JB's Warehouse & Curio Emporium

 Waterloo Chronicle-Telegraph, December 23, 1920. Click on image for larger version. There's a lot of finger-pointing and fist-shaking going on in this ad. These elements are not unusual in early 20th century newspaper advertising, especially appeals to consumers to keep buyers busy. Store ledgers won't stand for passive purchasers.  Using the Bank of Canada's inflation calculator, that free car fare for "buyesr" would require the equivalent of a $900 purchase today. The radius for that offer may have stretched out to Hamilton, Harriston, Orangeville, and Simcoe.   A few details about J. Letter & Son, from the Waterloo Historical Society Journal : The J. Letter and Son furniture store opened November 28, 1907, on what was later 38, now 40 King Street South, beside the railroad tracks. An attached undertaking business started a few months later on July 1, 1908. John's son Norman ran the businesses with his father. Norman took over the business after his fat...

951: VINTAGE SATURDAY NIGHT AD OF THE DAY (Yeah, it's been a crazy week here, hence the large number of "vintage ad" posts recently. While prepping for future posts and such, may as well put the finishing touches on a couple of entries that have sat in draft limbo for awhile). Every morning on my walk to work, I cross Yonge in front of The Art Shoppe . I've never gone in, despite the well-arranged displays in the front windows (some good, some bizarre - metallic greyhounds?), probably due to my furniture price range being limited to IKEA. Note the pyramid pictured, which I'm guessing plays into the "abstract mystery usually associated with office planning". Pyramid power reached its height in Toronto during the Maple Leafs' 1976 playoff run, when coach Red Kelly placed pyramids around the dressing room and under the bench, evidently as a confidence booster and a means to distract the team from the latest outbursts from irascible owner Har...