CHAPTER 4 4.
Affection"s Gift: Toward a History of Christmas Presents Toward a History of Christmas Presents "Christmas won"t be Christmas without any presents."-Opening line of Little Women (1868) Little Women (1868)
A COMMERCIAL C CHRISTMAS.
MAKING CHRISTMAS an indoor family affair meant enmeshing it in the commercial marketplace. As long as the Christmas gift exchange was still a matter of wa.s.sailing from peasants to landlords, from poor folk to rich ones, the gifts themselves most often took the form of food and drink-the landlord"s best food and drink, served within his house. Such gifts were not "presents" in the modern sense of being purchased in the commercial market. Oftentimes, indeed, they were manufactured within the household itself, and from grains cultivated by the same peasants who were now receiving them back in the form of "cakes and ale." an indoor family affair meant enmeshing it in the commercial marketplace. As long as the Christmas gift exchange was still a matter of wa.s.sailing from peasants to landlords, from poor folk to rich ones, the gifts themselves most often took the form of food and drink-the landlord"s best food and drink, served within his house. Such gifts were not "presents" in the modern sense of being purchased in the commercial market. Oftentimes, indeed, they were manufactured within the household itself, and from grains cultivated by the same peasants who were now receiving them back in the form of "cakes and ale."
When the gift exchange was brought inside and limited to the family circle, such gifts no longer made sense. The wife and children of a prosperous man already ate the household"s best food; they were already living in the family manor. What made Christmas special for them them had to be a different sort of gift, the sort of gift that soon became known as a Christmas "present." And that was precisely the kind of gift that could most conveniently be procured through a had to be a different sort of gift, the sort of gift that soon became known as a Christmas "present." And that was precisely the kind of gift that could most conveniently be procured through a purchase purchase.
The actual change was not that simple, of course. In the latter part of the eighteenth century, as we have already seen, ordinary households sometimes held special Christmas dinners, dinners that might include (as they did for the Maine midwife Martha Ballard-see Chapter 1 Chapter 1) a few special ingredients-sugar, spices, rum-that were purchased in local shops. Or shopkeepers might provide some finishing touch for a handmade Christmas present: In 1769, for example, Joseph Stebbins paid a shopkeeper in Deerfield, Ma.s.sachusetts, for "coolering [dyeing] a pare of Mitt[en]s for [his] wife." Presumably the mittens themselves had already been knitted, probably at home, perhaps by Mrs. Stebbins herself. (We can infer that the newly dyed mittens were probably intended as a Christmas gift because the transaction took place on December 22.)1 We might think of such transactions, in which shops played a small but crucial role, as "semi-commercial." They may have been commonplace, though evidence on this score is extremely difficult to come by-buried in ma.n.u.script account-books. But things would begin to change soon after 1800. We might think of such transactions, in which shops played a small but crucial role, as "semi-commercial." They may have been commonplace, though evidence on this score is extremely difficult to come by-buried in ma.n.u.script account-books. But things would begin to change soon after 1800.
IT IS COMMONPLACE, nowadays, to hark back to a time when Christmas was simpler, more authentic, and less commercial than it has become. Even professional historians have tended to write about the pre-twentieth-century Christmas in that way. Generally when people muse along these lines it is to a.s.sociate the noncommercial holiday with the years of their own childhood, or perhaps the childhood of their parents or (at most) their grandparents.
As it happens, such musings have been commonplace for a long time-for more than a century and a half. Consider the theme of a short story dating back to the middle of the nineteenth century, a story that commented on the profusion of presents bought and sold during the holiday season-and the trouble many comfortably-off Americans had in finding something meaningful to give their loved ones at Christmas. The author of the story was soon to become America"s best-known writer-Harriet Beecher Stowe. When Stowe wrote her Christmas story in 1850, she had not yet written Uncle Tom"s Cabin Uncle Tom"s Cabin, although that great novel was beginning to take shape in her mind. But what was also in her mind that year were the problems posed by Christmas shopping.
"Oh, dear!" "sighs one of the characters in the opening lines of this story. "Ohristmas is coming in a fortnight, and I I have got to think up presents for everybody! Dear me, it"s so tedious! Everybody has got everything that can be thought of."" This character goes on to declare that even though ""every shop and store is glittering with all manner of splendors,"" it was impossible to decide what presents ""to get for people that have more than they know what to do with now; to add pictures, books, and gilding when the centre tables are loaded with them now, and rings and jewels when they are a perfect drug!"" When she was a child of 10, explained Stowe (or the character who stands in for her in the story), ""the very idea of a present was so new"" that a child would be ""perfectly delighted"" with the gift of even a single piece of candy. In those days, ""presents did not fly about as they do now."" But nowadays, things are different: ""There are worlds of money wasted, at this time of year, in getting things that n.o.body wants, and n.o.body cares for after they are got."" have got to think up presents for everybody! Dear me, it"s so tedious! Everybody has got everything that can be thought of."" This character goes on to declare that even though ""every shop and store is glittering with all manner of splendors,"" it was impossible to decide what presents ""to get for people that have more than they know what to do with now; to add pictures, books, and gilding when the centre tables are loaded with them now, and rings and jewels when they are a perfect drug!"" When she was a child of 10, explained Stowe (or the character who stands in for her in the story), ""the very idea of a present was so new"" that a child would be ""perfectly delighted"" with the gift of even a single piece of candy. In those days, ""presents did not fly about as they do now."" But nowadays, things are different: ""There are worlds of money wasted, at this time of year, in getting things that n.o.body wants, and n.o.body cares for after they are got.""2 Just as many people do today, Harriet Beecher Stowe seems to have believed that this change took place within her own generation (she was born in 1811). But the difference is that Stowe was substantially correct. Commercial Christmas presents did start to become common when she was a child, and especially during the decade of the 1820s. This chapter will explore the process by which that came to happen and the implications such a development had for the meaning of the gift exchange.
Advertising for Presents If the domestic reform of Christmas began as an enterprise of patricians, fearful for their authority, it was soon being reinforced by merchants, who needed the streets to be cleared of drunks and rowdies in order to secure them for Christmas shoppers; by shoppers who in turn needed to feel secure in the streets; and by newspaper editors whose success depended on their mediating between other businessmen and their own readers (who were shoppers, too).
