In the early twentieth century,Curtis Publishing often blurred the distinction between“class”and“mass”circulation as its subion lists soared into the hundreds of thousands,and then into the millions.Its definition of“class,”though,was middle class-or,perhaps more appropriately,buying class.The target readership was often defined by the ownership of such things as homes,automobiles,typewriters and telephones,or the availability of electricity or department-store charge accounts.See,for instance,Milton J.Blair,“Where Do The Best Customers Live A Study of Curtis Distribution”(Curtis Chicago office,May 1,1923),CP,Box 81;and“Growth of Incomes,”Curtis“Dope Book.”It sought to portray its publications as the choice of the well-to-do,but then broadened its definition of well-to-do to include everyone from“millionaire to mill worker”-essentially anyone who could be considered“a substantial citizen and a good customer for a worthy product.”“Prosperous Philadelphia,”advertisement,PI,Dec.2,1915,pp.57-68;“A Christmas Pudding for Advertisers,”advertisement,PI,Dec.16,1915,pp.53-56;“Two New Subways in Philadelphia,”advertisement,PI,Dec.23,1915,p.47;untitled advertisement,PI,Aug.19,1915,pp.52-53;“What gives value to advertising”advertisement,PI,Nov.18,1915,pp.42-43.
By 1915,Bok had begun defining the readers of the Ladies'Home Journal by income.He told the advertising staff that the magazine was directed primarily toward families with incomes of$1,200 to$2,500,and to a lesser extent toward those with$3,000 to$5,000 income-what at the time would have been middle class or upper middle class.Some people who made more money also read the magazine,he acknowledged.“We direct our attention,however,to the class from$1,200 to$3,000,because they are the families having the greatest need of help,and to whom we can be of greatest assistance.”“Condensed Report of Advertising Conference,”Curtis Publishing Company,Philadelphia,1915,pp.6-8,CP,Box 18.That“assistance,”as several scholars have shown,often involved instructing people what to buy and how to buy.In the 1910s and 1920s,for instance,Curtis sold patterns of fashions featured in the Journal,offered blueprints for houses featured in the Journal,and worked with department stores to display and make available the ready-to-wear fashions the magazines showcased.Selling Forces(Philadelphia:Curtis Publishing Company,1913),pp.225-241;William V.Alexander to Mr.E.G.W.Dietrich,Feb.29,1904,CP,Box 2;“Pattern Service,”Curtis Bulletin 32(Nov.7,1923),CP,Box 158,Folder 176;Pollay,“Thank the Editors”;Wilson,“The Rhetoric of Consumption.”
Lorimer didn't have nearly as precise a definition of readers of the Post,but he nonetheless had an idea of who his readers were.He used to lurk near the newsstand at the Reading Railroad terminal in Philadelphia and see who bought the Post.He described those people as“the class of people you like to see-the prosperous business men and the young women who have positions with good firms.”“Condensed Report of Advertising Conference,”pp.21-22.Cyrus Curtis had made similar generalizations himself in the late nineteenth century.From the early 1880s,when he established the Tribune and Farmer,a weekly paper whose women's department eventually became the Ladies'Home Journal,Curtis told advertisers that the readers of Curtis publications were something special.He stressed that the paper's“entire circulation was secured by newspaper advertising,consequently all our readers are peculiarly the very class who read and answer advertisements.”He also promised advertisers that if their ads failed to produce results,“we shall neither expect nor solicit a continuance of your patronage.”See various clippings and advertisements in a Curtis Scrapbook,pp.324-340.
To attract subscribers,Curtis offered the paper at a discount,but only if buyers would sign a statement that they would“read and answer the advertisements as far as they can conveniently do so.”He sought to induce in readers a sense of responsibility toward his publication,toward advertisers and toward buying in general,and he tried to create a sense of guilt in those who didn't buy advertised products.He admitted that advertisements were scorned by many people,but he promised,in language that would later be repeated in promotional material for the Ladies Home Journal,that Tribune and Farmer advertisements“are known to be reliable and may be answered with perfect safety.”Advertisers,he told readers,were for the most part manufacturers and producers,and by answering ads,consumers could bypass the middleman.“So great a variety is advertised in our columns that one is almost sure to find something he needs,and having found it,should not hesitate to send for it,not only for his own profit but for ours also,as,by giving this paper at cost,we are obliged to look to advertisers for our profits,and must make it a good medium to secure patronage.”Curtis Scrapbook,pp.324-340.