Category Archives: vintage ads

prelude to adventure

Magazine ad for Gay Diversion perfume (by Evyan) found in a 1946 issue of Art News
Magazine ad for Gay Diversion perfume (by Evyan) found in a 1946 issue of Art News

Gay Diversion is brought to you by the same folks who made Menace, Enchanting Menace and Moonlight Menace.

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Just Four Spiffy Little Ads From 1948

Sylcon Quilted Mattress • Simonis Billiard Cloth • T-N-T Popcorn • Saf-T-Hed Thumb Tack
Sylcon Quilted Mattress • Simonis Billiard Cloth • T-N-T Popcorn • Saf-T-Hed Thumb Tack

Simonis might be the only one still in business.

The Maid’s Dilemma


In 1971, the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Co. sent out fancy-looking replicas of one of its 1906 advertising pieces to… oh, probably bars, package stores and, who knows, maybe even courthouses and Girl Scout troops. It was a different time. Anyways, here’s one of them.

Schlitz — The Maid's Dilemma
Schlitz — The Maid’s Dilemma
Schlitz — The Maid's Dilemma
Schlitz — The Maid’s Dilemma

Bad Girls sucks your balls.

Flyer (front) for the Bad Girls pinball game, circa 1988. Gottlieb / Premier Technology
Flyer (front) for the Bad Girls pinball game, circa 1988. Gottlieb / Premier Technology

Back in the 1990s when I was living in Grand Forks, North Dakota, there was a building that housed Sensations Nightclub, the Down Under Pub, Campus Liquors and several other businesses. In the inside hallway was a pinball machine that one of my friends decided to play one night. After a bad game, she shouted, “Bad Girls sucks your balls!” and something like that is hard to forget.

I randomly happened upon this Bad Girls flyer while scrolling through some eBay listings and, yeah, I had to get it.

Ahh, good memories of Bad Girls.

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No other car in the world will satisfy you.

Magazine ad for the 1950 Chrysler Crown Imperial Limousine found on the back cover of an issue of Flair magazine, if I’m remembering correctly.
Magazine ad for the 1950 Chrysler Crown Imperial Limousine found on the back cover of an issue of Flair magazine, if I’m remembering correctly.

What did the 1950 Chrysler Crown Imperial Limousine look like for real? Check out General Douglas MacArthur’s, one of 209 built that year.

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Do you have under-par children like High-Strung Helen?

Magazine ad for Ovaltine, circa 1934
Magazine ad for Ovaltine, circa 1934

The History of Ovomaltine, err, Ovaltine

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How to Impress a Biker Chick

1944 magazine ad for Hart Schaffner & Marx
1944 magazine ad for Hart Schaffner & Marx

Illustration by Jay Hyde Barnum. Not a lot of info online.

I’m not quite sure what sort of action went down in the illustration, but they both look great!

A History of Herringbone, courtesy of King & Allen Bespoke Tailoring

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Scrubbing is for the living.

Magazine ad for Sani-Flush found in the March 25, 1944 issue of The Saturday Evening Post
Magazine ad for Sani-Flush found in the March 25, 1944 issue of The Saturday Evening Post

Looks like the original Sani-Flush was still being sold until 2009 or so. With its main ingredient being sodium bisulfate, when some people didn’t follow directions and mixed it with chlorine bleach (drain cleaners like Liquid-Plumr or Drano), it created chlorine gas, which can be fatal.

Grocery shopping in 1964 was much more exciting thanks to Sani-Flush!

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Nobody’s Business

Magazine ad for Ice-Mint found in the March 25, 1944 issue of The Saturday Evening Post

Magazine ad for Ice-Mint found in the March 25, 1944 issue of The Saturday Evening Post
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Come on, ride the train, hey, ride it.

1904 magazine ad for Union Pacific Line’s Overland Limited
1904 magazine ad for Union Pacific Line’s Overland Limited

The Overland Limited was the “the ne plus ultra of travel luxury

Did you know that thing in front of the train is called a cowcatcher? Or a pilot, if you’re boring.

The Overland Limited was in service from 1887 to 1963, Or maybe 1899 to 1938. There is some disagreement.

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