- D. B. Cooke & Co.’s City Directory for the Year 1859
AGENTS, ADVERTISING.
Gallagher John J., 155 Randolph
Rounds & Langdon, 155 Randolph
Scriven Charles H., 63 S. Dearborn (See advt p. 324
Halpin & Bailey’s City Directory for the Year 1863
AGENTS, ADVERTISING.
Bailey John C. W., 130 Clark.
Halpen T. M., 130 Clark, P.O. Box 4384.
O’Donoghue J. J. W., 51 Clark.
Scriven Charles H., 63 Dearborn
Spencer William S., 55 Clark.
Taylor Joseph R., 128 Clark.
Halpin’s Chicago City Directory for 1864
AGENTS, ADVERTISING.
Finley & Co., 84 Dearborn.
Halpen T. M., 73 Dearborn.
Kennedy R. V., Board Trade bldg.
O’Donoghue John J. W., 51 Clark.
Spencer William S., 55 Clark.
Scriven Charles H., 63 Dearborn
Taylor Joseph R., 128 Clark.
John C. W. Bailey’s Chicago City Directory for 1867
AGENTS, ADVERTISING.
Cook, Coburn & Co., room 11, Masonic Temple.
Schroeder William R., rooms 6 and 8, 53 Dearborn.
Wait Brothers, 126 Dearborn.
Edwards’ Annual Directory in the City of Chicago, for 1870
ADVERTISING AGENTS.
Barnhart Bros. & Co., 74 Madison
Bowles Thomas G. room 3 Tribune bldg.
Cook, Coburn & Co. 87 Dearborn
Hair & Richardson, room 12, 97 Clark
Hudson, Menet & Gay, 133 Dearborn
Lloyd Louis & Co. 126 Dearborn
O’Brian & Jones, 115 Madison
Richardson O. W. room 13, 97 Clark
Steele & Hitchcock, 10 Arcade ct.
Telegraph Bulletin Advertising Co., W. H. Frasier & Co. proprs. rooms 15 and 23, 137½ Madison
Thrall L. P. room 4, 66 Madison
The Printer’s Ink, December 13, 1905
At the time of my first recollection of Chicago as an advertising field, one Charles H. Scriven had it all to himself. This was in 1865. He was a capable man I have always heard. The only time I ever saw him was at a sort of free lunch reception given by H. T. Helmbold in his Broadway store near the old Metropolitan Hotel in New York City. Mr. Scriven did not live very long after. If he has been as happy since as he appeared to be at the time I refer to, he has no kick coming against the fate that is his.
The next (second) agency to get a foot hold in Chicago was that established about the year 1865 by Carlos A. Cook (right), who had associated with him at various times E. A. Carr, C. E. Coburn, E. B. Mack and A. H. Taylor; Carr, Coburn & Mack having interests in the Chicago office, while Taylor had the management of a Cincinnati’s branch, established later, where he divided the patronage with honest old S. H. Parvin, of whom it may be said that no agent ever, deserved better of the newspapers than he did. An old associate and friend of Mr. Cook’s “has furnished the following historical data concerning him:
- Carlos Allen Cook was born June 23, 1828, in the town of Preston, New London County, Connecticut.
His years up to young manhood were spent on his father’s farm, and in his father’s woolen factory. Leaving these employments, he went to Lowell, Mass., and learned to be a druggist in the drug store of Dr. J. C. Ayer.
Then followed some years in travel, selling goods in thg provinces and States, and finally he had a drug store in Rock Island, Illinois.
In 1859 he was in the sewing machine business in Chicago and in 1862, he, in partnership with a relative, had a brewery in Peoria, Ill.
In 1863 he secured the agency of Dr. Roback’s Bitters, and coming back to Chicago, made his headquarters with the wholesale drug house of Fuller, Finch & Fuller, and, in addition to selling bitters, started an advertising agency under the name of C. A. Cook. There was but one other advertising agency in Chicago at this time, that of C. H. Scriven. Mr. Scriven died very soon, thus leaving Mr. Cook the only advertising agent in Chicago.
Later E. A. Carr was admitted, as a partner, and the firm became Cook, Carr & Co.
On Mr. Carr’s leaving the business, Mr. C. E. Coburn became a partner and the firm was then Cook, Coburn & Co. This was in 1864. Mr. Coburn remained in the business ten years and, on his retiring, the firm was again called C. A. Cook & Co. and so continued until Mr. Cook went out of the business in 1886 or about that date. Mr. Cook had no partner after Mr. C«burn left the firm.
