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THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



January, 1914 



Romances of Modern Business 



ARNOLD BENNETT, The English novelist, came to America not long ago to look us over. The dis- 

 /—\ tinguished author is a keen student of psychology, and our entire scheme of living fell under his 

 *L- JL microscopic eye. 



After visiting several of the largest American cities, he gave some interesting impressions to a Chicago 

 newspaper interviewer. Flinging open a window commanding a view of a wide stretch of Chicago's business- 

 district, he said: 



"There is your American romance — there in the large office buildings and marts of trade! Yours is the 

 romance of great achievements in commerce, in industrial leadership. And it is a wonderful romance! The 

 child of the world's nations is leading them! " 



The British writer got to the heart of this vital throbbing country. And if we look at our national com- 

 mercial life as did this noted visitor, we shall find romance, absorbingly interesting stories, on every page of 

 our magazines, not only in the imaginative writings of noted authors, but in the stories of business successes 

 and of merchants and their wares. 



There are many such romances in the history of American industry. Here is one of them: 



CHAPTER I 



THE STORY OF A FOUNTAIN PEN 



At the rear of a news-stand, under the stairway in the old Tribune 

 Building, in lower New York City, a remarkable discovery was made a 

 little less than thirty years ago. 



Pausing to make a purchase, the advertising manager of a well- 

 known magazine, by one of those curious turns of chance, first learned of 

 something that was to be of vital interest in the world of invention, and 

 was to lighten the work of thousands in many nations. 



Back of the news-stand stood a man with a small tray of goods which 

 he was offering for sale. He was a kindly appearing man, slightly under 

 middle age. His stock of merchandise was limited indeed. It con- 

 tained only a half-dozen articles. But his goods were his own, of his 

 own thought and invention. 



This he told the advertising man; and so much did he interest his 

 listener that, after the story had been told and the uses of his product 

 demonstrated, there returned to the magazine office a man with a firm 

 conviction that he had made a tremendous discovery. 



The man who displayed his pet invention in the old Tribune Building 

 news-stand was Lewis Edson Waterman, and the article he showed was 

 the Waterman Ideal Fountain Pen. 



The story of how these pens became so widely known and of how an 

 enormous industry was developed in a few years is a very significant 

 one. Waterman discovered the way to make a fountain pen; but a maga- 

 zine advertising man discovered Waterman — and therein lies the story. 



That was a little more than twenty-nine years ago. The inventor 

 had confidence in his pen, but no money with which to market it; nor 

 had he any business affiliations or influential friends. Today, the L. 

 E. Waterman Company estimates that approximately a million and a 

 quarter of their fountain pens are sold annually. Many millions have 

 been sold in practically every nation of the earth. 



The inventor had been a schoolmaster in his early manhood; then he 

 became an insurance agent. During these experiences he realized the 

 difficulties that lay in depending on the old-fashioned pen and ink. 

 "Why," thought he, "can I not make a pen with a receptacle for ink 

 and an easy flow?" He worked on the idea and soon had made the 

 first Waterman fountain pen. 



Coming to New York in 1880, he was informed that others had had 

 the same idea, that more than two hundred other fountain pens had 

 been patented. He investigated these and found they all had proved 

 unsatisfactory. Learning their deficiencies, he perfected his own pen. 



Then came the problem of selling his pens, -of letting people know 

 about them. How was he to do it? The inventor, knowing nothing 

 of advertising, could think of no other way than going out and person- 

 ally peddling his product. This he did, beginning in 1883 and contin- 

 uing through part of the following year. 



It was in 1884 that the Waterman fountain pen came to the attention 

 of the magazine advertising manager. "Let me run a quarter-page 



advertisement of your pen," he suggested to Mr. Waterman. But the 

 inventor had not the money it would cost. Then the advertising man 

 did an interesting thing; so convinced was he of the commercial possi- 

 bilities of the fountain pen that he loaned Mr. Waterman the price of 

 the quarter-page advertisement. 



This first business announcement of the L. E. Waterman Company 

 appeared in a magazine in November, 1884. Prior to that, Mr. Water- 

 man by personal solicitation had sold about three hundred of his pens. 

 Within a few weeks after the advertisement appeared such a large num- 

 ber of orders had been received that Mr. Waterman negotiated a loan 

 of five thousand dollars, with which to contract for additional adver- 

 tising and have the pens made and delivered. 



The business increased in strides so rapid that it soon became neces- 

 sary to form a stock company and map out a systematic scheme of manu- 

 facturing and distributing the pens. An intelligent campaign of adver- 

 tising was being carried on in a number of national magazines. In 1888, 

 nine thousand pens were sold; seven years later, the number of orders- 

 had reached sixty- three thousand; in 1900, the business reached two hun- 

 dred and twenty-seven thousand sales ; in 1903, the orders had passed the 

 half-million mark, and in 191 2 nearly a million and a quarter pens were 

 sold. 



And what was the secret of this phenomenal success? 



Mr. Frank D. Waterman, president of the L. E. Waterman Company, 

 answering an inquiry as to what advertising had done for their business- 

 with a wave of his hand indicated the entire scope of their industry. 



"Anyone can see for himself what magazine advertising has done for 

 the L. E. Waterman Company," he said. "The business speaks for 

 itself. The right kind of advertising is the life of trade. You must- 

 have the merchandise, of course, and the merchant must back up what 

 appears in his advertisements; but advertising in the proper mediums 

 is the real force of business. 



"Advertising today is not merely giving publicity to your wares. 

 The merchant today through advertising makes a reputation, and he- 

 has to live up to if. Advertising is sure fire, if it be of a sincere, con- 

 vincing, confidence-gaining quality. 



" Years ago, people asked the founder of the Waterman Company why- 

 he advertised so much in the magazines, and he replied that he couldn't, 

 get along without them. He found they paid, and so have I." 



This story is interesting from more than one point of view. It has- 

 been shown that through the force of national magazine advertising: 

 a large industry was created. But there is another side — that of the: 

 significance of this creative power to the public at large. 



There is a broad, ethical mission to the development of an industry 

 such as the L. E. Waterman Company. Thousands of people are 

 served, office and written work is facilitated, time is saved and life gen- 

 erally made easier and happier for many the world over. 



This is the first of a series of articles thil is being published to show how magazine advertising is serving the public. — DOUBLED A Y, PAGE &• CO. 



