[Specimen Book]. Ayer, Dr. J[ames]. C. [1818 - 1878] - AYER'S ALMANAC For 1881.; In English, German, Dutch, Norwegian, Swedish, French, Spanish, Portugese, and Bohemian

Lowell, Mass: Published by Dr. J. C. Ayer & Co. 1880. 1st edition thus, i.e. for this year (Atwater S-87.9). Original publisher's black cloth spine over printed buff paper boards [rear board advert for 5 medicines, captioned, noting directions printed in 17 languages, including Latin, Greek & Chinese]. Yellow advert eps: front, "Ayer's Hair Vigor" & "Press Notices --- 1880"; rear, adverts in Chinese (?) for "Ayer's Ague Cure", "Ayer's Cherry Pectoral" & "Ayers's Compound Concentrated Extract of Sarsaparilla.". Most unpaginated, though each of the 11 almanacs ~ 40 pp. Yellow printed wrappers for each. Publisher "Specimen Copies" leaflet tipped-in to ffep. Illustrated with cuts. 8vo. 8" x 5-1/8". General shelfwear. Bit of biopredation to boards. Overall, a Very Good copy. Ayer an enterprising young druggist who hailed from Groton, CT. By his mid-to-late 20s he owned his own business, and in 1843 he introduced Cherry Pectoral, for pulmonary complaints, to great acclaim & demand. The other 'cures' offered herein appeared over the next 24 years. Ayer took in his brother, Frederick, as partner in 1855, the firm then becoming J. C. Ayer & Co.; with this transformation began the extensive print advertising for which the firm would become known. "J.C. Ayer & Co. (later just Ayer & Co.) continued to manufacture medicinal products under the management of Frederick Ayer until his retirement around 1893. Frederick Ayer was still president of the company when he died on March 14, 1918. The company continued to operate in Lowell under the management of family members and professional managers until it finally left Lowell around 1943." [Cliff Hoyt website]. This particular volume used, no doubt, as a multilingual 'salesman's sample' book, giving examples of the divers language editions of Ayer's Almanac. We note the volume not recorded by Romaine, nor Zinman. OCLC records 4 holding institutions of this volume, though none west of the Rockies.

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