Getting a cold? COULD BE CONSTIPATION!

Why are the constipation ads in the back of the magazine? Why aren't they on the inside cover? We're embarrassed by constipation. We're embarrassed by the opposite of constipation. Why am I talking about constipation? Because there are all these fine ads in the back of the May 1937 The American Magazine.

Now, I don't know about you, but staring at this guy just makes my old sphincter just close right up. Moving on...so to speak...

This company, Pluto Water, we've visited before. They had a lovely little gazebo. When I'm constipated my first thought is of gazebos. Okay, better gazebos than this fella. Again, I'm feelin' a little tightening going on. And I don't know why, perhaps it's the 10 year old in me, but I keep wanting to change the headline to "For Constipation Do As Doctors Do Do."

Okay, this is better. A breath of fresh air, wind blowing on my face, bathed in sunshine. Oh wait, that's the bathroom light. I've just remembered I need to take one of these before I turn out the light. And I need to run through the house telling everyone else. Well hells bells, why don't I just canvas the neighborhood? Why keep this to myself? It looks glorious!

Seriously? I mean...seriously? Honeymoon constipation? Now I know what to get that bride and groom I need to buy a gift for. I'm sure nobody else will give them this. I like to be original with my gifts.

Best of all! Dance baby, DANCE! Dance that constipation away! Nose rubs optional and will actually not help at all when trying to ummmmm...relax your...well, you know. Apparently the cure for Saturday night fever.

This was a most irregular post.

So...are you feeling like a LUCKY TIGER?

It's always fun to find a piece of ephemera about a company that I've never heard of. My usual reaction is that the company no longer exists and all I'll find is historical data, if anything at all. I went into my search about this company with that preconceived notion. How wrong it proved to be.

Lucky Tiger, started in 1927, is still in business, and apparently has a loyal following.

This ad from the May 1937 The American Magazine is full of copy they'd never get away with today. Well, that's not true. They'd find ways to say the same thing, but might have the government taking issue with their claims that this product helps with baldness. Their implication was that if you were bald it was partially your fault because you were lazy. So they played on your vanity in the ad.

By the 1950s they were telling you your virility was at stake if you didn't use the product.

(SOURCE: www.ananasamiami.com)

Today it seems mostly about memories and the possibility of adventure. Remembering "better times" when you were younger and spent time happily being groomed at a barber shop. The sensations of the visit are brought back by using their product. Perfectly valid direction to go. The adventure aspect? Might be stretching it a bit.

I don't know if the products are still being used in barber shops, but it's nice to see they're still around and have even expanded their product line.

It's the CADILLAC OF VACUUMS!

There used to be a phrase that was thrown about quite a bit. If you were to tell someone about an item, like a dishwasher, which was considered to be top of the line you'd say, "It's the Cadillac of dishwashers." Talking about a tractor? "It's the Cadillac of tractors."

I don't know if this phrase is used anymore. Cadillacs are not thought of in the same way as they once were. Perhaps people say, "It's the Mercedes of dishwashers." I don't know.

But here, from the May 1937 The American Magazine, is an ad for the Cadillac Vacuum Cleaner. No, not the Cadillac of vacuum cleaners; the actual Cadillac vacuum. I don't know how long the company was in business. I'm not finding historical information readily available, and I don't have the bandwidth to do much of a search. Perhaps when things are back to being hunky-dory with my net access I'll return to add to this post. Then again...why? I don't have the Cadillac of net access.



Let's just be glad we don't have to drag all the rugs outside each spring and beat the hell and dust out of them. I mean, I do like hitting things and watching the dust come out, but not if I have to. I'd rather do it for fun...in someone else's home...and then smile and leave.

OVALTINE vs. COCOMALT!

It's the GREAT AMERICAN SLEEP-OFF! 

Right here for the first time anywhere!

OVALTINE vs. COCOMALT!

For years Ovaltine has had the ring all to themselves, never needing to knock out any competitors. All of that has changed now that an upstart has jumped into the fray.

Welcome COCOMALT to the ring!