Advertis.e.m.e.nts for Christmas presents actually began to appear as early as the first signs of interest in St. Nicholas emerged, although they did not become common for several more decades. The first explicit ad for Christmas presents I have found anywhere in the United States comes from a New England community, Salem, Ma.s.sachusetts. Dating from 1806 and headed "Christmas Gifts," the advertis.e.m.e.nt was placed by a local bookseller. (Salem was a major port at this time, and a prosperous one.) Boston and New York had their first Christmas advertising two years later, in 1808, when two such ads appeared in the New York Evening Post New York Evening Post. One of these was for a shop offering "four hundred and fifty kinds of Christmas presents and New-year"s gifts, consisting of toys, childrens [sic] and school books, Christmas pieces, Drawing books, Paint, Lead Pencils, Conversations and Toy cards, Pocket Books, Penknives, &c."3 The advertising began to proliferate after 1820. By 1823 Christmas was already becoming so commercial that one Boston magazine was able to make a joke of it: "[There] is a time to give," says Solomon, and had [that] preacher lived in these days, he would have acknowledged, that there was no time like the present present, and never a better a.s.sortment of gifts gifts. Could he [just] peep into the Bookstore of Munroe & Francis, ... he might find a book for each of his wives [and] concubines, and each of their children, without purchasing duplicates.4 A decade later, in 1834, a letter printed in a Boston Unitarian magazine suggested that the available choice of presents, and the aggressiveness with which they were being advertised, had reached the point where Christmas shopping was becoming a source of confusion. "The days are close at hand when everybody gives away something to somebody," this letter began: All the children are expecting presents, and all aunts and cousins to say nothing of near relatives, are considering what they shall bestow upon the earnest expectants.... I observe that the shops are preparing themselves with all sorts of things to suit all sorts of tastes; and am amazed at the cunning skill with which the most worthless as well as most valuable articles are set forth to tempt and decoy the bewildered purchaser.
The same letter warned shoppers to "put themselves on their guard, to be resolved to select from the tempting ma.s.s only what is useful and what may do good," and to avoid "empty trifles, which amuse or gratify for the day only."
The very mult.i.tude bewilders most purchasers; and often have I been pained to observe the perplexity of some kind parent or friend, who wished to choose wisely, but knew not how, and after long balancing took something at random, perhaps good, perhaps worthless.5 Only too familiar. Even in a small town in rural New Hampshire, in 1835 a local newspaper printed a cautionary tale t.i.tled "Reflect Before You Buy"-a story written for young children!6 Similar examples abound from following years. By the time Harriet Beecher Stowe published her 1850 lament, the sentiment she expressed had become a commonplace. Similar examples abound from following years. By the time Harriet Beecher Stowe published her 1850 lament, the sentiment she expressed had become a commonplace.
Most commercial presents were manufactured for children. The very first advertis.e.m.e.nt I have found for Christmas presents, the 1806 one from Salem, Ma.s.sachusetts, was for "a large a.s.sortment of Youth"s and Children"s Books." The first ad from Boston, in 1808, was for "Books for Children." The first New York ad, also in 1808, was for children"s books and toys.7 Over the years, children remained the primary target of Christmas ads, but they ceased to be the Over the years, children remained the primary target of Christmas ads, but they ceased to be the exclusive exclusive targets. In 1809, for example, four of the five ads for holiday presents that appeared in one Boston newspaper were for the entertainment of children, but the remaining one focused on the decoration of women: "a general a.s.sortment of elegant and fashionable targets. In 1809, for example, four of the five ads for holiday presents that appeared in one Boston newspaper were for the entertainment of children, but the remaining one focused on the decoration of women: "a general a.s.sortment of elegant and fashionable JEWELLERY JEWELLERY [sic], consisting of Fine pearl set Brooches; Ear Rings; Finger Rings; Bracelets, &c., with rich carnelian and topaz Centers; ... carnelian Necklaces; Ear k.n.o.bs; Tops and Drops; tortoise-sh.e.l.l Combs of all descriptions; gold Watch Chains...." (Women, like children, were dependent members of the household. Only later were adult men included as appropriate recipients of Christmas presents.) [sic], consisting of Fine pearl set Brooches; Ear Rings; Finger Rings; Bracelets, &c., with rich carnelian and topaz Centers; ... carnelian Necklaces; Ear k.n.o.bs; Tops and Drops; tortoise-sh.e.l.l Combs of all descriptions; gold Watch Chains...." (Women, like children, were dependent members of the household. Only later were adult men included as appropriate recipients of Christmas presents.)8 A thorough examination of early-nineteenth-century American newspapers might well yield slightly earlier dates for such minor milestones as the first complaint about consumer confusion or the first Christmas advertis.e.m.e.nt. But the pattern itself seems clear enough: Commercial Christmas presents were first publicly advertised in the first two decades of the nineteenth century, and the advertising became pervasive during the following decade, in the 1820s. And through the "country editions" printed by many urban newspapers for their rural readers, word that Christmas presents were available (and fashionably appropriate) spread throughout much of the United States.
In the early 1840s advertis.e.m.e.nts for Christmas presents became more numerous, ornate, and sophisticated, and newspapers began to organize them into a separate category t.i.tled "Holiday Advertis.e.m.e.nts." These columns were typically placed on the front page, at the very beginning of the advertising section (one New York paper noted in 1841 that they held "the post of honor").9 Christmas advertis.e.m.e.nts began to appear earlier and earlier, into the second week of December. Christmas advertis.e.m.e.nts began to appear earlier and earlier, into the second week of December.10 On December 23, 1845, Horace Greeley"s On December 23, 1845, Horace Greeley"s New York Tribune New York Tribune announced that the paper would be "compelled to issue a [special] supplement" the following day so as "to make room for the matter which the pressure of Holiday Advertis.e.m.e.nts has crowded out for a few days past." ("By the way," it added, "our readers who think of making Christmas Presents will find our advertising columns unusually interesting. Almost every thing worth buying is offered there. Read and make your selections.") Finally, Santa Claus himself began to be used in advertis.e.m.e.nts, and of course in shops themselves, as a way of attracting the attention of children (more about this later). announced that the paper would be "compelled to issue a [special] supplement" the following day so as "to make room for the matter which the pressure of Holiday Advertis.e.m.e.nts has crowded out for a few days past." ("By the way," it added, "our readers who think of making Christmas Presents will find our advertising columns unusually interesting. Almost every thing worth buying is offered there. Read and make your selections.") Finally, Santa Claus himself began to be used in advertis.e.m.e.nts, and of course in shops themselves, as a way of attracting the attention of children (more about this later).
