January 2018
De Luxe Display Cabinet
Paul Bunyan Bait Company
Minneapolis, MN
1950s
To promote their fishing tackle, Paul Bunyan Bait Company offered a merchandising unit which was specially designed for the dealer who had limited space to showcase lures, yet wanted to carry a full line of popular and nationally advertised lures…such as Paul Bunyan’s.
Paul Bunyan had a great marketing plan. They offered a package deal on a large group of lures, spinners, floats, leaders, and even a fish scaler for $96.00 cost to the dealer. If they purchased all this merchandise, they got this cabinet to use for free in their store to display a selection of them under glass while storing the rest of the baits under a sliding wood panel in the back. This could be placed on a counter or stand in the store, taking up little space.
To make it even more convenient, the case also had a “Reorder Guide and Retail Price List” sticker on the back. This aided the dealer in keeping track of what was sold and always keeping it fully stocked.
What I find interesting is that is was stated that the display case was “free with merchandise” to the dealer. However, it appears only the use of the display was “free”, as a note stick to the inside the cabinet states “This case is the property of the Paul Bunyan Bait Company, and furnished solely to display products of said company. Use for and other purpose forfeits any rights to it’s possession”.
I obtained this display cabinet from a visitor to my website. He purchased it at a garage sale in northern Minnesota from someone who was using it in his garage to store oil. The new owner was thinking of using it to display some of his fish decoys and then run across my website. He offered it to me for a fair price, which I greatly appreciated, and I drove to his home to retrieve it. After some major cleaning…it will make a great addition to my collection. Oh, and just so no one comes and takes it away from me…it will be filled with Paul Bunyan Baits!
