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.

Place: New Jersey

Packer's Tar Soap

Flat rectangular card with black print. On one side is an image of a young girl washing a young boy's hair, which is covered in shampoo. A calendar for 1910 is on the reverse. A product description reads: "Pure as the pines.
Description (Brief)
Flat rectangular card with black print. On one side is an image of a young girl washing a young boy's hair, which is covered in shampoo. A calendar for 1910 is on the reverse. A product description reads: "Pure as the pines. Made from Pine-Tar, Glycerine and Sweet Vegetable Oils. Emollient--Healing--Antiseptic."
Description
One side of this celluloid card has a calendar for 1910 and an advertisement for “Packer’s Tar Soap.” The other has an image of a young girl washing a young boy’s hair with Packer’s Tar Soap.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1910
advertiser
H. H. Ala Bakhsh & Company
maker
Whitehead & Hoag Company
ID Number
2006.0098.0596
accession number
2006.0098
catalog number
2006.0098.0596

O.T.C. Trenton Crackers

Bobby pins in matchbook-style holder made of blue plastic. Orange print reads, "O.T.C. Trenton Crackers have no substitute."OTC® Oyster Crackers were introduced in Trenton, N.J., in 1847 by Adam Exton, an English immigrant.
Description (Brief)
Bobby pins in matchbook-style holder made of blue plastic. Orange print reads, "O.T.C. Trenton Crackers have no substitute."
OTC® Oyster Crackers were introduced in Trenton, N.J., in 1847 by Adam Exton, an English immigrant. Exton conceived the idea of baking a cracker to be used in oyster stews. In 1848, one year after the Exton crackers arrived on the Trenton scene, Ezekiel Pullen began baking an "Original Trenton Cracker" in the kitchen of his home. He sold his crackers from the back of his wagon as he made his way along Trenton streets. Both businesses grew as a craze for oysters developed in the 1860s and 1870s. OTC ® crackers became available from wooden barrels in neighborhood stores and in seafood restaurants. During the Civil War, the Exton company supplied its crackers to the Union army.
In 1887 Christopher Cartlidge bought the Pullen Cracker Company and renamed it Original Trenton Cracker Company. In 1962, after 115 years of rivalry, the Cartlidge family bought the Exton company, making it at last the one and only "Original Trenton Cracker." Specialty Brands of America has owned the OTC® brand since 1993.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1925
ID Number
2006.0098.0791
accession number
2006.0098
catalog number
2006.0098.0791

Celluloid Novelty

Rectangular plastic advertising card for Swift's Premium Ham and Bacon. Front has a color image of a blonde boy in chef's hat, "Swift's Little Cook." He is peeling paper away from the corner of a wrapped ham, revealing passage of government inspection. Reverse has Swift & Co.
Description (Brief)
Rectangular plastic advertising card for Swift's Premium Ham and Bacon. Front has a color image of a blonde boy in chef's hat, "Swift's Little Cook." He is peeling paper away from the corner of a wrapped ham, revealing passage of government inspection. Reverse has Swift & Co. logo in red and black and a calendar for 1914.
Description
One side of this celluloid card has a calendar for 1914, and an ad for Swift & Co. The other has an image of “Swift’s Little Cook” with a Swift’s Premium Ham and a Swift’s Premium Bacon.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1914
advertiser
Swift and Company
maker
Whitehead & Hoag Company
ID Number
2006.0098.0578
accession number
2006.0098
catalog number
2006.0098.0578

Stamp holder

Notebook with celluloid cover and wax pages. The front cover features an image of two birds perched atop a U.S. mailbox.
Description (Brief)
Notebook with celluloid cover and wax pages. The front cover features an image of two birds perched atop a U.S. mailbox. On the back, black print in cursive script reads "Compliments of Blake & Johnson, Waterbury, Conn." A calendar for 1904 occupies the first few pages.
Blake & Johnson Co. was founded in 1852 and produced machinery for working metals to be used to by manufacturers of jewelry, plated goods, silver goods, and flat wire.
Source: The Town and City of Waterbury, Connecticut Volume 2 by Sarah Johnson Prichard and Anna Lydia Ward. Published by the Price and Lee Company, 1896.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1904
maker
Whitehead & Hoag Company
ID Number
2006.0098.1239
accession number
2006.0098
catalog number
2006.0098.1239

Ten Year Calendar, "Caught in the Act"

Calendar with celluloid front and paper back. The calendar contains a rotating disc visible through windows cut into the plastic. By rotating the dial, one can find dates for the years 1898-1912.
Description (Brief)
Calendar with celluloid front and paper back. The calendar contains a rotating disc visible through windows cut into the plastic. By rotating the dial, one can find dates for the years 1898-1912. An image of a young girl in bonnet holding trowel and flowers is opposite the calendar. Black print on reverse advertises "Superior Flower Seeds."
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1898
advertiser
Mandeville & King
maker
Whitehead & Hoag Company
ID Number
2006.0098.0738
accession number
2006.0098
catalog number
2006.0098.0738

Carnrick's Soluble Food notebook

Notebook with celluloid cover. Color image of a bottle of "Carnrick's Soluble Food" with a picture of a baby. On the reverse side is a color image of a woman with flowers in her hair and information regarding Reed & Carnrick.
Description (Brief)
Notebook with celluloid cover. Color image of a bottle of "Carnrick's Soluble Food" with a picture of a baby. On the reverse side is a color image of a woman with flowers in her hair and information regarding Reed & Carnrick. Inside pages provide a description of the product, as well as pages concerning postage rates, U.S. presidents, populations of U.S. cities, and what to do in response to different kinds of accidents. Notebook also has blank pages for notes, and handwriting on some pages.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
after 1897
advertiser
Reed & Carnrick Manufacturing Chemists
maker
Whitehead & Hoag Company
ID Number
2006.0098.1054
accession number
2006.0098
catalog number
2006.0098.1054

"Chic" Helps and Hints (Chichester's English Pennyroyal Pills)

Promotional booklet with celluloid cover. Red, green, and black print on front. Color image of a woman's face and purple flowers. Black, red, and blue print on back cover. Image of a box of Pennyroyal Pills.
Description (Brief)
Promotional booklet with celluloid cover. Red, green, and black print on front. Color image of a woman's face and purple flowers. Black, red, and blue print on back cover. Image of a box of Pennyroyal Pills. Interior contents include calendars for the years 1904-1907; advertisements for Chichester products; beauty and health hints; legal maxims; states' nicknames; and more.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1904
advertiser
Chichester Chemical Co.
maker
Whitehead & Hoag Company
ID Number
2006.0098.0504
accession number
2006.0098
catalog number
2006.0098.0504

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.