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The JELL-O Gallery
Le Roy, New York
HISTORY
On September 9, 1899 he purchased the name and the business of Jell-O from Mr. Wait. The bill of sale bears the name of Everett W. Bishop as witness. Manufacturing was carried on under the supervision of Andrew Samuel Nico of Lyons, NY. Sales were slow and disheartening for the new product, but income from Grain-O remained steady. One day in a gloomy mood "O.F." offered Sam Nico the whole blankety-blank business for $35. This story is vouchsafed by George McHardy. In 1900, the Jell-O name was first used by the Genesee Pure Food Company. The advertising campaign proved so successful that in 1902 Jell-O sales mounted to $250,000. Jell-O prospered and the consensus of the townspeople is carried in a colloquial expression heard in town - "Grain-O, Jell-O, and Nico."
From the beginning Jell-O's advertising was directed by William E. Humelbaugh followed by Frank LaBounty. These men began the distribution of recipes and samples in 1904. A three-inch ad costing $336 in the Ladies Home Journal launched the printed portion of the campaign, and the first of the Jell-O "best seller" recipes rolled off the presses. In some years as many as 15 million booklets were distributed. Noted artists such as Rose O'Neill, Maxfield Parrish, Coles Phillips, Norman Rockwell, Linn Ball, and Angus MacDonald made Jell-O a household word with their colored illustrations.
In 1904, Jell-O introduces the Jell-O Girl, four year old Elizabeth King whose father, Franklin King, was an artist connected with the Dauchy Company - Jell-O's advertising agency. In her right hand the little girl held a teakettle and in her left a package of Jell-O. Advertising kept abreast of the times and so in 1934 General Foods, a pioneer in selling by radio, signed Jack Benny and the whole world came to know "J-E-L-L-O."
Orator F. Woodward
Jell-O Trivia
Fruits that sink: seedless grapes and fruits in heavy syrup such as apricots, cherries, fruit cocktail, peaches, pears, and pineapple.
In 1909, the Genesee Pure Food Company posted sales earnings of over a million dollars. Four years later, that number doubled.
Jell-O Trivia
The people of Salt Lake City consume more lime-flavored gelatin than any other city in the United States
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JELL-O ® is a registered trademark of Kraft Foods Holdings, Inc.
