ROBERT BONNER.
Robert Bonner was born in the north of Ireland, near the town of
Londonderry, about the year 1824. He came to this country when a mere
child, and was brought up in the State of Connecticut, where he received
a good common-school education.
Manifesting a decided liking for the printer's trade, he was placed at
an early age in the office of the "Hartford Courant," where he took his
first lessons in the art of setting type. He entered upon the business
with the determination to learn it thoroughly, and when he had mastered
his trade soon acquired the reputation of being the best workman in
Hartford. As a compositor, he was not only neat and thorough, but was
remarkably rapid as well. On one occasion, when the "Courant" was
endeavoring to publish the "President's Message" in advance of all its
competitors, Mr. Bonner is said to have worked at the rate of seventeen
hundred ems an hour--a feat absolutely unparalleled.
In 1844, he removed to New York and engaged in the office of a new
journal, called the "American Republican," then lately established as
the organ of the American party in that city, upon which he worked
steadily during its brief career. His wages were small, and it was only
by practicing the most rigid economy that he could live upon them.
When the "Republican" suspended publication, Mr. Bonner was employed in
the office of the "Evening Mirror," published by Morris, Willis &
Fuller. Here he made himself so useful, that the business of getting up
or displaying advertisements attractively was soon left entirely to him.
His taste in this department was almost faultless, and the
advertisements of the "Mirror" soon became noted for their neat and
handsome appearance.
At this time there was published in New York a small, struggling paper,
exclusively mercantile in its character, called the "Merchants' Ledger."
This paper was almost entirely dependent upon its advertising patronage,
and the attention of its proprietor was called to Mr. Bonner's skill, as
exhibited in the "Mirror," in displaying advertisements to the greatest
advantage. The result was that Mr. Bonner received an offer, which he
accepted, to take charge of this paper. This was the origin of his
connection with the journal which he has since rendered famous.
Being fond of composition, he made frequent contributions to the
editorial columns of the paper, which were well received by the general
public, but which seem to have aroused the petty jealousy of the
proprietor of the "Ledger."
Soon after forming his connection with the "Ledger," Mr. Bonner
purchased it. From his boyhood up, it had been his ambition to become
the proprietor of a journal which should be carried out upon his own
ideas, and he believed that the "Ledger" offered him the best means of
doing this. It was generally doubted at that time that a literary paper
could flourish in New York--Boston and Philadelphia having apparently
monopolized such enterprises. Mr. Bonner, however, had a clearer view
of the matter, and was convinced from the first that the great center of
American industry was the very best place for such an undertaking. He
proceeded very cautiously at first, however, changing the character of
his paper very gradually, from a commercial to a literary journal.
At this time Fanny Fern was the great literary sensation of the day. She
had just published her "Ruth Hall," which had attracted universal
attention, and had given rise to a sharp discussion in the public press
as to whether she was the sister of N.P. Willis or not. Mr. Bonner
resolved to profit by her sudden notoriety, and requested her to write a
story for the "Ledger," for which he offered to pay her twenty-five
dollars per column. She declined the proposition. He then offered her
fifty dollars a column, and, upon a second refusal, increased his offer
to seventy-five dollars a column. She was pleased with the energy
exhibited by Mr. Bonner, and flattered by his eagerness to secure her
services, but declared that she would write no more for the newspapers.
A little later Mr. Bonner was offered a story from her, about ten
columns long. He at once accepted her proposition, and upon the receipt
of the manuscript sent her a check for one thousand dollars.
With this story began that wonderful career of the "Ledger" which seems
more like a dream than hard reality. The story was double-leaded, and
made to fill twenty columns of the paper. The "Ledger" itself was
changed from its old style to its present form, and made a purely
literary journal. The price paid for the story was unparalleled in the
history of American journalism, and Mr. Bonner spread the announcement
far and wide that he was publishing a serial for which he had given one
hundred dollars a column. His advertisements were to be seen in almost
every newspaper of respectable circulation throughout the Union. In form
they were different from any that had preceded them. "Fanny Fern
writes for the 'Ledger.'" "Buy the 'New York Ledger,'" etc., appeared,
dozens of times repeated, until men were absolutely tired of seeing the
announcement. Nothing had ever been brought to the public notice so
prominently before. For awhile people were astonished at the audacious
boldness of "the 'Ledger' man." Then they began to buy the paper. Since
then the demand for it has steadily increased.
The venture was successful. Fanny Fern's reputation and Mr. Bonner's
energy and boldness made a demand for the "Ledger," at once, and out of
the profits of the story for which he had paid such an unheard-of price
Mr. Bonner purchased a handsome residence in New York City.
