Advertiques Foster Nostalgia

 

QUESTION: A few years ago, I visited one of those local historical museums which had a country store exhibit. I found the many containers with advertisements printed on them very interesting. I didn’t realize that advertising was so much in use in the 19th century. Since then, I’ve purchased a number of items sporting advertisements for the companies that made them. I’d really like to know the origin of advertising and the range of objects I have to chose from for my collection. 

ANSWER: “Advertiques,” or objects with some sort of advertising, are popular with collectors. It’s not unusual for collectors to pay big bucks for some of the larger and rarer items. And the variety of objects available is great, enabling collectors of every financial level to assemble a fine collection.

Manufacturers in the 19th century couldn’t resist employing useful items to promote their products, for at the time, promoting products was the key, unlike today where promoting the benefits to consumer is more the style. String holders, ashtrays, fans—all served as a promotional medium.

Advertising wasn’t limited to just trade cards, posters, and signs, originally used to advertise a business. Objects, like coffee mills, flour and coffee bins, and gum and candy machines, on the other hand, promoted a product. All were necessary to the functioning grocery or dry goods store of the late-19th and early 20th centuries. 

One reason collectors like these “advertiques” is that advertising is a vital part of doing business today. With other types of antiques, both the object and its function are now obsolete. But the advertising techniques used by business have changed very little since the late 19th century. Posters, free samples, and mass advertising are still in as much use today as they were over 125 years ago. 

One of the most widely collected form of promotion was the advertising poster. These first appeared in the late 18th century as black-and-white woodcuts. But the introduction of lithography in the 1850s led to a proliferation of brightly colored tin and paper posters.

While most people probably couldn’t recall any 19th-century advertising poster, there’s one that older people still remember from their childhood—the circus poster. Color lithography helped to spread the news of upcoming shows across the country.

Trade cards were miniature versions of advertising posters. Business owners paid small boys a few pennies to hand these out to passersby. These cards urged to recipient to a product, such as a cologne, or a patent medicine, or directed him or her to a specific store that sold the product.

Every grocery store had a least one coffee mill in which to ground roasted beans. Some of these cast-iron behemoths stood as tall as four feet, were handpainted in bright colors, and often bore the name of a particular brand of coffee. Today, the Coca Cola, vending machine, with the name “Coca Cola” emblazoned on its facade, does much the same sort of promotion.

And many store owners didn’t forget about their customer’s children. An array of gum, nut, and candy machines, with brand names such as Baby Grand and Delicious, gave the little ones something to do with their pennies. 

Wholesalers provided store owners with bins to hold flour, tea, and coffee—all featuring the brand name of a the product. One of the most popular with collectors were the sturdy oak cabinets that displayed Diamond Dyes and Coats Spool Thread. Coffee and tin bins, usually made of tin, featured colorful lithographed decoration, featuring everything from exotic locales to American warships. There were other dispensers, also. Wooden boxes with colorful lithographed labels held biscuits.

All of these objects bore an advertiser’s message. The blackboard that displayed the daily prices for eggs and butter came from a wholesaler, as did the string dispenser used to wrap meats at the meat counter. There were also match safes, calendars, and even thermometers—all with bearing an advertiser’s name. 

Some items had practical uses, such as serving and tip trays. Most brewers had metal trays made to serve beverages in taverns and soda fountains. Collectors today seek them out for their colorful graphics and sentimental renditions of popular scenes. 

To promote hair and beauty care products, manufacturers gave away tiny tin-and-glass mirrors, each bearing an advertiser’s message. They often featured the likenesses of famous stage actors and later movie stars. 

While not as common as tin or paper promotional items, pottery advertising memorabilia, such as stoneware jugs were also popular. Jugs bearing the name of a distiller or brewery or a soda like Hires Root Beer are favorites with collectors. Cereal bowls promoting Cream of Wheat feature images of the famous 20th-Century Limited train while sets of dishes promoted Buster Brown Shoes. 

No area of collecting is so passionate about condition as that of advertiques. Collectors shy away from rusted tine containers and water-stained paper goods. These collectibles need to be in pristine shape to be worth anything at all

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about "folk art" in the 2023 Winter Edition, online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

Is Smokey Bear Still Smokin'?

