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.

Circular hand mirror with an advertisement. on the back. for the Cruver Manufacturing Co., of Chicago.Currently not on view
Description
Circular hand mirror with an advertisement. on the back. for the Cruver Manufacturing Co., of Chicago.
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Cruver Manufacturing Company
ID Number
CH.334567
accession number
310799
catalog number
334567
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
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
This object is a left-handed, stainless steel French fry scoop with a black plastic handle.
Description
This object is a left-handed, stainless steel French fry scoop with a black plastic handle. On the reverse, writing etched into the scoop says “Bagging Scoop.” This scoop, used by left-handed employees, was designed to dispense a precise amount of French fries to create uniformity between servings in the quickest, most efficient way possible.
The McDonald’s Corporation is one of the most recognizable hamburger restaurants in the United States. As of 2011, the McDonald’s Corporation and franchisees were operating in 119 countries with 1.9 million employees, making it the 4th largest employer in the world.
In 1940, Richard (Dick) and Maurice (Mac) McDonald opened the first McDonald’s Bar-B-Q drive-in restaurant in San Bernardino, California. In 1948, the brothers redesigned their menu, centering on the 15 cent hamburger. In 1954, Ray Kroc, a Multimixer (milkshake machine) salesman, became interested in the McDonalds brothers’ high volume restaurant. He worked out a deal with the brothers to be their franchising agent and opened the first franchise location in Illinois the following year. Under Kroc’s direction, the company grew to become the giant we know today.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
mid 1960s
maker
Prince Castle
ID Number
1991.0324.04
catalog number
1991.0324.04
accession number
1991.0324
This object is a right-handed, stainless steel French fry scoop with a black plastic handle.
Description
This object is a right-handed, stainless steel French fry scoop with a black plastic handle. On the reverse, writing etched into the scoop says “Bagging Scoop.” This scoop, used by right-handed employees, was designed to dispense a precise amount of French fries to create uniformity between servings in the quickest, most efficient way possible.
The McDonald’s Corporation is one of the most recognizable hamburger restaurants in the United States. As of 2011, the McDonald’s Corporation and franchisees were operating in 119 countries with 1.9 million employees, making it the 4th largest employer in the world.
In 1940, Richard (Dick) and Maurice (Mac) McDonald opened the first McDonald’s Bar-B-Q drive-in restaurant in San Bernardino, California. In 1948, the brothers redesigned their menu, centering on the 15 cent hamburger. In 1954, Ray Kroc, a Multimixer (milkshake machine) salesman, became interested in the McDonalds brothers’ high volume restaurant. He worked out a deal with the brothers to be their franchising agent and opened the first franchise location in Illinois the following year. Under Kroc’s direction, the company grew to become the giant we know today.
date made
mid 1960s
maker
Prince Castle
ID Number
1991.0324.03
catalog number
1991.0324.03
accession number
1991.0324
This red tin was used to market Juicy Fruit® gum. The tin was designed to hang against a wall or other flat surface and the gum would be held in the basket on the bottom front of the tin.Juicy Fruit® is a brand of gum developed by Wm Wrigley Jr. Company.
Description
This red tin was used to market Juicy Fruit® gum. The tin was designed to hang against a wall or other flat surface and the gum would be held in the basket on the bottom front of the tin.
Juicy Fruit® is a brand of gum developed by Wm Wrigley Jr. Company. William Wrigley, Jr., started his business in 1892 in Chicago, Ill. He developed the Juicy Fruit® brand in 1893, along with the other iconic Wrigley’s brand, Spearmint®. During WWII, the company removed its chewing gum brands from the civilian market and continued to only fulfill orders for US troops rather than sell a product of inferior quality due to war rationing. As of 2008, Wm Wrigley Jr. Company has been part of Mars, Inc.
Sweet treats have been a part of the human diet nearly since the beginning of human existence. The type of treat has changed over time, but human desire for sweetness has not. Candy can be hard or chewy, may or may not contain chocolate and can be sweet or sour. Sugar cane was introduced to Europeans when crusaders brought the substance back from the Middle East, and it was with these Europeans that sugar gained its highly prized status as an art form and a gift to be given away on special occasions. A status that persists to this day when a suitor gives their beloved chocolate for Valentine’s Day.
