Demorest Family Magazine Advertisements: Home

Advertisements as we know them today, have been part of the American consumer experience since the mid to late 1800s. The rise of the ‘art’ of advertisements would become one of the most significant and longest-lasting consumer developments in United States society. The Valdosta State University Special Archives includes a collection of late 19th-century magazines entitled the Demorest Family Magazine. The Demorest Monthly Magazine, as it was also called, is a prime example of a late 19th-century publication that reflected the rise of consumerism within American culture. Spreading new fashion trends, popular news, and other forms of media nationwide helped develop a more unified American society. With the Industrial and transportation Revolution in full swing, manufacturers had more and more clients as America was shrinking. Publications such as the Demorest Family Magazine provided businesses with a quick way to reach consumers, and to gain their attention, new marketing strategies were developed. Whether through persuasive language, flashy imagery, or even just plain text, these early advertisements reflected the birth of a consumer-hungry America. For this exhibit, we will showcase three separate product types; clothing, health and beauty, and household goods, and how the advertisements reflected a more national and changing American consumer society in the late 1800s.