Advertising

Ivory Soap Ad

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.

Date: 1950s

Dissection Puzzle Distributed by Royal Dutch Airlines (KLM)

This dissection puzzle consists of five blue plastic pieces that can be arranged to form a square. It comes in a light green envelope with blue print. One mark on the envelope reads: KLM (/) ROYAL DUTCH (/) AIRLINES. Another reads: FORM A PERFECT (/) SQUARE OF THESE (/) 5 PARTS.
Description
This dissection puzzle consists of five blue plastic pieces that can be arranged to form a square. It comes in a light green envelope with blue print. One mark on the envelope reads: KLM (/) ROYAL DUTCH (/) AIRLINES. Another reads: FORM A PERFECT (/) SQUARE OF THESE (/) 5 PARTS. These instructions are repeated in French and in Dutch. A mark in ink reads: 6 Oct. 1950. The envelope was sealed shut with a sticker, and this seal is broken.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1950
date distributed
1950 10 06
ID Number
MA.335291
catalog number
335291
accession number
314637

Kneeling woman

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1930s-1950s
maker
Keppler, Victor
ID Number
PG.006263.A
catalog number
6263A
accession number
238737

Couple at table - violinist in background

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1930s-1950s
maker
Keppler, Victor
ID Number
PG.006263.V
catalog number
6263.V
accession number
238737

Seagram's by the Fire

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1930s-1950s
maker
Keppler, Victor
ID Number
PG.006258.F
accession number
238737
catalog number
6258F

Still life with silver-top decanter

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1930s-1950s
maker
Keppler, Victor
ID Number
PG.006261.L
catalog number
6261L
accession number
238737

Tumbler

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1949
ca 1955
maker
Tupperware
ID Number
1992.0605.002
catalog number
1992.0605.002
accession number
1992.0605

Man with Schaefer beer at telphone

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1930s-1950s
maker
Keppler, Victor
ID Number
PG.006261.KK
accession number
238737
catalog number
6261KK

Hunter Whiskey

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1950
maker
Muray, Nickolas
ID Number
PG.007924
accession number
258415

Saturday Evening Post cover

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1959-09
ID Number
2016.0066.411
accession number
2016.0066
catalog number
2016.0066.0411

Burma-Shave Advertising Signs

By the 1920s, commercial signs and billboards turned the roadside into an advertising medium. Allan Odell, sales manager of the family-owned Burma-Vita Company, created serial roadside rhymes in 1926 to advertise the company’s brushless shaving cream.
Description
By the 1920s, commercial signs and billboards turned the roadside into an advertising medium. Allan Odell, sales manager of the family-owned Burma-Vita Company, created serial roadside rhymes in 1926 to advertise the company’s brushless shaving cream. He was inspired by a string of signs leading to a service station in Illinois, each sign promoting a product or service available at the station. The earliest Burma-Shave signs boosted sales significantly; the sign program spread so rapidly that the company began a nationwide contest, resulting in dozens of selections annually. Some verses merely extolled the Burma-Shave product, while others made light of facial hair, shaving, and intimacy with the opposite sex. Gradually the company introduced “public service announcements” in the form of humorous reminders to drive safely or suffer the consequences. This rhyme is a commentary on the serious problem of drinking and driving. Verses of this type cautioned motorists to be aware of the risks of expanded personal mobility and drive safely and responsibly.
date made
1959
maker
Burma-Vita Company
ID Number
2005.0121.01
catalog number
2005.0121.01
accession number
2005.0121

Trainmen

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1930s-1950s
maker
Keppler, Victor
ID Number
PG.006263.J
catalog number
6263J
accession number
238737

Ranger Joe Glass Bowl

Introduced in 1939, Ranger Joe Honey Wheat Honnies was the first pre-sweetened breakfast cereal. It was bought out by Nabisco and renamed Wheat Honeys.In the early 1950's a television show was created to help market the cereal.
Description
Introduced in 1939, Ranger Joe Honey Wheat Honnies was the first pre-sweetened breakfast cereal. It was bought out by Nabisco and renamed Wheat Honeys.
In the early 1950's a television show was created to help market the cereal. Broadcast out of Philadelphia, it starred Jessie Rodgers, cousin of country-western music star Jimmie Rodgers.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1950s
maker
Hazel-Atlas Glass Company
ID Number
2014.0160.02
accession number
2014.0160
catalog number
2014.0160.02

