Some Vintage Advertisements of the Era and What Americans Paid in Taxes

The World Almanac was called The World Almanac because it was published by The New York World newspaper, not because it contained everything about the world. A version is still published every year even though the New York World has been gone for many years.

This edition was published in early 1929 when America was riding high. The stock market crash that caused the Great Depression in October was still months away.  The almanac covers the past events of 1928 and has data on thousands of items that are no longer covered in modern almanacs.

The first 70+ pages were advertisements. The rest, useful information.

Here are a few interesting things I found looking at my copy. (click on any photo to enlarge and click again for high resolution)

You need a coffin? The Springfield Metallic Casket Company of Springfield Ohio has many to choose from including “old reliable.” My favorite part is that they claim they are the best on the market at insuring a dry burial and are guaranteed 50 years. How many family members checked on the veracity of that claim after their loved one passed away? In 1977 do you think anyone said, “Dig up Aunt Clara and see if she’s dry.”?

(The linked web site above has great photos of the now abandoned factory.)

People today complain about the high cost of saving for a college education.  21 cents a day sounds like a reasonable sum to sock away. I wonder how the people who invested in  Investors Syndicate fared during the Great Depression? They are still in business today under the name Ameriprise.

I’ve been to lots of flea markets and garage sales and still have not come across a device like this nose shaper. Or maybe I have and I thought it was a slingshot or a baby’s jockstrap.  Model 25 is displayed here.  Did M. Trilety, the Pioneer Nose Shaping Specialist of Binghamton, New York, actually have 24 other models?

There were a lot of fascinating stories and great charts but I chose to show only this one.  Net Income by Classes and Taxes.  This is for the year 1927. Relatively very few tax returns were filed.  But look at where the great majority of Americans landed in income class. Under $5,000.  Only 283 returns were filed with an income class of $1 million dollars or more. A million dollars in 1927 would probably be around $15 million in 2011. Even so, only 10 returns were filed for income of $5 million or more.  I’m sure the wealthy were figuring out ways to hide income in the 1920’s just as they do today.