National Publications, part 3

Neighbors perceived their business acumen, though. Agnes Whiting Wynne wrote to Frances Benjamin Johnston, “They are doing splendidly in a business way and are making what is for living in Deerfield a large income. Isn’t it nice?”[68] Mary wrote to Johnston regarding their reproduction fees: “We get, regularly, $5.00 for a second use and $10 for first use- Four of the prints had been used once…. ‘,’ was fresh- You know better than I whether your terms with the paper were such as to allow these rates- I am quite willing to leave it to you.”[69] Charging these rates, Frances and Mary received $30.00 from Johnston for reproducing their five photographs in the July 1901 article. Johnston’s terms with The Ladies’ Home Journal most certainly allowed her to pay the Allens their fee; the magazine paid Johnston $150 per article.[70] Compared with the average weekly wage of about $5.50 earned by unskilled laborers and $8.37 by manufacturing workers, these fees suggest the lucrative nature of the field.[71] Mary complimented Frances Benjamin Johnston’s professional work: “You do that sort of thing superlatively well, but what a bore it must be! When I am tired with ‘jobs’ I find a generous check an efficient soother of discomfort. You command that panacea in larger doses than most of the craft are able to.”[72] Enterprising Frances Benjamin Johnston was energetic in all her endeavors.