Merchandise Spotlight: Books

Because the marketing of single titles by mail is economically not feasible, all these schemes were predicated on the concept of getting hundreds of dollars worth of books into readers’ hands with minimal effort on the part of buyers, and allowing them to pay in relatively small monthly amounts.

With the exception of Book-of-the-Month and Literary Guild, these purveyors of books were not selling literary experiences; they were selling furniture—decor to fill up empty bookshelves that would give a home warmth as well as impress friends and neighbors. As a result, consumers were not necessarily more knowledgeable, but they did feel good about themselves.