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.

Search term: *:* Set Name: Advertising Online visual material: Yes Museum / Unit: NMAH Museum / Unit: NMAH-AF Museum / Unit: NMAHLC YT Museum / Unit: NMAH BL Museum / Unit: NMAH YT Museum / Unit: ACAH Set Name: Work and Industry: Photographic History Clear All

Books and tools

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1930s-1950s
maker
Keppler, Victor
ID Number
PG.006261.W
catalog number
6261W
accession number
238737

Interior scene of vases and ceramics

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
2015.0035.0009
catalog number
2015.0035.0009
accession number
2015.0035

Snow-covered railroad tracks

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1930s-1950s
maker
Keppler, Victor
ID Number
PG.006261.X
catalog number
6261X
accession number
238737

Inauguration of the Monument to Daguerre at Bry-Sur-Marne

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1853-04-02
described
Daguerre, Louis Jacques Mande
ID Number
PG.72.04.30
catalog number
72.4.30
accession number
299220

Apple in ring of pie crust

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1930s-1950s
maker
Keppler, Victor
ID Number
PG.006261.LL
catalog number
6261LL
accession number
238737

The Brothers Meade, Daguerreotypists, New York

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1852
depicted (sitter); described
Meade Brothers
ID Number
PG.72.04.27
catalog number
72.4.27
accession number
299220

Beef Stew

A Nickolas Muray 3-color carbro photograph. Advertisment for Petrie Wine. A bowl of stew with two glasses of red wine in foreground.Recto: Signed and dated by artist in lower right corner (pencil). Verso: Five Muray stamps. One Muray label.
Description (Brief)
A Nickolas Muray 3-color carbro photograph. Advertisment for Petrie Wine. A bowl of stew with two glasses of red wine in foreground.
Recto: Signed and dated by artist in lower right corner (pencil). Verso: Five Muray stamps. One Muray label. "#15" in upper left corner (pencil).
Description
Nickolas Muray was born in Szeged, Hungary on February 15, 1892. Twelve years after his birth, Muray left his native town and enrolled in a graphic arts school in Budapest. Enrolling in art school was the first step on a road that would eventually lead him to study a photographic printing process called three-color carbro. In the course of his accomplished career, Muray would become an expert in this process and play a key role in bringing color photography to America.
While attending art school in Budapest, Muray studied lithography and photoengraving, earning an International Engraver's Certificate. Muray was also introduced to photography during this time period. His combined interest in photography and printmaking led him to Berlin, Germany to participate in a three-year color-photoengraving course. In Berlin, Muray learned how to make color filters, a first step in the craft that would one day become his trademark. Immediately after the completion of the course, Muray found a good job with a publishing company in Ullstein, Germany. However, the threat of war in Europe forced Muray to flee for America in 1913. Soon after his arrival in New York, Muray was working as a photoengraver for Condé Nast. His specialty was color separations and half-tone negatives.
By 1920, Muray had established a home for himself in the up-and-coming artists' haven of Greenwich Village. He opened a portrait studio out of his apartment and continued to work part time at his engraving job. Harper's Bazaar magazine gave Muray his first big assignment in 1921. The project was to photograph Broadway star Florence Reed. The magazine was so impressed with his photographs that they began to publish his work monthly. This allowed him to give up his part time job and work solely as a photographer. It did not take long for Muray to become one of the most renowned portrait photographers in Manhattan. Muray spent much of the early 1920s photographing the most famous and important personalities in New York at the time.
In his spare time Muray enjoyed fencing. In 1927, he won the National Sabre Championship and in 1928 and 1932, he was on the United States Olympic Team. During World War II, Muray was a flight lieutenant in the Civil Air Patrol.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1948
maker
Muray, Nickolas
ID Number
PG.69.247.02
catalog number
69.247.02
accession number
287542

Soup

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1930s-1950s
maker
Keppler, Victor
ID Number
PG.006261.T
catalog number
6261T
accession number
238737

Photograph of Vegetable Hodgepodge for Burpee Seed Co.

Frederick Eugene Ives (1856–1937) was a brilliant man interested in patenting his ideas (the first in 1881), but not so much in licensing them. Ives's first three-color single exposure camera was patented in 1899.
Description
Frederick Eugene Ives (1856–1937) was a brilliant man interested in patenting his ideas (the first in 1881), but not so much in licensing them. Ives's first three-color single exposure camera was patented in 1899. Over the next thirty years, Ives patented a variety of cameras and printing processes for color photography. After the Smithsonian hosted a show of Ives's photography company's work in late 1949 or early 1950, Associate Curator Alexander Wedderburn selected five prints for the color photography portion of the Photographic History Collection. This photograph represents the culmination of Ives's long series of patents and work with color photography.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1940s
maker
Ives Color Processes, Inc.
ID Number
PG.004680
accession number
187952
catalog number
4680

Outdoor scene of corn rows

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1960s
photographer
Uzzle, Burk
ID Number
PG.72.12.040
accession number
2003.0044
catalog number
72.12.40

