Temple Israel
Selling History: Advertisement Design
Selling History
Selling History: Advertisements of Leadville Jewish Businesses
Major Events in Leadville

Leadville had many newspapers in the early 1880s. Six of those newspapers began publication in 1879 or 1880 not long after Leadville incorporated. Each newspaper used variations of their names. Late in 1885, four of the newspapers merged (Leadville Daily Herald, Leadville Weekly Herald, Leadville Democrat, and Leadville Weekly Democrat) to become a new paper called The Herald Democrat at the start of 1886. Besides the merged newspaper, two additional newspapers remained going into the 1900s. The Herald Democrat still exists today with small weekly papers.

Leadville Newspapers
Types of Advertisements in Leadville Papers
Display Ads

As the most common ads, they ranged from one column wide to a full page and were often within a box.

Display Ads
Walpensky
The Herald Democrat
February 8, 1912
Business Card Ads

Similar to display ads, these are about the size of a business card with just basic business information and placed with other similar ads.

Business Card Ads
Mankuss
The Herald Democrat
February 2, 1912
Business Directory

Stacked under a heading, such as "Business Directory" or "Liquor and Cigars" for example, these slim ads were for general business reference.

Business Directory
B. Cohen
The Herald Democrat
January 1, 1902
Classified Ads

Text ads were sorted under classified headings and usually used to sell something.

Classified Ads
E. Sandusky
The Herald Democrat
August 17, 1922
In-Line Ads

These ads were all text of only a few lines and were often repeated the same or with variations throughout the paper. They were separated with divider lines.

In-Line Ads
M. Mankuss
The Herald Democrat
July 10, 1914
Single Line Ads

These were just like the In-Line Ads but were only a single line, sometimes with a title, but often without a title. These were also separated with divider lines.

Single Line Ads
Ed Jackson
The Herald Democrat
June 14, 1903
Single Line Ads
E. Sandusky
The Herald Democrat
September 16, 1922
Advertisement Design
Creating a Newspaper Ad

With the widespread use of the printing press, dissemination of news locally became easier and more accessible. By the late 1800s, any small town could have a local newspaper. Leadville started with six newspapers and, with those earliest editions, advertisements were a fundamental feature. A printer manually assembled every article, every advertisement, and every page until publishers started using computers to lay out newspapers about a century later.

The printer hand placed and assembled backwards each letter, line, and decorative element on the page. These pages needed to be backwards because the press printed in reverse, creating a mirror image on the paper. Articles that were mainly text were straightforward to assemble. However, advertisements that were more complex took more care to create. Once made however, the publishers often used the same ads for weeks until the businesses wanted different layouts.

Ad Design
Carbonate Chronicle, January 31, 1880
Joe Schoenberg
Carbonate Chronicle
January 31, 1880
Leadville Daily Herald, May 11, 1882
Monheimer
Leadville Daily Herald
May 11, 1882
Leadville Daily Herald, April 22, 1881
May and Shoenberg
Leadville Daily Herald
April 22, 1881
The Herald Democrat, April 19, 1893
Joseph Cohn
The Herald Democrat
April 19, 1893
Leadville Daily Herald, October 22, 1881
Kaskel
Leadville Daily Herald
October 22, 1881
Ad Design
Leadville Daily Herald, October 22, 1882
Sands and Pelton
Leadville Daily Herald
October 22, 1882
Leadville Daily Herald, November 6, 1882
Sands and Pelton
Leadville Daily Herald
November 6, 1882
Leadville Daily Herald, November 26, 1882
Sands and Pelton
Leadville Daily Herald
November 26, 1882
Leadville Daily Herald, December 3, 1882
Sands and Pelton
Leadville Daily Herald
December 3, 1882
Ad Design
The Herald Democrat, December 6, 1891
May and Shoenberg
The Herald Democrat
December 6, 1891
Leadville Daily Herald, April 17, 1881
Sol Levy
Leadville Daily Herald
April 17, 1881
Leadville Daily Herald, October 29, 1882
Sands and Pelton
Leadville Daily Herald
October 29, 1882
The Herald Democrat, April 10, 1896
Sam Berry
The Herald Democrat
April 10, 1896

Temple Israel Foundation
208 West 8th Street
Leadville, Colorado 80461
303.709.7050

Temple Israel Museum
201 West 4th Street
Leadville, Colorado 80461
Wm.A.Korn@gmail.com

Hebrew Cemetery
SW Corner of Evergreen Cemetery
North end of James Street, Leadville
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