Unsolicited mail received by Ellen Wells during two twelve month periods, 1976-1977 and 1980-1981. Ms. Wells kept all materials received during these periods as a sample of the changing use of this mass communication medium. Ms. Wells received the first group in Ithaca, New York, and the latter in Alexandria, Virginia. This collection provides a substantial sample of materials used in direct mail advertising and solicitation. These techniques of mass communication have became increasingly sophisticated and more widely used in recent years and the products of these techniques--commonly called "junk mail"--are ubquitious in contemporary society.
Because this collection consists of materials received by only one individual, it is not a scientific sample; however, it reflects the targetting of individual consumers based on interests, tastes, and past buying patterns; and the use of direct mail by a wide range of organizations and institutions and the changing techniques employed.
Biographical/Historical note:
Donor is a Smithsonian Institution librarian.
Provenance:
Collection donated by Dibner Library, National Museum of American History, through Ellen Wells, 1984.
