
Here is the front and back of a little advertisement from 1904 by Pope-Waverly Motors for the Model No. 36 electric speedwagon. Only $850 without the top and $900 with the top. The back of the pamphlet contains the specifications for this 1904 electric car, which included a 3 horsepower motor with 17 miles per hour maximum speed – “speedwagon” my arse!
Here are some ads for long-out of business automobile makers: Wills Saint Claire, Willys Knight, Winton, and Stutz. Stutz produced luxury automobiles, and this ad is clearly aimed towards the Edwardian mother. The Winton ad is from 1915. The Willys Knight ads appear to be from the 1920s, the model 70 was produced in 1927. I am not sure when the Whippet was produced. There are several pages of ads for Willys Knight sedans and autos. The Wills Sainte Claire ad features its Canadian Goose logo and this page contains 2 scanned ads.
Here’s various ads for Studebaker cars from the 1920s, the Pierce-Arrow French Brougham, Rauch & Lang worm drive, and Reo 5th and 6th cars and sedans (from 1913).
I can see why the Studebaker is such a classic. The luxurious illustrated advertisement style is distinct. Well bred dogs to go with a well bred car. Stylish women. These early 1920s Studebaker ads are all about luxury.
Here are some old ad clippings for Jewett automobiles, Hudson cars, and Paige vehicles. “Enclosed comfort”, “Joyous pep”… There are two pages of Hudson car ads which include The Hudson 640 of 1915, the 7 passenger Hudson Six 54, and the Hudson sedan.
Here are 2 pages of ads for electric trucks from the early 1900s that were in that scrap book that my boyfriend’s dad dropped off a few weeks ago. I am guessing these are from the late teens or early 1920s? In the Detroit Electric Car ad, it looks like Santa Clause is sitting in the vehicle!
Advertisement for a Gibson Girl pyography pillow. This ad promises to send the buyer a Naan Plush Pillow Top in gold, tan, or light green, stamped with the Gibson girl design shown and ready for burning! This also has a special offer for a pyography kit for only $1.65.
Did you know that Charles Dana Gibson drew characterchures and cartoons? From these sketches, it seems that he was quite the observer of every day life in Victorian and Edwardian America.
Here are some more turn of the century advertisement scans that my boyfriend’s dad made. I’m not sure which old magazine he got these out of, but he left the CD on my desk while I was out yesterday.
These 8 turn of the century advertisements are in color and for brands still remembered today or barely forgotten:
Here are the last of the scans I made of the Gibson Girl prints from 1906. They’re captioned:
The Debutante
“A winning wave deserving note, is the tempestuous petticoat, a careless shoestring, in who’se tie I see a wild civility – do more bewitch me than when art, is too precise in every part.”
The Wall Flower
No Time for Politics
Here are three sketches by Charles Dana Gibson of lovely ladies playing musical instruments. A harpist, a cellist, and a fiddler. These prints are titled:
The Wearin of the Green – woman playing a harp
Then You’ll Remember Me – woman playing a cello
The Sweetest Story Ever Told – woman playing a violin
Here are the first four Gibson Girl prints from the portfolio “Twelve New Gibson Girls, hitherto unpublished” that I scanned for the Carondelet Historical Society as part of their efforts to digitalize their collection.
Here’s a newspaper clipping from 1966 about an 86 year old former Gibson Girl model, Mrs. Josephine Gibson Knowlton, the sister of Charles Dana Gibson. She was “the original Gibson Girl”.
I have no idea what South St. Louis pharmacy or drugstore is pictured here, but these pictures that I scanned are fascinating! You can see all the glass bottles and vials of medicine neatly on shelves behind the counter, and signs saying: “Frog in your throat? 10 cents – the Greatest Cough ??? on Earth”, Adams Black Jack Gum, Humphrey’s Specifics, Abbey’s ?? Salt… and more.
Here are 2 pictures of Seymour’s Regiment Band, from the early 1900s. Charles Seymour was a famed conductor and soloist in St. Louis at the time, and I wonder if this was the band he led.
Pictures of the 1911 Central Rowing Club and the Busiek’s BaseBall team of St. Louis! How fun. I think the picture of the Busieks Baseball team is probably from the early 30s, looking at it closer…
These pictures were labeled “Civil War or Spanish War Veterans”. They’re actually slides from the 1960s, when someone had tried to copy or preserve the originals. Pretty interesting to see the elderly soldiers standing in formation. I wonder what event this was for?
Here are pictures of firemen, a hose cart, and the Carondelet Heights Fire Association at the turn of the century.It looks like they’re showing off the new fire hose cart and maybe the fire hose, since the men are posed holding the hose unwound, on ladders against the next door building. The fire fighters are also shown acting like they’re pulling the fire cart, and there are no horses.
These pictures of a bakery shop had the note “c. 1917 or 1918” and the names of the husband and wife who owned it. I think it’s interesting to see how bakery shops were arranged, and there are pictures of the racks and “behind the counter” at this shop.