Smokey Bear Jr. Forest Ranger Kit

QUESTION: As I was cleaning out my attic recently, I came across my old Smokey Bear Jr. Forest Ranger Kit. Do you know if this is collectible today?

ANSWER: Your "Smokey Bear Jr. Forest Ranger Kit," was popular with kids since its introduction in 1957. Today, it’s also a popular collectible. It came complete with a bookmark, letter from Smokey, membership car blotter, four poster stamps and a Junior Forest Ranger Certificate, all profusely illustrated, inside of a beautiful envelope. The Forest Service even included a brass-relief badge from time to time. .

The Forest Service used Bambi as their symbol first.

Created by a Madison Avenue advertising campaign in 1944, the idea of fire prevention
began during World War II when the Empire of Japan considered wildfires as a possible weapon against the United States. During the Lookout Air Raids of September 1942, the Japanese military attempted without success to set ablaze coastal forests in southwest Oregon. U.S. planners also hoped that if Americans knew how wildfires would harm the war effort, they would better cooperate with the Forest Service to eliminate any kind of fire.

So the U.S. Forest Service embarked on an advertising campaign for the prevention of forest fires. It borrowed the image of Bambi for a year until it could come up with a better symbol. But even though the campaign used Bambi on posters for a few months,  somehow he didn’t quite provide the rough and tough, firefighter image needed. The ad men decided a bear would be more appropriate and gave the job of designing him to illustrator Albert Staehle.

One of Staehle's original posters

Staehle created the Smokey character with the ranger hat and carrying a water bucket. He did four original posters of Smokey for the United States Department of Agriculture's Forest Service. The first one depicted a bear pouring a bucket of water on a campfire and saying “"Smokey Says – Care Will Prevent 9 out of 10 Forest Fires." In 1947, it became "Remember... Only YOU Can Prevent Forest Fires." In 2001, it was again updated to its current version of "Only You Can Prevent Wildfires"

After Staehle initial creation, Rudy Wendelin took over the job as his artist. For 30 years, until his retirement from the Forest Service in 1975. Wendelin endlessly drew Smokey. Later, he even designed the commemorative postage stamp released in 1984 in honor of Smokey’s 40th anniversary.

The Forest Service supposedly named the bear after Smokey Joe Martin, New York City's assistant fire chief in the 1920's. He began appearing on fire prevention posters and billboards and in countless television public service advertisements pleading with viewers to be fire-safe in the forests.

The little cub rescued in New Mexico

In the Spring of 1950, fire swept through New Mexico’s Lincoln National Forest in the Capitan Gap Fire, burning 17,000 acres. A group of soldiers from Fort Bliss, Texas, who had come to help fight the fire, discovered the badly burned bear cub and brought him back to the camp. The Forest Service decided the bear cub should be the living symbol of forest fire prevention. At first it named him Hotfoot Teddy, but he was later renamed Smokey, after the cartoon character used in the original campaign. And for the next 25 years the Forest Service used the little bear as a living reminder to Americans of the need to be careful with matches and fire in the forests.

Soon after his rescue, the Forest Service flew Smokey in a Piper Cub to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.. A special room had been prepared for him at the St. Louis zoo for an overnight fuel stop during the trip, and when he arrived at the National Zoo, where he lived for 26 years, cheering crowds of children greeting him. Over his lifetime, he received millions of visitors as well as so many letters addressed to him—up to 13,000 a week—that the U.S. Postal Service gave him his own unique zip code in 1964. He developed a love for peanut butter sandwiches, in addition to his daily diet of bluefish and trout.

Smokey Bear poster from 1976

The Smokey Bear campaign produced an enormous amount of collectibles. This treasure trove includes everything from stuffed bears and banks to bumper stickers and books of every size and type.

Early recognizing the growing popularity of its fire fighting bear, the United States government trademarked him in 1952. This was done to insure that he would not be used in any way detrimental to his goal. It also brought in royalties, which fluctuated between $40,000 and $200,000 or more each year—money used to supplement the fire prevention budget.

