Marketing Techniques in the 19th Century

Marketing techniques in the nineteenth century were very different from today's techniques due to the vast differences between the available technologies that we have now. When Andersen had originally written and published the book in the nineteenth century, it sold very poorly due to the lack of appreciation for Andersen's work. It was not until Fairy Tales by Hans Andersen was re-published in the twentieth century with the illustrations of Arthur Rackham that the book became popular. Rackham's illustration technique improved any text it accompanied. Therefore, a great marketing technique the publishers of this book used was Arthur Rackham himself. Due to his tremendous popularity Rackham may very have been an exceptionally compelling aspect to many adults and children in the purchasing of this book. When Fairy Tales by Hans Andersen was sold, it was particularly popular to sell certain books as a part of a collection. For one year around Christmas, these books were sold in a unit and all bound in the same colour. Each year a different set of books in a different colour was sold. If consumers collected them, they would have an assembly of tinted books in an assortment of shades. Fairy Tales by Hans Andersen was, in truth, a trade edition bound in dark red cloth. This volume's marketing method could have been that it was sold as a component of a Christmas collection.