XCVII.
Old Manor House, Lythe Hill, England.
[ Brochure Series
Competition No. 3.]
The designs submitted in the competition closing December 20 for the advertising page of the Boynton Furnace Co. proved of even greater merit as a whole than those submitted in the first competition, and it has been difficult to decide which has the best claim to the prize; but the judges have finally decided to award the first place to Mr. William L. Welton, of Lynn, Mass., and his design is given on advertising page xiii of this number. Of the reasons for this award some will be evident at a glance. The effect of the page as a whole is striking and unique. To be sure, there is a certain suggestiveness of Mr. Binner’s familiar advertisements for the Pabst Brewing Co., but the similarity goes no further than the selection of Egyptian motives and the simple, flat, silhouette-like treatment. Mr. Welton has merely gone to the same source of inspiration, and his design is just as good in its way as Mr. Binner’s. The idea of connecting the character of the ornament with the advertisement is carried out in both cases.
The Pabst advertisements all state that the history of brewing begins with Egypt, while Mr. Welton has very cleverly used the Great Pyramid of Cheops as a graphic illustration to indicate the area covered by the heaters built by the Boynton Furnace Company.
If any suggestions were to be offered towards the improvement of this design, they would be mainly in the direction of refinement in drawing. The lettering is not what it might be, especially at the top in the name of the company, which is somewhat confused. The monogram, an unimportant feature from an advertising point of view, is given the most important position in the design.
The following competitors, in the opinion of the judges, deserve honorable mention: W. B. Olmsted, 118 Lake Street, Elmira, N.Y.; Pierre Liesch, 53 State Street, Boston, Mass.; P. G. Gulbranson, 31 West Street, Boston, Mass.; F. Chouteau Brown, 31 East Newton Street, Boston, Mass.; William J. Freethy, 85 Water Street, Boston, Mass.
Mr. Olmsted’s design, which is illustrated herewith, is, like the design which he submitted in the last competition, in many respects distinctly the best of the collection. It is unfortunate in representing
a heater not made by the Boynton Furnace Company, but very suggestive of a pattern made by one of their competitors in the trade. If it were not for this unfortunate slip, it would be given first place. The idea is good and the treatment all that could be desired. It is good advertising and meets the conditions directly and well.