[Rarebooks] FS: Cool Sh-t: Wonderful 1882 Guano Promotion Booklet

[Joslin Hall Rare Books]

TITLE: “Soluble Pacific Guano. Manufactured by the Pacific Guano Company 
of Boston, Mass.”

Printed by the Press of Rand, Avery, and Company, Boston, in 1882.

DISCUSSION: A rather wonderful catalog promoting guano imported and 
prepared by a Boston firm, explaining the attributes and benefits of 
Soluble Pacific Guano, and packed with glowing testimonials, mostly from 
happy farmers. The firm began manufacturing and selling Soluble Pacific 
Guano (which would be a great name for a rock band) in 1865, with an 
output of 750 tons, which had increased to 50,000 tons a year by the 
1882 publication of this brochure. The company lists agents in New York, 
Ohio, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Vermont. Guano, animal dung used 
as fertilizer, was used by Andean farmers 1,500 years ago, and for 
centuries was collected from small islands off the coast of Peru, where 
for thousands of years hundreds of thousands of seabirds had had nothing 
much better to do than sit, squabble, and poop. Spanish Colonial traders 
reported that "the rulers of the Inca Empire assigned great value to 
guano, restricted access to it, and punished any disturbance of the 
birds with death". The modern history of Guano dates to 1802, when it 
became popular in Europe after being promoted by Alexander von Humboldt. 
The Guano "harvest" from islands off the coasts of South America, the 
Caribbean, Pacific ocean atolls, and the California coast, created the 
19th century agricultural boom of Europe and America, and sparked 
several small wars. The gradual depletion of the once-vast reserves of 
guano coincided with the development in 1909 of synthetic fertilizers 
and effectively put an end to the industry, but not before it made 
fortunes for a number of men who had the foresight to realize you can 
make millions selling people bird poop if you package it correctly.

DESCRIPTION: Softcover. 4.5"x6.5", 32 pages.

CONDITION NOTES: The covers have some light wear and soil. The interior 
has some minor soil, and s stain.

PRICE: $85-

SOME PICTURES =>
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