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: 1920s

Mr. Peanut® Statue

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

U.G.W. of A.

A stamp holder made of imitation ivory celluloid. It advertises the United Garment Workers of America.
Description (Brief)
A stamp holder made of imitation ivory celluloid. It advertises the United Garment Workers of America.
date made
1909-1925
maker
Bastian Bros Company
ID Number
2006.0098.0947
accession number
2006.0098
catalog number
2006.0098.0947

Advertisement for the Mille Gade Corson Swimming Girdle

Advertisment for a swimming girdle endorsed by Mille Gade Corson, the first mother to swim the English Channel. The advertisement is white with a peach border and a black and white photograph of Corson wearing the swim girdle.
Description (Brief)
Advertisment for a swimming girdle endorsed by Mille Gade Corson, the first mother to swim the English Channel. The advertisement is white with a peach border and a black and white photograph of Corson wearing the swim girdle. Mille Gade Corson, the second woman to swim the English Channel, three weeks after Gertrude Ederle's record breaking Channel swim, emigrated to the United States from Denmark in 1919 and became a Life Saving Instructor and Lifeguard at the Harlem branch of the YWCA. In 1921 she became the second woman to swim around Manhattan Island and attempted to swim the English Channel in 1923 but was forced to abandon the effort 2 miles from the French coast. After her successful 1926 swim Corson returned to the US to many accolades and performed on the vaudeville circuit as the first mother to swim the English Channel.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1920s
depicted
Corson, Amelia Gade
ID Number
1981.0729.07
catalog number
1981.0729.07
accession number
1981.0729

"Biddy the Irish Wash Woman" Mutoscope Movie Poster

Posterboard with pre-printed design and painted advertisement for the mutoscope motion picture "Biddy the Irish Wash Woman." The attached photograph depicts a scene from the movie, in which a man dressed as a woman doing laundry falls into a washtub.
Description (Brief)
Posterboard with pre-printed design and painted advertisement for the mutoscope motion picture "Biddy the Irish Wash Woman." The attached photograph depicts a scene from the movie, in which a man dressed as a woman doing laundry falls into a washtub. This poster showcases two comic themes common to early motion pictures - humor based on ethnic stereotypes and gender-bending performances in drag. Both were characteristic features of vaudeville and burlesque shows and therefore, early movie audiences found these subjects humorous and familiar. Mutoscope movies were primarily marketed to an urban and working-class demographic by the 1920s, when this poster was probably made, and films like this one showed a less serious side of America's growing and ethnically-diverse cities.
Description
The Mutoscope Collection in the National Museum of American History’s Photographic History Collection is among the most significant of its kind in any museum. Composed of 3 cameras, 13 viewers, 59 movie reels and 53 movie posters, the collection documents the early years of the most successful and influential motion picture company of the industry’s formative period. It also showcases a unique style of movie exhibition that outlasted its early competitors, existing well into the 20th century.
The American Mutoscope Company was founded in 1895 by a group of four men, Elias Koopman, Herman Casler, Henry Marvin and William Kennedy Laurie Dickson, to manufacture a motion picture viewer called the mutoscope and to produce films for exhibition. Dickson had recently left the employ of Thomas Edison, for whom he had solved the problem of “doing for the eye what the phonograph does for the ear” by inventing the modern motion picture. Casler and Dickson worked together to perfect the mutoscope, which exhibited films transferred to a series of cards mounted in the style of a flip book on a metal core, and avoided Edison’s patents with this slightly different style of exhibition. The company’s headquarters in New York City featured a rooftop studio on a turntable to ensure favorable illumination, and the short subjects made here found such success that by 1897, the Edison company’s dominance of the industry was in danger. American Mutoscope became American Mutoscope & Biograph in 1899, when the namesake projector, invented by Casler, became the most used in the industry.
Mutoscope viewers were found in many amusement areas and arcades until at least the 1960s. Their inexpensiveness and short, often comical or sensational subjects allowed the machines a far longer life than the competing Edison Kinetoscope. The company also found success in its production and projection of motion pictures, though its activity was mired by patent litigation involving Thomas Edison through the 1910s. The notable director D. W. Griffith was first hired as an actor, working with pioneering cinematographer G. W. “Billy” Bitzer, before moving behind the camera at Biograph and making 450 films for the company.
Griffith and Bitzer invented cinematographic techniques like the fade-out and iris shot, made the first film in Hollywood and launched the careers of early stars Mary Pickford and Lillian Gish. The company, simply renamed the Biograph Company in 1909, went out of business in 1928 after losing Griffith and facing a changing movie industry.
The Museum’s collection was acquired in the years between 1926 and the mid-1970s. The original mutograph camera and two later models of the camera were given to the Smithsonian in 1926 by the International Mutoscope Reel Company, which inherited Biograph’s mutoscope works and continued making the viewers and reels through the 1940s. The viewers, reels and posters in the collection were acquired for exhibition in the National Museum of American History, and were later accessioned as objects in the Photographic History Collection. Many of the mutoscope reels in the collection date to the period from 1896-1905, and show early motion picture subjects, some of which were thought to be lost films before their examination in 2008.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1920s
ID Number
2008.0095.008
accession number
2008.0095
catalog number
2008.0095.008

