Jandaky 26, 1011. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



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I THE RETAIL 

 1^=^!^^ FLORIST 



1 



VALENTINE PREPABATIONS. 



Tbe Valentine and Its Wrappings. 



The valentine must be daintily gotten 

 up within and without. A clumsy box 

 with dainty contents will be ranked as 

 coming from a second-class place, and 

 tells plainly that somebody about the 

 institution is working against heavy 

 odds — which, being interpreted, means 

 good taste without proper equipment. 

 We cannot be too careful to have the 

 valentines attractive from the outside, 

 for the number who see the outside of 

 the closed package is greater than the 

 few who are privileged to peep within. 



But somebody will say, "We must 

 have a substantial box, to bear hand- 

 ling and protect the contents from the 

 weather." Yes and no. If the weather 

 is severe, the box and extra wrapping 

 are unquestionably necessary. But that 

 need not prevent our taking pains to 

 place an attractive face upon our pack- 

 ages. After all the layers of protect- 



Ffowers for 

 Valentmetime 



They carry a mes' 

 sage of sentiment 

 that cannot fail to 

 arouse the kindliest 

 feelings of apprecia' 

 tion on the part of 

 the recipient. 



An appreciative re* 

 sponse is assured those 

 who come to us for 

 their gift'selecdons in 

 appropriate cut ffowers 



Our excellectt delivery service 

 reaches every p^rt of the city 

 — any hour of the day. 



A "WB 5TRIVE TOFIiEASi:'' ▲ 



AxiphA 



TLtOEtJI^ COMPAKY 



•x-ios--w>a*NVT«r. &.C.MO.- 



Out-of-town orders promptly 

 and painstakingly filled. 



The Appeal to Sentiment. 



ing material are on, the same finish 

 may be given as is described in the 

 following substitute for a box. 



A Covering of Bark. 



If the weather is mild, there are 

 other receptacles which can be devised 

 for the best trade. A roll of bark, 

 with a dainty lining of moss green or 

 gray, or of silk, lace or chiffon of a 

 tint to harmonize with the flowers, may 

 be used as a carrier. Enclose the flow- 



ers first in a snug roll of oil paper, pro- 

 tecting the ends with a double or treble 

 thickness. Tie securely with baby rib- 

 bon, and seal. This may be easily 

 done if you have made some small 

 stickers resembling those used so much 

 at Christmas; only, instead of the 

 Santa Glaus head, have a Cupid or your 

 trade-mark or firm name on them. 



Having secured the inside package, 

 cut the bark the proper size and roll 

 the package within. Tie the bark with 

 cord to match the flowers and seal with 

 stamp and wax. This latter is another 

 item of small expense and good adver- 

 tising quality. Have a small stamp 

 made with your trade-mark or firm 

 name and seal all good packages. This 

 sealing process not only gives a char- 

 acter to your packages which little else 

 could do, but it ensures delivery to the 

 proper person without any tampering 

 on the part of the messengers or ser 

 vants. 



Style and Individuality. 



This kind of package calls for some- 

 thing better than string for wrapping. 

 A suitable tie may be found in fiber 

 ribbon, baby ribbon or fancy cord. 

 Have a tie of your own style and use it 

 exclusively on boxes and packages of 

 this kind, for city delivery. This, with 

 the stamp, will individualize your pack- 

 ages. This kind of outfit calls for a 

 good' address tag and neat writing. 

 Kinds of bark suitable for this style of 

 package are found in cedar amd birch. 

 A roll of cork bark might be used for 

 American Beauties or mums. 



Occasionally a book is brought in to be 

 decorated as a gift. First it should be 

 wrapped in dainty paper and tied with 

 cord or ribbon; then a slender spray of 

 valley, violets or a few roses should be 

 drawn through the tie, over the front 

 cover. Gertrude Blair. 



CUPID AND THE FLORIST. 



St. Valentine's is Their Day. 



One by one the retail florists are 

 coming to appreciate that they should 

 not leave everything to their allies — 

 Cupid, the Stork and the Reaper. 



Not many business men as a class 

 are so blessed as are the flower dealers, 

 with the aid of a trinity that brings 

 to their doors men moved by the 

 strongest emotions that sway the hu- 

 man family. Mowers a luxury! For- 

 sooth, 'tis nothing of the kind. What 

 could be more necessary? 



But why not lend a helping hand to 

 our allies? There is a power ready at 

 our command, capable of reaching far 

 into the recesses of the minds of the 

 multitudes and planting there the seed 

 of suggestion in the well tilled ground 

 prepared for our coming by the God of 

 Love.^ 



Wliat is this power? 



Advertising! 



Suggest the suitability of flowers for 



valentines and thousands will eschew 

 the frilled paper monstrosities. 



Try It This Season. 



If you haven't pushed for St. Valen- 

 tine's business, why not do a little 

 something this season and note the 

 results? It's a ten-to-one shot that if 

 your effort is well planned you will put 

 on more pressure next season. Those 

 who have tried it out seem never to 

 stop advertising. Perhaps it's because 

 they like to see their names in print, 

 but it's more likely because they like 

 the way the business grows. 



How It Works. 



Reproduced herewith are some St. 

 Valentine's day advertisements pub- 



Let Your VtilMtlaa Be Blackittone'i 



Violets? 



75c and Sl.oo Varietiet rA^ 

 —Special Per Bunch, ^vC 



TlicM little flower* thit in the garden p'ow. 

 Half hiddea by the green leaves round 1 hen npriDgtng. 



Although they hold their pretty headi ta low, 



Arc jiiat the tloirera my meeaage to be bringing 



BLACKISTONB'S SUPERB HOME 

 OROWN VIOliBTS will bo giVen by the great 

 majbrity of. thoae *ho dentre to rerocoibtfr a 

 friend ST. VAIiBNTlNK-M DAV 

 BLACKISTONE'S VIOLETS posaen « 

 charm of their own. I'Veeher, more fra- 

 grant, and more beautiful than •then 

 yon 11 Bee 



Northvrest Corner' 

 14th and H. Sts. 



Where Price is Included. 



lished last year in widely separated 

 cities — Washington, where florists use 

 a lot of newspaper space; Indianapolis 

 and Kansas City. These are well dis- 

 played advertisements; almost any pa- 

 per nowadays will help its advertisers 

 get up copy and cuts. Of course, the 

 reproductions are much reduced in size. 

 This is the way these worked: 



"We never had so good a Valentine's 

 day business," said Z. D. Blackistone, 

 ,iust after the event last year. "The 

 general public as yet knows little of 

 the uses of flowers or of their values. 

 It is one of our missions to tell the 

 people how to use the things we have 

 to sell, and to disabuse them of the 

 idea that flowers can be afforded only 

 by the wealthy; that's the reason for 

 the prices in the advertisement. ' ' 



"You don't have to hit a man with 

 a club to make him see your point; the 

 strongest advertisement frequently is 

 the one that merely throws out a hint 

 and leaves something for the reader to 

 figure out for himself," said Alpha 

 Elberfield, of Kansas City. "The psy- 

 chologists have figured it out. Any- 



