Not to be confused with bootlicker.
A little bit and another little bit about artist Paul Stahr.
History not-so-fun fact:
This issue is dated December 4, 1919.
Prohibition began in the United States on January 17, 1920.
Along with ads of yore, I also love a good magazine cover.
From my collection, here’s The Countryside Magazine and Suburban Life’s cover for April 1917 (Spring Planting Number) with art by Paul Bransom.
The New York Times has a rather fine obituary/biography of the “Dean of American Animal Artists” here.
Would you trust your tree with this man?
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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It’s been quite a week, so here’s the cover of my copy of January 1934’s Country Life magazine. The masthead has some design issues but the artwork is sublime.
In honor of Independence Day, here’s one of my favorite magazine covers in my collection — The July 1926 issue of The Country Gentleman with cover art by American artist (painter/illustrator/muralist) N.C. Wyeth. It was also one of the more elusive magazines for me to track down, but totally worth it.
It’s nice to see Wyeth’s biography is a lot more complete and accessible online than many other illustrators of the era, but sad to find his life ended by a freight train.
Also, it’s no surprise that horses really aren’t very fond of fireworks. Be kind, y’all.
This ad must’ve taken place before they invented personal zones.
A bit about the artist Jay Hyde Barnum.
Hey! The company is still around!
A guide to wearing wool in the summer.
And speaking of wool, meet Shrek, the sheep who escaped shearing for six years by hiding in New Zealand caves.
Or perhaps you would prefer a wood suit?
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During my back half of high school and first year of college in the late-80s, I worked at a strip-mall store called Budget Tapes and Records in Bismarck and Fargo, North Dakota. It didn’t pay much, but was definitely one of the coolest jobs around. When I started, CDs were still sold in “long boxes” and beta videos and vinyl were on the way out. And yes, we also sold tobacco accessories for use with tobacco and only tobacco. Tobacco.
So imagine my surprise when I was flipping through an old Rolling Stone magazine and found a full page ad for an earlier version of Budget Tapes and Records. Full page. Rolling Stone magazine. Daaaaaaamn. Also, it appears they were way cooler back then.
Note: Even though the Eighties-era Bismarck and Fargo stores weren’t as cool as the 1971 stores, they were still much cooler than the Williston, North Dakota store. Yeesh.
Another note: Hey! My old boss (and his brother) made it into Billboard magazine back in the day!
Whew. Lots of memories coming back from this gig, few of which I’d share here. Thanks for coming along for the ride.
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Fun facts: Midol was originally advertised as a headache, neuralgia and toothache remedy, then later as a cure for hiccups. After that, it headed south.
An anti-spasmodic (antispasmodic these days) drug suppress muscle spasms. Hello, IBS!
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He’s totally going to accidentally kick that other bottle over… 62 years ago.
Fun facts: Wyoming was the first state to give women the right to vote. (1869)
A higher-end fringed suede jacket could set you back over $1,600.
Copywriters really liked ellipses back in those days.
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This isn’t the Norton security folks; it’s the Norton blanket folks. Linus would be confused.
Fun fact: Believe it or not, blankets are named after Thomas Blanket.
Or… Maybe Thomas Blanket was named after blankets.
Then again… Sigh. History is hard.
