1883 Promotional Giveaway

Everyone loves to win something, and this was no different in 1883. G.L. Adams, editor and publisher of The Fowlerville Review, wrote this article about a contest to win a set of dinnerware. -

Knapp, Parker & Co. are having a very lively trade in baking powder. One of the main reasons for the same being the fact that a set of handsome decorated ware being given away with every 25 pounds sold. Each purchaser of one pound of Forest City baking powder puts their name upon a sheet of paper numbered up to 25, choosing the number. When the 25 pounds are sold, an envelope containing one of the numbers is opened and the corresponding number takes the set. Mrs. A. Ward obtained the first set on Monday. The powder is warranted as good as any, and the company takes the above method of introducing it to the public. Ye editor has a pound with the compliments of the firm.

Early in 1884, the following article listed all of the winners:

Knapp, Parker & Co. have presented elegant decorated table sets of crockery to the following persons who have bought 'Forest City' baking powder: A.N. McIntosh, three sets; Mrs. Bradly R. Bowers, one set; Mrs. Abner Ward, one set; Mrs. Geo. Sellers, one set; Mrs. Jas. T. Hoyt, one set; Mrs. J. Dodge, one set; Miss Maggie McMahon, one set, Mrs. Dr. Lamoreaux, one set; Mrs. John Camp, one set. Each person purchasing one pound of the powder has equal chances of receiving the set. As to its merits, they cheerfully refer you to any of the persons named.

Curiously, a couple years later, in 1887, the following article was published in The Fowlerville Review:

ished inThe courts have decided that the baking powder lottery business is as much of a lottery as anything else, and that dealers who dispose of it in that way are liable to prosecution and a heavy fine. Most manufacturers have recalled their shipments.