Keuffel & Esser Instructions for Log Log Duplex Slide Rule

This eight-page pamphlet was received with 1981.0933.01. It is undated, but Clark McCoy reports the text was written around 1914. This copy was probably printed later, around 1920.
Description
This eight-page pamphlet was received with 1981.0933.01. It is undated, but Clark McCoy reports the text was written around 1914. This copy was probably printed later, around 1920. It explains the scales on K&E's model 4092 slide rule, works eleven sample problems, and advertises K&E calculating devices.
Reference: Clark McCoy, ed., "K&E Log Log Duplex Slide Rules," http://www.mccoys-kecatalogs.com/KEManuals/manuals.htm#4092.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1920
maker
Keuffel & Esser Co.
ID Number
1981.0933.02
accession number
1981.0933
catalog number
1981.0933.02

Picture-takers that reflect the Rainbow

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

Advertisement for the Submarine Bathing Cap featuring Mille Gade Corson

Advertisment for the Submarine Bathing Cap endorsed by Mille Gade Corson, the first mother to swim the English Channel. The advertisement is a black and white photograph of Corson wearing the bathing cap.
Description (Brief)
Advertisment for the Submarine Bathing Cap endorsed by Mille Gade Corson, the first mother to swim the English Channel. The advertisement is a black and white photograph of Corson wearing the bathing cap. Mille Gade Corson, the second woman to swim the English Channel, three weeks after Gertrude Ederle's record breaking Channel swim, emigrated to the United States from Denmark in 1919 and became a Life Saving Instructor and Lifeguard at the Harlem branch of the YWCA. In 1921 she became the second woman to swim around Manhattan Island and attempted to swim the English Channel in 1923 but was forced to abandon the effort 2 miles from the French coast. After her successful 1926 swim Corson returned to the US to many accolades and performed on the vaudeville circuit as the first mother to swim the English Channel.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
late 1920s
depicted
Corson, Amelia Gade
ID Number
1981.0729.09
catalog number
1981.0729.09
accession number
1981.0729

Just what I wanted - a Kodak

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1923-12
advertiser
Eastman Kodak Company
maker
Eastman Kodak Company
ID Number
2016.0066.386
accession number
2016.0066
catalog number
2016.0066.0386

Kodak as you go

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1926
advertiser
Eastman Kodak Company
maker
Eastman Kodak Company
ID Number
2016.0066.371
catalog number
2016.0066.0371
accession number
2016.0066

Let your kodak keep the Christmas story

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1921
advertiser
Eastman Kodak Company
maker
Eastman Kodak Company
ID Number
2016.0066.379
catalog number
2016.0066.0379
accession number
2016.0066

Advertisement for Submarine Bathing Cap featuring Mille Gade Corson

Advertisment for the Submarine Bathing Cap endorsed by Mille Gade Corson, the first mother to swim the English Channel. The advertisement is a blue and white photograph of Corson finishing her historic English Channel swim wearing the bathing cap.
Description (Brief)
Advertisment for the Submarine Bathing Cap endorsed by Mille Gade Corson, the first mother to swim the English Channel. The advertisement is a blue and white photograph of Corson finishing her historic English Channel swim wearing the bathing cap. Mille Gade Corson, the second woman to swim the English Channel, three weeks after Gertrude Ederle's record breaking Channel swim emigrated to the United States from Denmark in 1919 and became a Life Saving Instructor and Lifeguard at the Harlem branch of the YWCA. In 1921 she became the second woman to swim around Manhattan Island and attempted to swim the English Channel in 1923 but was forced to abandon the effort 2 miles from the French coast. After her successful 1926 swim Corson returned to the US to many accolades and performed on the vaudeville circuit as the first mother to swim the English Channel.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
late 1920s
depicted
Corson, Amelia Gade
ID Number
1981.0729.08
catalog number
1981.0729.08
accession number
1981.0729

