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.

This is a cast iron figure in the shape of Mr. Peanut®, the Planters® Nut and Chocolate Company spokes character. This object weighs over 300lbs and was placed on a fence post surrounding the Planters® factory in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
Description
This is a cast iron figure in the shape of Mr. Peanut®, the Planters® Nut and Chocolate Company spokes character. This object weighs over 300lbs and was placed on a fence post surrounding the Planters® factory in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The Planters® company has been using Mr. Peanut® as their trademark since 1916 when they held a contest asking participants to draw a logo they thought best represented the company. A young school boy, Antonio Gentile, drew the winning character, a peanut with arms, legs and in some instances a cane performing different tasks. The drawings were refined by a graphic artist, a top hat, monocle and spats were added and Mr. Peanut® was born.
Planters® was founded in 1906 by Amedeo Obici and his partner, Mario Peruzzi in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Obici got his start working at a local store selling peanuts, before casting out on his own, selling nuts from a cart. Two years later, they incorporated the business as Planters® Nut and Chocolate Company. They eventually moved to Suffolk, Virginia to be closer to the peanut farms. In 1961, the company was sold to Standard Brands, which merged with Nabisco in 1981. In 2000, Kraft Foods acquired Nabisco, but the Planters® brand is still in use today (2014).
date made
1920s
ID Number
2013.0308.01
catalog number
2013.0308.01
accession number
2013.0308
The Scovill Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, Connecticut produced this discount token during the early 20th century. The Scovill Company was established in 1802 as a button manufacturer and is still in business today.
Description (Brief)
The Scovill Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, Connecticut produced this discount token during the early 20th century. The Scovill Company was established in 1802 as a button manufacturer and is still in business today. Scovill was an early industrial American innovator, adapting armory manufacturing processes to mass-produce a variety of consumer goods including buttons, daguerreotype mats, medals, coins, and tokens.
Obverse: The legend reads: THE BRASS CENTER/1674/WATERBURY/1924/OF THE WORLD.
Reverse: The legend reads: GOOD FOR 50¢/UPSON, SINGLETON, & Co. on a $5.00/ PURCHASE.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1924
maker
Scovill Manufacturing Company
ID Number
1981.0296.1633
accession number
1981.0296
catalog number
1981.0296.1633
The Girl on the Land Serves the Nation's Need. American World War I poster by artist Edward Penfield for the Y.W.C.A. Land Service Committee.
Description
The Girl on the Land Serves the Nation's Need. American World War I poster by artist Edward Penfield for the Y.W.C.A. Land Service Committee. Depicted are four women in uniform walking through a field, carrying tools and a basket of produce while leading a team of horses.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1917 - 1921
ID Number
1986.3051.01
catalog number
1986.3051.01
nonaccession number
1986.3051
During World War II, the United States government recognized that full public support and dedication to the war effort was essential to victory.
Description
During World War II, the United States government recognized that full public support and dedication to the war effort was essential to victory. To bolster support, the government hired artists to create propaganda posters, designed to promote patriotism with simple, catchy slogans and colorful images. Toiling factory workers, thrifty home front mothers, and fearless soldiers were among the most popular images used by artists to communicate the message.
This 1942 poster commissioned by the War Shipping Administration encouraged a specific mission, designed to attract former seamen back into the Merchant Marine. At the time, American shipyards were producing cargo ships faster than crews could be assembled, forcing recruiters to rely not only on new volunteers, but also to persuade experienced mariners to leave retirement and go back to sea.
The creation of incentive posters mainly fell under the watch of the Office of War Information, a government agency created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in June 1942 to consolidate public information services and coordinate the sanctioned release of war news. The OWI reviewed and approved the content of newsreels, radio broadcasts, and billboards, in addition to producing hundreds of posters. Initially, the most pressing message to be communicated through posters was a warning to Americans about the dangers of discussing sensitive information like production schedules and troop movements that could be overheard by enemy spies. Over the course of the war, posters covered a variety of topics, such as encouraging the purchase of war bonds and galvanizing the work force at shipyards to keep production going on the assembly line.
date made
1942
commissioned poster
War Shipping Administration
directed poster program
United States. Office of War Information
Associated Name
Roosevelt, Franklin Delano
ID Number
1991.0856.07
catalog number
1991.0856.07
accession number
1991.0856
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
Die-cut from celluloid sheet stock and decorated with a floral motif. An advertisement for F. F. Pulver Co., "makers of original celluloid novelties that advertise," is on the front.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Die-cut from celluloid sheet stock and decorated with a floral motif. An advertisement for F. F. Pulver Co., "makers of original celluloid novelties that advertise," is on the front.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1900-1920
maker
F. F. Pulver Co.
ID Number
2006.0098.0659
accession number
2006.0098
catalog number
2006.0098.0659
The Scovill Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, Connecticut produced this token during the early 20th century, after 1928.
