It is hard to imagine a world without advertising, but such a world once existed. Clothing was made in the home, houses were built from the timber at hand and food was either grown in your garden or sold from bulk containers at the neighborhood general store and as such, there was no need for advertising.
The development of packaged goods in the 1880s changed the face of manufacturing in America and left companies scurrying to find ways to get the word out about their products. Out of necessity came innovative ways to reach the American public and one of the first successful ad campaigns came in the form of booklets.
Food companies led the way with booklets full of recipes demonstrating how to use their products. These early booklets were given away at the grocery, included with the purchase of an appliance or received by redeeming coupons given out by the local utility companies like the REMC (anyone remember Reddy Kilowatt?).
As cooking booklets evolved they expanded to include menu ideas and innovations in home food preparation. Today’s collectors are on the lookout for these early food product booklets from companies including Calumet, Pillsbury, Nestles, Knox, Clabber Girl and Sealtest.
Jell-O, which originated 1897, has long been a favorite with booklet collectors. In addition to recipes explaining how to use their product, Jell-O gelatin enlisted the talents of some of the greatest artist of the day to do their illustrations. The incredible graphics executed by Rose O’Neill (who later invented the Kewpie Doll), Norman Rockwell and the quintessential Nouveau artist, Maxfield Parrish. These are collected for their artistic value as well as their content. In fact, you will find within this category of collecting a subdivision of collectors who collect based solely on the aesthetic appeal of the cover art .
Establishing the age of your pamphlets can be tricky as they were not always dated. If they are, you should find the publishing date on the inside of the cover or the last page of the pamphlet. Some contained calendars or letters from the company that are dated. But, if none of these are present you can often determine the circa by looking at the art work. Advertising booklets were known for their focus on current lifestyle trends and will feature the hairstyles and clothing of period when they were printed.
In addition to their aesthetic appeal, cooking booklets are collected by brand, subject matter and era of production. Age is not as much a determining factor in establishing value as are rarity and the quality of the lithography. Common booklets can be found in the $1-$10 range, but for a very rare item with the work of a famous artist, you can easily pay $75-$100. Any example signed by the artist will increase that price point several fold.
As with all ephemera, condition of great importance. Due to the utilitarian nature of a cooking pamphlet many of the most popular from the early years are soiled and torn from use. In most cases even the rarest examples are drastically reduced in value if there is excessive wear or damage. To keep them safe they should be preserved in plastic sleeves in a cool dry place and always laid flat. Until next time…Linda
Linda Kennett is a professional liquidation consultant specializing in down-sizing for seniors and the liquidation of estates. She is currently not taking new clients.
