Melville Company saleswoman portfolio, 1944
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Summary
- Creator:
- The Melville Company
- Abstract:
- The Melville Company was a Cincinnati-based, direct-sales clothing company owned by Melville, Sidney, and Georgette Meyers. Collection consists of material, largely instructions and catalog pages, from the Melville Company for its sales personnel. A mail-in coupon and order form have been filled out by Violet F. Schulz, a Minnesota woman who likely was a Melville saleswoman. Acquired as part of the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History.
- Extent:
- 0.25 Linear Feet
- Language:
- Materials in English.
- Collection ID:
- RL.12086
Background
- Scope and content:
-
Collection consists of material, largely instructions and catalog pages, from the Melville Company for its sales personnel. Melville geared this material towards women, offering incentives such as "free" dresses (in exchange for recruiting friends to join Melville), though the instructions do also show two male sales personnel. The materials offer advice on how new sales people can get started, maximize profits, and grow their sales network. It also lays out the commission and bonus structure associated with being a Melville staff member. Catalog pages showcase primarily women's dresses and clothing, offering different styles and fabric swatches for sales people to reference. A mail-in coupon and order form have been filled out by Violet F. Schulz, a Minnesota woman, so it is likely that this portfolio belonged to her.
- Biographical / historical:
-
The Melville Company was a Cincinnati-based, direct-sales clothing company owned by Melville, Sidney, and Georgette Meyers. The company was active in the 1940s and 1950s, and it relied on network marketing, wherein customers are given staff status and then recruit other customers to purchase and/or become staff members, who in turn recruit more customers. Melville largely targeted women as their desired sales personnel, offering discounts, products, and sales-based commission, advertising the ease of making money by showing Melville products to friends.
Violet F. Schulz was a woman who lived in Robbinsdale, Minnesota, in 1944 and likely worked as a Melville saleswoman.
Source: U.S. Federal Trade Commission, Federal Trade Commission Decisions, vol. 40 (Washington, DC: Goverment Printing Office, 1947), 836, accessed 2023 April 18, Google Books.
- Acquisition information:
- The Melville Company Saleswoman Portfolio was received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a purchase from Type Punch Matrix in 2022.
- Processing information:
-
Processed by Leah Tams, April 2023
Accessions described in this collection guide: 2022-0128
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Subjects
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Contents
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Collection is open for research.
- Terms of access:
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- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Melville Company Saleswoman Portfolio, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.
- Permalink:
- https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/m1xf1h