The (relatively) small
midwestern distributor
of chewing gum, L.E.
West of Rockford, Illi-
nois, offered a 64 page
catalogue, "West's
Mammoth Gum Wrap-
per Catalogue of Pre-
mium Goods, given in
exchange for wrappers
taken from West's Celebrated Chewing
Gum, Consisting of watches, watch chains,
rings, jew-
elry of all
kinds,
mandolins,
guitars,
violins,
cameras,
fine silver-
ware, puz-
zles, toys
and many
other use-
ful and or-
namental articles." It would seem that
even the idea of sex selling is not new,
since West even offered an "Art Studies"
premium.
A common premium by a number of com-
panies was the oil lamp. In the 18th cen-
tury, the central burner lamp was invented,
which was a major improvement in lamp de-
sign. This change meant that the fuel
source was now tightly enclosed in a metal
housing, and a adjustable metal tube was
used to control the intensity of the fuel
burning and in-
t ensity of the
light. Around
t he same time,
glass chimneys
were added to
lamps to both
protect the
flame and con-
t rol the flow of
air to the flame.
The kerosene
lamps offered by
Wrigley ( and
._ ________ _, others) were or-
nate and decorative as befitted the decor
of the time. Some of the premium fliers
were even poster-size.
While most of the premiums offered by the
various companies tended to be for 'con-
sumer goods' some were for
GRove:·s -
.
d
Ch
No. 4y, Victor Safe.
more exotic goo s.
eese
'"'"'""'"''"""
slicers, coffee grinders, gro-
cer's display cases and
freight hand carts. One
company, Groves, even of-
fered an office safe that
could be customized with the
customer's name.
00
Gold Filled Hinge and Catch Bracelet
PRICE EACH
n.t/1 A.C.A)-lllf~('..Wntlo,,I.
C - - 1.mb.S.,- FNIII.I
/;al<2'13, .. , . .
k ~
O.WF'.n.dvi..1 ; ;~ . r . - " "-
l!nrfttruu.h. HU111"otl4 CM-C~ Im ....
~ , f , l o,1-
No.RIIG. ... ..... . ...
. . . $4,1$
Gol.1 1"111..drtatOnl~
r_....,..i lltli,htFI..W.. ll--'C.C.lo.
t....i. Dlfflool«II IIICIIN,
,...82ia"
...... N.%1>
GoWPll!,e,l. t'lll ..-.l.w..-1. o..4.
~Jo\ F,O,oli. ll k,c,o on
~ ! 1 1 ......
..... Q .1S
Ool
H,.,.,. Olld C&e<~ l .... l)__,. t! IMlleo,
No.QlG
nn
LE West's selection of bracelets
•
Whether it has been coal stoves or baseball
cards, premiums have helped to sell chew-
ing gum from the very beginning.