It was probably no accident that these aggressive advertising tactics were devised in hard economic times. The depression that set in at the end of 1839 was the deepest the United States had yet experienced. But merchants, abetted by newspapers, openly used Christmas as a way to attract shoppers even in the depths of the depression. One Philadelphia paper announced on December 24, 1841, that "Christmas is at hand," and tried to persuade its readers to ignore economic conditions for a while by opening their purses to buy holiday gifts. The newspaper represented the depression as "Old Hard Times," an unpopular monarch. But readers were a.s.sured that he "has abdicated for the present," to be replaced by a more benevolent figure: "Old Santa Claus is expected tonight, and gaily are the windows of the fancy, fruit, cake, and other stores decorated to receive him-and puzzled will the old fellow be to make a selection from the thousand curiosities, delicacies, and elegancies which are spread before him." The newspaper itself was prepared to come to Santas a.s.sistance: "In consideration of the many duties that he has to perform at this time, we will endeavor to lighten his labors; and in order that he may make the best choice to be found in the city, we are determined to send him a copy of the Ledger, where he will find every thing that is worthy of his notice judiciously advertised under the proper head...."11 Most Philadelphia shopkeepers emphasized the variety of gifts they had in stock and-in a tacit acknowledgment of the hardness of the times-the wide range of prices for which they could be bought. A jeweler made the point as well as anyone: He had rings as costly as $25 each, but also as cheap as 25 cents (the same was true of his earrings, breast pins, gold and silver pencil cases, and so on). This jeweler even offered violins for sale-at anywhere from "$i to $40."12 Businessmen went to great lengths to persuade Philadelphians to visit their shops. Beginning with the 1840 Christmas season, a fierce compet.i.tion developed among the city"s confectioners, who devised the idea of baking immense cakes that would be displayed in their shop windows on December 23-"mammoth cakes," they were termed. Customers could purchase pieces of the cake to take home. One of these cakes weighed in at 250 pounds; another was twice that size. The following year the stakes went up: One confectioner t.i.tled his ad "LARGE AND E EXTRA MAMMOTH F FRUIT C CAKE-NEARLY 1000 1000 POUNDS POUNDS."13 Another confectioner concluded his ad with a verse: Another confectioner concluded his ad with a verse: My cake is of a giant size, Formel to delight your tastes and eyes;Lastly, to name a case in point, The Times Times being sadly out of joint [i.e., the depression] ..., being sadly out of joint [i.e., the depression] ...,My Prices Prices shall be very small, shall be very small, To meet my patrons, one and all.
Confectioners also created an even more widespread fad: caramelized sugar and chocolate molded into a variety of improbable shapes, and crafted to appear real. One report, from Philadelphia, referred to lavish Christmas displays of candied "mutton chops, sausages, boiled lobsters, pieces of bacon, cabbages, carrots, loaves of bread, &c. all made of sugar, and colored to the life."14 More common shapes included various kinds of animals as well as oversize insects such as beetles, spiders, and-for some reason these were a special favorite-c.o.c.kroaches. More common shapes included various kinds of animals as well as oversize insects such as beetles, spiders, and-for some reason these were a special favorite-c.o.c.kroaches.
LUXURY AND THE L LURE OF C CHRISTMAS.
There is a paradox here. Christmas presents were almost by definition luxury items-and luxuries are the first things that people give up when times are hard. But there was also another side to the same coin, a countervailing impulse that made many people vulnerable to splurging at Christmas, even in hard times. Businessmen knew that Christmas was the one time of the year when people had long expected to buy and consume things they did not need, even if they could not really afford to. A New York newspaper, the Herald Herald, had played on this point two years earlier, when the depression was just coming on. Despite the state of the economy (what the writer of one article coyly termed "the rumored hardness of the times"), Christmas presents were readily available, and everyone should purchase something-at the very least, a present for the "one being that they love." Forget the depression for a little while, this writer counseled: "Who is there, that is not ground into the very dust by biting poverty, that would hesitate, at this hallowed season, to bestow a souvenir upon this one beloved object-this cherished flower of affection?"15 This writer was well aware of how vulnerable his readers were to the call for spending even beyond their means "at this hallowed season." This writer was well aware of how vulnerable his readers were to the call for spending even beyond their means "at this hallowed season."
It was potent fuel. Christmas had long been a special ritual time when the ordinary rules of behavior were upended. It was a time when people let strange things happen to their sense of what was acceptable behavior, their sense of limits. Christmas was (and still is) a time to let go of ordinary psychological restraints, to shift into an inner state in which it became possible to do what was otherwise unthinkable. What made that sort of indulgence objectively possible in an agricultural society was, as we have seen, the cycle of the seasons, in which December was a time of leisure and a season of plenty-plenty of food and drink. It was a time when consumption-overconsumption-was expected. It was a time to gorge on the best food and drink-not just bread and beer but "cakes and ale." It was a time to splurge, until the hard freeze of winter, and with it the constraints of ordinary existence, set in once again.
For many people living in America (and Western Europe) in the second quarter of the nineteenth century, that seasonal rhythm was less powerfully imposed, less all-defining, than it had once been. Urbanization and capitalism were liberating people from the constraints of an agricultural cycle and making larger quant.i.ties of goods available for more extended periods of time. But that change was very recent; and memories of the behavioral rhythms of the old seasonal cycle were still fresh. Late December was still a.s.sociated with letting go, with splurging, with overindulgence in luxuries that were hardly available at all during the rest of the year.
In early-nineteenth-century America, however, Christmas had to contend with another countervailing force. This had to do not with seasonal rhythms but with cultural predisposition. Most Americans of the Jacksonian period were predisposed to distrust luxury and excess. Even where buying luxury goods was economically possible, it was ideologically suspect. During and after the War for Independence, Americans had been taught that indulging in luxury was frivolous-that it was a vice a.s.sociated with the decadent aristocratic nations of Europe. The American Republic had to be more abstemious than that if it was to survive and prosper. Buying luxury goods amounted, therefore, almost to a subversive political act, the kind of small gesture that could jeopardize the future health of the Republic. Consumer capitalism and civic virtue were not commonly a.s.sociated with each other in early-nineteenth-century America.
Once again, Christmas came to the rescue. For this was one time of the year when the lingering reluctance of middle-cla.s.s Americans to purchase frivolous gifts for their children was overwhelmed by their equally lingering predisposition to abandon ordinary behavioral constraints. Christmas helped intensify and legitimize a commercial kind of consumerism.
Producers and merchants were not slow to grasp these connections. They recognized that it was possible to exploit the season by offering a plethora of "fancy" goods, luxury items of precisely the kind that few people were willing to purchase at any other time of the year: books, toys, jewelry and fancy clothes, candy and cake. After all, one of the defining characteristics of an effective Christmas present was that it was was a luxury, not something that satisfied a practical need. As Horace Greeley put it in an 1846 editorial, a Christmas gift should never be "a matter of homely necessity." a luxury, not something that satisfied a practical need. As Horace Greeley put it in an 1846 editorial, a Christmas gift should never be "a matter of homely necessity."
