The Barclay Blog

Now that the school year has begun, it feels like the perfect time to look back at the ads Philander Barclay placed in the Tabula, a publication created by Oak Park and River Forest High School students.

 

When Barclay left Wright Elsom Jr.’s Oak Park Cycle and Automobile Depot and opened his own shop at 138 Lake Street [1] (now 1113 Lake Street [2]) in 1906, he understood his customers and planned his advertising accordingly. Part of his strategy was to “spend liberally” (while still watching expenses) and “pick the best medium.” [3] He advertised heavily in the Oak Leaves. Because young people made up a meaningful portion of his clientele, he also placed ads in the Tabula from time to time.

 

When Barclay opened his business, the Tabula appeared multiple times a year. The senior Tabula—the yearbook—was issued in June, while the other issues functioned as literary publications, showcasing students’ writing and art. These publications offered Barclay a direct line to the younger residents of Oak Park and River Forest.

 

Here are the few ads Barclay placed in the Tabula between 1906 and 1921, the years he operated his bicycle business in Oak Park.

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Of course, now I’m wondering how much advertising Barclay placed in the student newspaper. . ..

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1. Oak Leaves; February 24, 1906; pg. 4.

 

2. Photo (Barclay at workbench in Wright Elsom Jr.’s shop) located in the gray file box in the Barclay Collection at the Historical Society of Oak Park and River Forest. Barclay's photo description (perhaps written in the 1930s) mentioned his first shop at 138 Lake Street and its renumbered address, 1113 Lake Street.

 

​​3. John Anson Ford; “‘Bicycle Barclay’: The Average Dealer”; MotorCycling and Bicycling; October 11, 1922; pg. 24. Article found in the Barclay Collection, Historical Society of Oak Park and River Forest.​​

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All ad images are from Tabulas held by the Historical Society of Oak Park and River Forest.