Click on image to see it larger. (SOURCE: The American Magazine, October 1936)

You be the judge great American consumer! You declare the winner...though I'm not really sure how you're going to do it if you get knocked out by each product. Hey, it's not my problem.

Just remember folks, take caution when getting ready for bed. Do not drink and drive.

Let the SLEEP-OFF BEGIN!

The R. B. Davis Company was located in Hoboken, New Jersey. 

R.B. Davis Sales Co. The distribution company arm for R.B. Davis Co. of Hoboken. It sold and distributed Cut-Rite Waxed Paper (Davis did not make the waxed paper; Automatic Paper Machinery Company, Hoboken was the manufacturer) in the late 1920s and 1930s as well as the main products: Davis Baking Powder, Davis Dry Yeast Baking Powder and Cocomalt. (SOURCE: Hoboken Historical Museum)

Cocomalt was not only sold as a sleep aid, oh no, it was also sold to kids to give them energy. What if when you wanted the little dears to go to bed you gave them Cocomalt and instead of sleeping they wanted to jump off a waterfall?

Click on image to be able to read it. 

Click on image to see it larger. (SOURCE: Boy's Life, August 1940)

Mind you, this is not the first battle the R. B. Davis company fought. Here they had a battle for Cocomalt. Here they had one for their baking powder.

So folks, grab your pillows and battle it out.

MORE PROOF Ovaltine Helps You to Sleep

For the doubters still out there...and I know there are. I see you lurking, hear your mumbling. I know what's going on.

"As a hot bedtime drink, Ovaltine tends to draw excess blood away from the brain."

I don't think I need to say anymore.


Click on image to see it larger. (SOURCE: The American Magazine, October, 1936)

MATSON ad, October 1936

There's nothing particularly Polynesian about this ad, and yet that was what they were hoping to sell you. This ad could have just as easily been for Miami. So why weren't the people of Polynesia featured in ads? I don't think I need to delve into the answer for this. I think most people can figure it out. It's a shame, because I'm guessing that when a lot of passengers disembarked from their ship at the Aloha Tower their senses were soon overwhelmed by Hawaii that they dreaded ever returning to their world of browns and grays. Who would want to leave a place full of color and flowers that bloom all year long?


Click on image to see it larger. (SOURCE: The American Magazine, October, 1936)

You can actually buy a sign of this image, sans type, from a company that is licensed to reproduce vintage Matson Liner ephemera. They also have many of the beautiful illustrations Matson commissioned for murals and ephemera. I wish they offered posters instead of signs.


To get a feeling of what it was like to travel on a Matson Liner there is a wonderful book called To Honolulu in Five Days. Full of images of ephemera, it tells the story of your trip to heaven and what it was like once you got there.

MATSON ad, May 1937

For anyone who has followed this odd corner of the universe for any length of time you'll know my love for the Matson Lines and Hawaii back in the 1950s and '60s. If you aren't aware of this and want to bore yourself for a little while just click on some of the label links below.

This ad was the front inside cover of The American Magazine, May, 1937. Obviously there were still enough people who had spendable cash to take trips during the depression. You had to be very well off to go on one of these cruises, or at least been saving your pennies for a long time.


Click on image to see it larger.

I'm always searching for images from the Hawaii I remember. The Hawaii of today is a foreign land. The landmarks, even a couple of my homes, are long gone. But, I know there are others out there who remember these times; military kids who were uprooted from the Mainland and suddenly dropped into paradise. In my searches online I found the Flickr site of Kamaaina56. Hundreds of images of long ago vistas and buildings. I sat for hours looking at them, memories flooding back to a time that I still long for. I miss the magic of the place. It was indeed the most incredible place to be a child.

Stop on over to Tattered and Lost Photographs to see a mystery photo of a hotel in paradise. My problem is which paradise?

The voice of PHILCO RADIO

These days we're used to loud mouths spouting what is supposed to be news. Most often it isn't news because they're just speculating on what might happen or what they'd like to see happen. Real news is harder to find. Too much hot air filling the atmosphere from the current crop of media clowns. Think it's something new?