A commercial Christmas thus emerged in tandem with the commercial economy itself, and the two were mutually reinforcing. On the one hand, the new economy made possible that now-familiar development-the commercialization of Christmas. On the other, Christmas itself served to fuel the general process of commercialization. It was the thin end of the wedge by which many Americans became enmeshed in the more self-indulgent aspects of consumer spending. (To be sure, it has recently become clear that the "consumer revolution" was actually a long process, one whose beginnings historians now place back in the colonial period, even before the American Revolution.16 But the process accelerated sharply around the beginning of the nineteenth century.) Christmas was used to lubricate the "demand side" of a dynamic commercializing economy. Much as Christmas alcohol helped release one sort of ordinarily forbidden behavior, so Christmas advertising helped release another sort. In this way Christmas became a crucial means of legitimizing the penetration of consumerist behavior into American society. But the process accelerated sharply around the beginning of the nineteenth century.) Christmas was used to lubricate the "demand side" of a dynamic commercializing economy. Much as Christmas alcohol helped release one sort of ordinarily forbidden behavior, so Christmas advertising helped release another sort. In this way Christmas became a crucial means of legitimizing the penetration of consumerist behavior into American society.
AFFECTION"S G GIFT Books as Gifts As it happened, publishers and booksellers were the shock troops in exploiting-and developing-a Christmas trade. And books were on the cutting edge of a commercial Christmas, making up more than half of the earliest items advertised as Christmas gifts. (The very first commercial Christmas gift I have encountered was the almanac that Martha Ballard"s son-in-law received from one of his acquaintances. See Chapter 1 Chapter 1.) In fact, even before books were actually labeled as Christmas presents in the newspapers, they were being marketed for that purpose.
Mason Locke Weems ("Parson" Weems), a bookseller and writer who is remembered today for inventing the legend of young George Washington and the cherry tree, distributed his own books as Christmas presents in 1810-including the popular biography of Washington in which the cherry tree story first appeared. That year he advertised that he would offer a deep discount to buyers "who take several copies of Washington and Marion [another biography] for Christmas Boxes to their young relations."17 Even in New England, and as early as 1783, the publisher Isaiah Thomas inserted on Christmas Day in his Worcester, Ma.s.sachusetts, newspaper an ad t.i.tled "Books for little Masters and Misses, proper for NEW YEAR"S GIFTS NEW YEAR"S GIFTS." A year later Thomas ran a similar ad, headed "CHILDREN"S BOOKS.... Very proper for parents &c. to present to their children as New-years gifts, &c." (He inserted these ads on December 25, probably because the term "New Year"s" covered the two holidays together.)18 Then, in 1789, Thomas went a step further: He published a little children"s book, Then, in 1789, Thomas went a step further: He published a little children"s book, Nurse Truelove"s Christmas Box Nurse Truelove"s Christmas Box ("Christmas box" was a term for a Christmas gift). The text of this book actually concluded with a promise from "Nurse Truelove" herself-she was something of a cross between Mother Goose and Santa Claus-"to make a present of another book by way of ("Christmas box" was a term for a Christmas gift). The text of this book actually concluded with a promise from "Nurse Truelove" herself-she was something of a cross between Mother Goose and Santa Claus-"to make a present of another book by way of New Years Gift New Years Gift, (which will be published soon after Christmas) Christmas)." As a parting shot, "Nurse Truelove" added an explicit ad for Isaiah Thomas"s Worcester bookshop: "In the mean time, if you should want any other little Books, pray send to Mr. Thomas"s Thomas"s, where you may have the following" (what followed was a list of children"s books that Isaiah Thomas had on hand). Thomas was using the special a.s.sociations of the Christmas season with luxury spending to get children (and their parents) into his shop.19 Gift Books It was in the 1820s that publishers began to cultivate the Christmas trade in a systematic fashion. In 1826, for example, the Boston booksellers Munroe and Francis printed a special Christmas flyer-207 children"s books, ranging in price from 6 6 cents to 40 cents each. Two years later the same booksellers circulated another flyer; this one was headed "Christmas and New-Year ... Presents for the Coming Season." Four densely printed pages in length, it listed the better part of a thousand items. cents to 40 cents each. Two years later the same booksellers circulated another flyer; this one was headed "Christmas and New-Year ... Presents for the Coming Season." Four densely printed pages in length, it listed the better part of a thousand items.20 But it was not just by heavy advertising that the book trade acted as the shock troops of a commercial Christmas during the 1820s. The most important step it took in that direction was to invent a new kind of product, in the form of a new literary genre that was specifically linked to the Christmas season. The genre was the "Gift Book"-a mixed anthology of poetry, stories, essays, and (frequently) pictures. Gift Books were always published at the very end of the year, just in time for sale as Christmas presents. Whenever one of them sold well, a new number bearing the same t.i.tle would be brought out a year later (giving rise to an alternative name for the genre, "literary annuals").
Gift Books first appeared in Europe at the beginning of the decade and were taken up in the United States in 1825, when the Philadelphia publishers Carey & Lea brought out The Atlantic Souvenir The Atlantic Souvenir. The preface to this volume defined the new genre as a specific combination of sentiment, season, and content: Nothing would seem more naturally to suggest itself, as one of those marks of remembrance and affection, which old custom has a.s.sociated with the gaiety of Christmas, than a little volume of lighter literature, adorned with beautiful specimens of art.
Of course, the genre had no more suggested itself "naturally" than was the practice of buying Christmas presents really an "old custom." Still, within a very few years American Gift Books had proliferated wildly. And their proliferation followed a clear pattern, one that was unprecedented in the history of American publishing. Gift Books were available at every price range and for every conceivable market-demographic, religious, political, and cultural. Some Gift Books consisted entirely of poetry; others were humorous (The Comic Annual) (The Comic Annual). There were Gift Books for children (in fact, for boys and girls separately), young men, mothers, Jacksonian Democrats, proponents of temperance and abolitionism, even members of men"s clubs {The Masonic Offering {The Masonic Offering and and The Odd Fellows" Offering) The Odd Fellows" Offering). In other words, publishers had managed to divide the market for Gift Books into highly specialized niches-identified by cla.s.s, age, ideology, and cultural temperament. They had managed to achieve an astonishing degree of what modern economists now refer to as market segmentation market segmentation.
And an equally high degree of market penetration penetration. From the time they were introduced in 1825, Gift Books were sold in almost every corner of the nation and advertised in newspapers throughout the American hinterland. What was especially remarkable about this market penetration was the way it was organized: Virtually every American Gift Book was published in one of only three places, in the cities of Boston, New York, and Philadelphia. And this was in an era when the publication of other kinds of books was still being carried out on a strikingly decentralized basis. (In fact, books were often printed in towns so small that nowadays they would not even support a local newspaper.)21 Gift Books had a nationwide distribution that was based on a highly centralized mode of production. Here again, they were on the cutting edge of economic change in the United States. Gift Books had a nationwide distribution that was based on a highly centralized mode of production. Here again, they were on the cutting edge of economic change in the United States.
