The Swedish School of Physical Culture Was In Ireland

An ad inside the 1977 J. Gruber's Hagers-Town, Town and Country Almanack.

Waxing On About Cezanne Blue In Black & White

This ad appeared in my pontificating post about kitsch and I thought you might enjoy seeing it, even if you don't want to discuss the meaning if kitsch.

Craft-Scan Friday: Women Are Delighted By Shills

Err, Shillcraft -- women are delighted by Shillcraft.

Meet The Exciters!

Buy them even!

Lucky Strikes

Now with new mirrored carton!


From Gillian Atkinson's photos at TEN.

Modern Woman Monday: Women "Over 40" Wanted

I'm not sure what's up with the "over 40" in quotes business... But I guess the overall intent of this ad is to remind women that though they be barren & undesirable they are not useless; old sad-sacks can create gay floral arrangements for much prettier persons & for parties they are too poor to throw themselves.

Craft-Scan Friday: "It's A Thrilling Fad Of The Month Selection!"

I just love truth in advertising! Admitting "the lovely Ballerina Boudoir Doll" was a fad was one giant step forward for humanity. But we went two steps back when we learned that so many would be seduced by the concept...



Ad from the February 1952 issue of The Workbasket; a magazine which was very fond of presenting advertorials as content.

Early Product Placement

An ad for ice in the official magazine of the ice industry, Modern Woman Magazine (1941, V10 n5), with very recognizable beverage bottles.

Don't Poop Out

Nobody likes a quitter.


Fluidmaster ad found in the December 1977 issue of Workbench.

Craft-Scan Friday: Before There Was The BeDazzler...

There was the Spanglette.



Ad found in the March 1951 issue of Profitable Hobbies.

The Nightmare That Is Sandy Mac Underwear

The opposite of how I envision underwear sales, for I neither want sandy undies nor the word "Mac" associated with my butt.


And why would it be cute to see a toddler in his underwear skating on thin ice?

Via KnittingTogether.org.

Before Snap, Crackle, Pop...

There were the Ajax elves.

Vintage Bridal Shower Party Games

Inside the front cover of Bridal Shower Party Games, ads for baby & bridal party games and products by Leister Game Company, Toledo, Ohio.

The DECCA Navigator

Inside that 1961 BEA "About Your Flight" Booklet.

She Can't Believe She's In Reader's Digest Either

Ad from a 1968 Reader's Digest magazine; via Flickr.

Kitten Soft?

It could just be me... But is this Lady Buxton Leather ad for The Regal Set suggesting that the "touching story" regarding this leather's softness is that it's made from real kittens? ...I guess we have to touch it know, but I'm not going to.

Magic Trick Fan

An ad in an 1890 issue of Peterson's Magazine.

Have A Coke & A Smile

Seeing as old Coke came with more than a glimpse of thigh, I can see why New Coke just couldn't make it.

Baby Midget Velvet Grip Hose Supporter

Vintage hose support for baby that's just like daddy's; I have nothing else to say. Except that as any parent will tell you, baby will remove the garter -- along with a sock and shoe -- whenever he wants to. Especially out shopping in a crowded mall.



The ad was found in a 1921 issue of Modern Priscilla.

Hires Root Beer Package, 1890

Make five gallons of beer for just a quarter -- and it's medicinal!



Ad in the December, 1890 issue of Peterson's Magazine.

Skin Cancer For Christmas? You Shouldn't Have!

A holiday ad from 1967 for the GE Tanity Case -- a vanity case, but with everything for a tan: sunlamp, holder, eye shields & sun cream.

Giant Thinks Jack A Killer-Diller

A 1936 Dentyne gum ad.

Into The 60s With Air BP

Another ad from inside 1961 BEA "About Your Flight" Booklet.

7 Maids A-Milking -- To Music

Ad for Bag Balm found in the February 1943 issue of Farm Journal and Farmer's Wife magazine.

Trouble Keeping Your Hose Up?

Start pulling at the neck.


1921 ad for Wilson Garters, found in The Modern Priscilla magazine.

Girls Who Do Needlework Are Heterosexual

And they're proud of it too.


Boye Needle Company proclaimed "Girls Like Boye's" and proffered a tee-shirt which read "Every Girl needs a Boye" on the back cover of McCall's Needlework & Crafts, Spring 1978 issue.

Thinking I just might be willing to kill for one of those shirts, I did a search at eBay for Every Girl needs a Boye -- and finding just one (irrelevant) result, do you know what eBay suggested I might have meant?

Did you mean... every girl needs a bone ?

Now that's funny. And redundant.

7 Years Of Constipation

By then I think you'd be dead.



Ad found in 1936, True Confessions.

You Still Have A Chance To Get Into The Movies

Well, Hold-Bobs did offer you the chance to get a free screen test in Universal Pictures "Search For Talent Movie Truck" back in 1936. It's not their fault if you weren't born yet. Or maybe your parents just warned you about talent searches in the back of trucks... Mine sure did.

Retro Alfa Romeo Ad

French ad in 1961 Maxim's Booklet

Everything's Better When It's Kitsch On A Ritz

Retro ad for Ritz Crackers from the June 1968 issue of Family Circle via Flickr.

Warning: Your Male Bosom Is Bunchy

That's news from The American Shirt Front -- at the informal dance, anyway. You can avoid this and other shirt mishaps this holiday season by wearing Arrow Shirts. At least the 1941 variety, as this ad was found in that year's Liberty magazine.

1921 Doll Lamp

Ad for the "Cute Lite" found in the April 1921 issue of The Modern Priscilla.

Eyelashes Like Fork Tines

Maybe it's Maybelline.



In January 1936, True Confessions.