Description (Brief)
The Scovill Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, Connecticut produced this token during the early 20th century, after 1928. Scovill was an early industrial American innovator, adapting armory manufacturing processes to mass-produce a variety of consumer goods including buttons, daguerreotype mats, medals, and tokens.
Obverse: GOOD FOR -10¢- TOWARD PURCHASE OF 2 LARGE (19 OUNCE) or 1 GIANT FAB. CASH VALUE 1/20¢ 99-54053.
Reverse: TO DEALERS/ OUR SALESMAN WILL REDEEM THIS TOKE FOR 10¢ WHEN CONDITIONS ON REVERSE SIDE HAVE BEEN COMPLIED WITH. CUSTOMER MUST PAY ANY SALES TAX. VOID IF USE IS PROHIBITED, RESTRICTED OR TAXED. COLGATE-PALMOLIVE CO. JERSEY CITY, N.J.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1928
referenced
Colgate-Palmolive Company
maker
Scovill Manufacturing Company
ID Number
1981.0296.1616
accession number
1981.0296
catalog number
1981.0296.1616
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1929
advertiser
Eastman Kodak Company
maker
Eastman Kodak Company
ID Number
2016.0066.393
catalog number
2016.0066.0393
accession number
2016.0066
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1924
advertiser
Eastman Kodak Company
maker
Eastman Kodak Company
ID Number
2016.0066.397
catalog number
2016.0066.0397
accession number
2016.0066
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1928
advertiser
Eastman Kodak Company
ID Number
2016.0066.364
accession number
2016.0066
catalog number
2016.0066.0364
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1928-06
advertiser
Eastman Kodak Company
maker
Eastman Kodak Company
ID Number
2016.0066.381
catalog number
2016.0066.0381
accession number
2016.0066
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1920-09
advertiser
Eastman Kodak Company
maker
Eastman Kodak Company
ID Number
2016.0066.400
catalog number
2016.0066.0400
accession number
2016.0066
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1924
1924-09
advertiser
Eastman Kodak Company
maker
Eastman Kodak Company
ID Number
2016.0066.398
catalog number
2016.0066.0398
accession number
2016.0066
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1929
advertiser
Eastman Kodak Company
ID Number
2016.0066.361
accession number
2016.0066
catalog number
2016.0066.0361
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1923
advertiser
Eastman Kodak Company
ID Number
2016.0066.365
accession number
2016.0066
catalog number
2016.0066.0365
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1923
advertiser
Eastman Kodak Company
maker
Eastman Kodak Company
ID Number
2016.0066.395
catalog number
2016.0066.0395
accession number
2016.0066
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1928
advertiser
Eastman Kodak Company
ID Number
2016.0066.363
accession number
2016.0066
catalog number
2016.0066.0363
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1929-10
advertiser
Eastman Kodak Company
maker
Eastman Kodak Company
ID Number
2016.0066.403
accession number
2016.0066
catalog number
2016.0066.0403
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1929-07
advertiser
Eastman Kodak Company
maker
Eastman Kodak Company
ID Number
2016.0066.382
accession number
2016.0066
catalog number
2016.0066.0382
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1927
advertiser
Eastman Kodak Company
maker
Eastman Kodak Company
ID Number
2016.0066.394
catalog number
2016.0066.0394
accession number
2016.0066
Rectangular, chromolithographed retail tin for "Our Table Brand" black tea, sold by Webster-Thomas Tea and Coffee Company, Boston; half-pound size.
Description
Rectangular, chromolithographed retail tin for "Our Table Brand" black tea, sold by Webster-Thomas Tea and Coffee Company, Boston; half-pound size. Printed in red and black on a yellow ground with a depiction of "THE BOSTON TEA PARTY" on both sides of the container, product information on its ends, and an account of the event on the hinged lid with clasp.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1900 - 1925
ID Number
DL.257491.0025
catalog number
257491.0025
accession number
257491
Rectangular, chromolithographed retail tin for "Our Table Brand" black tea, sold by Webster-Thomas Tea and Coffee Company, Boston; half-pound size.
Description
Rectangular, chromolithographed retail tin for "Our Table Brand" black tea, sold by Webster-Thomas Tea and Coffee Company, Boston; half-pound size. Printed in red and black on a yellow ground with a depiction of "THE BOSTON TEA PARTY" on both sides of the container, product information on its ends, and an account of the event on the hinged lid with clasp.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1900 - 1925
ID Number
DL.257491.0026
catalog number
257491.0026
accession number
257491
Custer’s Last Fight is considered one of if not the most reproduced lithographs of the late 19th and most of the 20th Centuries with over a million copies distributed to saloons, dining establishments, barber shops, and eventually collectors.
Description
Custer’s Last Fight is considered one of if not the most reproduced lithographs of the late 19th and most of the 20th Centuries with over a million copies distributed to saloons, dining establishments, barber shops, and eventually collectors. This print was used as an advertising promotion for Budweiser Beer by Anheuser Busch. It is chromolithograph on paper mounted on cardboard that is based on the Cassilly Adams painting which in turn was inspired by the narrative of the battle by a scout named Curley, along with probably the success of the John Mulvany 1881 painting Custer’s Last Fight .
