Warner’s Safe Promotions: Safe Cure Prize Map

 

 In 1887, the United States was comprised of 38 states and a variety of territories on the verge of statehood including the Dakotas, Montana, Washington, Idaho, Wyoming and Utah. This westward expansion created a fervent interest in what likely seemed like the limitless expansion of the nation’s borders. For patent medicine proprietors, expansion of the country meant the opening of new and lucrative markets. Warner had already tapped into markets in Canada and London and preparing to open his offices in Australia and Germany. No doubt he had his eye on American expansion. Although it’s hard for us to imagine, our country was changing as new states entered the Union. By 1900, the number of states had risen to 45.

In his quest to market his products to a wider populace, Warner offered one of his more distinct promotional items – the Safe Cure Prize Map.  His 1887 Almanac had the offer on the cover:

 GIVEN AWAY

 A MAP OF THE UNITED STATES

39 BY 55 INCHES VALUED AT $2.50

OR WARNER’S SAFE COOK BOOK 500 PAGES VALUED AT $1.50

On page 1 inside the almanac the offer continued “A Finely Colored Map of the United States,or a Copy of ‘Warner’s Safe Cook Book,’ FREE” . In exchange for 10 cents ( in one-cent or two-cents stamps, Warner offered “a clean, beautiful, latest revised LARGE MAP OF THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA in four colors, showing State and County divisions, Railroads, Cities, Villages, etc.”

The Safe Cure Prize Map provides us with a snapshot of how the country and Canada looked in 1887. It also features an engraving of the recently erected Statue of Liberty, which had been a gift from France for the country’s centennial in 1876, but which had not been dedicated in New York Harbor until October 28, 1886. A few of these Prizes Maps have appeared over the years and are valued by Warner’s collectors as go-withs. By any stretch of the imagination, the Prize Map is rare addition to any Warner collection.