Advertising - Overview
Advertising is meant to persuade, and the themes and techniques of that persuasion reveal a part of the nation's history. The Museum has preserved advertising campaigns for several familiar companies, such as Marlboro, Alka-Seltzer, Federal Express, Cover Girl, and Nike. It also holds the records of the NW Ayer Advertising Agency and business papers from Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Carvel Ice Cream, and other companies. The Warshaw Collection of Business Americana comprises thousands of trade cards, catalogs, labels, and other business papers and images dating back to the late 1700s.
Beyond advertising campaigns, the collections encompass thousands of examples of packaging, catalogs, and other literature from many crafts and trades, from engineering to hat making. The collections also contain an eclectic array of advertising objects, such as wooden cigar-store Indians, neon signs, and political campaign ads.
"Advertising - Overview" showing 36 items.
Page 1 of 4
"Chic" Helps and Hints
- Description (Brief)
- Promotional booklet with celluloid cover. Red, green, and black print on front. Color image of a woman's face and purple flowers. Black, red, and blue print on back cover. Image of a box of Pennyroyal Pills. Interior contents include calendars for the years 1904-1907; advertisements for Chichester products; beauty and health hints; legal maxims; states' nicknames; and more.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1904
- advertiser
- Chichester Chemical Co.
- maker
- Whitehead & Hoag Company
- ID Number
- 2006.0098.0504
- accession number
- 2006.0098
- catalog number
- 2006.0098.0504
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Hale's "Clever Clothes Shop"
- Description (Brief)
- Celluloid envelope with blue print. On one side is an image of a woman's profile and Edward Hoch's attributed quote that begins, "There is so much bad in the best of us ..." An advertisement is on the reverse. The envelope contains a celluloid sleeve and a strip of material. It is an advertising piece for Hale's "Clever Clothes Shop" of Kingston, N.Y.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- after 1905
- advertiser
- Hale, Chas. E
- maker
- Whitehead & Hoag Company
- ID Number
- 2006.0098.0519
- accession number
- 2006.0098
- catalog number
- 2006.0098.0519
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Lumber Scale
- Description (Brief)
- Celluloid lumber and cement scale. It is rectangular with two interior dials and is printed in blue and red. One side calculates the quantity of materials requred to make one cubic yard of rammed concrete. The other side calculates the number of feet boards contained in various sizes of lumber. Lehigh Cement Company was founded in 1897.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- after 1920
- advertiser
- Lehigh Portland Cement Company
- maker
- Whitehead & Hoag Company
- ID Number
- 2006.0098.0523
- accession number
- 2006.0098
- catalog number
- 2006.0098.0523
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Yale and Holmes
- Description (Brief)
- Two sheets of celluloid fastened together over three rotating discs that display numbers. One disc displays in a window marked "Points," one in "Games" and the other in "Trumps." There is advertising on one side, and the other is printed with an image of a monkey with windows in its eyes and mouth. As the wheels turn, different styles of eyes and mouth appear on the monkey's face.
- This advertising piece for Yale and Holmes Union Suits of Malden, Mass., features an image of a man wearing long underwear.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1905
- maker
- Whitehead & Hoag Company
- ID Number
- 2006.0098.0644
- accession number
- 2006.0098
- catalog number
- 2006.0098.0644
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Maltine
- Description (Brief)
- Die-cut from a sheet of celluloid in the shape of an owl. Advertising copy on the back is for Maltine.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1886-1920
- maker
- Whitehead & Hoag Company
- ID Number
- 2006.0098.0684
- accession number
- 2006.0098
- catalog number
- 2006.0098.0684
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Ten Year Calendar, "Caught in the Act"
- Description (Brief)
- Calendar with celluloid front and paper back. The calendar contains a rotating disc visible through windows cut into the plastic. By rotating the dial, one can find dates for the years 1898-1912. An image of a young girl in bonnet holding trowel and flowers is opposite the calendar. Black print on reverse advertises "Superior Flower Seeds."
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1898
- advertiser
- Mandeville & King
- maker
- Whitehead & Hoag Company
- ID Number
- 2006.0098.0738
- accession number
- 2006.0098
- catalog number
- 2006.0098.0738
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Cambio Palomba Mangiant Co.
- Description (Brief)
- Plastic sign with background image of ruins and a smoking volcano. In the foreground, an image of a red haired woman in a square frame is propped against an urn. The card is printed in black, with paper backing and a stand. A white paper label is marked "Crystaloid." It was made for Cambio Palomba Mangiant Company, Furriers and Ladies Tailors.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- after 1906
- advertiser
- Cambio Palomba Mangiant Company
- maker
- Whitehead & Hoag Company
- ID Number
- 2006.0098.0747
- accession number
- 2006.0098
- catalog number
- 2006.0098.0747
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Advertising notebook for health tonics
- Description (Brief)
- Plastic notebook with color advertisements on cover. One side has image of a bottle of "Tono Sumbol" and reverse has image of "Liquid Pancreopepsine."
- "Tono Sumbol", a patent medicine tonic and cordial, was a speciality of William R. Warner of Philadelphia, PA. It's active ingredient was sumbol, a stimulant and tonic made from balsamic resin.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- after 1895
- advertiser
- William R. Warner and Company
- maker
- Whitehead & Hoag Company
- ID Number
- 2006.0098.0753
- accession number
- 2006.0098
- catalog number
- 2006.0098.0753
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
The Berg Company
- Description (Brief)
- A promotional notebook with a celluloid cover. Distributed by retailer John M. Crouse of Finesville, N.J., it advertises products of the Berg Company of Philadelphia, Pa. The pages contain calendars, blank memo pages, and a wide range of information on Berg's products.
- The front shows the image of a man wearing a sandwich board advertising "Berg's Pure Ingredient Guanos and Bone Manures."
- The advertisment contains a picture of a bull with the caption, "From the farm thou art, Unto the farm thou shalt return." It is a play on the biblical verse, Genesis 3:19: "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return."
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1906
- maker
- Whitehead & Hoag Company
- ID Number
- 2006.0098.0911
- accession number
- 2006.0098
- catalog number
- 2006.0098.0911
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Carnrick's Soluble Food notebook
- Description (Brief)
- Notebook with celluloid cover. Color image of a bottle of "Carnrick's Soluble Food" with a picture of a baby. On the reverse side is a color image of a woman with flowers in her hair and information regarding Reed & Carnrick. Inside pages provide a description of the product, as well as pages concerning postage rates, U.S. presidents, populations of U.S. cities, and what to do in response to different kinds of accidents. Notebook also has blank pages for notes, and handwriting on some pages.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- after 1897
- advertiser
- Reed & Carnrick Manufacturing Chemists
- maker
- Whitehead & Hoag Company
- ID Number
- 2006.0098.1054
- accession number
- 2006.0098
- catalog number
- 2006.0098.1054
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
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