A branch house was established in Cincinnati in 1866 under the firm name of Cook, Coburn; & Taylor, Mr. A. H. Taylor becoming a partner, but this branch agency was discontinued in 1871.
Mr. C. A. Cook died at his home in Chicago, September 27, 1898. Mr. C. E. Coburn is still—in 1905—in Chicago engaged in the insurance business.
Mr. A. H. Taylor is also in Chicago in the advertising business, being employed in the agency conducted by Theodore P. Roberts, who places most of the Sears, Roebuck & Co. advertising matter.
Mr. Cook’s family are all gone from Chicago except a son. It was of this young man that Mr. Cook used to tell that as a boy he developed artistic tendencies and, thinking perhaps he should be given an education on the line of his tastes, sought advice from a friend thought competent to give it and who, after listening to all the pros and cons, volunteered the information that if the boy was his own he would put some bricks in the seat of his trousers and let him sit down In the lake.
The firm of C A. Cook & Co. was unfortunate at the end of its career. The cause of its decline was the advertising of Lawrence & Martin, “Tolu Rock & Rye.” When that firm failed they owed C. A. Cook & Co. $69,000, entirely unsecured. After discontinuing as much advertising as possible the net loss was $47,000 and not a cent of it was ever paid. This was more than Mr. Cook could stand and. after ad justing matters as far as possible, an effort was made to continue business with but indifferent success; the agency made no money and younger men coming into the field and new ideas coming up the struggle was a hard one, and finally Mr. Cook ceased to be an advertising agent.
Mr. Richard S. Thain, the present editor of Agricultural Advertising, had a pretty close connection with Chicago agency matters in the late sixties and early seventies. Previous to its sale to Lord & Thomas, Mr. Thain was editor of Mahin’s Magazine. He took up the advertising business in 1868 and has been at it pretty steadily since. There are not many now in the business who have been engaged in it longer than he.
In a recent communication, Mr. Thain writes:
- In 1868, I was advertising manager of Western Rural, published in Chicago, and during that year, the firm or Sharp & Thain was organized. We remained together in business until 1871. The firm was dissolved after the Chicago fire. We did quite an extensive business—especially with religious papers. We purchased one column from The Interior, Advance, Northwestern Christian Advocate, New Covenant and the Episcopal paper that was published here. We usually kept from three to five columns filled with good advertisements. At that time, Field, Leiter & Company (now Marshall Field & Company advertised extensively in these publications, and it was my pleasure to meet Mr. Field nearly every Saturday afternoon at 1:30 o’clock and set copy for the following week. Before the Chicago fire, Mr. Field wrote his own advertisements, and he certainly knew how to write good ads—i, e., judging by the standard of the times, I had the pleasure of chatting time him not long ago regarding the old days of advertising, and find that he takes quite a lively personal interest in advertising at the present time.
George W. Sharp, my old partner, was an Englishman of the pure John Bull breed. He used to keep me busy fixing up his quarrels with publishers. I got rather tired of this and when the Chicago fire occurred, I thought it a very opportune time to dissolve the partnership. I happened to be in New York City at this time, getting advertisements for the Elgin Almanac, October, 1871. Sharp & Thain were handling the advertising of the Elgin Watch Company, and they issued an Almanac to be handed out by the various jewelers throughout the United States. The issue was one million copies. We placed over $20,000 worth of advertising in the Almanac. The plates were ready, but were burned up in the great fire and when I went back to New York, I made a contract with James W. Sutton of the Aldine Press to get out the Almanac.
After the dissolution of Sharp & Thain, I went into business for a short time, with Wm. H. Fitch, of New York, who was, at that time, advertising manager of American Agriculturist. The firm name was Fitch & Thain. In 1872, I came back to Chicago, when the firm of Thain & Paine was organized. Inside of a year, I bought out Mr. Paine’s interest and merged the agency with the firm of Chandler, Lord & Company. Mr. H. H. Chandler is now the publisher of Farmers’ Review of this city; and Mr. D. M. Lord was head of the firm of Lord & Thomas for a number of years, up to the time of his retirement from the business two years ago. I sold out my interest in the firm of Chandler, Lord & Company, about ten months before they failed and after the organization of the firm of Lord & Thomas, I went to work for them in 1882 and was with them for seven years, occupying the position of what they termed their “right-hand” man.
- The extensive advertising agency of Cook, Coburn & Co., in the Kendall Building. Sketched during business hours. The ad agent was a space broker; ads were simple bulletins handed back and forth as commodities. Agencies operated like banks, with tellers (left), clients (center) and clerks (right). The clients paid a straight commission.
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