There was as much originality as boldness in the peculiar style in which
Mr. Bonner advertised his paper. As before stated, nothing of the kind
had ever been seen before, and the novelty of the announcements at once
attracted attention. It was seen that they were expensive also, and
people naturally felt some curiosity to see for themselves the paper for
which a man was willing to assume such risk and expense. These
announcements sometimes covered a whole page of a daily paper; sometimes
the page would be almost entirely blank, with only a few lines in each
column containing the announcement. Again the advertisement would be the
opening chapters of a story, which would be sure to excite the curiosity
of the reader, and induce him to purchase the remaining chapters in the
"Ledger" itself. It is to the credit of the "Ledger" that it rarely
loses a subscriber. It has become a family paper.
A recent writer thus refers to Mr. Bonner's early experience
advertising:--
"His mode of advertising was new, and it excited both astonishment and
ridicule. His ruin was predicted over and over again. But as he paid as
he went along, he alone would be the sufferer. He was assailed in
various ways. Men sneered at his writers, as well as at the method in
which he made them known. He had no competition. Just then it was
announced that the Harpers were to put a first-class weekly into the
field. The announcement was hailed with delight by many classes. Men who
had been predicting Bonner's ruin from the start were anxious to see it
accomplished. He had agents in all the leading cities in the land. These
held a monopoly of the 'Ledger.' The book men and newspaper men, who
were left out, were quite willing to have the 'Ledger' go under. The
respectability and wealth of the house, its enterprise, with the class
of writers it could secure, made the new paper a dangerous rival. Mr.
Bonner concluded to make the first issue serviceable to himself. His
paragraph advertising was considered sensational, and smacking of the
charlatan. He resolved to make it respectable. He wrote half a column in
sensational style: 'Buy Harper's Weekly!'--'Buy Harper's Weekly!'--'Buy
Harper's Weekly!'--'Buy Harper's Weekly!'--and so on through the half
column. Through his advertising agent he sent this advertisement to the
'Herald,' 'Tribune,' and 'Times,' and paid for its insertion. Among the
astonished readers of this 'Ledger' style of advertising were the quiet
gentlemen who do business on Franklin Square. The community were
astonished. 'The Harpers are waking up!' 'This is the Bonner style!'
'This is the way the Ledger man does it!' were heard on all sides. The
young Harpers were congratulated by the book men every-where on the
enterprise with which they were pushing the new publication. They said
nothing, and took the joke in good part. But it settled the
respectability of the 'Ledger' style of advertising. It is now imitated
by the leading publishers, insurance men, and most eminent dry goods
men in the country. The sums spent by Mr. Bonner in advertising are
perfectly marvelous. He never advertises unless he has something new to
present to the public. He pays from five to twenty-five thousand dollars
a week when he advertises."
Mr. Bonner well knew that all his advertising would be worth nothing in
the end unless he made the "Ledger" worthy of the public patronage, and
he exerted himself from the first to secure the services of a corps of
able and popular writers. In his arrangements with his contributors, he
inaugurated a system of liberality and _justness_ which might well put
his rivals to shame.
When Mr. Everett was engaged in his noble effort to assist the ladies of
the Mount Vernon Association in purchasing the home and tomb of
Washington, Mr. Bonner proposed to him to write a series of papers for
the "Ledger," for which he offered him ten thousand dollars, the money
to be appropriated to the purchase of Mount Vernon. Mr. Everett accepted
the offer, and the celebrated Mount Vernon Papers were the result. This
was a far-sighted move on the part of Robert Bonner. Under ordinary
circumstances Mr. Everett would probably have declined to "write for the
'Ledger;'" but in a cause so worthy he could not refuse. The association
of his name with the journal was of incalculable service to it, and the
Mount Vernon Papers were to its proprietor his very best advertisement.
(We are viewing the matter commercially.) The sale of the paper was
wonderfully increased, and a golden harvest was reaped.
This connection of Mr. Everett with the "Ledger" led to a warm personal
friendship between himself and its proprietor, which was broken only by
the statesman's death--a circumstance which speaks volumes for the
private worth of the younger man. Mr. Everett continued to write for
the paper after his Mount Vernon articles were finished, and is said to
have earned over fifty thousand dollars by his able contributions to it.
Soon after the completion of the Mount Vernon Papers, Mr. Bonner secured
the services of George Bancroft, the historian, who contributed a series
of admirable articles. Mr. Everett's connection with the "Ledger" had
settled the question that it was not beneath the dignity of the most
eminent literateur in the land to write for it. Fanny Fern's husband,
Mr. James Parton, Alice and Phoebe Carey, Mrs. Southworth, and a host of
others have helped, and still help, to fill its columns.