Kraft Velveeta Dinner Instamatic Camera

Cameras promoting products, causes, exhibitions, celebrities, and organizations have been available since dry plates and roll film made mass snapshot photography possible.
Description
Cameras promoting products, causes, exhibitions, celebrities, and organizations have been available since dry plates and roll film made mass snapshot photography possible. Some examples include 1920s official Boy Scout and Girl Guide cameras, 1939 Worlds fair cameras, and cameras featuring movie stars such as Hopalong Cassidy and Roy Rodgers. In addition camera manufacturers have often produced special promotional cameras featuring commemorative logos or gold plating that have sold at a premium to collectors.
Cameras bearing advertising slogans like the Velveeta Shells & Cheese dinner promotional camera shown here have appeared in thousands of different varieties. The camera shown here uses 110 film that was introduced by Kodak in 1972. Many simple point and shoot promotional cameras appeared in the 1970s using 110 film. The promotional camera lives on today in the form of 35mm one time use cameras with advertising printed on the outer cover.
From its invention in 1839, the camera has evolved to fit many needs, from aerial to underwater photography and everything in between. Cameras allow both amateur and professional photographers to capture the world around us. The Smithsonian’s historic camera collection includes rare and unique examples of equipment, and popular models, related to the history of the science, technology, and art of photography.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1970s
ID Number
2004.0130.01
accession number
2004.0130
catalog number
2004.0130.01

Hunt's Tomato Catsup

Nickolas Muray color carbro photograph ca. 1952. 'Hunt's Tomato Catsup' advertisment. Hunt's 'catsup' bottle overlayed onto a photograph of a butcher block on which a sandwich and a knife are resting.
Description (Brief)
Nickolas Muray color carbro photograph ca. 1952. 'Hunt's Tomato Catsup' advertisment. Hunt's 'catsup' bottle overlayed onto a photograph of a butcher block on which a sandwich and a knife are resting. The writing for the advertisment is blue cursive.
Mount Recto: "10/1944" (pencil).
Mount Verso: Muray stamp in three different locations. McCall's Magazine label. "7/27/44" (pencil). "#4 McCall's Magazine 1944" (pencil). "203/4" (blue pencil).
Description
Nickolas Muray was born in Szeged, Hungary on February 15, 1892. Twelve years after his birth, Muray left his native town and enrolled in a graphic arts school in Budapest. Enrolling in art school was the first step on a road that would eventually lead him to study a photographic printing process called three-color carbro. In the course of his accomplished career, Muray would become an expert in this process and play a key role in bringing color photography to America.
While attending art school in Budapest, Muray studied lithography and photoengraving, earning an International Engraver's Certificate. Muray was also introduced to photography during this time period. His combined interest in photography and printmaking led him to Berlin, Germany to participate in a three-year color-photoengraving course. In Berlin, Muray learned how to make color filters, a first step in the craft that would one day become his trademark. Immediately after the completion of the course, Muray found a good job with a publishing company in Ullstein, Germany. However, the threat of war in Europe forced Muray to flee for America in 1913. Soon after his arrival in New York, Muray was working as a photoengraver for Condé Nast. His specialty was color separations and half-tone negatives.
By 1920, Muray had established a home for himself in the up-and-coming artists' haven of Greenwich Village. He opened a portrait studio out of his apartment and continued to work part time at his engraving job. Harper's Bazaar magazine gave Muray his first big assignment in 1921. The project was to photograph Broadway star Florence Reed. The magazine was so impressed with his photographs that they began to publish his work monthly. This allowed him to give up his part time job and work solely as a photographer. It did not take long for Muray to become one of the most renowned portrait photographers in Manhattan. Muray spent much of the early 1920s photographing the most famous and important personalities in New York at the time.
In his spare time Muray enjoyed fencing. In 1927, he won the National Sabre Championship and in 1928 and 1932, he was on the United States Olympic Team. During World War II, Muray was a flight lieutenant in the Civil Air Patrol.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1952
maker
Muray, Nickolas
ID Number
1982.0545.219
accession number
1982.0545
catalog number
82.545.219