Many Gift Books were ornate, with gilt edges, lavish bindings, expensive engravings, and colored "presentation plates." But they came at all price levels. James Gordon Bennett"s New York Herald New York Herald noted in the depression year 1840 that Gift Books "come within the range of the means of most persons, varying in price from $3 to $15;" and it added pointedly: "There are few that would wish to give a lady a present of a less value than $3." noted in the depression year 1840 that Gift Books "come within the range of the means of most persons, varying in price from $3 to $15;" and it added pointedly: "There are few that would wish to give a lady a present of a less value than $3."22*
Gift Books were compiled whenever possible by a popular author whose name on the t.i.tle page could be expected to guarantee added sales. They could be put together fast, in a matter of weeks if necessary. In 1837, one apologetic editor publicly acknowledged that the decision to compile his Gift Book "only suggested itself to the Publisher a fortnight before the last sheet was put to press," and that the work had to be completed so quickly because the publisher wished it to "appear at the season when the annuals and other similar publications are most in request."23 Nowadays such books are called quickies. Nowadays such books are called quickies.
Gift Books have been studied to show their influence in disseminating literature and art to the American public. They have also been studied, more than any other genre of printed matter, as physical objects, examples of the "materiality" of literary culture: to show that books were not only read but also gazed at, fondly handled, and proudly displayed. What I wish to add here is a point that it is easy to overlook: Gift Books were marketed as presents presents, purchased only to be given away. Indeed, as far as I can determine, Gift Books were the very first very first commercial products of any sort that were manufactured specifically, and solely, for the purpose of being given away by the purchaser. And, of course, they were to be given away during the Christmas season. The overwhelming majority of Gift Books bore as their subt.i.tle the phrase "A Christmas and New Year"s Gift" (or "Present"). That is why they were often so physically ornate: Christmas was the appointed time for luxury spending. Once again, the case of Gift Books suggests the manner in which Christmas was consciously used by entrepreneurs as an agent of commercialization, an instrument with which to enmesh Americans in the web of consumer capitalism. commercial products of any sort that were manufactured specifically, and solely, for the purpose of being given away by the purchaser. And, of course, they were to be given away during the Christmas season. The overwhelming majority of Gift Books bore as their subt.i.tle the phrase "A Christmas and New Year"s Gift" (or "Present"). That is why they were often so physically ornate: Christmas was the appointed time for luxury spending. Once again, the case of Gift Books suggests the manner in which Christmas was consciously used by entrepreneurs as an agent of commercialization, an instrument with which to enmesh Americans in the web of consumer capitalism.
For at least one major publishing house (and probably others), Gift Books represented the single-largest venture of the business year. The Philadelphia firm of Carey & Lea invested heavily in the production of The Atlantic Souvenir The Atlantic Souvenir. In 1829 and again in 1830, the firm printed 10,500 copies of this very popular Gift Book, at a cost of more than $12,500 each year; in 1830 this sum came to more than 30 percent of their total total production costs for the year. (The $12,500 included printing costs and payments to the books editor and its contributors, but the single most expensive item, easily exceeding all the authors" payments combined, was the book"s engravings.) But Carey & Lea hoped for a substantial return on their investment: if the press run sold out, they would take in $17,386, for a net profit of almost 40 percent. production costs for the year. (The $12,500 included printing costs and payments to the books editor and its contributors, but the single most expensive item, easily exceeding all the authors" payments combined, was the book"s engravings.) But Carey & Lea hoped for a substantial return on their investment: if the press run sold out, they would take in $17,386, for a net profit of almost 40 percent.24 Gift Books were marketed with aggressive new techniques. For example, they commonly contained their own advertis.e.m.e.nts-not tucked away in the back pages but inscribed within the literary matter itself. (This was especially true of Gift Books that were intended for children.) Sometimes this self-advertising took the general form of a story or poem in which a character insisted that books (and especially Gift Books) made the best presents. Take The Violet The Violet for 1837 (edited by Eliza Leslie, whom we have encountered before as the author of the story about young Robert Hamlin"s Philadelphia shopping excursion). This volume contains a poem in which four young siblings discuss the Christmas presents they would like to receive. Three of the four indicate that they are hoping for toys. But the fourth child, an older sister, knows that children will quickly lose interest in toys. What she wants instead are books-and a Gift Book most of all: for 1837 (edited by Eliza Leslie, whom we have encountered before as the author of the story about young Robert Hamlin"s Philadelphia shopping excursion). This volume contains a poem in which four young siblings discuss the Christmas presents they would like to receive. Three of the four indicate that they are hoping for toys. But the fourth child, an older sister, knows that children will quickly lose interest in toys. What she wants instead are books-and a Gift Book most of all: For me, of books I should not tire Were hundreds on my shelf; I"ll tell you now my chief desire- An "Annual" for myself; With cover handsomely emboss"d, And gilded edges bright; With prints to look at, tales to read, And verses to recite.
Often poems such as this named the very Gift Book in which they appeared. The 1840 preface to a children"s Gift Book, The Annualette The Annualette, contained this typical verse: Annuals for every taste, for every age, Lie scattered round, decked in their covers gay....
Then choose, and neither old nor young forget- Each child, at least, must have the ANNUALETTE.25 Sometimes such verse even advertised other volumes on the publisher"s list. For example, The Pearl The Pearl was published by the Philadelphia firm of Ash and Anners, which also published a periodical named was published by the Philadelphia firm of Ash and Anners, which also published a periodical named Parleys Magazine Parleys Magazine. Sure enough, a poem in The Pearl The Pearl for 1836 has a father who tells his children, as he is handing them their presents: for 1836 has a father who tells his children, as he is handing them their presents: Here"s Parley"s Magazine, my boys, And for my little girl Here is a very pretty book, Whose t.i.tle is "The Pearl."