But perhaps its most profitable contributor, next to Mr. Everett, is
Henry Ward Beecher. That wonderful gift of the great preacher which
enables him to touch so constantly upon subjects nearest to the hearts
of most men, would make him invaluable to any paper. Mr. Bonner was
struck with this after hearing him preach several times, and resolved to
secure his services for the "Ledger." He proposed, to the parson's utter
astonishment, that Mr. Beecher should write a story for the paper, and
coupled it with the offer of a sum which many persons would consider a
fortune. The field was utterly new to Mr. Beecher. Novel-writing was
something he had never even thought of; but after some hesitation he
accepted the offer. Soon after this, the publication of "Norwood" was
begun in the columns of the "Ledger." The story was longer than was at
first agreed upon, and Mr. Bonner paid its author a handsome sum in
addition to the amount originally offered. The reward was princely, but
not out of proportion to the service rendered by Mr. Beecher, who has
won thousands of readers for the paper. Mr. Beecher still writes for the
"Ledger," and there is no present prospect of his genial and useful
contributions coming to a close.
Mr. Bonner has made his paper useful to young people as well as those of
maturer years. Each number contains articles, briefly and pointedly
written, upon some popular and useful topic, so that thousands find not
only amusement, but valuable hints and profitable instruction in the
"Ledger."
It was for a long time the custom of the newspaper press to indulge in
sneers at the "Ledger," and, at the least, to treat it with a species of
mild contempt. In order to stop this, its proprietor secured and
published a series of articles from James Gordon Bennett of "The
Herald," Henry J. Raymond of "The Times," and Horace Greeley of "The
Tribune." By thus identifying the leading journalists of the country
with his enterprise, he effectually silenced the scoffers, and with them
the "lesser lights" of the press.
It was said by some over-careful persons that the "Ledger" was not a
proper paper for young persons to read. Mr. Bonner at once secured the
services of the Presidents of the twelve principal colleges of the
Union, and articles from each of these gentlemen appeared in his paper.
After this it was not to be presumed that a journal which had among its
contributors twelve such distinguished guides of youth could be unfit
for any one to read.
In order to make still less room for doubt on this subject, a series of
articles by twelve distinguished clergymen soon after appeared in the
"Ledger."
Indeed, the greatest care is exercised to exclude from the columns of
the paper any thing savoring in the least of impurity. It is the
proprietor's aim to make it a help as well as an amusement to its
readers, and his object is to elevate, not to degrade them.
The "Ledger" now circulates over three hundred thousand copies per
week, and is growing in the public favor. From the profits of his
business Mr. Bonner has built a splendid marble publishing-house at the
corner of William and Spruce Streets, in New York, from which the
"Ledger" is now issued. It is one of the most complete establishments in
the world, and is fitted up with every convenience necessary to the
performance of the work upon the paper in the most perfect and
expeditious manner. Mr. Bonner has created all this by his own energy
and business talent, and richly deserves the success he enjoys. He
resides in an elegant mansion in New York, and has also a handsome
country seat at Morrisania, in Westchester County. He is married, and
has a family.
Mr. Bonner's great wealth has enabled him to achieve a distinction of
another kind. He is famous as the owner of the finest horses in America.
His stables are located in Twenty-seventh Street, and are the most
perfect of their kind in this country. They contain every thing needed
for the comfort and care of the horses, and the men employed in them are
thoroughly skilled in their business. The horses are seven in number.
First on the list is "Dexter," who has made his mile in the
unprecedented time of 2:17-1/4 in harness, and 2:18 under the saddle. He
is the fastest horse in the world. "Lantern," a splendid bay, fifteen
and a half hands high, has made his mile in 2:20. "Pocahontas," the most
perfectly formed horse in existence, has made her mile in 2:23; while
"Peerless," a fine gray mare, has followed close on to her in 2:23-1/4.
"Lady Palmer" has made two miles with a three hundred and fifty pound
wagon and driver in 4:59, while her companion, "Flatbush Mare," has made
a two-mile heat to a road wagon in 5:01-1/4. The "Auburn Horse," a large
sorrel, sixteen and a half hands high, with four white feet and a white
face, was declared by Hiram Woodruff to be the fastest horse he ever
drove. These horses cost their owner over two hundred thousand dollars,
and he would not part with them for double that sum. He does not race
them for money, but drives them for his own use, and holds the reins
himself.
VI.
LAWYERS.