Top of page

Featured Advertisement: Shop Early and Make it Something Electrical

Share this post:

In July 2013 we published a post that featured an advertisement from the New York Edison Company. In it were a series of stylized characters doing a number of activities illustrating the usefulness of electricity. It turns out this was just one of many advertisements over several years that used similar illustrations. The image in today’s post is another from that advertising campaign. It is from the 1916 Christmas shopping season and provides a few examples of great electrical gifts like sewing machines, coffee makers, lamps, hair curlers, etc. A similar advertisement from 1912 was even more helpful because it included locations where shoppers could purchase items.

A lot has changed since that ad ran. Unlike shoppers from 1916 who were still discovering the practical gadgets that used electricity, I can’t imagine that today’s shoppers ever think about electricity when buying gifts.

New-York Tribune. (New York [N.Y.]), 13 Dec. 1916. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
New-York Tribune. (New York [N.Y.]), 13 Dec. 1916. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030214/1916-12-13/ed-1/seq-9/

Comments

  1. But the latest gadgets are still favorite Christmas gifts, so we’ve really just moved from electricity to electronics!

Add a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *