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Category: Advertising

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About Those Ubiquitous Castoria Ads

Posted by: Ellen Terrell

If you have spent any time looking at old newspapers, you have likely run across ads for all sorts of patent medicines.   But there was one – Castoria – that really stands out. The history of this product dates back to patent 77,758 A issued to Dr. Samuel Pitcher on May 12, 1868, and was …

Silver stylized owl with radiant circles around its head, surrounded by a gold frame

Featured Advertisement: Cracker Jack

Posted by: Yvonne Dooley

On this day in 1918 the featured Cracker Jack ad appeared in Washington, D.C.’s Evening Star suggesting folks ship the treat to troops overseas for Thanksgiving. The fine print in the middle of the ad states: Cracker Jack is a favorite with soldiers and sailors everywhere. They learned to love it before the war, and …

Silver stylized owl with radiant circles around its head, surrounded by a gold frame

Featured (Spooky) Advertisement: Cafe Republique

Posted by: Ellen Terrell

While I have yet to figure out a good business-themed post for Halloween, I did find this spooky 1910 advertisement for Café Republique at 15th and F NW Streets in Washington, D.C. which was not too far from the White House. Café Republique opened in September 1910 and seems to have been a fairly nice …

Silver stylized owl with radiant circles around its head, surrounded by a gold frame

Seeing American Enterprise at the Smithsonian

Posted by: Ellen Terrell

A new exhibit at the Smithsonian – American Enterprise in the Innovation wing of the National Museum of American History – is telling the history of American business and innovation.   According to the Smithsonian, this exhibit “chronicles the tumultuous interaction of capitalism and democracy that resulted in the continual remaking of American business–and American life.” …

Cover from How Phyllis Grew Thin show

Battling with the Scale: A Look Back at Weight Loss Trends in the U.S.

Posted by: Jennifer Harbster

As we enter this new year, many of us have made resolutions to spend more time with family, to volunteer, perhaps to stop smoking, and of course, to get fit and lose weight. The widespread desire to become healthier and shed those extra pounds is met with a plethora of weight loss products, programs, and …