Doll Cooking Egg

A Nickolas Muray 3-color carbro photograph of a doll constructed of kitchen utensils "cooking" eggs and brewing coffee over an oven range.Verso: Two Muray labels. "6842/3", "McCalls" (black marker).Nickolas Muray was born in Szeged, Hungary on February 15, 1892.
Description (Brief)
A Nickolas Muray 3-color carbro photograph of a doll constructed of kitchen utensils "cooking" eggs and brewing coffee over an oven range.
Verso: Two Muray labels. "6842/3", "McCalls" (black marker).
Description
Nickolas Muray was born in Szeged, Hungary on February 15, 1892. Twelve years after his birth, Muray left his native town and enrolled in a graphic arts school in Budapest. Enrolling in art school was the first step on a road that would eventually lead him to study a photographic printing process called three-color carbro. In the course of his accomplished career, Muray would become an expert in this process and play a key role in bringing color photography to America.
While attending art school in Budapest, Muray studied lithography and photoengraving, earning an International Engraver's Certificate. Muray was also introduced to photography during this time period. His combined interest in photography and printmaking led him to Berlin, Germany to participate in a three-year color-photoengraving course. In Berlin, Muray learned how to make color filters, a first step in the craft that would one day become his trademark. Immediately after the completion of the course, Muray found a good job with a publishing company in Ullstein, Germany. However, the threat of war in Europe forced Muray to flee for America in 1913. Soon after his arrival in New York, Muray was working as a photoengraver for Condé Nast. His specialty was color separations and half-tone negatives.
By 1920, Muray had established a home for himself in the up-and-coming artists' haven of Greenwich Village. He opened a portrait studio out of his apartment and continued to work part time at his engraving job. Harper's Bazaar magazine gave Muray his first big assignment in 1921. The project was to photograph Broadway star Florence Reed. The magazine was so impressed with his photographs that they began to publish his work monthly. This allowed him to give up his part time job and work solely as a photographer. It did not take long for Muray to become one of the most renowned portrait photographers in Manhattan. Muray spent much of the early 1920s photographing the most famous and important personalities in New York at the time.
In his spare time Muray enjoyed fencing. In 1927, he won the National Sabre Championship and in 1928 and 1932, he was on the United States Olympic Team. During World War II, Muray was a flight lieutenant in the Civil Air Patrol.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
n.d.
maker
Muray, Nickolas
ID Number
PG.69.247.10
catalog number
69.247.10
accession number
287542

Milk and Eggs

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1930s-1950s
maker
Keppler, Victor
ID Number
PG.006261.I
catalog number
6261I
accession number
238737

Fruit Salad

A Nickolas Muray 3-color carbro photograph of fruit salad in a glass bowl ca. 1940s. Mazola advertisment.Verso: Muray label. Muray stamp. "Mazola Ad" (black pencil). "Carbro made from ektachrome" (black pencil).Nickolas Muray was born in Szeged, Hungary on February 15, 1892.
Description (Brief)
A Nickolas Muray 3-color carbro photograph of fruit salad in a glass bowl ca. 1940s. Mazola advertisment.
Verso: Muray label. Muray stamp. "Mazola Ad" (black pencil). "Carbro made from ektachrome" (black pencil).
Description
Nickolas Muray was born in Szeged, Hungary on February 15, 1892. Twelve years after his birth, Muray left his native town and enrolled in a graphic arts school in Budapest. Enrolling in art school was the first step on a road that would eventually lead him to study a photographic printing process called three-color carbro. In the course of his accomplished career, Muray would become an expert in this process and play a key role in bringing color photography to America.
While attending art school in Budapest, Muray studied lithography and photoengraving, earning an International Engraver's Certificate. Muray was also introduced to photography during this time period. His combined interest in photography and printmaking led him to Berlin, Germany to participate in a three-year color-photoengraving course. In Berlin, Muray learned how to make color filters, a first step in the craft that would one day become his trademark. Immediately after the completion of the course, Muray found a good job with a publishing company in Ullstein, Germany. However, the threat of war in Europe forced Muray to flee for America in 1913. Soon after his arrival in New York, Muray was working as a photoengraver for Condé Nast. His specialty was color separations and half-tone negatives.
By 1920, Muray had established a home for himself in the up-and-coming artists' haven of Greenwich Village. He opened a portrait studio out of his apartment and continued to work part time at his engraving job. Harper's Bazaar magazine gave Muray his first big assignment in 1921. The project was to photograph Broadway star Florence Reed. The magazine was so impressed with his photographs that they began to publish his work monthly. This allowed him to give up his part time job and work solely as a photographer. It did not take long for Muray to become one of the most renowned portrait photographers in Manhattan. Muray spent much of the early 1920s photographing the most famous and important personalities in New York at the time.
In his spare time Muray enjoyed fencing. In 1927, he won the National Sabre Championship and in 1928 and 1932, he was on the United States Olympic Team. During World War II, Muray was a flight lieutenant in the Civil Air Patrol.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1940s
maker
Muray, Nickolas
ID Number
PG.69.247.09
catalog number
69.247.09
accession number
287542

Fly

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1930s-1950s
maker
Keppler, Victor
ID Number
PG.006261.Q
catalog number
6261Q
accession number
238737

Steak and Tomatoes on a plate

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
PG.004735K
accession number
192657
catalog number
4735K

Cheese

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1950
ID Number
PG.004735J
accession number
192657
catalog number
4735J

Still life with silver-top decanter

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1930s-1950s
maker
Keppler, Victor
ID Number
PG.006261.L
catalog number
6261L
accession number
238737

Strawberry Shortcake

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Keppler, Victor
ID Number
PG.006261.GG
catalog number
6261GG
accession number
238737

Time, Space and Forms

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1950
ID Number
PG.004735D
accession number
192657
catalog number
4735D

Office window for Harris Koppelman, Lawyer

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
maker
Falk, Sam
ID Number
PG.69.99.002
accession number
281224
catalog number
69.99.002

Meats with rib roast in center

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1930s-1950s
maker
Keppler, Victor
ID Number
PG.006261.H
catalog number
6261H
accession number
238737

Goblets and wheat

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1930s-1950s
maker
Keppler, Victor
ID Number
PG.006261.P
catalog number
6261P
accession number
238737

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