Click on image to see it larger. 

I give you Boake Carter for Philco radios. It will all feel rather familiar.

Harold Thomas Henry Carter (15/28 September 1903, Baku – 16 November 1944, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California), aka Boake Carter, was an American national news commentator in the 1930s and early 1940s. He was born in Baku, Russian Empire (now the capital of Azerbaijan), where his father, Thomas Carter, worked for a British oil company. Carter would later claim his father had been in the British Consular Service. Carter grew up in the United Kingdom, and enlisted in the Royal Air Force at the age of fifteen, serving with the RAF's Coast Patrol for eighteen months. He attended Tonbridge School from 1918 to 1921, and would later claim to have attended Christ's College in Cambridge. He arrived in the United States on September 25, 1921, after his father was assigned to Mexico.

Carter worked at the Philadelphia Daily News as a journalist of no particular acclaim.He entered broadcasting as a news commentator with WCAU in Philadelphia in 1930, initially as the announcer for a rugby game, getting the job by default as he was the only person WCAU's director knew who was familiar with the sport. In 1931, he became the narrator for Hearst-Metrotone newsreels. He rose to fame as a broadcast journalist when he covered the Lindbergh kidnapping trial, beginning in 1932. He continued to work for WCAU, with his broadcasts distributed through the CBS network.

After achieving fame, he was a familiar radio voice, but his commentaries were controversial, notably his criticisms of Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal and the powerful Congress of Industrial Organizations. Carter was an accomplished salesman for the sponsor of his program from 1933-1938, Philco Radios, blending his reporting and commentary with plugs for the company's sets. In 1936, he had more listeners than any other radio commentator. He published several books in the 1930s, and began writing a widely syndicated column in 1937. But by 1937, the Roosevelt White House already had three federal agencies investigating him. In 1938, under pressure from Roosevelt's allies, he lost his WCAU job, was barred from CBS, and lost his General Foods sponsorship that had replaced Philco. With his removal, there was no longer any popular radio commentator who opposed Roosevelt's foreign policy.

That year, Carter went on a speaking tour through the States. He subsequently continued to work in broadcasting where he could.

In the early 1940s, Carter was drawn into a 'British Israelite' cult led by a Moses Guibbory.

He was almost a forgotten figure when he died of a heart attack in 1944. A messy fight between his three former wives followed over his estate. Stewart Robb's "The Strange Death of Boake Carter," published in 1946, suggested Boake was murdered, perhaps by Guibbory. In 1949, his final years were documented in a book, "Thirty-three candles," by fellow cult adherent David Horowitz. (SOURCE: Wikipedia)

ALWAYS A BRIDESMAID, never...

Women's magazines have almost always gone out of their way to make women feel bad about themselves. How else can you possibly logically sell products without telling your buyer they're nothing without it? But this...this has always been a saying that irked me. And for young women today who think the feminist movement was not for them, consider this ad and ask yourself if they'd use it today. I'm sure in some narrow-world-view-circles this is still considered a perfectly logical fear. I ask that those people get off the bus.

Edna’s case was really a pathetic one. Like every woman, her primary ambition was to marry. Most of the girls of her set were married—or about to be. Yet not one possessed more grace or charm or loveliness than she.

And as her birthdays crept gradually toward that tragic thirty-mark, marriage seemed farther from her life than ever.

She was often a bridesmaid but never a bride.

What I'd really like to know is if it was a man or woman who wrote this copy. It wouldn't change my perspective of how bad the ad is, but it would have me wondering about the discussions that went on at the ad agency.

Click on image to see it larger. (SOURCE: The American Magazine, October, 1936)

And if you think not getting married is the biggest horror in life caused by bad breath...I give you death by halitosis.

Personally I think this photo looks like Edna might be crying over Ivy's casket.

PRUETT CARTER lead me to a dead end

These illustrations, from the October, 1936 The American Magazine, were done by Pruett Alexander Carter who was born on February 9, 1891 in Lexington, Missouri and died in Los Angeles, Calfornia in 1955. They were used to illustrate a story entitled Crossroads by Kathleen Norris.


Click on image to see it larger.

He was known for doing illustrations for women’s magazines, working in mainly oil and gouache. He was also a teacher at Grand Central School of Art in New York and Chouinard Art Institute in California.


Click on image to see it larger.

I've found little else about his life other than:

He reportedly moved to California from his place of work in New York after visiting there in 1930, and worked on his art commissions through the telephone and submitted them by air express. It is stated that Carter produces oil paintings on canvas in his well-organized home and outside studios and draws inspiration from the painters Edgar Degas and Edouard Manet. (SOURCE: American Artist)

His death, however, is another matter. On December 1, 1955 in Van Nuys, California, Pruett Carter, age 64, shot and killed his wife, son, and then himself. From Find a Grave:

Illustrator Kills Wife, Son, Self
Van Nuys, California, Dec. 2. - (INS) - Police were unable today to fix a definite motive today for the tragedy in which illustrator Pruett Carter, 64, killed his wife and son and then ended his own life. Investigators assumed that Carter was despondent over ill health in the family. However, he left no notes. His wife, Mrs. Teresa Carter, 50, whom the artist married in Atlanta in 1920, and the son, Deal, 35, a cripple, had been shot as they slept. The elder Carter was slumped in death beside his son's bed. A revolver was near his outstretched hand.

To see more of Carter’s work click here, here, and here. You may glean a few more details about his professional life here.

Again, I never know where an old piece of paper will lead me.

KILLS RATS ONLY, yeah sure

Do you ever have trouble with rats? I'm not talking about the human type, I'm talking about the little buggers that get into the attic and drive you nuts?

Where I live virtually everyone has rat problems. Not something well known to people thinking of moving into the area.

A few years ago I was at the county fair and stopped to speak to someone at a booth giving out info about mosquitos and rats. Fun booth to work, huh? When I asked about rats they immediately said, "Oh do you live in...?" I stared at her and said, "Uh, no. Are they  known for their proliferation of rats?" We then discussed the county wide problem and I made a note to not visit the town mentioned.

I'll admit that I don't like killing the little creatures. I don't find them all that ugly, but I also don't like having them in my walls, especially when they start squeaking. And considering how many cats and owls are in this neighborhood I'm surprised there are any rats. The lizard population has certainly taken a nosedive, but then that might be due to agricultural pesticides. Don't get me started on the lack of frogs.

So is K-R-O still made? This vintage magazine ad is from the 1936 October The American Magazine. You'll notice that they say the product is made from Red Squill. After reading a bit about Red Squill I find their claim of "Kills rats without poison" a little dubious. You can read about all of this to your hearts content here and here.

As far as human rats are concerned...they're best ignored.

And alas, no information given about the illustrator of the rat. I'm just sayin'.

Craving an OLD HAT

I love these old hats. I've mentioned before that I have one that belonged to my grandfather. I long ago tore out the inside band so that it looks now more like a hillbilly hat than a nice gentleman's chapeau. For years I wore the hat in the mountains when I went hiking. Now I wear it when I go for walks on cold days. The hat must date back to at least the 1940s, possibly earlier. That silly old hat means a lot to me. Another one I had was stolen from the cabin. Curse the imbecile who took it. May they have nothing but bad luck beneath its brim.

So first we have a man who "...knows where he's going." I'm thinking he's at a stoplight watching a pretty young thing in the crosswalk. John Hancock Insurance is not on his mind. The light turns green and he suddenly remembers where he's going.

(SOURCE: The American Magazine, October, 1936)

He's going to the Mallory Hat Company factory located in Danbury, Connecticut.

(SOURCE: The American Magazine, October, 1936)

I love this illustration. Sadly there's nothing to indicate who the illustrator was.

Now wouldn't you know that there's all sorts of information online about the Mallory Hat Company. I'll let you do much of the digging, but I'll throw you a few crumbs.

Click here to see a few hats at the Metropolitan Museum.

Here is an image of the old factory in 1884.

