Advertising - Overview
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.
"Advertising - Overview" showing 590 items.
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Chinese-American Shop Sign
- Description
- This sign was purchased by a North Beach second-hand shop from a proprietor in the neighboring Chinatown district of San Francisco. It is said to date from between 1890 and 1910. If that is so, the sign’s survival is quite miraculous: The 1906 earthquake in April of that year caused much damage throughout the city due to spreading wildfires. Residents of Chinatown grabbed what they could easily carry and evacuated the neighborhood ahead of the fires, taking up temporary residence in relief camps in San Francisco and Oakland. Relocating Chinatown permanently to Hunter’s Point or North Beach was discussed, but, with realization of the continued need for the tax base provided by foreign trade between the business community and Asia, Chinatown was ultimately rebuilt at its original location and continued to be not only a major center for the Chinese American community but a popular destination for tourists to the present day.
- Translation of this shop sign would help to document a portion of the economic history of this neighborhood. It is likely that the language is Cantonese, the dialect used in Southern China, which was engaged in foreign trade long before military oppression and American labor recruitment in the mid-19th century brought immigrants to “Gun San” or the “Land of the Golden Mountain,” as the Cantonese referred to the West Coast of the United States. Not only did Chinese pan for gold in San Francisco. They labored excavating coal, mercury, and borax, building railway lines and tunnels, and working for fisheries and canneries throughout Far West. Economic depression following the Civil War brought fear, discrimination, and violence to established Chinese communities. Successively restrictive acts of Congress prohibited further Chinese immigration beginning in 1882, with continuing restrictions of civil rights until the Immigration Law of 1965 eliminated such restrictions, bringing a new wave of migration to the United States from Asia.
- With dwindling opportunities to earn enough money to return home, Chinese Americans turned to such service industries as laundries and restaurants and specialized increasingly in trade abroad. But this sign also may have advertised availability of herbal medicines, foodstuffs, cookwares, or furnishings desired by the local Chinese American community, which, while changing in population, has survived in San Francisco to the present day.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- ID Number
- 1985.0844.02
- accession number
- 1985.0844
- catalog number
- 1985.0844.02
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Tarter Sauce Ratchet Gun
- 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
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
French Fry Scoop
- 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
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
French Fry Scoop
- 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
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Listerated Pepsin Gum
- Description (Brief)
- Oval pin with metal pin-back advertising the Common Sense Gum Company's Listerated Pepsin Gum. In red and blue print, it carries the trademark of a pyramid with a "10" inside, and the phrase, "I am germ proof."
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1912
- advertiser
- Common Sense Gum Company
- maker
- Ehrman Mfg. Company
- ID Number
- 2006.0098.0111
- accession number
- 2006.0098
- catalog number
- 2006.0098.0111
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Cascade Flour
- Description (Brief)
- Advertising novelty for Cascade Flour. Image of a smiling man in a bow-tie, with the question "Why?" underneath. A slide-out panel explains "We use Cascade Flour at our house and IT'S FINE."
- Location
- Currently not on view
- maker
- Brown & Bigelow
- ID Number
- 2006.0098.0129
- accession number
- 2006.0098
- catalog number
- 2006.0098.0129
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
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
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
L.S. Plaut & Co.
- Description (Brief)
- Celluloid notebook advertising the L. S. Plaut & Company store, "The Beehive, the largest fancy goods store in the state," in red and blue print with an image of a beehive. An image of the Newark, N.J., store is on the back cover. A calendar for the year 1890 and a list of goods for sale are on the inside page.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1890
- advertiser
- L. S. Plaut & Company
- maker
- L. S. Plaut & Company
- ID Number
- 2006.0098.0488
- accession number
- 2006.0098
- catalog number
- 2006.0098.0488
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
"Chic" Helps and Hints
- 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
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Decimal Equivalents of SRB Products
- Description (Brief)
- Celluloid mathematical table for decimal equivalents. Square with interior dial, the front bears an image of an wheel with ball bearings. Images of various ball-bearing products are on reverse. It is an advertisment for Standard Roller Bearing Company.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- ca 1910
- maker
- Standard Roller Bearing Company
- ID Number
- 2006.0098.0513
- accession number
- 2006.0098
- catalog number
- 2006.0098.0513
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center