JB's Warehouse & Curio Emporium

To end a month of daily vintage ads, two selections from a mid-1950s issue of Life . The first shows how a generation was reared to be corporate shills—we're not sure if there a secret Minute Maid surveillance vehicle sent around the country to check up on happy lemonade sellers who purchased this kit to verify that they were selling Minute Maid and only Minute Maid. Those who substituted another brand were subjected to a lecture on how they betrayed the trust of the company who provided these wonderful decorations and costumes and how it wasn't honest to display Minute Maid's name when selling, say, Jane Parker lemonade. Also note the attitudes of the era in full effect, as Sister is merely the assistant, seen serving (but not drinking) the pink lemonade. Awww. At least the product from the lemonade stand looks refreshing. Now I have nothing against serving certain types of soup cold—a bowl of fresh gazpacho is refreshing in the summer, while dessert soups like ...

When you need a friend, Lonesome Charlie is there. Nothing suits a romantic ballad in a grassy field or a sunset stroll than a cheap fruit-flavoured wine beverage. All that's missing is easier-than-easy listening music. Source: 1978 Blue Jays Scorebook Magazine  

But wait, there's more! For a limited time, we'll toss in a set of sanding discs that allow you to use the Spot Reducer for simple household tasks like finishing furniture! Considering that this magazine is titled For Men Only , I'm guessing this product was meant to be purchased as a gift for the little lady, or else it wasn't considered macho enough to show a man using this product apart from its untapped potential as a workshop tool. For Men Only was one of Martin Goodman's stable of men's adventure magazines that flourished from the early 1950s through mid-1970s. Though the contents page indicates this issue was put out by Canam Publishers (one of about six million publishing house names Goodman operated under), this issue bears the Atlas distribution logo that also marked Goodman's comic book line, which evolved into Marvel Comics. Stories tend toward the first person and are distinguished by sensationalistic titles and gory subheads. These ma...

Never mind Je-e-e-rry's prowess on the court...the critical question raised by this ad is whether a hearty bowl of Quaker Oats tastes better when served in English China. Je-e-e-rry doesn't care, though he is starting to wonder if his constant yelling of "oh boy!" while downing a bowl is a side effect of the "ultra violet rays" his breakfast was exposed to. Source: The Globe , March 1, 1934 

This ad appeared in Tiger scorebooks for several years, providing fans with all they needed to watch out for when downing hot dogs. Ball Park Franks were developed for the Tigers by a local meat packer in the late 1950s and continue to be sold at games, even if they no longer promise to plump when you cook them—there's no trace of a slogan I often heard during childhood on Ball Park's website . Could the expansive quality of hot dogs no longer be an attractive quality? The 1976 edition of the Tigers climbed out of the American League East basement after two consecutive last place finishes, though they still stunk (74 wins, 87 losses). The bright spot was rookie pitcher Mark Fidrych , who passed away two weeks ago . Gaining national attention for talking to the ball and other antics, Fidrych's 19-9 record earned him Rookie of the Year honours. Source: 1976 Detroit Tigers Scorebook - JB CORRECTION : I goofed. The slogan is in the title bar of the website.

Under all of the oddball nicknames for these jobs lie marketing men...or so CN would have had you believe in this series of late 1960s advertisements. Sorry, I can't top those names. The only thing I can come up with at the moment is that the car toad looks more like a sour puss. Sources: Time , September 20, 1968, November 1, 1968 and November 8, 1968 

The unmistakable art of Jack Davis highlights today's ad pick. Contrast the depiction of the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem with the off-kilter characters around them that walked out of Davis casting central. Seeing Davis's work is often comforting, thanks to the toxic amount of Mad books and magazines I read in my teens, along with all of the covers, movie posters and advertisements he has worked on through the years. A sidebar depicted other Columbia releases of the time, including albums from Johnny Cash ( Orange Blossom Special ) and Thelonious Monk ( Monk ). Here's a clip of the group performing on The Ed Sullivan Show around the time this ad would have appeared on newsstands in 1965. Also in this issue: The first excerpt of Ian Fleming's The Man With the Golden Gun . Fleming had promised Playboy the pre-publication serialization rights shortly before his death in August 1964, having been satisfied with the magazine's previous handling of...

Before reading this post, check out this week's Historicist piece on the Princess Theatre . From the week the Princess reopened in October 1917, an early musical from Jerome Kern ( Show Boat ) and P.G. Wodehouse (the "Jeeves and Wooster" novels) while both were involved in creating small-scale shows for the Princess Theatre in New York. Eighty-seven years passed before Have a Heart saw its next New York production . After that came a return to the Princess by Henry Miller (the actor, not the controversial author ), who had starred in the production that ran when fire destroyed the original building in 1915, Daddy Long-Legs . A random ad pulled from 1929, just over a year before the Princess closed for good, featuring two productions from England. The Jade God ran just under 100 performances on Broadway that year, while this version of Humpty Dumpty premiered a year earlier in the UK. Sources: The Toronto Daily Star , October 6, 1917 and August 31, 1929 

Oops... Question: has the hapless mechanic fallen back far enough to avoid receiving an injection of grease in his leg? Source: The Motor , March 1936 

