of metallic 

 oxides and other substances, reduced to an impalpable powder 

 and then solidified in hardened steel molds under great pres- 

 sure into short length cylinder plugs. The principal features 

 of its applications are effectively illustrated. 



■EXTRA SERVICE." 



We are in receipt of Xos. 1 and 2 (Vol. 1) of a semi-monthly 

 publication issued by and in the interest of employes of the 

 Federal Rubber Manufacturing Co., of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 



This paper is edited by J. H. Ui.xon and will devote space to news 

 items of interest to its readers, hapiienings in the various depart- 

 ments of the company's plant, contemplated changes, etc. In 

 the initial number the right is claimed to say, in humorous vein, 

 almost anything, about almost anyl)ody, around the plant. The 

 object of the publication is to estal)lisli a feeling of fellowship 

 and foster a .spirit of co-operation. That this feeling and spirit 

 are already pretty well estal)lished seems evident from the fact 

 of the publication's immediate growth. No. 2 having assumed a 

 size of 654 X 9'/4 inches, with 14 reading pages, as against the 

 8-page, 51/2 X 8j/i first number. 



The .American Insulated Wire & Cable Co., of Chicago, has 

 issued a booklet containing prices of its various lines of weather- 

 proof wires and cables, etc.. certain pages of which are devoted 

 to price fluctuations since 1905 and monthly averages in copper 

 prices for the past 30 years. This is a very compact and useful 

 liamphlct, containing beside its 24 pages and cover 8 lilank pages 

 for private memoranda. 



Catalog M II of the New \'.)rk IJelting & Packing Co., Lim- 

 ited, of 91-93 Chambers street. New York, is devoted to a 

 description of "Magic" hose, (me of the many varieties manu- 

 factured by this company. Originally intended for garden hose 

 only, this Magic continuous hose — both cover and tube of which 

 are seamless, the latter reinforced with one or more layers of 

 tightly braided yarns with a distinct layer of rubber between 

 braidings — has lieen adopted for the larger sizes of water hose, 

 /IS well as for chemical, air drill and pneumatic tool hose, etc. 

 The merits of each of these varieties has been set forth in this 

 catalog, which contains also price lists and telegraph code. 



CALENDARS AND SOUVENIRS FOR 1914. 



THE TREMENDOUS OUTPUT OF COMMERCIAL CALENDARS. 



'"P'HE January issue of Thk Ixiji.v Ri:bber W(]Rlij described a 

 ■*■ number of calendars issued by different rubber companies, 

 and some calendars received since are described in this issue. 

 Calendars have always been a popular means of advertising with 

 the rubber trade. The statistics for the current year are not 

 available, but in some past years the number of rubber calendars 

 has run into very large figures — the United States Rubber Co. 

 alone sometimes issuing well towards 1.000,000 copies. 



X'ery few people have any conception of the enormous output 

 of commercial calendars. One company alone, the American 

 Lithographic Co. — which has probably printed the largest number 

 of calendars for rubber companies — printed special commercial 

 calendars for 1914 to the number of 14,000.0(K); and there are 

 other lithograph companies also doing this saine sort of work. 

 It is stated by a lithographer in a position to know, that in addi- 

 tion to the special calendars prepared for the larger companies, 

 stock calendars which are sold in smaller quantities to lesser 

 advertisers would amount in value for 1914 to over $10,000,000. 

 It is quite possible that there are as many commercial calendars 

 printed as there are people in the United States, perhaps more ; 

 but even so, the number would not be excessive, for most people 

 want a calendar of some sort in every room in the house, and 

 most business men want a calendar on all the walls of the office, 

 so that whichever way they look they can always see what day it is. 

 The fact that com|)anies that distributed calendars thirty years 

 ago are still distributing them — only in vastly larger quantities — 

 seems to prove that this is a profitalile kind of publicity. 



"A Monarch of the Hills" is the title of the picture which 

 adorns the calendar of the Derliy Rubber Co.. rublier 

 reclaimers, of Shelton. Connecticut. This is a reproduc- 

 tion, 11 x \3'/z inches in size, of tlie jiainting by Philip R. 

 Goodwin of a far northern scene, in the foreground of which 

 a splendid moose stands, knee deep in a mountain lake, intent, 