At one time, small family owned confectionary shops dominated the American landscape. Opening a candy making business was a relatively low cost investment, all one needed was a kitchen and a basket to sell their treats from on the street. As demand grew, they could grow their business. Today, many of these small businesses have been absorbed into large corporations who command a much greater market power.
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company
ID Number
AG.293320.2740
catalog number
AG*293320.2740
accession number
293320
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
This is a counter top type display box for Wrigley’s Doublemint chewing gum. The box contains twenty simulated, five stick, gum packages. Wrigley’s introduced Doublemint in 1914, the third flavor produced by after Spearmint and Juicy Fruit.
Description
This is a counter top type display box for Wrigley’s Doublemint chewing gum. The box contains twenty simulated, five stick, gum packages. Wrigley’s introduced Doublemint in 1914, the third flavor produced by after Spearmint and Juicy Fruit. The name “Doublemint” came from the double distillation process used in producing the mint flavor and spawned a popular advertising campaign around the “Doublemint Twins” in 1956.
date made
1948 - 1949
maker
William Wrigley Junior Company
ID Number
1992.3217.03
catalog number
1992.3217.03
nonaccession number
1992.3217
This hand held condiment dispenser is primarily of metal construction, with a tartar sauce canister inserted into the tray. The canister is constructed of white cardboard with green lettering, which says “McDonald’s® Tartar Sauce” with McDonald’s® double arches logo.
Description
This hand held condiment dispenser is primarily of metal construction, with a tartar sauce canister inserted into the tray. The canister is constructed of white cardboard with green lettering, which says “McDonald’s® Tartar Sauce” with McDonald’s® double arches logo. This canister holds 25 fluid ounces of tartar sauce. The McDonald’s® Corporation was well known for developing their own kitchen tools to create higher rates of standardization between locations and produce food products at greater efficiency. This dispenser would distribute precisely the correct amount of tartar sauce for each Filet-O-Fish™ sandwich.
The McDonald’s Corporation is one of the most recognizable hamburger restaurants in the United States. As of 2011, the McDonald’s Corporation and franchisees were operating in 119 countries with 1.9 million employees, making it the 4th largest employer in the world.
In 1940, Richard (Dick) and Maurice (Mac) McDonald opened the first McDonald’s Bar-B-Q drive-in restaurant in San Bernardino, California. In 1948, the brothers redesigned their menu, centering on the 15 cent hamburger. In 1954, Ray Kroc, a Multimixer (milkshake machine) salesman, became interested in the McDonalds brothers’ high volume restaurant. He worked out a deal with the brothers to be their franchising agent and opened the first franchise location in Illinois the following year. Under Kroc’s direction, the company grew to become the giant we know today.
maker
Prince Castle
ID Number
1991.0324.02A
catalog number
1991.0324.02A
accession number
1991.0324
In 1939, Walter Landor arrived in the United States to help install the British training pavilion at the New York World’s Fair.
Description
In 1939, Walter Landor arrived in the United States to help install the British training pavilion at the New York World’s Fair. At twenty-six years old, Landor had left his home in Germany to study art and design in Britain, where he became the youngest Fellow of the Royal Society of Industrial Artists. With whispers of war circulating around Europe, Landor decided to stay in the United States and travelled to the West Coast in search of design work. In 1941, Landor and his new wife Josephine Martinelli founded Walter Landor and Associates (today Landor) in their San Francisco apartment. The company specialized in packaging and label design for a number of iconic brands ranging from Marlboro cigarettes to Aunt Jemima to Sara Lee. As the company expanded, Landor’s base of operations moved from his home through several locations until it settled in 1962 on the Klamath, a docked ferryboat in the San Francisco Bay that would become an iconic part of Landor’s own brand.
In 1966, Aunt Jemima’s ready-made pancakes debuted their own brand of syrup. Aunt Jemima began in 1889 in St. Joseph, Missouri, when Chris Rutt and Charles Underwood created the first ready-mix pancake. Searching for a character to mark their brand, the company settled on the Aunt Jemima figure after viewing a minstrel show which included a southern mammy, a fictional African American female figure happily enslaved to a White family. The use of Black characters to sell home goods to White consumers draws upon stereotypes of African-Americans established during the period of slavery; in particular it references the stereotype of African-Americans in a servile position. In 1926, Quaker Oats purchased the Aunt Jemima brand and continued to expand it. As Aunt Jemima grew in popularity, the company employed a number of Black women to act as Aunt Jemima at events ranging from World’s Fairs to grocery stores to Disneyland. In 1989, Quaker Oats redesigned and updated Aunt Jemima, changing her from an outdated stereotype to the design that is still in use today: a modern Black woman.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1966-1989
maker
Quaker Oats Company
ID Number
1993.0393.041
accession number
1993.0393
catalog number
1993.0393.041
Bumper Sticker for "The Amazing World of Superman," a planned theme park devoted to the iconic superhero, that was to open in Metropolis, Il, In 1972.