Yeast, The New Way -- And You'll Like It

You'll like yeast this new way -- um, why is she lifting her leg like that? What kind of yeast are we talking about here?



From Liberty, February 22, 1941.

Correcting Ill-Shaped Noses At Home

And where else would you do it?



An ad in Beautiful Womanhood, Edited by Mrs. Bernarr MacFadden, November, 1923.

Would You Believe A Talking Dog?

Teach your dog to talk! Record & book tells the whole 'doggone' story.



Ad found in the February 13, 1979 National Enquirer (which explains why the dog looks a lot like Benji).

Remember When You Could Smoke On A Plane?

Me neither. But this page inside my 1961 BEA "About Your Flight" Booklet reminds us not only could you smoke on an airplane, but that airlines would actually supply the smokes.

Cuddle & Kitschy Coo The Swan

This ad for Swan Soap & features Joan Davis and CBS as well as mentions Davis as the star of "George White's Scandals", an RKO Radio Picture. I just dig the adorable swan.


The ad appears on the back cover of Calling All Girls, December, 1945.

Mail-Order Monkeys

Man, before the internet and the ability to download 'virtual' crap, you could get all sorts of real things via mail-order:


Yes, squirrel monkeys could actually be mailed to you, in a tiny little box (sundress not included), and you could have a best friend with a prehensile tail. I mean, other than Roger Coulter from 5th period, because he's just creepy. The squirrel monkey was guaranteed delivered alive, so if a dead monkey appeared in your mailbox, you had some sort of recourse. If you wanted two Minneapolis monkeys -- two monkeys!?! -- you could save a fivespot on the deal. Hopefully, you'll be well-prepared for its arrival; otherwise you might end up with angry parents and an arm full of stitches. My ad came from a 1963 issue of McCall's Needlework & Crafts.

Sucaryl On This

Slenderella, packed by Richmond-Chase Company, featured Sucaryl® -- "the magic sweetener that doesn't add one single calorie". The cutie-patootie in the ad exclaims, "...so finally I tried slenderella low-calorie foods... and look what happened to itty-bitty me!"



I look slimmer when I wear my tablecloths too, bitch.

But seriously... Sucaryl ® is Cyclamate, and was banned in the US for cancer. Which sort of begs the question about just what would be the cause of any weight loss.

If you can stand more strange factoids about Sucaryl®, check this info from Wikipedia:

Like many artificial sweeteners, the sweetness of cyclamate was discovered by accident. Michael Sveda was working in the lab on the synthesis of anti-fever medication. He put his cigarette down on the lab bench and when he put it back in his mouth he discovered the sweet taste of cyclamate.

Just how do lab rats manage to survive at all?

Ad found in The Dakota Farmer, "Dakota's Own Magazine", April 18, 1959.

When Illustrations Collide

Jay Hyde Barnum's illustration of a sexy songbird with a lifted hem shares the page with an ad for Perfect Circle Triple-Action piston rings.



The incongruity of such juxtaposition of pinup with what I lovingly call 'racing troll babies' makes me stare long and hard at this vintage magazine page for clues... At first I thought sex appeal was being applied by Perfect Circle, but the three babies, a regular gimmick used by the company, are drawn by Pete Hawley. Why the editors decided to print the pinup facing the ad is unknown to me -- but I'm sure it helped Perfect Circle sell piston rings.

How Much Is Your Spare Time Worth?

You can earn up to $1.50 an hour, representing Curtis Publishing. Or at least you could according to this old ad.


This ad was a lot funnier pre-financial melt-down, when I found & scanned it. Now we're all just wondering if we'll be lucky enough to make a $1.50 an hour.

Sani-Flush Your Gunk Away

We've all heard how Lysol's been used to clean the err, "female engine"; but did you know that Sani-Flush was once peddled as the do-it-yourself car radiator flush?

No White Spots On Your Scottie Dog

We know it's after Labor Day so you may be adhering to the old "no white" rule, but FYI, if you need a product to whiten your shoes that won't rub off on your dog...



We don't think Carbona Shoe Whitener should have promoted kicking or "rubbing" dogs with shoes by making such product claims, but it was 1941. Things were different then.

The Unknown Comic - Artist

From The Saturday Evening Post, June 14, 1941, a full-page ad for Hotpoint electric refrigerators and ranges. The top portion features a comic, Just Around The Corner: Ed And Alice Open Up The Summer Cottage, which extols the virtues of having appliances in your summer cottage "just like in town." So much for getting away from it all & roughing it.

And no one ever shows up to help me move.


Having a title seems to signify a series -- be it a regular comic series or an ad campaign -- but it's unsigned. The style is so familiar... Capp? Marge? I honestly don't know; neither does Google. If you do, please share.

Here's the bottom portion of the ad, in case that helps.

Modern Woman Monday: Bra Retardation Is Real People; The Figures Don't Lie

Oprah says eight out of 10 women are wearing the wrong size bra today. Well, 50 years ago, 47 out of 100 women didn't wear the right fitting bra either.


I don't quite know how to do the math... that's 50+ years to add another 37 percent points, times two breasts -- carry the nipple... At this rate, we're gonna have to carry our nipples.

The bottom line is, ladies, we're not getting older & wiser; we're getting older & saggier.

See another Formfit ad, likely from the 40's, boasting the same sad figures to boost lagging sales along with sagging boobs.

Ladies Don't Argue With A Burglar

They pack heat in their nighties.



Via Flickr.

Sshh... It's Contraband

An ad that ran in the UK for the 1968 Contraband Pantee -- yup, two "e"s. It smuggles years off your figure -- presumably then they and the bulges are stowed away on some pirate ship where they don't care if a gal jiggles or how old she is; it only matters that she's a gal.