Advertising

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.

Flat, rectangular card advertising the Nicholson File Company of Providence, R.I. It has a red front with green border and an image of a nail file with a product box. The reverse is white with red and black print, and has a calendar for 1937.
Description (Brief)
Flat, rectangular card advertising the Nicholson File Company of Providence, R.I. It has a red front with green border and an image of a nail file with a product box. The reverse is white with red and black print, and has a calendar for 1937. This was likely an ad for a French-speaking country, as the front reads, "La Lime Qui Dure" and "Une Lime Appropriée Pour Tout Travail" meaning "The File that Lasts" and "A File Suited for All Work."
Description
One side of this celluloid card has a calendar for 1937 and an advertisement for the Nicholson File Company in Providence, R.I. The other side has an image of a Nicholson file, “La Lime Qui Dure.”
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1937
maker
Nicholson File Company
ID Number
2006.0098.0598
accession number
2006.0098
catalog number
2006.0098.0598
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.
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
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.
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
Metal "sanitary cake tester." A long pin with celluloid button at top in blue with yellow and white print. The reverse is white with blue print. An advertisement for Presto Cake Flour is on one side and for Hecker-H-O Co. of Buffalo, N.Y., on the other.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Metal "sanitary cake tester." A long pin with celluloid button at top in blue with yellow and white print. The reverse is white with blue print. An advertisement for Presto Cake Flour is on one side and for Hecker-H-O Co. of Buffalo, N.Y., on the other.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
after 1902
maker
Hecker-H-O Company
ID Number
2006.0098.0790
accession number
2006.0098
catalog number
2006.0098.0790
Oval pin with metal pin-back advertising the Common Sense Gum Company's Listerated Pepsin Gum. In red and blue print, it carries the trademark of a pyramid with a "10" inside, and the phrase, "I am germ proof."Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Oval pin with metal pin-back advertising the Common Sense Gum Company's Listerated Pepsin Gum. In red and blue print, it carries the trademark of a pyramid with a "10" inside, and the phrase, "I am germ proof."
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1912
advertiser
Common Sense Gum Company
maker
Ehrman Mfg. Company
ID Number
2006.0098.0111
accession number
2006.0098
catalog number
2006.0098.0111
An oval pocket mirror, made of printed celluloid over tin. It advertises photographer J. Adamoff of Passaic, N.J., and it features a portrait of a smiling young man in a tuxedo.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
An oval pocket mirror, made of printed celluloid over tin. It advertises photographer J. Adamoff of Passaic, N.J., and it features a portrait of a smiling young man in a tuxedo.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1920-1930
ID Number
2006.0098.0906
accession number
2006.0098
catalog number
2006.0098.0906
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.
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
Celluloid notebook. A color image on the cover shows two children entering a home with a container of finish and a paint brush. The reverse has a calendar for the year 1909. The back has a color image of a can of finish advertising Sunshine Finishes.
Description (Brief)
Celluloid notebook. A color image on the cover shows two children entering a home with a container of finish and a paint brush. The reverse has a calendar for the year 1909. The back has a color image of a can of finish advertising Sunshine Finishes. Handwritten marks in ink are on the interior pages.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1909
maker
Heath & Milligan Mfg. Company
ID Number
2006.0098.0463
accession number
2006.0098
catalog number
2006.0098.0463
A specialized metal tool used to insert stencils into the metal frame of an addressing machine. It has advertising copy on the celluloid handle for Elliott Addressing Machine Co. of Boston, Mass.
Description (Brief)
A specialized metal tool used to insert stencils into the metal frame of an addressing machine. It has advertising copy on the celluloid handle for Elliott Addressing Machine Co. of Boston, Mass. This tool was probably given to customers who purchased the machines.
Description
Sterling Elliott (1852-1922) was born on a farm in Michigan, opened a machine shop in Watertown, Mass., became interested in bicycles, and established The Bicycling World. Then, to handle this amazingly successful weekly publication, he invented, manufactured and marketed an addressing machine. This flat metal tool was used to insert stencils into metal frame of one of those machines. The inscription on the celluloid handle reads “ELLIOTT Addressing Machine Co. / BOSTON, MASS., U.S.A.”
Ref: The Elliott Addressing Machine Co., The Story of a Father and Son or "Unscrewing the Inscrutable" (Massachusetts, 1941).
