# Advertisements from 100 years ago **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 25, 2007, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advertisements-from-100-years-ago/401659 "2007-04-25T22:22:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2007, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advertisements-from-100-years-ago/401659/21 "2007-04-27T18:30:03Z")
[QUOTE=tomndebb] Uneeda Biscuit, still available, now as [Gourmet Food](http://www.amazon.com/Nabisco-Uneeda-Biscuit/dp/B0007SNZCK) [/QUOTE] But is it Kosher for Passover? šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2007, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advertisements-from-100-years-ago/401659/22 "2007-04-27T18:39:27Z")
[Hereā€™s](http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b197/Paintergeist/Random/Attad.jpg) a retro take on phones. Wouldnā€™t you like to show these people a Motorola? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2007, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advertisements-from-100-years-ago/401659/23 "2007-04-27T18:58:40Z")
The Uneeda Biscuit? But he doesnā€™t know the territory! ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2007, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advertisements-from-100-years-ago/401659/24 "2007-04-27T19:04:28Z")
This is the first time youā€™ve heard of the brand? Perhaps you recognize some of this old-school rap: > [@](#): > > 3rd Salesman: > Why itā€™s the Uneeda Biscuit made the trouble. > Uneeda, Uneeda > Put the crackers in a package, > Uneeda Biscuit in an air-tight sanitary package > Made the cracker barrel obsolete. > Charlie: > Obsolete, obsolete > 4th Salesman: > Cracker barrel went out the window > With the mail pouch cut plugchawing by the stove. > Changed the approach of the traveling salesman, > Made it prettyhard- > Charlie: > No it didnā€™t, no it didnā€™t, but ya gotta know the territory. ---
**Author:** ![Civil\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d78d45/32.png) [@Civil\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Guy)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2007, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advertisements-from-100-years-ago/401659/25 "2007-04-28T03:49:32Z")
[QUOTE=Asimovian] Not an ad, but an article. However, itā€™s my thread, so I shall hijack as I see fit. This is from April 26, 1907. Iā€™d love for someone to try to parse what actually took place in this story, since thereā€™s a key phrase within that clearly meant something different then than it does to us now. > [@](#): > > ā€¦Miss Wilson says she went to Dr. Cochraneā€™s office to have a set of false teeth made and while the dentist was at work he made love to her and helped himself to three kisses. [/QUOTE] From other contexts Iā€™ve seen it in, I believe in those days it meant simply that he was sweet talking her. If the accusation is true, I presume that since she didnā€™t slap him, he thought that that was license to take further liberties. Apparently she was left speechless by the first kiss - and from missing her teeth - and could not express displeasure until after the third one. ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2007, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advertisements-from-100-years-ago/401659/26 "2007-04-28T04:36:56Z")
[QUOTE=Civil Guy] From other contexts Iā€™ve seen it in, I believe in those days it meant simply that he was sweet talking her. [/quote] Margaret Mitchell uses it to mean something like sweet-talking in _Gone with the Wind._ Thereā€™s a line in which Scarlett wonders how she could have ever stood ā€œhearing other men make love to herā€ when she really loved Ashley. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2007, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advertisements-from-100-years-ago/401659/27 "2007-04-28T04:40:27Z")
Thank you, **Civil Guy** and **Lissa**. I was not aware of that, and the phrasing made for some puzzled but amusing discussions at work. šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![Can\_Handle\_the\_Truth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Can\_Handle\_the\_Truth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Can_Handle_the_Truth)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2007, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advertisements-from-100-years-ago/401659/28 "2007-04-28T05:02:07Z")
Suction-cup tires (so your car will stick to the road!) from 1914. [Advertisement](http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/4999/tireskv6.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![AlwaysFresh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@AlwaysFresh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlwaysFresh)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2007, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advertisements-from-100-years-ago/401659/29 "2007-04-28T06:13:39Z")
Check out this broadside (no idea of date) for [ā€œKool Koast Kampā€.](http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/dynaweb/eaa/databases/broadsides/@Generic__BookTextView/30804;nh=1?DwebQuery=kamp#X) There are TONS of old advertising pieces at that site, I just happened upon this one today. If there could be something more appalling than the one above, it has to be broadsides which advertise slave auctions found at same site. Ugh. Lots of other interesting stuff there! ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2007, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advertisements-from-100-years-ago/401659/30 "2007-04-28T08:32:53Z")
If you are of a certain age, you might want to look at this page: [Ads From Old Comic Books](http://www.tomheroes.com/Comic%20Ads/comicads.htm) Sea Monkeys, Charles Atlas, X-Ray Glassesā€¦ah yes, the dreams of youthā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2007, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advertisements-from-100-years-ago/401659/31 "2007-04-28T11:47:56Z")
There was a wonderful ad in a reproduction 1902 Sears catalogue. It was for ā€œPure Spirits of Turpentine- for Internal or External Use!ā€ The whole medicine section was scary and hilarious. There were a lot of Electrified Health Gadgets, especially belts and insoles. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2007, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advertisements-from-100-years-ago/401659/32 "2007-04-28T12:52:13Z")