((Photo courtesy of the Danbury Museum and Historical Society )

An 1884 photograph of the Mallory Hat Company factory in Danbury, one of the many hat manufacturers situated along the city's Still River. Mallory finally closed its doors in 1965.

At a library in Wisconsin they have an old brochure about the company. Below are a few pages. The illustrations were done by Edward Penfield. Do you notice anything wrong in the photos?

Here's an article about some union problems from The Day, September 1, 1951.

Now, as to this product on the hats called "Cravanette." I love the name...crave a net. Of course, perhaps the person who invented it was named Cravanette. Then it just sounds like a candy bar. Click here to read an article about Cravanette, the waterproofing stuff, not the candy bar.

Some thirty-five years ago, a woman n “Merrie England,” that fog-famous land, dreaded alike the wetting of her clothes and the odor of rubber coats and mackintoshes.

Said she, “Deception is the better part of valor;” and being afraid, as aforesaid devised an innocent deceit. Taking a piece of woolen cloth, she treated it to a process of her own invention, and—the cloth was more than cloth, it was waterproof.

From that cloth was made a coat which led an unusual double life, unusual is that both lives were good. On rainy, foggy days it was a waterproof, and preserved her clothes. ON sunny days it was a stunning long overcoat and preserved her pride. Incidentally, by serving a double purpose, it preserved her pocketbook also. (SOURCE: America's Textile Reporter)

Of course, a man went on to market it and the woman's name seems to be another lost to history...herstory.

To read an article about a court case regarding Cravenette click here. And to buy a box of Raisentes.

AN OYSTER A DAY is all they ask

I can definitely say that I will never ever slurp an oyster out of a shell. In fact, I may be so bold as to say I will never eat an oyster no matter how it is prepared. I know I am not alone with this thought.

Then there's the Oyster Institute of North America. Or perhaps I should say there WAS the Oyster Institute of North America. I cannot find any information indicating this group still exists. I'm sure, somewhere in the halls of Congress there is a lobbyist knocking on doors carrying a bucket of slurpy oysters hoping to entice some representative into writing a bill that leans towards oysters and oyster farmers. And so it goes.

This vintage magazine ad for oysters is from the October, 1936, The American Magazine. Has anyone seen any oyster ads lately?

The illustrator was Don Hearld. I cannot find any biographical information about him, but then after one post in an old book I decided I didn't care to know anything about him. He was apparently the author of some humor books available here and here. His one main claim to fame seems to be this image of Santa.

If you're a researcher interested in the Oyster Institute and find yourself at the Mystic Seaport: The Museum of America and the Sea you might want to check out the archives of Howard W. Beach who was the president of the Oyster Institute of North America, and the Oyster Growers and Dealers Association of North America. He apparently kept a series of scrapbook dating from 1905 to 1941.

Why is she SMILING?

Who came up with this idea? A woman's disembodied head floating over a serving tray in an ad for Gillette razors. I'm confused. I'm bafffled. I'm surprised. It's magical. It's creepy.

Anyone able to translate the characters on the tray? Are these the woman's last words?

Okay, the fellow is Harry Blackstone, Sr., famous magician.

Harry Blackstone (September 27, 1885 – November 16, 1965) was a famed stage magician and illusionist of the 20th century. Blackstone was born Harry Bouton[1] in Chicago, Illinois,[2] he began his career as a magician in his teens and was popular through World War II as a USO entertainer. He was often billed as The Great Blackstone. His son Harry Blackstone, Jr. also became a famous magician. (SOURCE: Wikipedia)

I get it. But seriously....?

Click on image to see it larger. (SOURCE: The American Magazine, October, 1936)

Sellin' the good stuff for McCONNON & COMPANY

I don't know about you, but when I look at this truck/car I feel like there should be guys with Tommy guns hanging out the windows shootin' at the coppers following behind. Alas, this fellow isn't carrying booze. Well, he could be because by the time this ad ran prohibition was over.

(SOURCE: The American Magazine, October, 1936)

No, this is a just your friendly McConnon & Company representative rushing your order direct to your home. I've found a variety of information about the company, but nothing concrete saying they still exist. Here's a little of the history I did find.