Smokey Bear can be found in cloth, metal, plastic, and porcelain. Most popular are the stuffed bears. Ideal Toy Company manufactured the first one in 1952. Knickerbocker and Dakin soon followed. Teddy bears of Smokey, wearing jeans and a ranger hat, have been made in all sizes. Some were often talking toys, games, records, and drinking cups and mugs flooded the marketplace in the 1950's, 1960's, and 1970's.

Smokey Bear comic book

The first appearance of Smokey Bear in a comic book came in a 1950 release, entitled Forest Fire, by the American Forestry Association. Rudy Wendelin did the artwork. The Dell Publishing Company produced a series of eight comic books from October 1955 to August 1961. Then came Smokey Bear in 1962 by K.K. Publications for a 13-year run as part of their "March of Comics" series. And from February 1970 to March 1973, Gold Key issued 13 comic books.

In 1959, the Forest Service had Western Printing Company create a comic book, “The True Story of Smokey the Bear,” for use as an educational giveaway to youngsters. It became a popular premium for the next 10 years.

The Forest Service also handed out other premiums since the 1950's that today are quite collectible. These include the Junior Forest Ranger' badges. The agency also gave away pinback buttons with Smokey's face and the slogan, "I'm Helping Smokey Prevent Forest Fires," as well as a free coloring book, "The Blazing Forest," also printed by Western Publishing Company, as part of its "Prevent Forest Fires" campaign.

Despite the Forest Service’s campaign's success over the years, wildfire prevention remains one of the most critical issues affecting our country. And with wildfires raging in the West, Smokey's message is as relevant and urgent today as it was in 1944.

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about  world's fairs in the 2020 Summer Edition, online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words–and Sometimes Much More

QUESTION: My grandfather collected all types of circus posters, programs, tickets and much more. When he died in 1969, they were all given to my Father, and now I have them. Most of the items are from the 30's, 40's and 50's.  Can you give me some insight as to where I can find out their value?

ANSWER: Circus ephemera, those tickets, programs, and posters that this person mentions above, seem to be surfacing everywhere. Perhaps, it’s because people who held on to them stuffed them in drawers and closets. When they die, their family finds them and not knowing much about them, have no idea whether they’re worth anything.

Circus posters, in particular, can be worth more than just something. But like with most collectibles, condition is of prime importance.

Weeks ahead of its show date, a circus would send advance men into town to plaster posters, called “bills,” all over town. These bright-colored graphics enticed men, women, and especially children within a 50-mile radius of town to come to the show. No color was too bright, no word too big for the circus–greatest, bravest, most stupendous, world famous, exotic. These posters  promised showgoers beasts from the Far East and Africa, dare-devil aerialists, and luscious lady equestrians in glittering tights riding

Circus posters were crucial for drawing crowds to what were only one or two performances per location. Many early ads were simple woodblock prints mentioning the name of the circus, the price of admission, and a few acts.

Along with circus posters, the circus created such common concepts as marketing campaigns and the tools that go with them–junk mail and free coupons–plus the idea of “newer, bigger, and better.” Advance men saturated the show location with 15,000 to 20,000 poster sheets, or the equivalent of 626- 833 standard billboards.

Because the poster was the most important element of a circus’ promotion, they constituted one of the principle products of the commercial printers in the 19th century. Printing houses created these posters using the team approach with many artists working on any one design. One artist might specialize in lettering while another specialized in portraits of performers, and another in animals.

Circus posters fall into two categories–stock posters and specialty posters. Stock posters were generic designs that each show printer produced, but that could be used by any circus. These posters featured images of clowns, wild animals, and performers. It wasn’t uncommon for more than one circus to use the same poster designs in the same season, the only difference being the show title on the posters. Show printers produced thousands of these and sold them to any circus promoter that needed them. They designed specialty posters, on the other hand, with life-like portraits of featured performers or depictions of specific acts for particular circuses.

The value of circus posters depends on their condition. Since they’re made of paper, time and humidity can cause them to deteriorate over time. Creases, caused by folding for storage, can actually add to their value. Unfortunately, since so many artists worked on a particular poster, most aren’t signed. The best way to get a ballpark estimate of what a poster is worth is to check what a poster has sold for either through a dealer or at auction–then take half.

For more information on circus posters, read Step Right Up!