The Cassilly Adams painting that this print copied was started about 1885 and completed in 1888 in Adams studio using soldiers and Native Americans as models. The completed work toured the Midwest before being sold to John Ferber, who owned a saloon in St Louis, Missouri. Adolphus Busch acquired the painting along with a saloon when the owner couldn't pay his bills for the sum of $35,000 in 1892. Eager to have the original copied for advertising, he commissioned the Milwaukee Lithographic Engraving Company. The artist, F. Otto Becker, produced a 24X40 inch painting which was a modified copy of the Cassilly Adams painting. After the Becker copy was made, the original Adams painting was presented to the 7th Cavalry it was moved about until it was damaged. It was then sent to the WPA in Boston for restoration in the 1930's and when returned, it hung in the officer's club at Fort Bliss, Texas until it was destroyed by fire on June 13, 1946.
The 1892 Becker painting was created only to be divided into six sections and given to the lithographers to create the color plates used to produce the 1896 chromolithographic advertising prints. The Becker painting was then pieced back together and restored to hang in the St. Louis board room of Anheuser-Busch, Incorporated.
Based on photographs of the Adams original, the Becker version is more topographically correct but also more graphically explicit as an interpretation of the very violent event. The color print depicts the battle between General Custer's troops and Indian warriors at Little Big Horn. Custer is featured at center waving a saber and dressed in a fringed buckskin. The remaining cavalry officers, except for Custer's brother Tom, are dressed in military uniform. Indians are armed with scalping knives, tomahawks, clubs, spears, and rifles. The dead appear in foreground, with several identified in the bottom margin. The background depicts a peaceful landscape, though there is a hint of the thousands of Indians that significantly outnumbered Custer and his men. Custer's medals and banners are depicted in lower left margin. In the lower right margin is an image of a Native American on horseback posing beside the granite monument for the 7th US Cavalry that was erected in 1881 at the Little Bighorn Battlefield. Text below the image advertises the Anheuser-Busch Brewing Assn.
There have been numerous commentaries on the historic inaccuracies of the depiction which was designed for maximum emotional impact. These inaccuracies range from the length of Custer’s hair which is depicted as long and flowing, when he had days prior had it cut short, to the dress or undress of the depicted Indians and the types of weapons. The artist also included a long red cravat around Custer’s neck, which was mentioned by Libby Custer in her book on her husband. The visual impact of the print version has also been the subject of several notable comments, including this print’s collector, Harry T. Peters, who mentioned in America on Stone that “The detail is endless and extremely lurid, and anyone who saw this print when young will not forget it.” Clearly the artist was successful in gaining reactions to the piece, if not always favorable ones.
Versions of the advertising print vary according to margin size and legend content, but the first run edition resulted in 15,000 prints. According to America on Stone the museum’s copy should have a signature of "O. Becker" in the right lower corner, but it does not. Nor does it have the caption "Taken from the Artist's Sketches. The Original Painting by Cassilly Adams." Supposedly that would indicate it as the earliest edition. Other versions of this print also give a fuller list of those depicted on the image and some further advertise Anheuser Busch as "The World's Largest Brewery" and "Home of Budweiser." However, based on the collector’s purchasing and the condition of the print it would have been produced between 1896 and 1920. There have since been 18 subsequent editions totaling more than a million copies according to Anheuser-Busch. Copies continued to be issued until the 1970's when the cultural awareness of Native Americans began to affect the marketability of the print. New copies of the print are still mass produced and marketed.
Cassilly Adams (1843-1921) was an engraver and painter. He learned to paint at the Boston Academy of Arts and the Cincinnati Art School and later worked in Indiana, Ohio, and St. Louis, Missouri.
F. Otto Becker (1854-1945) was a German American Artist employed by the Milwaukee Lithographic and Engraving Company. He was active in Milwaukee and St. Louis from 1881 until his death, producing lithographs for board games as well as prints. He is best known for his work on Custer's Last Fight.
Milwaukee Lithographing was founded by German-American Henry Seifert in 1852. In the 1870's, he partnered with Henry and Julius Gugler to form the Milwaukee Lithographic & Engraving Company. Augustus Koenig, a friend of Adolphus Busch, became involved with the company in the late 1880's. The company continued to operate until 1920.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1896-1920
depicted
Custer, Thomas Ward
Rain In The Face
Cooke, William W.
Yates, George W.
Reed, Harry Armstrong
Reily, William Van W.
Smith, Algernon E.
Custer, George Armstrong
copyright holder
Busch, Adolphus
commissioned by
Anheuser-Busch Companies, Incorporated
originator
Adams, Cassily
maker
Milwaukee Lithographic & Engraving Company
artist
Becker, F. Otto
ID Number
DL.60.2600
catalog number
60.2600
accession number
228146
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1920 - 1925
ID Number
DL.59.1374G
catalog number
59.1374G
accession number
111627

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