Tag Archives: brands

Sensuous as the beat of the tom-tom

1946 magazine ad for Corday's Frenzy perfume.
1946 magazine ad for Corday’s Frenzy perfume.

What does it smell like? “sultry, light, flippant”

The artist is Vladimir Bobri (Bobritsky). More of his work here.

Corday was named after Charlotte Corday, a female assassin best known for offing this guy…

La Mort de Marat by Jacques-Louis David
La Mort de Marat by Jacques-Louis David

Does anyone else smell… murder?

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He sees you when you’re smoking…

“Wait… That’s not what we meant…”

What’s the first thing I thought of when I saw this ad?
“Hey, smoke up, Johnny!”

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The Imperial March starts playing…

Hiram Walker, “benevolent despot“, was into millin’ and distillin’.

What’s the difference between whiskey and whisky? Besides the “e”, that is.

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Let’s get Necco with Santa!

Magazine ad for Necco Wafers. I forgot to write down the year.
Magazine ad for Necco Wafers. I forgot to write down the year.

Necco Wafers refuse to die.

Everyone’s least favorite Halloween candy has been making us miserable since 1847.”

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Insist on the hole.

1919 Life Savers magazine ad found as the inside front cover of a Life magazine.

1919 Life Savers magazine ad found as the inside front cover of a Life magazine.

Did you know Wint-O-Green Life Savers spark in the dark? Here’s why.

You never know when you’ll suddenly have to know a lot more about Life Savers. Mental Floss has you covered.

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Insidious Diseases and Hidden Decay

Would you trust your tree with this man?

“I will go out on a limb for your tree.” — John Davey, probably
Ad for Davey Tree Surgeons found in the April 1917 issue of Countryside / Suburban Life magazine.
Ad for Davey Tree Surgeons found in the April 1917 issue of Countryside / Suburban Life magazine.

Bone shards:

I didn’t realize that tree surgeons were a thing until I read a bit about the profession in a Straight Dope column about Groucho Marx by Cecil Adams. Yes, you should read the entire column.

Way back in the day, Groucho Marx hosted a radio/TV quiz show called “You Bet Your Life. During one show when he was interviewing a tree surgeon, he asked, “Have you ever fallen out of any of your patients?”

Read one heck of an obituary for Groucho here.

And now you know about tree surgeons too.

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“Aveu!” “Gesundheit.”

1947 magazine ad for Roger & Gallet’s Aveu perfume
1947 magazine ad for Roger & Gallet’s Aveu perfume

Is he about to push her over the railing?

Or maybe he’s a chiropractor about to make an adjustment.

Bone shards:

“Aveu” is French for “confession”, so “Aveu Confession du désir” means “confession confession of desire”.

“It is a feminine floral, created in 1946. Just at the end of the war, women were looking for beauty, flowers, things that would cheer them up after years of hardship, and Aveu was launched for this purpose.”

I have been unsuccessful in tracking down information on the assumed artist, Cydney. If you know anything, please hook me up!

The sophisticated name for a railing is balustrade. The vertical thingies on a balustrade are balusters. Now aren’t you fancy!?

Check out that sweet ampersand.

ampersand
ampersand

I was hoping there’d be a fancy name for those fingerless long/arm/sleeve gloves. Alas. “Gants à manches sans doigts” is a bit of a mouthful.

A 50ml flacon of this vintage perfume could set you back over $300.

A flacon is a bottle.

A falcon is a bird.

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most provocative

1969 magazine ad for Lanvin’s My Sin perfume
1969 magazine ad for Lanvin’s My Sin perfume

Bone shards:

“What the hell am I smelling and why is it so wonderful? …Whatever the notes are, they’ve converged to create a sexual flower, one that is at its peak of fragrance, like a meadow in full bloom on the hottest spring day, visited by the horniest, healthiest bees.” — from a My Sin review

Lanvin’s My Sin was formulated by a mysterious Russian perfumer named Madame Zed.

What is dusting powder (one of the variations listed at the bottom of the ad)?

Black cats are awesome. You should adopt one from a shelter.

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Sealed with a kiss and probably a paper cut.

1947 magazine ad for Eaton’s Fine Letter Papers
1947 magazine ad for Eaton’s Fine Letter Papers

When was the last time you write a real letter, you cold and heartless monster?

Bone shards:

This company was founded in 1893 to manufacture social stationery. Social stationery. The first social media?

Feel like writing somebody a real letter? Etsy and eBay have some sellers with vintage Eaton stationery.

I know you can’t wait to read about the history of paper.

You wanna go old-old school? I got ya — the history of papyrus.

Remember Cursive?

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Meatier. Plumper. Tighter.

No, this isn’t an ad for Dr. Porkenheimer’s Boner Juice; it’s for bananas!

1967 magazine ad for Chiquita Bananas / United Fruit Company
1967 magazine ad for Chiquita Bananas / United Fruit Company

Bone shards:

Who is Luther Burbank, the dude mentioned in the body copy? Without him, there wouldn’t be french fries.

Ever hear of a banana republic? You can thank these guys for that.

There are over a thousand different types of bananas, including the ice cream banana.

Did you know those gross stringy things on a banana have a name? Phloem bundles! That’s one of my favorite bits of useless knowledge.

Stephen Colbert and Gwen Stefani once argued over the spelling of bananas.

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