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Page 28 The Antique Shoppe January, 2017
ADVERTISING POSTCARDS
COMMERCIAL AMERICANA

by Roy Nuhn

Vintage advertising postcards offer a panorama of daily life in America at the turn The favorites today
of the 20th century and shortly beyond. are those
The picture postcard itself was the culmination of distributed
countless and diverse 19th-century developments in by national
photography and printing. Among its predecessors were manufacturers
trade cards, cartes de visits, pictorial stationery and other of all kinds - An advertising variety aimed at horse owners (1906-1910).
Victorian ephemera. automobiles,
The use of such postcards for advertising began cereal, lawn
extensively after 1900. They proved to be not only among mowers, food, beer, coffee, furniture, etc. These almost always show the
the cheapest kind of advertising available, but one which product or it use.
seemingly enjoyed a longer life span than most other Many magazine and book publishers found the postcard a great
mass media. Even today, with television, radio and the promotional tool. Some newspapers were not above borrowing their
internet available, postcards continue to be used by “Sunday Funnies” cartoon characters to be part of the card’s illustration.
companies to promote their products or services. Maggie and Jiggs of “Bringing Up Father,” for instance, did their bit for
By all accounts, it is reckoned that the advertising the North American on a fascinating set of six oversized cards.
postcard as we know it was born near the end of the Though most single advertising postcards were given away free, many
1890s. But the artistic, colorful and truly unique ones so of the sets were handled differently. Often, the consumer had to mail
highly prized by today’s collectors carne along between in a couple of pennies or some postage stamps to cover mailing costs,
1903 and 1920. along with a box top or two.
Deltiolgists - picture postcard collectors - number in These sets are the most popular and most elusive of all. The “Dupont
the tens of thousands and they belong to dozens of club Dogs,” “Bull Durham’s Trip Around the World,” “Cracker-Jack Bears,” and
scattered throughout the land. Among the hundreds of “Zeno Chewing Gum” are examples of the advertising postcard at its
topical specialities collected, the advertising category best... as are the several extraordinary rare Campbell’s Kids set by the
rates very high on the list famous soup company featuring Grace
of all-time favorites. The “Russia” - Bull Durham cigarettes’ Wiederseim’s irresistible children and
reasons are the same as series of 30 depicting different the “Gold Dust Twins,” who did their
for anyone who collects countries as backgrounds (Circa 1906). best for the leading soap powder in the
and loves other types of Fairbanks’ empire.
American advertising: Twice, the Bell Telephone people
historical, cultural, published the same set of 12 cards,
beauty, nostalgia and, of Part of 1913 set by Campbell’s Soup each of which pointed out an important
using its iconic “Kids.”
course, the magic. advantage of having a telephone in the
There are thousands home. Other favorites are the 18-card
of different cards to “Berry Brothers Varnish” and “Tip Top
be found. Some, like a Auto advertising, such as this one Weekly, noteworthy for picturing Frank
Buster Brown Christmas for Chevrolet’s 1933 model, has long Merriwell and all his cohorts.
card laden with Santa been popular with collector. Ad agencies
Clauses headed frequently
for Bloomingdale’s economized by
Department store in New using the same
York City, are extremely rare: others, like Egg-O-See Cereal’s 1907 Jamestown illustration for many
Exposition handout are much more plentiful. Many were issued in sets and a mediums and a
few companies kept publishing them for decades. goodly number of
By far, the largest majority of advertising postcards were published and postcard graphics
distributed as singles. They were given away at store counters, presented were derived
as souvenirs to tourists and guests visiting the plant or home office, made from magazine
available to customers as free writing paper, or packaged with the merchandise advertising art. This
as premiums. is especially true
Some were used for corresponding with customers about orders, of Fisk Tire and
complaints, etc., a few were even used by traveling route salesmen to Domino Sugar.
announce their imminent arrival. Poster art and
Every imaginable product, service and commodity has been advertised on advertising go hand-
the picture postcard, especially home and food products. Most of the major in-hand and often
companies of that the combination
not-so-long ago time utilized of the two on a postcard produces marvelous results. Quickly to mind come the
the postcard idea. Many many travel posters, such as Holland-American Line, the publicity issues for several
of them, such as Kelloggs, international expositions and local fairs, and Gillette’s trademark baby shaving
Heinz, Lipton, Chesterfield himself.
Cigarettes, Campbell’s Soups, The years since 1920, while not comparable to the “Golden Age” of advertising
and Ford, are still with us. picture postcards, have not been completely barren. Held in high regard are the
Taken together, they are kitchen appliance ad cards by Westinghouse, Kitchen Aid, General-Electric and
also a remembrance of goods Frigidaire in the 1930s-50s era. Highly sought also, are pre-World War II radio
and companies no longer and post-war television advertising. Another bright spot are three cereal makers,
with us. 5A Horse Blankets, especially Kellogg’s who have given us an impressive array of colorful, delightful
Glidden Auto, Edison cards featuring Tony the Tiger, and Snap, Crackle and Pop.
Phonograph, Kornelia Kinks Advertising postcards offers us a unique glimpse at our nation’s yesteryears, at
1950’s chrome style with Kellogg’s Cereal’s trademark
Tony the Tiger, one of several advertising postcards of him Cereal, Bevo -- and many how Americans lived and played, and the many wondrous consumer and business
released in the 1950s and 1960s. more. goods available to them from the nation’s giant industrial, retail and service sectors.