Vintage Car & Technology Ads

[jdrouin]

In working on an academic project I came across some gorgeous advertisements that provide a fascinating window into American culture, automobiles, and technologies of daily life right after the Armistice. There are car manufacturers in here that I've never even heard of before. It's a rare glimpse into the early days of the auto industry, when variety was more prevalent, and manufacturers claimed seniority for having been in operation 19 years! I thought these might interest some of you, so I'm posting them here.

The images below come from the April and May 1919 numbers of Scribner's Magazine, an American literary periodical. My colleagues have asked that I credit the Modernist Journals Project -- http://modjourn.org -- but the images are in the public domain. The project digitizes avant-garde and mainstream literary magazines from the early 20th Century and makes them freely available to the public.

I've included a select few below, but you can see a larger set in my Flickr profile:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/27646912@N00/sets/72157622040043754/

Jeff


Sexy Science

I've noticed that "scientific" is a selling point for many automobiles and other household technologies. Who knew that science could be so sexy?


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Going Green

The Franklin automobile and Stromberg carburator for performance and economy.


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Beauty & Goodness: National


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Heavy Trucking

Double reduction gear drive for the leverage of chain and sprocket:


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Automotive Supplies

Pantasote car tops: check out the number of brands they can be found in. Heard of all these?


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Raybestos: quality brake lining.


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Prest-O-Lite: the best-engineered battery.


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Domesticity & Technology

The Arco vacuum system, apparently a set of pipes installed throughout the house, powered by a central motor, and you plug in the wand where you want to clean.


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Roof shingles spelled Olde-Timey but without British "Colour," and made of the deadly substance we now pay people extraordinary amounts of money to remove.


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This ad for curled-hair mattresses creeps me the heck out.


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Beech-Nut, for the distinguished palates of jelly connoisseurs (isn't it baby food now?).


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And my personal favorite: Grape Nuts, for keeping little girls round and rosy.


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[The Garbone]

Cool,
Thanks for sharing...

Asbestos is great on crackers with jelly...  Of course everything tastes better on a ritz...

[1Blackwolf1]

  Cool ads..but does make you realize how far we've come.  From asbestos shingles and brake friction material to Kevlar.  But I suppose someday things we think are safe will be found to be absolutely the worst things we could have used.  Will.

[Ice]

Bad news guys, Asbestos can still be found in replacement brakes and clutches.

[1Blackwolf1]

  I try to get the ones with metallic/kevlar compounds but unfortunately they all still have some degree of asbestos.  Thats why I wear a mask when working on brakes/clutches.  Hopefully everyone does for personal safety.  Will.

[clamp]

Nope never worn a mask and in the days when I was an apprentice I didnt then iether ,---never even thought about it.

     Blowing dust of from Silver cloud brakes was a terrible job ,--I can smell it now, brakes brakes and more brakes that all RR ever needed.

     I spayed engines with paraffin if I wasnt blowing out brakes,-- or sweeping the massive workshop floor.   5 apprentices in a line with 1 meter wide brushes, didnt even put water down.

      And theres nowt wrong with me!!!

       But then I never had a cigarette hanging from my mouth.  Ever.