Location
Currently not on view
date made
after 1900
maker
Whitehead & Hoag Company
ID Number
2006.0098.1383
catalog number
2006.0098.1383
accession number
2006.0098
Celluloid notebook featuring an image of a woman in hat and jacket beside red flowers that may be cherry blossoms. Print on back advertises: "Printzess Distinction in Dress.
Description (Brief)
Celluloid notebook featuring an image of a woman in hat and jacket beside red flowers that may be cherry blossoms. Print on back advertises: "Printzess Distinction in Dress. This label on any coat or suit guarantees perfect fit-- shape retaining quality and two seasons satisfactory wear."
The Printz-Biederman Company of Cleveland, makers of the "Printzess" garments for women, was founded in 1893 by Moritz Printz and Joseph Biederman. The Printz-Biederman Company was widely known for its method of dealing with employees. The workers had a direct voting voice in all matters that affected their welfare.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
after 1903
advertiser
Kaufman Bros.
maker
Kaufman Bros.
ID Number
2006.0098.0473
accession number
2006.0098
catalog number
2006.0098.0473
Notebook with celluloid cover with leather borders and binding. An image of "Fred P. Currie's" hardware store in Atlantic City appears on the front. A calendar for 1891-1892 is on the back. The pages are paper.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Notebook with celluloid cover with leather borders and binding. An image of "Fred P. Currie's" hardware store in Atlantic City appears on the front. A calendar for 1891-1892 is on the back. The pages are paper.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1891
maker
Wm. Bertsch & Company
ID Number
2006.0098.1358
catalog number
2006.0098.1358
accession number
2006.0098
An advertising novelty for American Saw & Mfg. Co., maker of Lenox saws. The ruler is a twelve-inch folding ruler made of ivory-grained celluloid.
Description (Brief)
An advertising novelty for American Saw & Mfg. Co., maker of Lenox saws. The ruler is a twelve-inch folding ruler made of ivory-grained celluloid. It's marked in inches and centimeters.
Description
Folding 12-inch celluloid ruler marked in inches and centimeters, with inscriptions that read “AMERICAN SAW & MFG. CO. / SPRINGFIELD, MASS., U.S.A.” and “LENOX / HACK / SAWS.” Inscriptions on the back identify Lenox as “The Blade in the Plaid Box.”
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1915-1930
maker
Whitehead and Hoag Company
ID Number
2006.0098.1700
catalog number
2006.0098.1700
accession number
2006.0098
Celluloid mathematical table for decimal equivalents. Square with interior dial, the front bears an image of an wheel with ball bearings. Images of various ball-bearing products are on reverse. It is an advertisment for Standard Roller Bearing Company.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Celluloid mathematical table for decimal equivalents. Square with interior dial, the front bears an image of an wheel with ball bearings. Images of various ball-bearing products are on reverse. It is an advertisment for Standard Roller Bearing Company.
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Standard Roller Bearing Company
ID Number
2006.0098.0513
accession number
2006.0098
catalog number
2006.0098.0513
An advertising novelty for Wray Pump & Register Co., and their selling agent, Brandenburg & Co. It unfolds like a carpenter's rule and has advertising and useful data on engines and tire pressure printed on both sides.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
An advertising novelty for Wray Pump & Register Co., and their selling agent, Brandenburg & Co. It unfolds like a carpenter's rule and has advertising and useful data on engines and tire pressure printed on both sides.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1905
maker
Bastian Brothers Company
ID Number
2006.0098.1103
accession number
2006.0098
catalog number
2006.0098.1103
A stamp holder and pocket calendar of cream celluloid. The inside contains a calendar for 1900. A promotional novelty, it advertises Oak Hall Clothing Co. of Boston.
Description (Brief)
A stamp holder and pocket calendar of cream celluloid. The inside contains a calendar for 1900. A promotional novelty, it advertises Oak Hall Clothing Co. of Boston. The front resembles a stamped envelope.
Oak Hall was a well-known men’s clothing retailer in Boston started by George W. Simmons. The name derives from the new woodwork in the store following an 1842 renovation—a look that became synonymous with high-end men’s clothing stores. Thanks to Simmons's aggressive marketing campaigns, the store was familiar to most residents of New England in the mid-19th century. It is mentioned in works by Nathaniel Hawthorne (“Main Street”) and derisively by Henry David Thoreau (“Ktaadn”), as well as in correspondence by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who was incensed at the store’s use of advertising poems (written by “Professor Goodfellow”), and patterned on Longfellow's style.