And in the very next number of The Pearl The Pearl, for 1837, one story ends with a group of children opening their Christmas presents. ""I am so glad that I have got The Pearl," The Pearl," "one says, and a second chimes in after opening another holiday book brought out by the same publishers: ""I have "one says, and a second chimes in after opening another holiday book brought out by the same publishers: ""I have The Boys" Week-Day Book The Boys" Week-Day Book-I have wanted it so much.""26 Even Santa Claus got into the act. The preface to a Gift Book first published in 1842 as St. Nicholas"s Book St. Nicholas"s Book conveyed the point that it had been put together directly on the personal instructions of St. Nicholas himself, who desired to have a book "made exactly to his mind for the Christmas of this year" and who therefore "applied to the author to make one, to be called "St. Nicholas"s Book for All Good Boys and Girls."" The preface noted, simply, "Here it is." And it continued: conveyed the point that it had been put together directly on the personal instructions of St. Nicholas himself, who desired to have a book "made exactly to his mind for the Christmas of this year" and who therefore "applied to the author to make one, to be called "St. Nicholas"s Book for All Good Boys and Girls."" The preface noted, simply, "Here it is." And it continued: Each of those children whom Saint Nicholas ... most highly approves, will be sure to find a copy of this book, with all its stories and pictures, and its nice binding, safely deposited in his stocking in the chimney corner, on the morning of next Christmas, or at farthest, next New Year"s Day.27 When they were manufactured as presents for adults, Gift Books were often ornate and luxurious to the eye and hand. Commonly, they were named to suggest their resemblance to other kinds of beautiful luxury objects, notably jewels or flowers, both of which were also popular as Christmas presents (the latter were newly available in winter through commercial hothouses). Thus, for jewelry, there were the Amaranth, Amethyst, Amulet, Brilliant, Coronet, Diadem, Gem, Gem of the Season, Jewel, Literary Gem, Lyric Gem, Opal, Pearl Amaranth, Amethyst, Amulet, Brilliant, Coronet, Diadem, Gem, Gem of the Season, Jewel, Literary Gem, Lyric Gem, Opal, Pearl, and Ruby Ruby. For flowers, there were Autumn Leaves, Bouquet, Christmas Blossoms, Dahlia, Dew-Drop, Evergreen, Floral Offering, Flowers of Loveliness, Garland, Hyacinth, Iris, Laurel Wreath, Lily, Lily of the Valley, Magnolia, May Flower, Moss-Rose, Primrose, Rose, Rose Bud, Violet, Winter-Bloom, Wintergreen, Woodbine Autumn Leaves, Bouquet, Christmas Blossoms, Dahlia, Dew-Drop, Evergreen, Floral Offering, Flowers of Loveliness, Garland, Hyacinth, Iris, Laurel Wreath, Lily, Lily of the Valley, Magnolia, May Flower, Moss-Rose, Primrose, Rose, Rose Bud, Violet, Winter-Bloom, Wintergreen, Woodbine, and Wreath Wreath.
Gift Books were probably among the most expensive books many Americans had ever purchased. Take the experience of a rather prosperous man, John Davis of Worcester, Ma.s.sachusetts. (A future governor of Ma.s.sachusetts, he was then serving in the U.S. Congress.) On December 26, 1826, Davis wrote to his wife that he had visited a Washington bookstore and bought her a "very beautiful" Gift Book: I went into a bookstore to see what was the price of a souvenir [i.e., a Gift Book] that I might send you a new year"s present. I saw them advertised as very beautiful and found them so as you will judge by the price $5. This bookstore is one of the best... the most pleasant I ever saw. The proprietor ... seems to spare nothing to get the most rich and costly collections of books, of prints, maps and everything else. The shop is not large but elegant. I saw many things I wanted to buy but they cost too much.28 Davis admitted here that he had been tempted to buy "many things" that were more expensive than he was used to purchasing. But he did spend $5 on a single book for his wife-and he let her know it (which suggests that he was not used to spending so much money on books).
IT WOULD be unfair to conclude that these books were purchased and given away simply as a display of conspicuous consumption. Christmas gifts had to be (or appear to be) expressions of personal sentiment, designed to signify or enhance intimate personal bonds-bonds between parents and children, husbands and wives, suitors and those they courted. And that is surely what parents, husbands, and suitors wanted them to be. Such Christmas presents were intended above all to represent an be unfair to conclude that these books were purchased and given away simply as a display of conspicuous consumption. Christmas gifts had to be (or appear to be) expressions of personal sentiment, designed to signify or enhance intimate personal bonds-bonds between parents and children, husbands and wives, suitors and those they courted. And that is surely what parents, husbands, and suitors wanted them to be. Such Christmas presents were intended above all to represent an expression of feeling expression of feeling. This meant that they were to be given freely, out of affection, and not as part of an old-fashioned gift exchange offered in fulfillment of an obligation. The Herald"s Herald"s new rival, Horace Greeley"s new rival, Horace Greeley"s New York Tribune New York Tribune, put this point quite clearly in 1846: "The season approaches when Good Wishes take visible, palpable form, becoming active in the shape of Gifts.... To give and receive the free will offerings of Friendship and Affection are among the purest pleasures permitted to this state of being...." Greeley stressed that such "free will offerings of Friendship and Affection" had nothing in common with the traditional exchange of gifts for goodwill: A present given to create a sense of obligation, even to a dependent or child, becomes at the best a Chanty, humiliating rather than inspiring the receiver. Charity is well in its place ... : but a Gift of Affection is quite another matter.
That was why it was so important for the gift to stand outside the realm of ordinary day-to-day needs, to be a luxury item and never what Greeley called "a matter of homely necessity or mere mercantile utility." "In short, it should not so much satisfy a want as express a sentiment, speaking a language which if unmeaning to the general ear, is yet eloquent to the heart of the receiver."29 Greeley knew that spouses and lovers often presented such Gift Books to each other. And an editorial puffin the New York Herald New York Herald in 1839, describing the "splendid volumes" of Gift Books on sale at the local bookshops, suggested that they would make the best possible present for the "one beloved object," the "cherished flower of affection" in their lives. The notice concluded pointedly: Such presents say, "in language not to be mistaken, "Forget me not."" in 1839, describing the "splendid volumes" of Gift Books on sale at the local bookshops, suggested that they would make the best possible present for the "one beloved object," the "cherished flower of affection" in their lives. The notice concluded pointedly: Such presents say, "in language not to be mistaken, "Forget me not.""30 In other words, the presentation of a Gift Book could be used as part of the courtship process, as a way of deepening a personal relationship or signaling a willingness to do so. That often meant treading a delicate line-to be personal and sincere yet not too too intimate. As the preface to one Gift Book phrased the matter: intimate. As the preface to one Gift Book phrased the matter: In the festive season of the year, when kind feelings flow forth in gifts, tokens, and remembrances, nothing ... is more appropriate as a souvenir, than a handsome book. It can be given and received without a violation of delicacy....31 There was a problem here. Whether Gift Books were used by suitors or by affectionate parents, there was an inherent tension between the message they were intended to convey and the fact that they were actually ma.s.s-produced and ma.s.s-marketed commodities. Given the personal weight such gifts were meant to carry, that was hardly appropriate. It was crucial that they be able to conceal the facts of their own production and distribution-to disguise their origins, in other words.
