The Camera that won’t let you Miss! Kodak Reflect Camera – 1948

Yes, it’s hard to believe that there was a day, not so long ago, when we actually had to take pictures with film and have that film sent off to be developed. Back in these days a camera was very much just a box with a lens and a shutter. This little number boasts photos almost 3 inches wide on a side!

1948 Kodak

And it’s a steal at $120!

Oh, and as previously stated I have all the originals if anyone is interested.

Burroughs Adding Machines – 1911

It’s hard to believe just how far we’ve come in 100 years. In this ad from 1911, we see the description of a state-of-the-art device that did nothing but simple addition and subtraction. These all-mechanical beasts were the Excel spreadsheets of their day. “No other writing machine shows at a glance the item you are writing, the figures you have written and the total as it accumulates” the text brags. Note too the lever which must be pulled after each entry.

Burroughs Adding Machines - 1911 (Click the picture to view or download a higher resolution version)

What is more interesting is the image given by the man operating it. This burly type is more suited for the forest than the office. Perhaps he’s the minimum physical specimen required to move this “compact, handy, and easily carried about” device from room to room.

PS: To those of you who may be wondering, I have the original ads for this and all of my other postings available for sale or trade. They make great framed art gifts. Drop me a line if you’re interested.

1937 Lincoln Zephyr V-12

The Zephry V-12 is a revolutionary vehicle! Owners consistently report getting 14-18 miles to the gallon!

1937 Lincoln Zephyr

They’re on a Mission from God – The Blues Brothers [1980]

Coming June 20th to a Theatre near you, The Blues Brothers! Rated R, I’m always amused to note because of some profanity. I wonder what rating it would earn in today’s profanity-filled world?

The Blues Brothers

In a few words though, best movie EVER and music to die for.

The Boob Tube – RCA Televisions, 1965

As I sit here with my laptop computer and my iPhone next to me and my Kindle in the other room that can all show me video with crystal clarity, it’s hard to think that there was a time, not all that long ago, when all that was fairly complicated. Do you think that if you’d told people in 1965 that some day their TV would stream magically through the air that they would have believed you?

The Compact Option

For those wanting really high fidelity, you have the option of the console model. The ad is worth a closer look. Click to view the circuit board size comparison with various satellites. They’re very clearly bragging that their television set has a circuit board that’s similar in size (and design) with those in use by NASA in 1965!

The TV wall

Reach out and Touch Someone – Bell System [1979]

Well here it is the day before Christmas and I don’t know about you but to me nothing says “Holidays” like creepy clowns making long-distance phone calls. So harken back to the days when phones had cords and slogans like “Reach out and Touch Someone” didn’t have really uncomfortable subtexts.

 

Reach out and Touch Someone (Click to view or download full-size)

Select your Victrola for Christmas [1919]

In honor of the upcoming holiday, we bring you a Christmas suggestion from nearly 100 years ago.

1919 RCA Victrola

For the record, this would be the best Christmas gift EVER! Even all this time later.

You’re out of cash. And out of town. Master Charge [1973]

It’s hard to imagine, I suspect, a time when you couldn’t just wave a bit of plastic at Wal-Mart and they’d give you anything in the store.  This 1973 ad for Master Charge is a relic of a by-gone era…

1973 Master Charge

Ad Text:

Relax – You’ve got Master Charge
Vacation? Business trip? Whenever you travel, and you need money, you can get it with your Master Charge card. it’s good for cash at over 14,000 banking offices across the U.S. And, if you like, you can stretch out your payments.

It’s amazing to think that today there are probably 14,000 places in Indiana alone that will take my Visa card.  What a long way we’ve come in almost 40 years.  OK.  Fine.  It’s not all that impressive progress… but it is progress… or IS it….?

Reclaim your White Teeth. Klenzo Dental Cream 1919

I don’t mind saying that this kid… is WAY too happy to be brushing his teeth.  There must be something in there besides simple tooth powder.

 

Klenzo Dental Creme 1919

Ad Text:

They ought to be white and gleaming. They ought to make your smile a joy. For white teeth are natural — darkened, discolored teeth are unnatural.
Get back your natural right by starting today to clean your teeth with Klenzo Dental Creme – the cream that cleans, polishes and restores the enamel of the teeth to its natural whiteness, making it resist decay.
Klenzo is a snow-white dental creme, made by a formula unlike any other dentrifice. Its snowy foam reaches the crevices of the teeth, dissolving foreign deposits and polishing the enamel clean.
And all the while, it imparts a wonderful refreshing sensation which is evidence that it is doing its work – that Cool, Clean, Klenzo Feeling.
Get a tube today at the nearest Rexall Store. And note that the new tube of Klenzo – at the same old price – contains more for your money.
If your teeth do not show a marked improvement after using it ten days, the druggist will refund your money.

I’m sold!

Change the way your hair looks. Without cutting it. Brylcreem [1973]

Sometimes I like to post these and try to add a bit of random dry humor just to spice things up a bit. This time (and if you’re lucky, many times to follow) I’m not really feeling like I need to say much of anything. The early-70s hair stylings really do speak for themselves.

1973 Brylcreem

Ad Text:

Side Part
Side hair is groomed under and towards your cheek. Top hair goes to the side then back away from your face. If your hair has a mind of its own, use a spray of Brylcreem Soft Hair Dry Spray with Protein before you start blow-drying. It does two important things for longer hair: conditions and controls. Spray it on, then massage it into your hair and scalp. The protein penetrates your hair shafts, helping to protect your hair from the parching effect of blow-drying. And the styling control of Soft Hair will help you get your hair going where you want it. And keep it there.

No Part
If you can’t be bothered with blow-drying or you’d like to look more mature, try this. Spray your towel-dried hair with Soft Hair Dry Spray with Protein and massage it in. This puts styling control where you need it: down deep in your hair. Then, with your brush, groom all your hair straight back against your head. You’ve got a forehead again. Earlobes too. Flip the hair at your neck out and up. Use the brush at the crown to lift your hair and turn it under. This gives a little extra height where you may need it. Another spritz of Soft Hair where your natural part may be trying to appear will help prevent it from doing so.

Center Part
The last time you parted your hair on the side it either fell in your food or made you look lopsided. Try a center part instead. With your hot-comb or blow-dryer, turn your hair forward and under on either side of the part. Starting from the part, your hair should go away from your forehead, towards your cheek and back to your ear. An S-shape. This makes your hair flip out at the bottom. From the end of the part down the back of your head all hair goes up and under for fullness. At the very bottom make the ends flip by turning them up. And don’t forget Soft Hair Dry Spray with Protein. Its conditioners will counteract the effects of a hot-come or blow-dryer. And it’ll control your hair while keeping it healthy-looking. After all, if your hair is dull and dried out, all the styling in the world won’t help the way you look. That’s why, no matter what style you decide on, we’ve got a product that will help you.

Alright, all that fun out of the way, would any of you gals out there date a man with such a do? Clearly it worked for guys at one point but the style of this bygone era is simply too befuddling to behold.

Further, I get the sense that during the third section there that describes the ‘Center Part’ they got to the end of the instructions and realized suddenly that they’d forgotten to actually sell the product. The bit about “Soft Hair Dry Spray with Protein” (or SHaDSP for short) seems tacked on as if the writer just came to the realization after crafting his text that “oh shit! I still have a product I need to sell!” So lost in his textual reverie that he forgot the whole meaning of his writerly existence.