MAC MARTIN ADVERTISING AGENCY:

Mac Martin was a prominent figure in the advertising and business community of Minneapolis for more than fifty years. The Mac Martin Advertising Agency, which he established in 1904, was at one time one of the largest advertising agencies in the country. In 1931 it merged with the Erwin Wasey Agency and the firm became known as the Erwin, Wasey and Company, with Mac Martin as its president.

A native of Wabasha, Minnesota, Martin graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1903. Always interested in raising business and advertising standards, he was instrumental in founding the Publicity Club in 1907. This group later developed into the Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce and the Minneapolis Advertising Club. He also was instrumental in the founding of the first Better Business Bureau, established in Minneapolis in 1914. From 1911 to 1921, before the establishment of the business school, Martin lectured on advertising at the University of Minnesota and worked for the establishment of the American Association of Advertising Agencies.

Martin retired from advertising in 1956, but worked as a consultant to his old firm for a time before passing away on April 10, 1958 at the age of 77. He was survived by his wife, Alice; two stepsons; one stepdaughter; and one niece. The name of his advertising agency was changed to White, Herzog & Nee, Inc. in 1958, and finally to Peterson, Herzog & Nee in 1972.

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Among the companies that have extensive advertising samples in this collection are the Andersen Lumber Company, the Commander-Larabee Corporation, the Minneapolis-Moline Power Implement Company, the Minnesota Valley Canning Company (later renamed the Green Giant Corporation), the Nash Coffee Company, The Soo Line Railroad Company (Minneapolis, St. Paul, & Sioux St. Marie Railroad Company), and the Washburn-Crosby Company. More local companies include the Cream of Wheat Company, The Insulite Company, Investors Syndicate (now part of American Express Company), the J.R. Watkins Company (Winona), the Perfection Manufacturing Company (Minneapolis), and the Midland National Bank and Trust Company (Minneapolis).

Also present are tourism advertisements and brochures of the Minnesota Department of Business Development (1964-1967); newspaper advertising and posters of Karl Rolvaag's 1966 campaign for governor of Minnesota; films related to the political campaigns of Karl Rolvaag, Eugene McCarthy, and others; and real estate brochures and booklets lauding farm land and orchards in Oregon, Montana, and North Dakota (1910s). Also of note is an anonymous diary of a trip to Japan in 1903 and radio scripts of the Nancy Foster's Cooking School (1931-1932) sponsored by Nash Coffee.

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The records were originally glued and taped into scrapbooks, often with several companies represented in each volume. Items that had become loose or that could be easily removed were foldered and arranged in an alphabetical sequence by company name in boxes one through six. Also, items were removed so that the resulting volumes contained the records of only one company. Boxes seven through nine contain volumes in relatively good condition with no or few loose items. Loose items that could be removed and flattened are contained in boxes ten through twelve. The detailed description that follows lists each company in alphabetical order and its records in chronological order, even if that company's proofs are contained in several different boxes. At the front of the sequence are two folders containing ads and clippings relating to the Mac Martin Agency and Erwin, Wasey and Company. Folders containing color images also are noted in the inventory. Sixteen millimeter films are described at the end of the inventory in box thirteen.

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Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Mac Martin Advertising Agency Scrapbooks and Films. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession number: 15,505; 15,981

Location of Master Files:

Digital masters of film recordings are maintained on the Society's secure digital collections storage servers and are managed and preserved in accordance with archival best practices.

Processing Information:

Processed by: Richard Arpi, April 2001 and October 2005

Digital video transferred from the master film recordings by the Minnesota Historical Society for preservation purposes, (January, 2019).

Catalog ID number: 990017370400104294

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This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

African Americans in advertising.

Color in advertising.

Comic books, strips, etc. in advertising.

Commercial art.

Radio advertising.

Women in advertising.

Advertising -- Agriculture.

Advertising -- Beer.

Advertising -- Automobiles.

Advertising -- Banks and Banking -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.

Advertising -- Beverages.

Advertising -- Biscuits.

Advertising -- Building materials.

Advertising -- Cereals, Prepared.

Advertising -- Computers.

Advertising -- Financial service industry.

Advertising -- Insulating materials.

Advertising -- Mink fur industry.

Advertising -- Photographers -- Minnesota.

Advertising -- Public utilities -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.

Advertising, Magazine.

Advertising, Newspaper.

Advertising, Political -- Minnesota.

Advertising Agencies -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.

Advertising -- Food.

Advertising -- Confectionary.

Advertising -- Tourist trade -- Minnesota.

Advertising -- Farm produce.

Advertising -- Insurance -- Minnesota -- Waseca.

Places:

Japan -- Description and travel.

Persons:

Allen, Ida Cogswell Bailey, 1885-1973.

Fraser, Donald M. (Donald MacKay), 1924-2019.

McCarthy, Eugene J., 1916-.

Rolvaag, Karl F., 1913-.

Wenstrom, Gene.

Organizations:

Erwin, Wasey and Company.

Aladdin Laboratories.

American Gas Machine Company.

Andersen Lumber Co. (Bayport, Minn.).

B.F. Nelson Manufacturing Company.

Baker Importing Company. (Minneapolis, Minn.).

Carney's Cement Company.

Char-Lynn Company.

Commander-Larabee Corporation.

Cream of Wheat Corporation (Minneapolis, Minn.).

Eagle Roller Mill Company.

Economics Laboratory, Inc.

Farmers Union Central Exchange (Saint Paul, Minn.).

Federal Schools (Minneapolis, Minn.).

Insulite Company.

Investors Syndicate.

J.R. Watkins Company.

Jacob Ries Bottling Works, Inc. (Shakopee, Minn.).

Midland National Bank and Trust Company.

Minneapolis-Moline Power Implement Company.

Minneapolis Steel and Machinery Company.

Minnesota. Department of Business Development.

Minnesota Rural Electric Association.

Minnesota Valley Canning Company.

Nash Coffee Company.

Perfection Manufacturing Company.

Salisbury & Satterlee Co.

Soo Line Railroad Company.

Washburn-Crosby Co.

Waters-Genter Company.

Types of Documents:

Photographs.

Catalogs.

Brochures.

Proofs.

Motion pictures.

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