With the past decade the advertising agent has ceased to be what the name would imply and has really become a professional man whose advice is sought as such by the largest commer cial and financial concerns. The leaders in this new profession have become experts on trade conditions and in the introduction of new goods or the development of trade in well-estab lished lines. The modern well-equipped adver tising agency has attached to it not only compe tent writers of advertisements, artists and pho tographers, but experts in salesmanship who study economic questions and conditions with the greatest thoroughness. This branch of the work has been carried by some of the leading agencies to the point of becoming advisers and lecturers to the regularly employed traveling men of the concerns represented.
Special Advertising Agencies differ from the foregoing general advertising agencies in that they actually represent the publishers of certain newspapers or miscellaneous journals in a given territory, promoting advertising only for those journals and receiving commissions on all business that comes from such territory. These special agents are found chiefly in New York and Chicago, where a large percentage of advertising originates, and are simply branch offices of publishers outside such cities, who take such means for 'being represented. In several States associations have been formed among the smaller daily papers who unite in employing a representative who acts as their agent in procuring business.
As advertising has developed in this country it seeks ever new, varied channels, so that while it is possible by a proper selection of mediums to reach practically the whole public, it is also possible, on the other hand, to appeal to a small group of persons interested in some special commodity. No adequate outline of the many forms of advertising could be given in an arti cle of this scope, and readers interested in a fuller presentation of methods, cost, the stories of famous advertisers, etc., are referred to 'History of Advertising' (London 1874) ; 'Modern Advertising' (New York 1905) •, 'The Theory of Advertising' (Boston 1904) ; 'Forty Years an Advertising Agent' (New York 1906) ; 'Principles of the Mail Order Business' (Chicago 1903) ; 'The Business of Advertising' (London 1905) ; Balmer, 'The Science of Ad vertising' (1909) ; Spies, 'The Art of Publicity' (1910) ; 'Advertising and Progress' (London 1914) ; 'Advertising: Its Principles and Prac tice' (New York 1915) ; 'Analytical Advertis ing' (Detroit 1912).
American advertising has a large periodical literature of its own, comprising fully 25 weekly and monthly journals. Many of these are illus trated and assume the dignity in matter and typography of the standard magazine. Among the most notable of these publications are Printers' Ink (weekly, New York) ; Advertis ing and Selling (monthly, New York); Mail Order Journal (monthly, Chicago).