and the total amount of
business done in each town. Previous to sending out catalogues, these
cards are all gone over carefully, and where customers have not ordered
within a certain time their cards are taken out. Where two or more names
in the same town, and evidently of the same family, appear, positive
information is obtained and acted upon, with a view to preventing a
waste of catalogues by sending more than one to the same family. The
list is thoroughly examined, checked, revised, and all old, dead matter
excluded before addressing catalogue wrappers, as sending out catalogues
to names that do not respond is a dead loss of postage, printed matter
and effort. A big advantage in keeping a mailing list on index cards is,
that they can be distributed among a large number of writers, and
thousands of wrappers written in a short time, which cannot be
conveniently done where kept in books; and the card system also keeps
the list neat and clean, while books, by reason of names being crossed
out, etc., always present anything but a good appearance. When wrappers
are addressed, they are all checked back and compared with cards, to
insure absolute correctness. All the wrappers for one town are usually
attached together and kept separate from other towns, and thus, when
mailing, all the catalogues going to any one town are put in a bag or
bags by themselves, which, while causing extra labor on the part of the
sender, insures correctness, and enables post office employees to handle
large quantities with great despatch. Printed envelopes bearing the
firm's name and address, and blank order forms, are usually enclosed for
the benefit of the customers.

The art of catalogue compiling and looking after its proper distribution
entails hard and extremely careful work. When finished and sent out, it
has to compete with other catalogues wherever it goes, and, as it is the
representative of the business, it must be complete in every detail, in
order to do its work well.

While the catalogue has its distinctive place as "The Steady Trade
Bringer" from out-of-town customers, yet much is accomplished by special
mail-order advertising. This embraces booklets, circulars, leaflets,
etc.; little pamphlets properly illustrated and well written dropped
into the people's homes through the medium of the letter, the parcel, or
both. Suggestions of seasonable goods, a special about furs when the
weather is cold, rubbers and waterproofs during the