McCONN'ON, Henry J., manufacturer; born at Winona, Minn., Aug. 1, 1870; son of James and Ellen (McKee) Mc- Connon; educated in public schools of Winona; unmarried. Began active career in drug business, 1889; was pro- prietor retail drug store for 9 years; entered manufacture of remedies, stock food, flavoring extracts, toilet articles, etc., 1899, and incorporated, 1904, as McConnon & Company, of which he has been president from the beginning. Member Board of Trade. Democrat. Catholic. Club: Arlington (director). Recreations: Fishing and hunting. Ad- dress: Winona, Minn. 

McCOlTNON, Joseph B., secretary and treasurer McConnon & Company; born at Winona, Minn., 1877; son of James and Ellen (McKee) McConnon; educated in public schools of Winona; married at Winona, 1905, to Miss Jeanette Morey. Entered the house of McConnon & Com- pany, manufacturers of remedies, stock foods, toilet articles, etc., in 1896, and has been secretary and treasurer of the company since its incorporation, 1904. Catholic. Clubs: Arlington, Meadow Brook. Recreations: Golf, fishing. Ad- dress: Winona, Minn. (SOURCE: The Book of Minnesotans)

So, we have more than we probably wanted to know about the secretary/treasurer of the company, but because of Henry J. McConnon's bio we know when the company started.

Through the years they manufactured a variety of items including cookbooks.

(SOURCE: Abe Books)

And then there were all the legal cases. Lots of legal cases. After all, they did warn you right in their copy that "BIG STOCK SENT ON TRIAL." You were warned. Who knows how Big Stock's trial ended.

This is all legalize double-speak. I haven't a clue about what was going on.

(SOURCE:  Reports of Cases Decided in the Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia at...)

And here they are accused of aiding and abetting. Don't you love that phrase? Aiding and abetting.  Apparently, it was decided they hadn't aided and abetted. Sorry Mr. Holden.

(SOURCE: Report of cases argued and determined in the Supreme Court of the ..., Volume 35)

And this one sounds quite interesting, but alas, we can't get the ending to the story without paying some dough.

(SOURCE: The Business Law Journal, January-June, 1929)

They even made it into Snopes.com:

About 50 or 60 years ago, Mexican vanilla farmers were competing with synthetic vanilla makers from the US and Europe. It got so bad that the Mexicans began selling synthetic as the real thing. To get away with this they had to add coumarin to differentiate it from the familiar taste of fake vanilla. Among other things, coumarin cause liver damage. The Mexicans went back to selling real vanilla (sans coumarin) about the same time the USDA banned coumarin in the early '50s.

It might be worth knowing that McConnon & Company, a now-defunct direct-sales company out here in Winona (anyone remember McConnon's?), had among its products "Extract of Vanilla, Vanillin and Coumarin" in their line until they went out of business a few years back.

And I'll leave you with the idea of putting DDT in your underwear to prevent lice. Think of that tomorrow morning when you're getting dressed.

(SOURCE: Minnesota Goes to War)

UPDATE: Today I received the following from Leigh Griffith:

McConnon and Company was my great-grandfather's company. His name is Joseph R. McConnon. As my mother always says, they sold everything from sheep dip to makeup! Alas, my great-uncle sold the company in the 1960s.

Thank you Leigh. I'm glad you found this post.

A GLASS OF LITHIUM each day ought to do it

The small marginal ads in the back of vintage magazines are usually incredibly fun. Both legit companies and hucksters used the small ads to promote their products without having to pay huge ad fees. They could bombard lots of magazines at the same time with their tiny ads.

I bring you a rather dull looking generic ad from The American Magazine in October, 1936.

Now, my first reaction is what I imagine most people would be thinking. Pluto water comes from the dwarf planet Pluto which is comprised of ice and rock. So I guess you could say it's best to have Pluto water on the rocks. (I'm sorry. Really, I am. Sometimes I just have to get these things out.)