Source: “Oak Hall in American Literature” by Steven Allaback, in American Literature Vol. 46 No.4 Jan. 1975, p. 545-549.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1900
maker
Whitehead & Hoag Company
ID Number
2006.0098.0980
accession number
2006.0098
catalog number
2006.0098.0980
Advertising novelty for Cascade Flour. Image of a smiling man in a bow-tie, with the question "Why?" underneath. A slide-out panel explains "We use Cascade Flour at our house and IT'S FINE."Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Advertising novelty for Cascade Flour. Image of a smiling man in a bow-tie, with the question "Why?" underneath. A slide-out panel explains "We use Cascade Flour at our house and IT'S FINE."
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Brown & Bigelow
ID Number
2006.0098.0129
accession number
2006.0098
catalog number
2006.0098.0129
Die-cut from a sheet of celluloid in the shape of an owl. Advertising copy on the back is for Maltine.Currently not on view
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
Advertising piece for Old Colony Piano Company of Brockton, Mass. Die-cut from celluloid sheet stock, one side carries the image of a player piano. The bookmark advertises the Autopiano, a player piano.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Advertising piece for Old Colony Piano Company of Brockton, Mass. Die-cut from celluloid sheet stock, one side carries the image of a player piano. The bookmark advertises the Autopiano, a player piano.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
after 1905
maker
Whitehead & Hoag Company
ID Number
2006.0098.0673
accession number
2006.0098
catalog number
2006.0098.0673
Photographic exposure scale with celluloid front and paper back. It has an interior celluloid dial, and red and blue print on front. A Light Value Table is printed on the back.
Description (Brief)
Photographic exposure scale with celluloid front and paper back. It has an interior celluloid dial, and red and blue print on front. A Light Value Table is printed on the back. One side of the dial describes various kinds of scenes ("Distance in open landscape, snow scenes with dark objects", "Sea, Dark Clouds", etc.) and the other lists kinds of film and plates. An advertisement for the Rochester Optical & Camera Company; it features the Poco Camera, one of its products.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1889-1903
maker
Rochester Optical & Camera Company
ID Number
2006.0098.0517
accession number
2006.0098
catalog number
2006.0098.0517
Round, glass hand mirror with celluloid backing. On the back are images of birthstones arranged by month over a black border. The center is white, with black print. The mirror was a promotional item for George Keller, an electrical contractor in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Description (Brief)
Round, glass hand mirror with celluloid backing. On the back are images of birthstones arranged by month over a black border. The center is white, with black print. The mirror was a promotional item for George Keller, an electrical contractor in Brooklyn, N.Y. It has union markings.
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Benjamin Harris Co.
ID Number
2006.0098.1452
catalog number
2006.0098.1452
accession number
2006.0098
A penwipe made of cream celluloid. It's a promotional piece advertising Devine's Cafe. On the back is a calendar.
Description (Brief)
A penwipe made of cream celluloid. It's a promotional piece advertising Devine's Cafe. On the back is a calendar. The penwipe looks like a modern book of matches, when you lift up the flap, you see the thick piece of red felt used to wipe off the tip of a fountain pen.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1912
maker
American Art Works
ID Number
2006.0098.1005
accession number
2006.0098
catalog number
2006.0098.1005
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.
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
Metal match safe with hinged lid. The wrap-around plastic label shows an image of a Chickering grand piano on one side, and a Bradbury upright piano on the reverse. The match safe was an advertising piece for Kranz-Smith Piano Co.
Description (Brief)
Metal match safe with hinged lid. The wrap-around plastic label shows an image of a Chickering grand piano on one side, and a Bradbury upright piano on the reverse. The match safe was an advertising piece for Kranz-Smith Piano Co. of Baltimore, Md.
Description
Match safes were designed to hold friction matches. This one, made of metal covered with celluloid, has an image of a Chickering grand piano on one side, and a Bradbury upright on the other.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1906
advertiser
Kranz-Smith Piano Company
maker
Whitehead & Hoag Company
ID Number
2006.0098.0993
accession number
2006.0098
catalog number
2006.0098.0993
Two sheets of celluloid fastened together over three rotating discs that display numbers.
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

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