1914
IT HAPPENED IN…1914
Ford Motor Company introduced a minimum $5.00 per
day wage, doubling the wages for most employees, reducing work days
from nine to eight hours, and offered employees profit sharing.
These changes boosted assembly line productivity and fostered
company loyalty and pride.
When war began in Europe the U.S. was completely
unprepared. President
Wilson planned to keep the U.S. out of the conflict, believing
America would bring the warring parties to a conference table and
help them fashion a lasting peace.
The Panama Canal officially opened to traffic
August 15, 1914.
The Coca-Cola Bottlers’ Association was organized
in Atlanta, Georgia.
Newly introduced products included electronic
remote controls, and Tinkertoys.
5,463 U.S. soft drink bottling plants were in
operation. Per capita
consumption was 18.9 bottles.
Hires introduced and began distribution of
The Hires Un-Natural History
booklet in mid-1913 (see Figures 1913-05 and 1913-05.1).
This 3.0” x 4.5” promotional item was “a little book of animal
pictures so arranged that by folding the pages in different ways you can
make the funniest animals you ever saw…The book will set the whole
family in a roar and it will keep you all guessing to see how many
animals can be conjured out of the pages.”
Early in 1914 Hires followed-up by
developing a contest challenging customers to use the booklet and send
in lists of combinations of animal names.
Entrants were welcome to submit multiple entries, “BUT EACH LIST
MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY THE FACE OF A HIRES EXTRACT PACKAGE.”
The contest closed September 1, 1914.
Here’s the booklet’s front cover followed by examples of several
pages:
(Figure 1914-01,
Hires Un-Natural History
booklet, front cover)
(Figure 1914-01,
Hires Un-Natural History
booklet,
sample pages)
This double blade, twist ring, brass pocketknife measures 2.875" long. It was manufactured by the W. H. Morley Company in Germany.
(Figure 1914-01.5,
brass pocketknife, front)
(Figure 1914-01.5,
brass pocketknife, back)
Transition of Charles Elmer Hires’ sons into management of the company gradually brought about changes in the marketing of Hires’ products. Believing the Hires Boy might have outlived his usefulness, a decision was made to update Hires’s image by introducing a cartoonish, bug-eyed soda jerk as Hires’ new spokesman. The as-yet-unnamed soda jerk was introduced nationally via advertisements that ran in the American Sunday Monthly newspaper supplement.
(Figure 1914-02,
American Sunday
Monthly, June 7, 1914)
(Figure
1914-03,
American Sunday Monthly, June 14, 1914)
The new Hires spokesman soon appeared on signs such as this example. Note: the photo was taken at a slight angle; the upper portion of the sign is actually a true circle, rather than oval.
(Figure 1914-04, die-cut, cardboard sign)
(Figure
1914-05, die-cut, cardboard sign, 29.0” x 34.0”)
Continuing the baseball theme, Hires distributed this hand-held, celluloid counter used to track the home and visiting team's runs and outs. Rotating the built-in wheels also moved the Hires spokesman's eyes and mouth. This counter was patented June 6, 1905 by The Whitehead and Hoag Company, Newark, New Jersey.
(Figure 1914-06, baseball counter, front, 3.0" x 3.0")
(Figure 1914-06, baseball counter, back, 3.0" x 3.0")
(Figure 1914-07, embossed tin
sign, 9.0” x 15.75”)
(Figure 1914-08, cardboard
sign, 10.0” x 14.0”)
(Figure 1914-09, magazine
advertisement, August 9, 1914, 2.25” x 4.0”)
(Figure 1914-10, tin serving
tray, 13.0” diameter)
(Figure 1914-11, die-cut,
cardboard sign)
(Figure 1914-12, die-cut,
cardboard fan pull, 6.0” x 7.5”)
One side of this four-bladed pocketknife features the new spokesman’s image and reads “HIRES.” The other side bears the Hires Boy’s image and reads “DRINK HIRES.”
(Figure 1914-13, pocketknife, 1.0” x 2.0”)
(Figure 1914-14, metal cigar cutter)
Twin Size Beverages distributed this metal, baseball player-shaped bottle opener advertising Hires Root Beer. The opener was manufactured by the John L. Sommer Manufacturing Company of Newark, New Jersey. The design was patented August 18, 1914. The square hole above the baseball player's right shoulder reportedly fit the on-off valve controlling acetylene vehicle headlights made by the Prest-O-Lite Company.
(Figure 1914-15, baseball player bottle opener, front, 3.25”
long)
(Figure 1914-15, baseball player bottle opener, back, 3.25”
long)