Description (Brief)
Bumper Sticker for "The Amazing World of Superman," a planned theme park devoted to the iconic superhero, that was to open in Metropolis, Il, In 1972. That year, the Illinois state legislature passed a resolution naming the city, which shares a name with the character's fictional residence, the "hometown of Superman." Today, Metropolis, IL is home to a Superman statue, Museum, and annual Superman Celebration.
The character of Superman first flew into action in 1938. The costumed superhero was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, two Jewish teenagers from Cleveland Ohio, who used, among other things, Classical mythology, philosopher Fredrich Nietzche's concept of the "uber mensch," and the era's popular science fiction and adventure writing, for inspiration.
With his debut in Action Comics #1, Superman became an instant sensation with audiences, inspired by the "Man of Tomorrow's" virtue and heroics at time when the Nation was slowly emerging from the economic catastrophe of the Great Depression and moving closer to World War.
Born on the doomed planet Krypton, Superman was sent to Earth as a child, where our world's yellow sun granted him extraordinary powers such as flight, super-strength, near-invulnerability, as well as other extraordinary abilities including heat and X-Ray vision. As an adult living in the city of Metropolis, the alien, born Kal-El, protects his identity by assuming the persona of Clark Kent, a "mild-mannered" journalist.
Fighting for "Truth and Justice," Superman birthed a cultural fascination with superheroes, and has become one of the most recognizable and influential fictional characters in history. In addition to comic books, the character has been explored in all forms of media, including radio, television, and film, and has been used to promote a variety of successful consumer products, educational initiatives and public service campaigns.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1973
ID Number
1987.0213.138
accession number
1987.0213
catalog number
1987.0213.138
1987.0213.138
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
associated institution
Woman's Christian Temperance Union
Associated Name
Woman's Christian Temperance Union
ID Number
PL.295325.7
catalog number
295325.7
This original artwork in pencil, ink, and wash was created for a printed piece advertising the services of Chicago wood engraver Nicholas J. Quirk about 1900.
Description
This original artwork in pencil, ink, and wash was created for a printed piece advertising the services of Chicago wood engraver Nicholas J. Quirk about 1900. The design, including a wood block, engraving tools, and a woodpecker as a symbol of the trade, was modified for use as a logo by the Brotherhood of Engravers in 1902.
The Quirk Collection represents a significant body of work by N. J. Quirk (1863–1940) and his son Nicholas Paul Quirk (1898–1983), together with numerous business cards and specimen sheets from their fellow wood engravers and printing concerns, mostly in the midwestern United States, but also from Canada and Japan. Engraved wood blocks, electrotype plates, photographs, original artwork, proofs, prints, brochures, catalogs and other examples of commercial illustration and wood engraving, plus associated reference material, are included. Subjects represented include portraits (including six Presidents, Joseph Conrad, and Charles Lindbergh), machinery, jewelry, maritime and military work, holiday offerings, and printing trade and union-related items. Most of the 454 catalogued items date from the 1880s up through the 1970s.
Evidence in the collection suggests that Nicholas J. Quirk worked as superintendent of the wood-engraving department of Henderson-Achert Lithography Company in Cincinnati and had his own business there as Quirk & Co., before moving to Chicago in the 1890s. He had his own business at several Chicago addresses and worked for the Globe Engraving and Electrotype Company and the Hawtin Engraving Company. Around 1900 he styled himself as a "marine illustrator." Nicholas Paul Quirk spent his entire working life in Chicago, first with his father and later at the Zacher Engraving Company, where wood engraver Judith Jaidinger Szesko also worked during the 1960s. Mrs Szesko donated the Quirk Collection to NMAH in 1996.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1900
graphic artist
Quirk, Nicholas J.