The alternative thought, well...we just don't want to go there, do we? Pluto the dog from Disney. How many jokes were there about Pluto water after Disney introduced him in 1930?

As to the actual Pluto Water:

Pluto Water was a trademark for a strongly laxative natural water product which was very popular in the United States in the early 20th century. The water's high native content of mineral salts generally made it effective within one hour of ingestion, a fact the company played up in their promotional literature. Company advertisements stated the laxative was effective from a half hour to two hours after ingestion. The water was an extremely popular product. In 1919, it took 450 railroad cars to transport the bottler’s output.

Pluto Water was bottled at the French Lick Springs, in French Lick, Indiana, a location with natural mineral springs that was also the source of a competing product, Sprudel Water. It was advertised "America's Laxative" with the slogan "When Nature Won't, PLUTO Will". The bottle and many advertisements featured an image of the devil, while its namesake was Pluto, the Roman god of the underworld; so named because of the water's origin underground.

The active ingredient of Pluto water was listed as sodium and magnesium sulfate, which are known as natural laxatives. The water also contains a number of other minerals, most notably lithium salts. Sale of Pluto water was halted in 1971, when lithium became a controlled substance. (SOURCE: Wikipedia)

And direct from the planet Pluto where the dog Pluto hails from I give you the Pluto Water Spring gazebo. Available for small parties. Give your guests a parting gift that keeps on giving long after they're on their way home. Put the large 50 cent bottle in their gift tote. In fact, let's see if we can get the 50 cent bottles in this years Academy Awards gift bag. Just a thought.

BEECH-NUT GUM is good for your nerves

Unlike Double Mint gum, which claims to make you beautiful, Beech-Nut goes with calming your nerves as their claim to fame.

Now, I always thought riding in a rumble seat would be fun, but Beech-Nut has now given me a different perspective. And frankly, from the looks on the faces of these two I'm guessing chewing gum is the farthest thing from their minds. I think the fellow might have just swallowed his gum.

Click on image to see it larger. (SOURCE: The American Magazine, October, 1936)

Beech-Nut baby food was the only baby food I would eat. Finicky from the beginning.

Beech-Nut's roots go back to 1891, to the Mohawk Valley town of Canajoharie, New York. Raymond P. Lipe, along with his friend John D. Zieley and their brothers, Walter H. Lipe and David Zieley, and Bartlett Arkell, founded The Imperial Packing Co. with the production of Beech-Nut ham. The product was based on the smoked hams of Raymond and Walter's father, farmer Ephraim Lipe. The company's principal products were ham and bacon for the first seven years. David and John Zieley sold their shares to the Lipe brothers in 1892.

The company was incorporated as the Beech-Nut Packing Company in 1899. In 1900, the company's sales were $200,000. Engineers from Beech-Nut patented the first vacuum jar with a design that included a gasket and top that could remain intact in transit and became a standard of the industry.

During the first 25 years of the 20th century, the company expanded its product line into peanut butter, jam, pork and beans, ketchup, chili sauce, mustard, spaghetti, macaroni, marmalade, caramel, fruit drops, mints, chewing gum, and coffee. (SOURCE: Wikipedia)

The illustrator of this ad was Willaim Meade Prince (1893-1951). His archives are at the University of North Carolina where the following appears:

William Prince, born in Roanoke, Va., and raised in Chapel Hill, N.C., was a successful magazine illustrator in the 1920s and 1930s. He was head of the Art Department at the University of North Carolina during World War II and produced drawings and posters in aid of the war effort.

The Southern Part of Heaven, his boyhood memoir, was published in 1950.

Actress Lillian Hughes Prince, William's wife, appeared in many stage productions in and around Chapel Hill, particularly with the Carolina Playmakers. She also played Queen Elizabeth in Paul Green's The Lost Colony, 1947-1953, and acted with the touring company of Howard Richardson's Dark of the Moon, 1945-1946. The couple had one adopted daughter Caroline, who returned to her birth parents in 1941.