One reason that Gift Books made such successful Christmas gifts is that they managed to do that job very well. (In the antebellum years, as now, both jewels and flowers seemed to do the job, too, since they were not only beautiful luxury goods but also objects that could be represented as the creations of nature. This was another reason so many Gift Books were named for jewels and flowers.) Sometimes the very t.i.tle of a Gift Book indicated the sentiment it was meant to carry: thus Souvenir Souvenir itself (meaning something to be remembered), but also itself (meaning something to be remembered), but also Affections Gift, Forget Me Not, Friendships Offering, Gift of Friendship, Keepsake, Leaflets of Memory, Memento Affections Gift, Forget Me Not, Friendships Offering, Gift of Friendship, Keepsake, Leaflets of Memory, Memento (subt.i.tled "A Gift of Friendship"), (subt.i.tled "A Gift of Friendship"), Remember Me, Token Remember Me, Token, and Token of Friendship Token of Friendship. Both The Pearl The Pearl and and The Rose The Rose were subt.i.tled "Affections Gift," and in that way a.s.sociated jewelry and flowers, respectively, with personal feelings-with the world of domestic affections, not the world of commodity production. were subt.i.tled "Affections Gift," and in that way a.s.sociated jewelry and flowers, respectively, with personal feelings-with the world of domestic affections, not the world of commodity production.
The publishers of Gift Books took pains to give their products a personalized look. Of course, any any book given as a present could be personalized by means of an inscription on the flyleaf, giving the name of the giver and the recipient (and their relationship), and adding the date on which the book was presented. But Gift Books went further than that. Ironically, the very techniques of ma.s.s production were employed to make Gift Books appear personal and unique, to convey the impression that they were customized, even handmade, products. At the frontispiece of each volume, there typically appeared a special introductory page known as a "presentation plate"-an engraving expressly designed to be written on by the buyer of the book, to personalize it and make the presentation itself an intrinsic part of the book. book given as a present could be personalized by means of an inscription on the flyleaf, giving the name of the giver and the recipient (and their relationship), and adding the date on which the book was presented. But Gift Books went further than that. Ironically, the very techniques of ma.s.s production were employed to make Gift Books appear personal and unique, to convey the impression that they were customized, even handmade, products. At the frontispiece of each volume, there typically appeared a special introductory page known as a "presentation plate"-an engraving expressly designed to be written on by the buyer of the book, to personalize it and make the presentation itself an intrinsic part of the book.
Some presentation plates contained room for the purchaser not only to fill in his name and the name of the person who was to receive the book but even to compose a phrase that indicated the precise degree or quality of affection he wished the present to convey. Thus the presentation plate in The Token The Token for 1833 (a Gift Book that also happened to include three newly published stories by Nathaniel Hawthorne) left an empty line in which the purchaser was to fill in just what the book was a token of. (In the copy of this volume owned by the American Antiquarian Society, a man named Waldo Flint has written that his present to Rebekah Scott for 1833 (a Gift Book that also happened to include three newly published stories by Nathaniel Hawthorne) left an empty line in which the purchaser was to fill in just what the book was a token of. (In the copy of this volume owned by the American Antiquarian Society, a man named Waldo Flint has written that his present to Rebekah Scott
Presentation Plate. The printed part of this plate (from a Gift Book called The Token) The Token) leaves only three phrases to be filled in by the books purchaser. It reads: "From --- as a Token of --- to ---."This particular number of leaves only three phrases to be filled in by the books purchaser. It reads: "From --- as a Token of --- to ---."This particular number of The Token The Token happened to contain the first publication of three stories by Nathaniel Hawthorne. happened to contain the first publication of three stories by Nathaniel Hawthorne. (Courtesy, American Antiquarian Society) (Courtesy, American Antiquarian Society)
Courtship at Christmas. The young Cupid in the foreground of this presentation plate has just shot an arrow into the heart placed in the background at the right. There is little ambiguity here as to the point being made by anyone who purchases this Gift Book as a Christmas present! (Courtesy, American Antiquarian Society) (Courtesy, American Antiquarian Society) Dean was to be taken as a token of "his regard.") In other Gift Books the nature of the relationship was already embedded in the design of the presentation plate, as it was in an 1837 design showing a picture of a Cupid who has, William Tell-like, just shot an arrow into the heart that sits perched atop a pediment located to his right.
Gift Books might be said to represent the "commercialization of sincerity." As a genre, they flourished for little more than a single generation, between 1825 and 1860. Perhaps they held a special appeal for this particular generation, which was the first to be overwhelmed by the world of commodities and thus the only one that needed to disguise commercial transactions when they threatened to intrude on an intimate setting. A generation earlier, one could argue, such transactions had not been possible; a generation later, they would be so commonplace that the violation would have seemed virtually invisible.
Bibles as Christmas Gifts Most American families owned a Bible if they owned no other book. But before the nineteenth century these were family family Bibles, large and durable folio volumes meant to be used in family devotions and to be pa.s.sed down through the generations. But early in the nineteenth century Bibles became "personal" books as well, books meant to be the property of the individual who owned them. Bibles, large and durable folio volumes meant to be used in family devotions and to be pa.s.sed down through the generations. But early in the nineteenth century Bibles became "personal" books as well, books meant to be the property of the individual who owned them.
Such Bibles-especially editions of the New Testament-were heavily marketed at Christmas. Booksellers frequently advertised their selection of Bibles as heavily as they did their Gift Books-and right beside them. Here is a selection of ads placed in a Philadelphia newspaper by five different booksellers on a single day, December 24, 1844:32 -[B]eautiful annuals [i.e., Gift Books], bibles, and prayer books, and other publications, suited to all ages and inclinations.-[A]n elegant a.s.sortment of juvenile books, religious books, miniature books for gift books, bibles, prayer books and testaments.-[A]nnuals, prayer and hymn books, pocket bibles, &c.-[H]andsome hymn books, annuals, prayer books, and bibles.-[A]nnuals, bibles, prayer books, &c.