[QUOTE=tomndebb] Uneeda Biscuit, still available, now as [Gourmet Food](http://www.amazon.com/Nabisco-Uneeda-Biscuit/dp/B0007SNZCK) [/QUOTE] > [@](#): > > Customers who bought items like this also bought > > The Ultimate Guide to Cunnilingus: How to Go Down on a Woman and Give Her Exquisite Pleasure (Ultimate Guides Series) by Violet Blue Tuna dip and crackers? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![A.R.Cane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@A.R.Cane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A.R.Cane)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2007, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advertisements-from-100-years-ago/401659/33 "2007-04-28T13:06:23Z")
[QUOTE=DMark] If you are of a certain age, you might want to look at this page: [Ads From Old Comic Books](http://www.tomheroes.com/Comic%20Ads/comicads.htm) Sea Monkeys, Charles Atlas, X-Ray Glassesā€¦ah yes, the dreams of youthā€¦ [/QUOTE] I got sucked in by a scheme to sell some ā€œcure allā€ salve. This was in the 40ā€™s and I was about 9-10 years old. The hook was to win a bike, or BB gun, or somesuch. I think I sold 2 or 3 and my mother sent the rest back. They wrote letters for awhile, but she just threw them away until they finally gave up. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2007, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advertisements-from-100-years-ago/401659/34 "2007-04-28T15:04:36Z")
[QUOTE=Mr. Moto] [Not cool.](http://consumerist.com/consumer/advertising/retro-asbestostwin-towers-ad-the-black-irony-coughs-itself-up-250121.php) [/QUOTE] I seem to recall reading that if the World Trade Center had been lined with asbestos, it wouldnā€™t have been destroyed. Of course, all of the people would have had breathing problems, so itā€™s a lesser-of-two-evils thing. Also, if you donā€™t realize what theyā€™re trying to say, ā€œasbestos contains fireā€ is a rather strange statement. As for Uneeda Biscuits, theyā€™re still being sold. Theyā€™re on the shelves at the store I work at for substantially less for $24. James Lileks has a number of old ads from his place of employment, the Minneapolis _Star Tribune_, on his [website](http://www.lileks.com/oldads/index.html) with his typical humorous commentary. ---
**Author:** ![Capt\_B.Phart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc29f/32.png) [@Capt\_B.Phart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt_B.Phart)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2007, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advertisements-from-100-years-ago/401659/35 "2007-04-30T23:45:10Z")
Iā€™ve wasted much time at [The Insitute of Official Cheer](http://www.lileks.com/institute/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2007, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advertisements-from-100-years-ago/401659/36 "2007-05-01T03:38:27Z")
I collect issues of the National Geographic magazine. I always want the full issue, not the ones where the covers and ads are stripped off, leaving only the articles. Ads are great. From May 1912: An ad touting the Cunard shipping line. One of the ships named is the Lusitania. The 3A Folding Pocket Kodak, for $20.00 An Around the World Cruise, on the Hamburn American ship S.S. Cleveland. Trip lasts 110 days, prices starting at $650. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2007, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advertisements-from-100-years-ago/401659/37 "2007-05-01T14:32:05Z")
[QUOTE=ZipperJJ] Anyone ever see any ads touting a product filled with asbestos or lead? Those would be cool to see šŸ™‚ [/QUOTE] Iā€™d have to go through my attic to find it, butā€¦when I came into some 1950s-era comic books through my grandmother (used to belong to my mother), I found some mighty amusing stuff in them. One was a little health quiz thing that mentioned ā€œthe new wonder drug, cocaine.ā€ ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2007, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advertisements-from-100-years-ago/401659/38 "2007-05-01T14:47:35Z")
If you want to see a really great collection of old advertising, check out the website for the [Hartman Center](http://library.duke.edu/specialcollections/hartman/) at the Duke University libraries. Of particular interest is [Ad\*Access](http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/adaccess/), a collection of advertisements from 1911 to 1955, and [Emergence of Advertising in America](http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/eaa/), which has stuff from 1850 to 1920. Here, for example, is a 1926 ad for [Kotex](http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/dynaweb/adaccess/beauty/femhygiene1920s/@Generic__BookTextView/603). And here is a WWI ad for [S.S. White toothpaste](http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/dynaweb/adaccess/beauty/dental1911-1929/@Generic__BookTextView/373), which compares American teeth with the teeth of Americaā€™s British allies. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2007, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advertisements-from-100-years-ago/401659/39 "2007-05-01T14:52:55Z")
And check out the price of televisions in [1948](http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/adaccess/TV/TV05/TV0591-150dpi.jpeg). :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2007, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advertisements-from-100-years-ago/401659/40 "2007-05-01T15:08:05Z")
For all our ā€˜progressā€™, you can find ads today for magnetic shoes, writst bands that help you lose weight, pills that lengthen still unmentionable parts of the male anatonomy, and even homeopathic ointments and meds that are some of the most recognizable ads and products on the market. And **Hypno-Toad** , that old phone booth ([http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b197/Paintergeist/Random/Attad.jpg](http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b197/Paintergeist/Random/Attad.jpg)) might be something we all wish was marketable now! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advertisements-from-100-years-ago/401659.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advertisements-from-100-years-ago/401659.md?page=3)