The bulk of the collection is correspondence, mostly between the Princes, much of it during their courtship. Also included are professional letters relating to William Prince's career as an illustrator and writer and to Lillian Prince's stage career; journals and diaries of both Princes; drafts of two unfinished books by William Prince; collected material, including a scrapbook about The Southern Part of Heaven and three scrapbooks about Lillian Prince's stage career; financial material; and photographs of family members and friends, stage productions, and William Prince's book and magazine illustrations. There is also a small group of materials relating to the purchase of land by the Order of Gimghoul at the University of North Carolina in the 1910s.

The Addition of 2004 contains photographs, correspondence, and other papers. Photographs are primarily of William Meade Prince and Lillian Hughes Prince; they include photographs of the Princes with their adopted daughter, Caroline. There are also letters from William Meade Prince to Lillian Hughes Prince written during their courtship, letters to the Princes from Caroline, and other items. (SOURCE: UNC)

To read more about Prince and see more of his work visit the following links at Today's Inspiration: here, here, here, and here. To see more of his work visit Google images here.

CHEWING GUM for purely medicinal purposes

In July of 2009 I ran a piece about a Double Mint gum ad from a 1934 magazine. Take a look at it, but be forewarned, this ain't YOUR Double Mint gum. This is your grandma's Double Mint or maybe your great-grandma's gum.

Wrigley's wasn't just using sex to sell gum, they were using medical theories. What? You never thought of gum as a beauty aid? Wrigley's did and continued to do so as per this example from the May 1937 The American Magazine ad. Obviously they were toning the blatant sex down and hoping for something a bit more elegant than carnal.

Now, I have to wonder how they came up with this campaign. It was the 1930s; tough times. When I think back on people chewing gum in the '30s I think of gun-mols in old movies who said "soitanly" instead of "certainly," and they cracked and popped their gum. Was this gum chewing stereotype a threat to gum companies? By the time these ads were running the son of the original Wrigley was in charge of the company and he seemed willing to push advertising limits to keep the company name in a good light.

1891–1932: William Wrigley Jr.In 1891, 29 year-old William Wrigley Jr. (1861–1932) came to Chicago from Philadelphia with $32 and the idea to start a business selling “Wrigley’s Scouring Soap”. Wrigley offered premiums as an incentive to buy his soap, such as baking powder. Later in his career, he switched to the baking powder business, in which he began offering two packages of chewing gum for each purchase of a can of baking powder. The popular premium, chewing gum, began to seem more promising than the actual baking powder. Thus, in 1893, Wrigley launched his classic chewing gum brands, including Juicy Fruit, Spearmint, and Doublemint. All three brands have stayed relevant for over 100 years, continuing to satiate the customers of Wrigley’s Chewing Gum to this day.

1932–1961: Philip K. WrigleyAfter the death of William Wrigley Jr., his son Philip K. Wrigley (1894–1977) assumed his father’s position as CEO of the successful Wrigley Company. Philip is most well-known for his unusual move to support US troops and protect the reputation of the Wrigley brand during World War II, in which he dedicated the entire output of Wrigley’s Spearmint, Doublemint, and Juicy Fruit to the US Armed Forces. Philip launched the “Remember this Wrapper” ad campaign to keep the Wrigley brands on the minds of the customers during times of wartime rationing. (SOURCE: Wikipedia)

I can't find anything online about how this campaign came about, but I did find this wonderful article from the Northern Territory Times in Australia on November 27th, 1928. It's a hoot!

Would Shirley Temple MAKE IT TODAY?

I ask you, honestly, would Shirley Temple even have a chance today? Personally I don't think she'd even be able to get an agent interested in her. She wouldn't fit the rather skanky mold of young "stars" these days.

I simply can't imagine what she'd have been like had she been part of the culture of the '90s and the 21st century. I think she'd have still turned out to be a good and decent person thanks to her parents constant interest in what surrounded her. She certainly wouldn't have turned into a Lindsay Lohan or Miley Cyrus. But you do have to wonder how she would have been changed by our current culture.

Click here to see a vintage Shirley Temple paper doll from my collection.

(SOURCE: The American Magazine, May, 1937)