Marketing Practices in the late Nineteenth Century
The development of marketing thought as a theory began early in the twentieth century (Bartels, 1976, p. 9). Before that, market and trade behaviors were explained from a macroeconomic viewpoint (Bartels, 1970, p. 32) that characterized man as a social individual and an economic entity (Bartels, 1976, p. 13). Although such theories did discuss buyer behavior in the market, they did not offer a theory from the standpoint of the market or consumer until the contention that consumption is the end and object of production became the basis for marketing writers' taking a more "consumer" viewpoint (Bartels, 1976, p. 13).
Advertising Practices Leading up to the Late Nineteenth Century
The seventeenth century marked the development of the newspaper (Kaufman, 1987, p. 10). Kaufman notes that, from the first, the newspapers were simply filled with advertisements. However, when the government of King George levied a tax on newspapers, the publishers further emphasized the sale of advertising to increase their revenues (Kaufman, 1987, p. 11). Thus, in the New England colonies, the growth of the newspaper industry followed a pattern similar to that England's (Kaufman, 1987, p. 12).
The Boston Weekly News-Letter was the first American newspaper and it carried advertisements of sailings from Boston, imported goods, runaway slaves, and sales of slaves. By 1765, there were 25 newspapers in existence. However, other forms of advertising also existed during this early period. Because many people were reluctant to spend the penny or two necessary to purchase a newspaper, posters were also utilized (Kaufman, 1987, p. 12). Kaufman argues the Industrial Revolution provided the major impetus for the growth of the advertising business during the nineteenth century throughout Europe and the colonies. As a result of the increased production during the Revolution, many local manufacturer...