Picture-takers that reflect the Rainbow

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

Fan-style mechanical trade card advertisement for Abie's Irish Rose

This fan-style mechanical trade card advertises the original Broadway production of the comedic play Abie’s Irish Rose, one of the most successful and important plays of the 20th century.
Description (Brief)
This fan-style mechanical trade card advertises the original Broadway production of the comedic play Abie’s Irish Rose, one of the most successful and important plays of the 20th century. The card is comprised of three leaf-shaped die cut cardboard sections joined with a metal grommet at the bottom, allowing the user to fan out each of the three pieces. The card is printed in green and pink ink on the front with images of a rose and the title of the play, as well as the name of its author, Anne Nichols. The back is printed with information about the production: “Now Playing at / Republic Theatre / NEW YORK / West 42nd St. / Evenings 8:30 – Mats. Wed. and Sat. 2:30 / THIRD YEAR”.
Abie’s Irish Rose was an enormously popular mixed marriage farce that spoke to contemporary cultural anxieties about immigration, assimilation, and ethnic identity. Written by Anne Nichols, the play tells the story of a couple comprised of a Jewish man and Irish woman navigating familial and societal prejudice while marrying and raising a family in contemporary New York City. The lead characters’ audacious and escalating lies to hide their relationship from their bigoted fathers culminates in an absurd climax of multiple marriages and religious reconciliation. The show premiered May 23, 1922 at the Fulton Theatre and ran for 2,327 performances before closing at The Republic in 1927, making it the longest running play in Broadway history until surpassed by Hello, Dolly in the 1960s. The sentimental comedy was seen by an estimated 11 million audience members in its Broadway and national touring productions.
Abie’s Irish Rose was adapted for film in 1928 and again in 1946, a weekly radio show in the 1940s, and revived on Broadway in 1937 and 1954. Nichols sued Universal Studios for plagiarism for making the 1926 film The Cohens and Kellys, a film with a similar plot premise. In the landmark 1930 US Court of Appeals case Nichols v. Universal Pictures Corp., Judge Learned Hand wrote the opinion for the court, holding that copyright protection cannot be extended to stock characters in a story in the case of non-literal copying of a dramatic work.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1925
ID Number
2023.0082.01
accession number
2023.0082
catalog number
2023.0082.01

Kodak as you go

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1925-07
advertiser
Eastman Kodak Company
maker
Eastman Kodak Company
ID Number
2016.0066.372
catalog number
2016.0066.0372
accession number
2016.0066

The Girl on the Land Serves the Nation's Need

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

Take a Kodak with you

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1924
advertiser
Eastman Kodak Company
ID Number
2016.0066.366
accession number
2016.0066
catalog number
2016.0066.0366

Let your kodak keep the Christmas story

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1921-12
advertiser
Eastman Kodak Company
maker
Eastman Kodak Company
ID Number
2016.0066.377
catalog number
2016.0066.0377
accession number
2016.0066

Who wouldn't want a camera

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

Kodak Petite - Little gems of color

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

Winter calls your kodak

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1923-03
advertiser
Eastman Kodak Company
maker
Eastman Kodak Company
ID Number
2016.0066.385
accession number
2016.0066
catalog number
2016.0066.0385

Pictures of your pets with a Brownie

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1922-10
advertiser
Eastman Kodak Company
maker
Eastman Kodak Company
ID Number
2016.0066.389
accession number
2016.0066
catalog number
2016.0066.0389

Oyster Tin, Pride of the Chesapeake Brand

This gallon tin once contained fresh oyster meats packed by the J. D. Groves & Co., located at 117 S. Calvert St. and 116 Cheapside, in Baltimore, Maryland. J. D.
Description
This gallon tin once contained fresh oyster meats packed by the J. D. Groves & Co., located at 117 S. Calvert St. and 116 Cheapside, in Baltimore, Maryland. J. D. Groves also packed fish, fruits, and produce at this address, and was a delegate at the first annual meeting of the Oyster Growers and Dealers Association of North America, held in Baltimore May 18-19, 1909.
In 1906 the U.S. Congress passed several pure food laws in response to outbreaks of typhoid fever and gastrointestinal ailments linked to poor sanitation. Several new regulations were imposed on the oyster industry after contaminated oysters were blamed for serious illnesses. The laws required inspections of oyster beds and packing houses, as well as the identification of shellfish sources and standardized labeling.
This tin probably dates to the period 1920-30, when colorful lithographed tins became popular. The distinctive orange tin features a porthole design with a sailing schooner inside. Like many Baltimore oyster packers, the J. D. Groves Company included a message to consumers concerning the sanitary conditions under which the oysters were packed. The reverse of the can reads:
“WE GUARANTEE THIS CAN TO CONTAIN STRICTLY FRESH SHUCKED OYSTERS / FREE FROM PRESERVATIVES OF ANY KIND / QUALITY AND QUANTITY GUARANTEED.”
date made
1920s
1920-1930
maker
J. D. Groves & Co.
ID Number
2007.0054.01
catalog number
2007.0054.01
accession number
2007.0054

Kodak as you go

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1920-08
advertiser
Eastman Kodak Company
maker
Eastman Kodak Company
ID Number
2016.0066.373
catalog number
2016.0066.0373
accession number
2016.0066

All out-doors invites your Kodak

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

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