THE PUBLISHERS’ PAGE
IMITATION, it has often been said, is the sincerest flattery. True, perhaps, as to social manners, ethics, good conduct. But in these hustling, competitive days, imitation is often but another name for the appropriation, to deceive the public, of trademark names and slogans. The civil courts are full of cases where men and corporations who have spent years building up a product and putting it honestly before the buying public, find themselves in court, working to prevent unscrupulous competitors from copying and in many instances actually appropriating trademarks and slogans. The latest case that has come to our attention is where the Masonic fraternity is in court opposed to men seeking to appropriate the Masonic emblem as a trademark.
Friends of this journal have asked, “Why are the architectural journals so much alike?” We have asked them to reconstruct their question to read, “Why are the other architectural journals so much
like The American Architect?” The answer is simple. Because as fast as this journal has originated features or special departments, other journals have quickly followed suit. Not only have these departments been appropriated by others, but in some instances, the very name set at the top of the depart
ment by The American Architect has been actually copied.
After we had introduced our Department of Architectural Engineering, similar departments appeared in other journals. Our Department of Interior Architecture has been also appropriated as a feature and appears in the August, 1927, issue of another architectural journal, under identically the same heading as our own department.
When John Russell Pope visited England some years ago, he made a series of unusually well selected snapshots for use in his office as “working photographs,” or as material to aid the man on the job to visualize the idea of the architect as to texture, methods, etc. There was prepared in this office
an article describing these working photographs, and there was begun the publication of a series of photographs made by Mr. Pope. This series has been followed by a group of American working photographs made by Dwight James Baum. After our presentation had been warmly approved by many readers, there appeared a similar series in another architectural journal, disguised as “European Precedents.”
First to include with our major illustrations a complete and concise statement of materials and cubage costs, again our method is appropriated. First to put into concrete form the fact that in every technical journal the men in the smaller communities are at least 65 per cent of the total field, we announced a small community section. No sooner said than done by us, but barely a month before a contemporary had appropriated the idea as its own, and as imitation is the sincerest flattery, two other architectural journals also fell in line.
These facts are not set down with a view to creating bias in the mind of the reader, but in simple justice to ourselves, and as an answer to the question, “Why are architectural journals alike?”
Our exclusive department of Topical Architecture comes very close to appropriation by an architectural journal. The change of title could in no way lead the trained observer away from the fact that is neither more nor less than an act of imitation.
There are no statements made here that cannot be proved by actual reference to back issues extending over almost a decade. Nor would we refer at length, as we have, to these conditions were it not that it is thought desirable to show the profession we serve that the complete and accurate presentation of matter valuable to every man in practice that is to be found in architectural journals, is there
because The American ARCHITECT has blazed the trail.
IMITATION, it has often been said, is the sincerest flattery. True, perhaps, as to social manners, ethics, good conduct. But in these hustling, competitive days, imitation is often but another name for the appropriation, to deceive the public, of trademark names and slogans. The civil courts are full of cases where men and corporations who have spent years building up a product and putting it honestly before the buying public, find themselves in court, working to prevent unscrupulous competitors from copying and in many instances actually appropriating trademarks and slogans. The latest case that has come to our attention is where the Masonic fraternity is in court opposed to men seeking to appropriate the Masonic emblem as a trademark.
Friends of this journal have asked, “Why are the architectural journals so much alike?” We have asked them to reconstruct their question to read, “Why are the other architectural journals so much
like The American Architect?” The answer is simple. Because as fast as this journal has originated features or special departments, other journals have quickly followed suit. Not only have these departments been appropriated by others, but in some instances, the very name set at the top of the depart
ment by The American Architect has been actually copied.
After we had introduced our Department of Architectural Engineering, similar departments appeared in other journals. Our Department of Interior Architecture has been also appropriated as a feature and appears in the August, 1927, issue of another architectural journal, under identically the same heading as our own department.
When John Russell Pope visited England some years ago, he made a series of unusually well selected snapshots for use in his office as “working photographs,” or as material to aid the man on the job to visualize the idea of the architect as to texture, methods, etc. There was prepared in this office
an article describing these working photographs, and there was begun the publication of a series of photographs made by Mr. Pope. This series has been followed by a group of American working photographs made by Dwight James Baum. After our presentation had been warmly approved by many readers, there appeared a similar series in another architectural journal, disguised as “European Precedents.”
First to include with our major illustrations a complete and concise statement of materials and cubage costs, again our method is appropriated. First to put into concrete form the fact that in every technical journal the men in the smaller communities are at least 65 per cent of the total field, we announced a small community section. No sooner said than done by us, but barely a month before a contemporary had appropriated the idea as its own, and as imitation is the sincerest flattery, two other architectural journals also fell in line.
These facts are not set down with a view to creating bias in the mind of the reader, but in simple justice to ourselves, and as an answer to the question, “Why are architectural journals alike?”
Our exclusive department of Topical Architecture comes very close to appropriation by an architectural journal. The change of title could in no way lead the trained observer away from the fact that is neither more nor less than an act of imitation.
There are no statements made here that cannot be proved by actual reference to back issues extending over almost a decade. Nor would we refer at length, as we have, to these conditions were it not that it is thought desirable to show the profession we serve that the complete and accurate presentation of matter valuable to every man in practice that is to be found in architectural journals, is there
because The American ARCHITECT has blazed the trail.