1904 Fall Garden Catalog Sold More than Spring Bulbs

The words and image in any ad work together to promote a product.

Owners of the seed companies and nurseries of the late nineteenth century referred to the garden catalog as an advertisement. Thus, like Mr. Burpee, they carefully crafted each word for both the Introduction and any information linked to  a particular plant or seed.

The W. W. Rawson Company in Boston included an illustration of tulips within the pages of its fall catalog of 1904. [below]

The image also includes a house and a lawn in the background.

It was not by accident that the lawn appears, but was chosen probably because it provided such an ideal setting for planting the bulbs near-by.

Of course, everyone knew how important the lawn had become for the home landscape. Here Mr. Rawson confirms the importance of the lawn.

At a time when the field of advertising for any business was assuming an essential role, to include the lawn in the image for tulips was, of course, also selling the lawn.