Watkins Almanac and Home Book – 1934

Description

This is “Watkins Almanac and Home Book of useful information” from 1934. The booklet contains 48 pages and measures approximately 5.5 x 8 inches. There is a great deal of “useful information,” interspersed with information about the company’s products. There is text, black & white and color illustrations.
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Watkins Incorporated is a manufacturer of health remedies, baking products, and other household items. It is based in Winona, Minnesota, and utilizes an omni-channel marketing strategy that includes a national retail sales force that focuses on selling to the retail channel as well as an independent sales force of 25,000 people to distribute its products.
The company was founded by J. R. Watkins in Plainview, Minnesota. He began selling liniment in 1868 door-to-door in the southeastern part of the state. A year after J.R. Watkins began selling liniment, he introduced the trial-mark bottle. Molded into the glass bottle, about one-third of the way down, was a mark which showed how much of the product a customer could use and still get a refund. A label with the statement, “If not fully satisfied, your money cheerfully refunded,” also appeared on the bottle. The Watkins trial-mark is believed to be the first money-back guarantee in America.
The company moved to Winona in 1885 and added a number of products to its lineup. Baking materials including pepper and vanilla extract were added in 1895 along with cinnamon, ginger, cloves, peppermint extract and lemon extract. Between 1889 and 1914, Watkins constructed six manufacturing buildings behind the Winona Administration Building. J.R. Watkins died in 1911. In 1914, a prominent 10-story building completed the look of the Administration Building. Maher’s Administration Building included a 70-foot high rotunda dome coated in 24-carat gold leaf, a blue Bedford stone façade, 224 stained glass skylights and three custom-made Tiffany stained glass windows.