The last page of the first annual report included a list of the publications that the ATS was able to issue during its first year of operations.
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The last page of the first annual report included a list of the publications that the ATS was able to issue during its first year of operations. Remarkably, it included 185 tracts in English, 15 in French, and about the same number in Spanish.
Prices of ATS tracts as published on the rear wrapper.
Creative Commons LicenseJeremy Norman Collection of Images - Creative Commons
The ATS stated their pricing formula on the rear wrapper of the report. They priced their tracts by the page: "10 pages for one cent, or 1000 pages for a dollar. To inviduals purchasing for gratuitous distribution , or to sell again, 10 per cent discount. To Auxiliaries, contributing one-fourth of their annual receipts as a donation to the Parent Society, 20 percent discount. Tracts of 12 pages and over are covered gratis, which of itself equals a discount of about 15 per cent in addition to the above."
Detail map of Manhattan, New York, New York, United States Overview map of Manhattan, New York, New York, United States

A: Manhattan, New York, New York, United States

The American Tract Society Publishes and Distributes Christian Literature by Traveling Salesmen

1825
First Annual Report of the American Tract Society, published in 1826.
Creative Commons LicenseJeremy Norman Collection of Images - Creative Commons
First Annual Report of the American Tract Society, published in 1826.
On May 11, 1825 the American Tract Society was founded in New York City to distribute Christian literature. Before the ATS was founded the Bible was the only religious book widely distributed in the United States, and probably the only book on any kind widely distributed in the U. S. From the time it was founded the ATS became one of the largest volume publishers in the U.S. It was the first organization in America to print and distribute very large numbers of copies of publications. The Society used traveling salesman to sell tracts, provide counseling and lead church services. 

"Upon ATS's 1825 creation, it became the first organization in the U.S. formed specifically to give out religious tracts.... It was successful, using mechanized presses to print out 700,000 tracts in its first year and 5 million tracts per year by 1850, with branches in multiple American cities....

"[Today] Through its international division, (International Tract Society) ATS has approximately 136 print partners in 70 countries who print and distribute tracts in over 100 languages. The goal is to provide ATS print partners with the necessary resources and funding to print and distribute evangelism tools among disadvantaged churches and evangelists worldwide" (Wikipedia article on American Tract Society, accessed 12-2020).

Timeline Themes

Religious Texts / Religion
Publishing