Even more self-evidently than with Gift Books, giving Bibles must have felt like a gesture suffused with sincerity, far removed from the world of commodity production and commercial exchange. But from a publisher"s perspective, Bibles were commercial products. And as the market for Bibles expanded, so did the compet.i.tion between editions. They came big and small, fancy and plain, fat and thin. Like Gift Books, too, Bibles came in a great variety of sizes, shapes, cover styles, and colors. Personal Bibles, especially, were often small in size-"pocket Bibles," as they were known. There were even ill.u.s.trated Bibles for young children.33 Booksellers advertised such Bibles as they advertised Gift Books, emphasizing their elegant bindings and ill.u.s.trations. Personal Bibles were marketed with special vigor during the Christmas season, along with booksellers" other wares, as another kind of "elegant" Christmas present. As early as 1818, a bookseller in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, printed such an advertis.e.m.e.nt on December 22 (and headed it Booksellers advertised such Bibles as they advertised Gift Books, emphasizing their elegant bindings and ill.u.s.trations. Personal Bibles were marketed with special vigor during the Christmas season, along with booksellers" other wares, as another kind of "elegant" Christmas present. As early as 1818, a bookseller in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, printed such an advertis.e.m.e.nt on December 22 (and headed it "Christmas and New Years Day"): "Christmas and New Years Day"):
A Personal Bible. A pocket-size edition of the New Testament, printed in 1827. As this ill.u.s.tration shows, the binding included a leather clasp (shown at the right), the handle of which would be inserted into a slit on the front cover when the book was closed. This particular volume was inscribed to "Mrs. Dean," the mother of Rebekah Scott Dean, whose Gift Books "presentation plate". (Courtesy, American Antiquarian Society) (Courtesy, American Antiquarian Society) His shop was offering "Elegant diamond type Pocket Bibles, superbly bound in morocco, full gilt"-though he would also sell "Common [i.e., plain] Pocket Bibles." In 1821, in Worcester, Ma.s.sachusetts, Isaiah Thomas managed to spend the enormous sum of $30 on "elegant Bibles" for his granddaughters.34 By the 1820s Bibles were competing with one another for market share even in their content. One might think that all Bibles were the same on the inside, but this was not the case. Take ill.u.s.trations, for example. The pictures printed in various ill.u.s.trated editions of the Bible often emphasized one or another element of the text (divine wrath or divine mercy, for instance), presumably to appeal to readers of varying theological preferences or aesthetic sensibilities-once again, a form of market segmentation. And many Bibles were published with end matter appended to make the book more accessible or alluring; these included chronologies and tables of p.r.o.nunciation, etymology, geography, scriptural weights and money, as well as colored maps. Several Bibles published in the 1820s contained an ingenious foldout "Key," designed to make the meaning of many of the verses easier to ponder.
But Bibles were able to disguise their ident.i.ty as commercial products, even more effectively than Gift Books. The divine authorship of the Bible, and its role as an infallible guide to the conduct of human life, rendered any clever sleight of hand quite unnecessary, especially when a Bible was intended as a present-and even when its physical packaging was used as a marketing device. Horace Greeley"s New York Tribune New York Tribune made the point quite clearly in 1846. After arguing that holiday gifts had to be "the free will offerings of Friendship and Affection," objects that would "express a sentiment," Greeley went on to suggest that Bibles were the "fittest" holiday present he had "ever yet beheld." But Greeley was not referring to just made the point quite clearly in 1846. After arguing that holiday gifts had to be "the free will offerings of Friendship and Affection," objects that would "express a sentiment," Greeley went on to suggest that Bibles were the "fittest" holiday present he had "ever yet beheld." But Greeley was not referring to just any any Bible: "We speak of Bible: "We speak of THE ILLUMINATED BIBLE THE ILLUMINATED BIBLE, published by Harper & Brothers in a superb royal quarto of some 1500 pages, profusely ill.u.s.trated by Adams from designs selected from the most superb European editions." This edition contained "a Chronological Index, a General Index of Subjects, a Concordance, an Alphabetical List of Proper Names, with their significations, Tables of Weights and Measures, &c." Most impressive of all was the physical package itself; the press work was "glorious" (there were usually three or four ill.u.s.trations on each page) and the binding "rich and durable" (the book was leather-bound, hand-tooled, and embossed with gold, and its pages were gilt-edged). For those reasons, Greeley predicted that "many thousands of copies are destined to be treasured as tokens of Affection from and after the Holydays."35 And indeed, the Harpers And indeed, the Harpers Illuminated Bible Illuminated Bible opened with a presentation plate of its own, an inscription page that read only "A Sacred Token, From----To----," leaving two blank s.p.a.ces for the names of giver and intended recipient to be filled in. In other words, the opened with a presentation plate of its own, an inscription page that read only "A Sacred Token, From----To----," leaving two blank s.p.a.ces for the names of giver and intended recipient to be filled in. In other words, the Illuminated Bible Illuminated Bible was deliberately marketed as a Gift Book. was deliberately marketed as a Gift Book.
The Illuminated Bible Illuminated Bible was a commercial triumph, selling enough copies in its first dozen years to earn the publishers a staggering $500,000 in retail receipts. was a commercial triumph, selling enough copies in its first dozen years to earn the publishers a staggering $500,000 in retail receipts.36 But tiny personal Bibles sold well, too, and they seemed better suited to fulfill Greeley"s own stated criterion, as objects that would "express a sentiment." Like Gift Books, again, these small volumes were often purchased to be given as a present by one family member to another: by a parent to a child, a husband to a wife, or a lover to his affianced. Here are several examples, taken from the American Antiquarian Society"s holdings of Bibles published in the single year 1827-a randomly selected year: But tiny personal Bibles sold well, too, and they seemed better suited to fulfill Greeley"s own stated criterion, as objects that would "express a sentiment." Like Gift Books, again, these small volumes were often purchased to be given as a present by one family member to another: by a parent to a child, a husband to a wife, or a lover to his affianced. Here are several examples, taken from the American Antiquarian Society"s holdings of Bibles published in the single year 1827-a randomly selected year: -"Henry Cheever, From his affectionate brother George-A Thanksgiving present, November 14, 1828."-"This little volume is a New Year"s Gift to Horace James, by his affectionate Mother.... Jan. 1, 1828."-"Mrs. Dean with the sincere love of her affectionate daughter Rebekah. December 21st, 1827." (This is the same Rebekah Dean who would in turn be presented with a Gift Book six years later, by Waldo Flint in token of "his regard" for her-see ill.u.s.tration)37 There is a cla.s.sic literary example of all this, and one that occurs in a very famous book-Louisa May Alcott"s 1868 novel Little Women Little Women. When the four young sisters who inhabit this novel awaken on Christmas morning, each one finds a "little" ill.u.s.trated copy of the New Testament under her pillow, inscribed with "a few words by their mother." The four presents are of the identical edition (each contains "the same picture inside"); but the colors of the covers are different, and Alcott specifies just what they are: Jo"s copy is "crimson-covered," Meg"s is "green," Beth"s is "dovecolored" (i.e., beige), and Amy"s is "blue." (Beth was "very much impressed by the pretty books," Alcott tells us; and Amy says ""I"m glad mine is blue.""38 The gift of these Bibles is an effective gesture of emotional intimacy (their mother, "Marmee," knows her daughters" precise individual tastes). But at the same time they are part of a process by which Marmee is training her daughters to make informed decisions of their own in the confusing world of consumer preferences. The gift of these Bibles is an effective gesture of emotional intimacy (their mother, "Marmee," knows her daughters" precise individual tastes). But at the same time they are part of a process by which Marmee is training her daughters to make informed decisions of their own in the confusing world of consumer preferences.39 In fact, another popular fictional heroine of the period is simply overwhelmed when she is forced to select her own Bible. Near the beginning of Susan Warner"s runaway best-seller of 1851, The Wide, Wide World The Wide, Wide World, the young heroine, Ellen Montgomery, is taken by her mother to visit