Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Friday, October 12, 2012
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Friday, September 14, 2012
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Friday, August 24, 2012
Beauty AND Stamina from Willys....
A Willys Overland was almost my first car. The allure of the roadster hit me and I wound up with a Sunbeam Alpine instead.
April 1953 ad in LIFE
Full size scan is here
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Saturday, August 11, 2012
1955 Buick
This Buick is "a supreme thrill, and a joy, and a blessing." Really? One thing you have to say about these old Buicks. They introduced a design feature that still captivates the simple-minded; the fake ports on the side. I must admit that when I was 12 I looked through the JC Whitney catalog and envisioned all the things I would 'customize' my future car with. From stick-on holes like the Buick's, to fender skirts, spotlights, fake lake pipes, windshield visors, the works!
March 1955 ad in LIFE
Full size scan is here
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Friday, July 27, 2012
The car that anticipated the national defense situation
Hey flatfoot, don't look now but I think that priest is tryin' to jimmy the trunk on that $810 beauty.
October 1941 ad in LIFE
Original full-size scan is here
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
New "swept-back" style!
Drive an illustration today! People may not be to scale, or may be midgets sitting on phonebooks.
July 1952 ad in LIFE
Original full-size scan is here
"Pilot to wife..."
He's fighting "...to keep America a land of individual freedom!" He must be really depressed, if still around these days, to see how little is left of the freedom he fought for.
February 1944 ad in LIFE
Original full-size scan is here
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Big Chief of the Nickel Tribe
That's right kids, at one time you could get twenty candy bars for one dollar. The Indian seems to be enjoying his.
Original (full-size) image is here
February 1955 ad in LIFE
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Cruise the world in a flying hotel, or not
Somehow, this never really took off. Even though the public was assured that the thing wouldn't go all Hindenburg on 'em.
Original (full-size) image is here
May 1945 ad in LIFE
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Spark Plugs: Before & After
Before:
That's right, spark plug manufacturers used to place full-page ads in weekly magazines in an effort to get you to use their fume igniters. In those days the engine compartments in vehicles were virtually empty compared to today's emmissions strangled cars. You could SEE the spark plugs and get to them easily, in most cases, for changing. What a concept!
The 'experimental' aspect of the Parisienne pictured must have been, 'How big of a blind spot can we build into this thing?'
The scans I post are not straight out of the flatbed. They get some attention in Photoshop to remove the yellowing that comes with age in these magazine ads. So today I'm showing the 'before and after' versions of this ad from May of 1953.
After:
Original (full-size) image is here
May 1953 ad in LIFE
Monday, July 16, 2012
Lurch on the farm
Bet you didn't know that before he went to work for the Addams family, Lurch was a tobacco farmer. And even with that tiny head, his hat is still too small.
May 1945 ad in LIFE
Original (full-size) image is here
Pappy O'Daniel drivin' in style
If you're under 50 years old there's a good chance you've never driven a car without power steering. Man, the fun you missed! Wrestling a ton and a half of steel land yacht around by the power of your own two arms was such a blast. And a great workout as well!
Most of the owner/drivers pictured in these old car ads are either 'average joe' types for lower priced family sedans, young professional types for the more upscale sporty coupes and convertibles, or tuxedo wearing distinguished gents with jewel-bedecked princesses on their arms for the luxury models. (see future posts for examples). This ad, however, has some boss hawg looking dude enjoying his power steering and saving wear and tear on his fat-encrusted heart. I love it!
July 1952 as in LIFE
Original (full-size) image is here
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Mitt steals a beach umbrella
This is one of the first ads I scanned when I was going through some old LIFE magazines. I didn't even take the time to note the issue on this one. I know it's from the summer 1955. As with most of the ads I scan, I just really like the illustrations. They really knew how to make that brew look good.
Full size original image is here
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