Database of 30 years of Adverts/Graphic Design
March 12, 2008 7:37 AM   Subscribe

The Gallery of Graphic Design has a huge collection of magazine print adverts from the 30s to the late 60s. The images are fairly large and organised/searchable by year, product, magazine and advertiser. [via]
posted by peacay (21 comments total) 60 users marked this as a favorite
 
There goes my afternoon.
Thank you, pea!
posted by Dizzy at 7:42 AM on March 12, 2008


This looks awesome, but the site is so slow it's timing out before I get any actual content.
posted by DU at 7:51 AM on March 12, 2008


Yeah, damn, I can't get anything past the top page to load, and even that top page took forever. WANT TO SEE!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 7:53 AM on March 12, 2008


Very cool idea, I'll bookmark this and hopefully it'll work later.
posted by pete0r at 8:52 AM on March 12, 2008


Very cool!
posted by zeoslap at 9:34 AM on March 12, 2008


Wow, everything is bigger in America
posted by zeoslap at 9:38 AM on March 12, 2008


"bigger in America" didn't load an image for me, but another tinfoil one did and check out this terrible layout.

SENSATIONAL FOOD
WRAP THAT YOU
BAKE AND
COOK IN TOO

Wrap that I?
posted by DU at 9:59 AM on March 12, 2008


Yes, wrap that, you! It's how you get your neck to be so long.
posted by echo target at 10:26 AM on March 12, 2008


Very cool, thanks. I had to turn off adblocker for the images to load, for some reason.
posted by Rumple at 10:27 AM on March 12, 2008


Pure aluminum
Foil in handy kitchen rolls
More meat, juicier!

Sensational Food.
Wrap that, you! Bake and cook in,
Too. Hugs: any shape.

(sorry)
posted by nzero at 10:35 AM on March 12, 2008


Oh yeah. There's nothing quite like vintage advertising that comes with a full size image link...yeah. That's the good stuff, by gum.
posted by redsparkler at 11:15 AM on March 12, 2008


Ditto having to turn off adblock. Odd.
posted by Grod at 11:21 AM on March 12, 2008


Or maybe not, nothing is loading for me now. :(
posted by Grod at 11:23 AM on March 12, 2008


Ooh, I have a wife that is going to love this. We frequently end up stopping so that she can take a picture of some piece of graphic design work that she likes and wants to pull apart later.

Having 30 some years worth of stuff to go through? I might not see her for days.
posted by quin at 1:16 PM on March 12, 2008


Oh. My.....
It's as if I just laid eyes on the original tablets for the Ten Commandments (sans Moses).

Thanks so much.
posted by shelliebb at 1:18 PM on March 12, 2008


Random clicking landed me on this wartime ad for Rau Fasteners. While I'm a little intrigued by Rau's exploitation of wartime imagery to shill its fasteners, I'm even more intrigued by Rau's apparent character logo in the bottom right corner. The scan is pretty low res but I can make out what seem to be several arms, one holding an axe and another holding what appears to be a scourge of some sort. Anyone want to help decipher?
posted by Gull City at 1:24 PM on March 12, 2008


The archilogism listing shows the many fascinating, or even poignant and moving, ways that English usage has changed.

Thanks for sharing this site, peacay!
posted by Stoatfarm at 1:41 PM on March 12, 2008


Thanks peacay ,

I was hoping I'd find an ad for 'Drano' that advertised its benefits of cleaning your frying pan [Honestly, I was stunned]. I saw it at an old paper show and wished I had bought it then. Where are the racist Aunt Jemima ads¿

I call this site skimpy and pc. Damn.////

but I'll take what I can get. sniff.

I think some of those headlines would be screamingly brill used today, frankly. You'd bloody well read it, that's for sure, as opposed to taking a pass and flipping the page. Now That's advertising.
posted by alicesshoe at 5:17 PM on March 12, 2008


This link will display a gallery of the Politically Incorrect ads in the archive. And yes, Aunt Jemima is well represented.

If this link takes too long to load, try this one instead. The ads will be fed to you 20 at-a-time. Just scroll to the right and click on the handy right arrow to get the next set.
posted by Mycroft Holmes at 7:43 PM on March 12, 2008


Oops ... not done, yet. Let's not forget about this class of stereotype!
posted by Mycroft Holmes at 7:49 PM on March 12, 2008


Yay, it's working now! Great site! Many thanks for posting this, peacay.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 10:55 PM on March 12, 2008


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