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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 24, 1904)
THE MORNING ORE G ONI AN, THURSDAY, NOVEMBEH 22, 190?. How 'The Century" Came to Wana maker's UNTIL a few years ago The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia and Atlas was sold through book can vassers for prices ranging from $120 upwards per set, and several -million dollars ' worth was sold by this ex pensive and indirect method. Yet the work did not really reach the people who cared for and needed it most the price was too high. We estimated that if the cost to the actual buyer could be reduced half, the "little at a time" payment introduced, at least ten times as many people could and would buy. We arranged with the publishers to do exactly this by taking the risk of a tremendous edition, and we set to work to adapt the Wanamaker system to selling this edi tion by opening a special book club devoted entirely to it. Here is the net result: Through our club more than 75,000 people have already bought the sets. We have saved them fully four million dollars. Their expenditure of about 10 cents a day each has not been felt. The Wanamaker system insures a transaction satis factory to both sides. We don't ask you to pledge yourself in advance. We can't tell you here what we want to about our plan of saving you half the price, but if you will call at our local office, 210Fenton building, the details will be explained to you while you are admiring the books. If an early visit to the Fenton building is impossible or incon venient, we will send to you, upon request, full explana tion of the half-price, little payment plan, and that booklet of the following list which is most likely to interest you: No. 1 The Business Man No. 2 The Lawyer No. 3 The Clergyman No. 4 The Physician No. 5 The Teacher No. 6 The Technical Worker No. 7 The General Worker Whether you call or write, do so at once, About the Work Itself NO work in the world of bookmaking was so carefully planned or so ably executed as THE CENTURY DICTIONARY AND ENCYCLOPEDIA AND ATLAS. For 21 years leaders of every line of thought have been keeping the work up to date. For 18 years prior to the publication of the first volume nearly 500 of the world's foremost scholars and specialists labored in its production. They sifted the world's old facts. They dug for new ones and included thousands about every-day ex istence, business, the professions, the special trades, household' economics. These they verified. They illustrated them by design, diagram, example. They arranged them in alphabetical order. Each word and fact was given the most minute study, in order that the work, when com pleted, should be the "authority of authorities." When they had completed their work THE CENTURY contain ed thousands of words that had never before been included in any dictionary, and 100,000 more cyclopedic articles than any other cyclopedia; and every word and jfact could be lo cated instantly. Since the issuance of the first complete edition a smaller force has kept THE CENTURY up to date. How well the work was done has been proved by the public test and the fact that THE CENTURY is today the great -'American Work of Reference. Some of the Many Unique Features of "The Century" It is the only work that gives the pronunciation of proper names, including individuals, characters in fiction, mythology and tradition, the drama and opera, works of art, famous places and objects. Nowhere else can you find biographical sketches of living celebrities. No other work gives the formation, spelling and pro nunciation of plurals and indicates the use of capital and small letters in writing every word in the English lan guage. No other work gives one-fourth as many cyclo pedic articles or one-third the definitions. Nothing now in print will give as late and satisfactory information about the population, etc., of each town, village and hamlet in the United States or Christendom and furnish such a su perb collection of up-to-date maps.. No other work gives the last discoveries in science, recent explorations and the late applications of electricity in mechanics. CALL at the Penton building and see these ten beautiful volumes in their handsome special bookcase; examine the rich bind ings ; learn how easy it is to own them j OR WRITE for the descriptive booklet and terms of membership in the Last Wanamaker Century Club; but in either case do so AT ONCE sc,v. 'v.'--.' ' Co o t CLIO OU. 4 i ifLa JLmjdt S9 "i V