A trio of delights from the Campbell's Soup test kitchen. The "frosting" on the meat loaf looks like lard as much as the fluffy potatoes that are supposed to be in it. The mini loaf appears to be a seasoned burger placed on top of spaghetti but not, alas, all covered in cheese. The latter is reserved for the aptly named "crowning glory" of this ad—a dish that resembles a meat-based bundt cake with cheddary frosting. Source: Good Housekeeping , August 1969 - JB

If you have thirty-one more suggestions, let us know. Source: The New Yorker , November 13, 1971

A few symbols from the new inclusive playground at Toddy Jones Park in Amherstburg. Several family members took a good look around while on a stroll around town on Good Friday, when we tested the heavy-duty swings and play sets designed for children with special needs. I couldn't stop bouncing on the cork-like surface under the equipment. The bottom panels don't lie, even if you're a few decades older than the intended audience. Photo taken April 10, 2009

News this morning that Future Shop will donate $50,000 to the Toronto District School Board to upgrade the computer labs in two high schools . The catches? The schools must be within seven kilometres of a Future Shop store and the labs will be painted using the chain's grey/red colour scheme . While it appears the electronics chain's conditions extend to decor and potential naming rights for the lab, one wonders how far they could go... TEACHER: Morning class. Hope you're all ready to dive into the exciting world of building web sites today in the Future Leaders Tech Lab (TM). Before I can begin, there are a few matters to take care of, which are sponsored by Future Shop...get it first! Here to provide some vital information is ****** from the local Future Shop. (enter a Future Shop employee) FS EMPLOYEE: Good morning class! My name is ****** and I'm here to answer any questions you may have about products at Future Shop. I can let you know that we have HP compute...

Today, a few tips on sandwich making from Canada Packers that may come in handy when you need to figure out how to use any leftover roast beast from Easter or feel like throwing something meat-like other than ham or turkey between slices of bread (apologies to the vegetarians in the audience). The Bologna "Aloha" doesn't come as a shock, as this was the heyday of adding pineapple to anything. Even the Golden Arches succumbed to pineapple sandwich mania in the early 1960s with the short-lived Hula Burger (pineapple and process cheese on a bun). Source: Chatelaine , July 1970 - JB

Now here's an intriguing idea. Drop your car off at the garage, get free use of a bicycle until the car is ready. Under the circumstances I usually take my car in for work (drop off at lunch hour, pick up after work), a bike ride back and forth would beat cranky passengers and sardine can conditions on the bus. Theft would probably be the downfall of any such program. Source: The Sunday Times Magazine , May 24, 1970 - JB

Based on today's ad and one posted last week , I'm coming to the conclusion that 1945 was a golden year for humourous usage of cows in automotive part manufacturer ads. Nothing like a bug-eyed bovine to convince buyers to try out new axles! United States News published its first issue in 1933. Its emphasis was on hard news or, as the front cover of the issue today's ad was drawn from proclaimed, "the only magazine devoted entirely to reporting, interpreting and forecasting the news of national affairs." International news was left to its sister publication, World Report. The two magazines merged in 1948 and continue to this day as U.S. News and World Report . More on the contents in a future post. Source: United States News , September 14, 1945 - JB

The answer: a man who makes a wonderful survey statistic. Never mind if he likes jazz, in-depth interviews, cartoons or boobs. The success of Playboy in the late 1950s and through the 1960s made a parody almost inevitable... ...as with this take from the "usual gang of idiots," who take deadly aim at the social status some followers of the "Playboy Philosophy" hoped to achieve. The fun continued inside, with an issue of Playkid (a junior version to prepare youngsters for the adult world). This parody included a spread on hip fashions for sophisticated fourth graders (space helmets from Woolworth's and worn-out Keds) and the Playmate of the Month, the Coppertone Girl . Sources: Mad #61, March 1961 and Playboy , August 1967 - JB

It's opening day for the Tigers and Blue Jays, who will battle it out at the Skydo...Rogers Centre tonight. Cue a baseball-themed ad as today's pick. It's safe to say that there were baseball nuts on both sides of my family. Aunt Gladys was a decent player in her youth and followed the Tigers closely for years. Dad could rattle off the names of anyone who played for the Toronto Maple Leafs AAA team in the 1950s. During my childhood, he attended two Tiger games a year—one with his fellow teachers and one with me. Our usual pattern was to take a special tunnel bus from Windsor to Tiger Stadium, grab a handful of programs and yearbooks, pray our seats weren't one of the infamous obstructed views (which other family members were the lucky winners of one year) and wolf down as much junk food as possible. This always included a thick, steaming hot dog that the grizzled sellers would slather a thick layer of mustard with a wooden stick that looked like a tongue depressor. ...

At last...the often unacknowledged correlation between child-eating cows and faulty automotive/farm machinery parts! While the gag writer thought it might be cute to have Bessie scare this pair of kiddie campers, perhaps the cow was seeking revenge for the family member who became the pair of shoes on the ground. This proves yet again that anything could be used to pitch war bonds in times of crisis. Source: Country Gentleman , July 1945