Pop Hand Puppet

This hand puppet, known as Pop, is one of the three characters used to represent the famous Kellogg's Rice Krispies cereal. His head is made of molded synthetic rubber, his hands are red felt, and he is dressed in a peachy pink colored cotton shirt.
Description (Brief)
This hand puppet, known as Pop, is one of the three characters used to represent the famous Kellogg's Rice Krispies cereal. His head is made of molded synthetic rubber, his hands are red felt, and he is dressed in a peachy pink colored cotton shirt. Snap, Crackle, and Pop were created in the 1930s as spokesmen for Kellogg's Rice Krispies. Their images are based on drawings by illustrator Vernon Grant and cartoonist Don Margolis. These three little sprites were popular images used to advertise cereal to children.
This particular set of puppets is from the early 1960s were offered as premiums for saving cereal box tops. These familiar elves continue to represent the Rick Krispies brand in the twenty first century.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1950 - 1959
user
Rollins, Hazelle H.
Rollins, Hazelle H.
ID Number
1980.0910.08
accession number
1980.0910
catalog number
1980.0910.08

Fly

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1930s-1950s
maker
Keppler, Victor
ID Number
PG.006261.Q
catalog number
6261Q
accession number
238737

Tomatoes on the vine

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1930s-1950s
maker
Keppler, Victor
ID Number
PG.006263.L
catalog number
6263L
accession number
238737

Meats with rib roast in center

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1930s-1950s
maker
Keppler, Victor
ID Number
PG.006261.H
catalog number
6261H
accession number
238737

White haired woman knitting

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1930s-1950s
maker
Keppler, Victor
ID Number
PG.006263.P
catalog number
6263P
accession number
238737

Tomatoes

A Nickolas Muray 3-color carbro photograph of hands holding three large tomatoes ca. 1940s. Campbell Soup advertisment.Verso: Four Muray stamps. "Campbell Soup Ad" (black pencil). "32" (black pencil).Nickolas Muray was born in Szeged, Hungary on February 15, 1892.
Description (Brief)
A Nickolas Muray 3-color carbro photograph of hands holding three large tomatoes ca. 1940s. Campbell Soup advertisment.
Verso: Four Muray stamps. "Campbell Soup Ad" (black pencil). "32" (black pencil).
Description
Nickolas Muray was born in Szeged, Hungary on February 15, 1892. Twelve years after his birth, Muray left his native town and enrolled in a graphic arts school in Budapest. Enrolling in art school was the first step on a road that would eventually lead him to study a photographic printing process called three-color carbro. In the course of his accomplished career, Muray would become an expert in this process and play a key role in bringing color photography to America.
While attending art school in Budapest, Muray studied lithography and photoengraving, earning an International Engraver's Certificate. Muray was also introduced to photography during this time period. His combined interest in photography and printmaking led him to Berlin, Germany to participate in a three-year color-photoengraving course. In Berlin, Muray learned how to make color filters, a first step in the craft that would one day become his trademark. Immediately after the completion of the course, Muray found a good job with a publishing company in Ullstein, Germany. However, the threat of war in Europe forced Muray to flee for America in 1913. Soon after his arrival in New York, Muray was working as a photoengraver for Condé Nast. His specialty was color separations and half-tone negatives.
By 1920, Muray had established a home for himself in the up-and-coming artists' haven of Greenwich Village. He opened a portrait studio out of his apartment and continued to work part time at his engraving job. Harper's Bazaar magazine gave Muray his first big assignment in 1921. The project was to photograph Broadway star Florence Reed. The magazine was so impressed with his photographs that they began to publish his work monthly. This allowed him to give up his part time job and work solely as a photographer. It did not take long for Muray to become one of the most renowned portrait photographers in Manhattan. Muray spent much of the early 1920s photographing the most famous and important personalities in New York at the time.
In his spare time Muray enjoyed fencing. In 1927, he won the National Sabre Championship and in 1928 and 1932, he was on the United States Olympic Team. During World War II, Muray was a flight lieutenant in the Civil Air Patrol.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1940s-1950s
commissioner
Campbell Soup Company
maker
Muray, Nickolas
ID Number
PG.69.247.11
catalog number
69.247.11
accession number
287542

