Larkin Company Trade Catalog, "This Handsome Coat, Yours Without Cost," circa 1910

01

Artifact Overview

John D. Larkin established a soap manufacturing company in 1875. He hired his brother-in-law, Elbert Hubbard, as a salesman. Hubbard developed "The Larkin Idea," a plan that sold goods directly to consumers through mail-order catalogs and offered incentivizing giveaways. It was a success. By the early 1900s, Larkin's catalogs contained pages of products and even more pages of premiums from which customers could choose.

Artifact Details

Artifact

Trade catalog

Date Made

circa 1910

Subject Date

circa 1910

Creators

Creator Notes

Published by the Larkin Company Branch in Peoria, Illinois.

Collection Title

Location

By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center

Object ID

2019.0.3.86

Material

Ink
Paper (Fiber product)

Technique

Bookbinding (Process)
Printing (Process)

Color

Black-and-white (Colors)

Dimensions

Height: 9 in
Width: 7 in

Inscriptions

written on front: Larkin Co.
Larkin Company Trade Catalog, "This Handsome Coat, Yours Without Cost," circa 1910