ID Number
1996.0197.031
catalog number
1996.0197.031
accession number
1996.0197
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1910
ID Number
1987.0160.17
accession number
1987.0160
catalog number
1987.160.17
A tape measure in a celluloid case of cream celluloid with yellow and green on the front and back. Advertising copy for the John Deere Company includes a profile portrait of John Deere with the message, "He gave to the world the steel plow," underneath.
Description (Brief)
A tape measure in a celluloid case of cream celluloid with yellow and green on the front and back. Advertising copy for the John Deere Company includes a profile portrait of John Deere with the message, "He gave to the world the steel plow," underneath. The other side bears the John Deere logo.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1917
advertiser
Deere & Company
depicted
Deere, John
maker
Parisian Novelty Company
ID Number
2006.0098.0927
accession number
2006.0098
catalog number
2006.0098.0927
An advertising novelty for the Marberc Hotel, New Orleans, La. Made of cream celluloid, it is in two parts, which slide apart. A photograph of the hotel is engraved on one side.
Description (Brief)
An advertising novelty for the Marberc Hotel, New Orleans, La. Made of cream celluloid, it is in two parts, which slide apart. A photograph of the hotel is engraved on one side. Advertising copy on the other side describes the hotel as "Canal Street's tallest bldg," "The home for the commercial man," "Fireproof," and "Ciruclating ice water and ceiling fans in every room."
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1920-1930
maker
Cruver Manufacturing Company
ID Number
2006.0098.1039
accession number
2006.0098
catalog number
2006.0098.1039
Circular tape measure. A cream-colored celluloid case with purple print reading "Dr. Miles' Medical Co. For Headache Elkhart, Ind." on one side and "For Relief of Any Pain" on the other side. On one side is an image of a vial package of pain pills.
Description (Brief)
Circular tape measure. A cream-colored celluloid case with purple print reading "Dr. Miles' Medical Co. For Headache Elkhart, Ind." on one side and "For Relief of Any Pain" on the other side. On one side is an image of a vial package of pain pills. The tabe is cloth with a metal tab.
Location
Currently not on view
advertiser
Dr. Miles Medical Company
maker
Parisian Novelty Company
ID Number
2006.0098.1538
catalog number
2006.0098.1538
accession number
2006.0098
Flat, rectangular celluloid advertisment card for the Dearborn Chemical Company's Boiler Feed Water Treatment, which "prevents scale, corrosion and foaming." A calendar for 1931 is on the front.One side of this celluloid card has a calendar for 1931, and an advertisement for the
Description (Brief)
Flat, rectangular celluloid advertisment card for the Dearborn Chemical Company's Boiler Feed Water Treatment, which "prevents scale, corrosion and foaming." A calendar for 1931 is on the front.
Description
One side of this celluloid card has a calendar for 1931, and an advertisement for the Boiler Feed Water Treatment made by the Dearborn Chemical Company. The other side lists several Dearborn products.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1931
advertiser
Dearborn Chemical Company
maker
American Art Works
ID Number
2006.0098.0589
accession number
2006.0098
catalog number
2006.0098.0589
Cloth tape measure in round plastic case. The case is white with blue print and features an image of "Dixie Lye" on one side, and "Old Hickory Smoked Salt Curing Recipe" on the other. Both are products of the Pennsylvania Salt Manufacuring Company.Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Cloth tape measure in round plastic case. The case is white with blue print and features an image of "Dixie Lye" on one side, and "Old Hickory Smoked Salt Curing Recipe" on the other. Both are products of the Pennsylvania Salt Manufacuring Company.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
after 1919
advertiser
Pennyslvania Salt Manufacturing Company
maker
Parisian Novelty Company
ID Number
2006.0098.0782
accession number
2006.0098
catalog number
2006.0098.0782
Beginning in the 1750s, some American insurance companies issued metal fire marks to policyholders to signify that their property was insured against fire damage. The fire marks bore the name and/or symbol of the insurer, and some included the customer’s policy number.
Description (Brief)
Beginning in the 1750s, some American insurance companies issued metal fire marks to policyholders to signify that their property was insured against fire damage. The fire marks bore the name and/or symbol of the insurer, and some included the customer’s policy number. The company or agent would then affix the mark to the policyholder’s home or business. For owners the mark served as proof of insurance and a deterrent against arson. For insurance companies the mark served as a form of advertising, and alerted volunteer firefighters that the property was insured.