Edward G. Robinson, Pabst

Nickolas Muray color carbro photograph of Edward G. Robinson. Advertisment for Pabst Beer ca. 1950. Robinson stands beside a painting in an ornate frame holding a pint of beer as to offer it to a guest.The wall paper in the room is a grey and pink forest theme.
Description (Brief)
Nickolas Muray color carbro photograph of Edward G. Robinson. Advertisment for Pabst Beer ca. 1950. Robinson stands beside a painting in an ornate frame holding a pint of beer as to offer it to a guest.The wall paper in the room is a grey and pink forest theme. On a table, a tray of hours'derves and beer are displayed.
Recto: Signed and dated by the artist (pencil). Verso: Muray Stamp. "#11 Eddy Robinson" (pencil). Mounted on Monogram Illustration board.
Description
Nickolas Muray was born in Szeged, Hungary on February 15, 1892. Twelve years after his birth, Muray left his native town and enrolled in a graphic arts school in Budapest. Enrolling in art school was the first step on a road that would eventually lead him to study a photographic printing process called three-color carbro. In the course of his accomplished career, Muray would become an expert in this process and play a key role in bringing color photography to America.
While attending art school in Budapest, Muray studied lithography and photoengraving, earning an International Engraver's Certificate. Muray was also introduced to photography during this time period. His combined interest in photography and printmaking led him to Berlin, Germany to participate in a three-year color-photoengraving course. In Berlin, Muray learned how to make color filters, a first step in the craft that would one day become his trademark. Immediately after the completion of the course, Muray found a good job with a publishing company in Ullstein, Germany. However, the threat of war in Europe forced Muray to flee for America in 1913. Soon after his arrival in New York, Muray was working as a photoengraver for Condé Nast. His specialty was color separations and half-tone negatives.
By 1920, Muray had established a home for himself in the up-and-coming artists' haven of Greenwich Village. He opened a portrait studio out of his apartment and continued to work part time at his engraving job. Harper's Bazaar magazine gave Muray his first big assignment in 1921. The project was to photograph Broadway star Florence Reed. The magazine was so impressed with his photographs that they began to publish his work monthly. This allowed him to give up his part time job and work solely as a photographer. It did not take long for Muray to become one of the most renowned portrait photographers in Manhattan. Muray spent much of the early 1920s photographing the most famous and important personalities in New York at the time.
In his spare time Muray enjoyed fencing. In 1927, he won the National Sabre Championship and in 1928 and 1932, he was on the United States Olympic Team. During World War II, Muray was a flight lieutenant in the Civil Air Patrol.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1950
depicted
Robinson, Edward
maker
Muray, Nickolas
ID Number
PG.007923
catalog number
7923
accession number
258415

Dissection Puzzle Distributed by Royal Typewriter

This dissection puzzle consists of four cardboard pieces of the same shape that fit together form a perfect square. Each piece describes and illustrates (identically on both sides) one feature of a Royal typewriter. The pieces fit into a tan envelope.
Description
This dissection puzzle consists of four cardboard pieces of the same shape that fit together form a perfect square. Each piece describes and illustrates (identically on both sides) one feature of a Royal typewriter. The pieces fit into a tan envelope. Text printed on the envelope reads: Test your skill! (/) Try to form (/) A PERFECT SQUARE (/) with the four-piece (/) PUZZLE inside (/) this envelope (/) It can (/) be done (/) COMPLIMENTS OF ROYAL TYPEWRITERS Division of Royal McBee Corporation (/) Printed in U.S.A. OS2D-58-576.
Royal Typewriters became a division of Royal McBee Corporation in 1954. In 1965 that firm was acquired by Litton. These facts, combined with the form number, suggest a date of about 1958.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1958
distributor
Royal
ID Number
MA.335290
catalog number
335290
accession number
314637

Little girl with orange and doll

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1930s-1950s
maker
Keppler, Victor
ID Number
PG.006263.I
catalog number
6263I
accession number
238737

Minute Maid Juice Pitcher by Tupperware

This tall, white pitcher represents two significant food-related innovations with roots in 1940s America: frozen orange juice concentrate, developed by scientists who patented the manufacturing process in 1948, and Tupperware, the polyethylene container system developed by Earl T
Description
This tall, white pitcher represents two significant food-related innovations with roots in 1940s America: frozen orange juice concentrate, developed by scientists who patented the manufacturing process in 1948, and Tupperware, the polyethylene container system developed by Earl Tupper in 1948 and sold by direct marketing to consumers in their homes.
This polyethylene pitcher, including its lid and spout cap, was sold as a promotional tie-in between Tupperware and Minute Maid juices. The pitcher is printed with an image of a smiling girl wearing a bonnet. Red lettering on the pitcher reads, "Minute Maid Large Family Size Juice Mixer." Mixing instructions and measuring lines are printed on the back.
Processors of frozen concentrated orange juice like Minute Maid recreated the flavor of fresh orange juice by adding “cut-back” (fresh juice, flavor essences, and peel oil) to the thick concentrate before freezing. At home, consumers mixed the frozen concentrate with water in pitchers of their own, or in containers like this, especially promoted for this purpose. Shipped nation-wide, the frozen concentrated product was easy to make and provided orange juice all year long when fresh-squeezed juice was prohibitively expensive.
date made
ca 1949
ca 1953 - 1955
maker
Tupperware
ID Number
1992.0605.001A-C
catalog number
1992.0605.001A-C
accession number
1992.0605

I take off my hat to the new Kodak cameras

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1953
advertiser
Eastman Kodak Company
maker
Eastman Kodak Company
ID Number
2016.0066.375
catalog number
2016.0066.0375
accession number
2016.0066

Time, Space and Forms

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1950
ID Number
PG.004735D
accession number
192657
catalog number
4735D

Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.

If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.