Page Eight D

The Cincinnati, Ohio based Gibson Art Company had been around for about 60 years when they were marketing Reward of Merit cards, tally cards, and place cards to the American public. Much like other greeting card companies of their time, Gibson Art Company imported large quantities of German cards before they ever introduced their own designs to the American market. A large sales force and a distribution network helped make these first few cards an immediate success in the years 1908 and 1909. Because of their infrastructure, Gibson Art was able to grow faster than the other pioneer printers in America. It wasn't long before they were the largest manufacture in the country. Unfortunately they were like the other American publishers and did not keep samples of their early cards.

Gibson Art employed a staff of artist and also accepted works from free lance artist in New York. The verses used on their cards came from both staff and free lance writers. One popular sentiment titled "The Well Known Path" was one of the biggest sellers in the industry and was used with slight variations for multiple occasions.

View examples of Gibson cards By Clicking Here

Index

Return to Page 8