It’s been a while since I thumbed through my old Architectural Forum issues for hilarious (yet insightful) ads for architectural and interior building products. This time I grabbed the October 1940 issue and sorted through the ads looking for anything that made me shift in my chair a little bit. As it turns out, almost every ad had something to offer, but these were some of the best. I hope you enjoy them just like I did – with one hand over an agape mouth and the other clutching at a pearl choker necklace.
Reminder – all of these ads can be clicked in order to enlarge the image so if you want to really get in there and read and study them – knock yourself out.
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Remember, 3 Butts to a Door
Sure, it’s 3 butts to a door but it takes 4 butts to party…
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Sunchek Blinds launder easier than curtains. Simply “tubbing” them in warm Lux or Ivory Flakes – metal parts and all – then rehanging at the window to dry, restores their natural beauty and freshness.
I love that they used the words “tubbing” and “freshness“. In my mind, “tubbing” sounds more like a fraternity hazing experience than anything associated with beauty and freshness.
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We know how you’ve felt about it and we, too, have done some tossing and turning
Let’s see … some dude laying in bed, it looks like he has “pitched a tent”, and is tossing and turning while he’s thinking about a dozen men calling on him … not that there’s anything wrong with that.
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When you realize that the pitch and gravel roof not only has greater resistance to wind damage, but also greater resistance to sun damage, to water damage, to hail damage, to fire damage …
But apprantly it has no resistance to “googly-eye” damage
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Workers have slowed up! Production has bogged down! Morale is low! Costs are high! And it’s all the fault of Simon Degree … the silent saboteur of production and profits.
Let’s see … handlebar moustache – check. Cowboy hat – check. Whip (for impacting the workers) - check. Uhm, pretty sure that Simon Degree was modeled after historical caricature from around 1860, …. hmmmm – I just can’t quite put my finger on it. I could probably figure it out except I’m distracted by those fancy boots he’s wearing. They look a little too fancy for someone who a whip cracker.
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No icy floors in our house!
Couldn’t they have rotated that baby just a little bit more so he could have been spared a life of therapy and a diet of canned beans and antidepressants? No?
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Today Mrs. America has to be sold, too, and she’s far more interested in operating equipment than she used to be.
Yes, we get it – snake oil salesman, a huckster peddling Dr.Popper’s fix all linament juice … but that is a sporty coat he’s got on. The cane is a nice touch – paints a fuller picture.
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No fooling! … Those glass block partitions go up faster’n they can make vice presidents.
Nothing says glass blocks are classy like tall thin blonde’s, bald servant’s carrying cocktails on a platter, and an art deco hand rail.
I hope you have enjoyed another installment of really silly ads from a long time ago. I know I have.
Cheers.
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So it’s time for another round of ads from the Architectural Forum circa 1939 and 1940 but this time I am focusing on Kitchen and Bath ads. Other than white lead ads, kitchen and bath products take up more than their fair share of advertising space in these old Forum magazines. I understand that times were different and the roles of men and women were defined somewhat differently than they are today but I can help but confess that I was surprised at how gender specific these ads were.
Hope you enjoy them the same why I did – with one eyebrow raised.
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The architect specifies it, the builder installs it, the client enjoys it. All agree … Nairn Wall Linoleum is the most modern and ideal material for walls.
All I can think of is – Wow! That is a lot of linoleum!! It’s on the floors, it’s on the walls, it’s the back splash – I mean, everywhere … The last time I had a client request linoleum on the walls was, hmmm, let me see … there was that one time … no, .. wait – that wasn’t linoleum. What about that … nope, not then either. Oh yeah, I’ve never had someone ask for linoleum on the walls, that’s right… Maybe I should start suggesting it? I mean, look how happy that woman is up there – she dancing and shaking her frying pan around! (or maybe she’s winding it up to throw it at someone’s head…)
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There is a big difference in the quality of bathroom cabinets; but for only a few dollars more than the cost of a cheap, tinny cabinet fitted with a shock mirror, you can equip any bathroom with a beautiful MIAMI cabinet.
Uh-huh … what’s a shock mirror?
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Roomier bathing. Flatter bottom for safety. Two inches lower. PLUS a flat front rim inches wider providing a comfortable seat. Here’s luxury bathing for the modest home
Those do all sound pretty good – that tub, with the design features they list, is a standard now. The good stuff indeed doesn’t ever change.
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Women expect the modern kitchen to be efficient and to have all the latest equipment. But it’s up to you to give it the dash of charm that adds “heart appeal.”
You heard it here Mr. Men, in order to give women what they want, you are going to have to give them the brilliant sparkle of stainless steel along with colorful porcelain enamel. Just look how happy you will make your woman …
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You can have exactly what you wish whether for a luxurious or a modest establishment.
For the most part, it’s not like anymore – you have your high end manufacturer’s lines and then you have modest manufacturer’s lines. In this case, you can get installed America’s #1 refrigerator, the revolutionary Frigidaire “Cold-Wall” refrigerator for $167.
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How many kitchens have you planned? Curtis has helped over 50,000 American Housewives plan their kitchens.
WOW! so 50,000 kitchens huh? Scoreboard on me, I’ve only done like 60 (sad face). So who is this Curtis Kitchens? … he sure looks like he’s have a good laugh at someone else’s kitchen drawings. So if you do the math, 50,000 kitchens works out to 1 a day for 136 years – that’s just crazy talk.
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I hope you have enjoyed another installment of really old and funny ads from a long time ago. I know I have.
Cheers.
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