The American Insurance Company of Chicago, Illinois issued this tinned sheet iron fire mark in 1867. The square mark has painted text that reads “AMERICAN/CHICAGO.” The American Insurance Company operated in Freeport, Illinois from 1859 until 1867, when it moved to Chicago. The company retired in 1883.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1867
maker
unknown
ID Number
2005.0233.0534
accession number
2005.0233
catalog number
2005.0233.0534
Notebook ("shopping memorandum") with celluloid cover. An image of a telephone appears on front, and a calendar for the year 1915 on back.
Description (Brief)
Notebook ("shopping memorandum") with celluloid cover. An image of a telephone appears on front, and a calendar for the year 1915 on back. It is an advertising piece for Hochschild, Kohn & Company department store, which describes itself as "Baltimore's Best Store" and "The Telephone Store."
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1915
advertiser
Hochschild Kohn and Company
maker
J. B. Carroll
ID Number
2006.0098.0474
accession number
2006.0098
catalog number
2006.0098.0474
This instrument consists of two pieces of blue and white rectangular cardboard, riveted together at the corners. It is marked with a circular logarithmic scale of weight in pounds that ranges from 1 to 250. Inside this is a scale of lengths from 50" to 10".
Description
This instrument consists of two pieces of blue and white rectangular cardboard, riveted together at the corners. It is marked with a circular logarithmic scale of weight in pounds that ranges from 1 to 250. Inside this is a scale of lengths from 50" to 10". A white disc attached below that scale has a scale of heights from 5" to 30" and a scale of widths from 30" to 6". A paper indicator is attached on top of the disc. It contains a scale of densities in cubic inches per pound from 300 to 200 and three steps of instructions. This slide chart is marked: CLIPPER CARGO (/) DIMENSIONAL WEIGHT COMPUTER. It performs the same function as 1996.3029.01.
Unlike the other object, a rectangular piece of white cardboard slides inside the instrument to also permit readings of conversions from kilograms to pounds on the front and readings of pounds to kilograms on the back. This part of the chart is marked: WEIGHT CONVERTER. The bottom of the chart is marked: PAN AMERICAN, with LEADERS IN AIR CARGO on the front and SPACE CAN BE RESERVED on the back. The back also has an advertisement: CLIPPER CARGO (/) Reduces Pilferage (/) Reduces Damage (/) Reduces Inventory (/) Extends your working capital!
The lower left corner of the front is marked: Slide-Chart Copr. 1957, (/) PERRYGRAF Corp., Maywood, Ill. The lower right corner is marked: *T.M. Reg. U. S. Pat. Off. Perrygraf was a very successful producer of promotional slide charts. In 1968, the company was sold to Nashua Corporation and moved to Los Angeles, Calif.
Reference: Walter Shawlee II, "The Wonderful World of Slide Charts, Wheel Charts, and Perrygrafs," Sphere Research Corp., http://sphere.bc.ca/test/perrygraf.html.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1957-1968
maker
Perry Graf Corporation
ID Number
1996.3029.02
nonaccession number
1996.3029
catalog number
1996.3029.02
Celluloid notebook with image of George Washington and the U.S. flag on front. This was an advertisement for First National Bank of Nashville, "The Oldest and Largest Bank in Washington County."Currently not on view
Description (Brief)
Celluloid notebook with image of George Washington and the U.S. flag on front. This was an advertisement for First National Bank of Nashville, "The Oldest and Largest Bank in Washington County."
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1910
depicted
Washington, George
advertiser
First National Bank of Nashville
maker
American Art Works
ID Number
2006.0098.0479
accession number
2006.0098
catalog number
2006.0098.0479
Rectangular plastic card. The front has a blue background with color images of a plate of sausages and a white product box in yellow, white, and blue print.
Description (Brief)
Rectangular plastic card. The front has a blue background with color images of a plate of sausages and a white product box in yellow, white, and blue print. Reverse has a product box image, divisions for a three-inch ruler, and a calendar for 1933.
Description
One side of this celluloid card has a calendar for 1933, and an ad for Swift & Co. Brookfield Pure Pork Sausage. The other has another image of Swift’s Brookfield Pure Pork Sausage.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1933
advertiser
Swift and Company
maker
Parisian Novelty Company
ID Number
2006.0098.0579
accession number
2006.0098
catalog number
2006.0098.0579

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