1950's Print Advertisements

October 13, 2006 5:29 PM

1950's US Print Advertisements Click thumbnails for larger versions. via.
posted by jonson (22 comments total)

heeeeere's chucky
posted by pyramid termite at 5:56 PM on October 13, 2006

Actually, the entire Plan 59 site is pretty awesome if you like mid century design.
posted by jonson at 6:02 PM on October 13, 2006

Thanks for that link, jonson - I really dig mid-century modern design.

What's interesting to me is that these pictures are all devoid of context, for the most part. There's no real branding to be seen. Do these pieces stand better on their own as art when divorced from their "patron"? These are some fantastic examples of the state of the art in advertising for their day, but I don't find any of them more compelling than any modern advertising, except in contrast to how the craft has changed.
posted by TheNewWazoo at 6:07 PM on October 13, 2006

Double? Or just a close call?
posted by mds35 at 6:27 PM on October 13, 2006

Like this could ever happen.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 6:36 PM on October 13, 2006

Some are '30s and '40s ads, too.

Also, lots of these have the most beautiful colors that I think may have been helped by the scanner/uploader -- I'm not sure the originals would be as vibrant as some of these are.
posted by booksandlibretti at 6:50 PM on October 13, 2006

Hmm. I wonder if booksandlibretti is on to something. Compare these to stuff on other sites.
posted by I Am Not a Lobster at 7:12 PM on October 13, 2006 [1 favorite]

Classic mefi goodness. Thanks jonson.
posted by caddis at 7:31 PM on October 13, 2006

Unmitigated awesome.
posted by JekPorkins at 7:53 PM on October 13, 2006

I love these. Prime tattoo material :)
posted by Kickstart70 at 7:56 PM on October 13, 2006

Wow! Some of these are quite surreal!

Thanks!
posted by trip and a half at 7:57 PM on October 13, 2006

More ads (from the 40's through the 90's) at AdFlip!.
posted by cenoxo at 10:34 PM on October 13, 2006

Uhhhh.
posted by mek at 2:31 AM on October 14, 2006

It's always fun to look at 50's stuff: such bizarre socio-cultural imagery. As was the norm at the time, most of the ads are illustrations, but I found this bit of photo retouching/collage interesting. Thanks for the post, jonson.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 3:34 AM on October 14, 2006

lots of these have the most beautiful colors that I think may have been helped by the scanner/uploader -- I'm not sure the originals would be as vibrant as some of these are.

Colors on computer screens often seem more vibrant than colors in printed media: with a computer you're looking at light, after all. Also, anything you see today from the 50's (say, these kinds of ads in their original magazines) is old and may well have faded a bit. That said, I wouldn't be surprised if the site designer has amped the colors a bit here and there in Photoshop or whatever.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 3:45 AM on October 14, 2006

One of my favorite places on the internet. It used to be known as Ephemera Now, so I know we've talked about it before.

I bought a few of these as wall art. David has a large printer and a variety of paper options, and the ones I bought turned out great: this one and this one. He will add any image from the site if it's not already on the "Buy Prints" section.
posted by Sweetie Darling at 4:22 AM on October 14, 2006

bee-yoo-tee-ful
posted by 3.2.3 at 7:45 AM on October 14, 2006

I wish my kids were this excited about chicken pot pie. Very cool post.
posted by thekilgore at 8:08 AM on October 14, 2006

No actual kids were ever that exited about chicken pot pie.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 8:24 AM on October 14, 2006

The kid hasn't realized yet that his dad grabbed the chicken pot pie. He still thinks he's getting ice cream.
posted by I Am Not a Lobster at 10:29 AM on October 14, 2006

The kid is stored in the next compartment of the freezer. But the man decided to eat the chicken pot pie instead.
posted by pracowity at 12:51 PM on October 14, 2006

I think this explains everything:


posted by jdfalk at 8:03 PM on October 14, 2006