10 Advertisements From Winter Issues of The New Yorker In 1949

We’ve done this before looking at the advertising that appeared in The New Yorker magazine and decided to do it again. These ads appeared in the December 3, 10 & 17, 1949 issues of the magazine.

The most noticeable difference between these vintage ads from only 67 years ago and ads today is that almost every ad was for a service or product made in the United States. The few ads that were not for U.S. products, typically were for luxury products from France, Great Britain or Italy. Today go into any retail store and pick up almost any item and look for where it was made. Nineteen times out of twenty it will be made overseas, usually in China and most likely of inferior quality.

Post World War II marked the beginning of the end of the luxurious era of train travel. The Union Pacific Railroad offered west coast travel on their Streamliners to and from Chicago. By the 1950s railroads would be permanently overtaken by airlines for long distance travel.

Before the internet if you needed some information about a subject you could look it up yourself or you could call the New York Public Library information desk. The library still offers this service. But there were also paid services for “sophisticated New Yorkers” like this one called Facts on Dial, Inc..

You could call Facts on Dial with almost any question and the researchers would have your answer “within minutes, sometimes even seconds.” In 1950 Facts on Dial was sued by Facts on File for unfair competition and trademark infringement. That was the end of Facts on Dial. If you call the number for Facts on Dial now, MU6-7800, ironically, a law firm answers.

Amelia Earhart Luggage? Do you want your luggage to have the same fate as Amelia Earhart? Why a luggage company would name themselves after a pilot who vanished without a trace would seem bizarre. But the brand was launched in the 1930s by Orenstein Trunk of Newark N.J. when Amelia was the queen of the skies and very much alive.

Oyster themed restaurants were plentiful in New York City when the waters along the east coast were chock full of oyster beds.

Richard Ockendon, better known as “Dick, the Oysterman,” had his original basement restaurant on Third Street since the turn-of-the-century. It was famous as a hang-out place for writers and artists. O. Henry based one of his short stories, The Country of Elusion on the bohemian restaurant.

Dick died of pneumonia on January 23, 1916 at the age of 39,  but his name and restaurant lived on, catering to the culinary tastes of Greenwich Village. By 1920 Dick’s had moved to Eighth Street where they remained until they closed their doors in 1952.

In this ad, unnamed doctors recommend smokers use the Dunhill Denicotea filter to remove the harmful tar and irritants “that would have reached your nose, throat …and lungs!”  The tobacco companies claimed they didn’t know that smoking caused lung cancer. Sure they didn’t.Looking for a great Christmas gift? Why not buy a box or case of Marlboro’s?  “America’s luxury cigarette” used to be marketed to women.

If you wanted to get fancy and “only the best will do,” you could buy those excellent du Maurier cigarettes which came in a scarlet aluminum box. Guaranteed to eventually put you in a wooden box.

Isn’t this rather racy for 1949 and The New Yorker? The woman is nude and I had to look twice to figure out what she is doing and what the product was. Soap? No. Bath salts? No.

Rigaud Paris sold incredibly expensive perfume called New Enchantment that cost $20.00 for less than an ounce.

Maidenform used the ad campaign “I dreamed I…(fill in the blank) in my Maidenform bra.” with  great success for many years. In this advertisement, the “skating in my Maidenform” looks less revealing than many skating costumes today.

Life size television? Maybe if you are General Tom Thumb.

With its 19 inch screen, Du Mont had to boast that this was 203 square inches of “the sharpest, steadiest image you ever saw.” Du Mont neglected to illustrate the ad with the rabbit ears antenna that would be perched on top of the TV which was necessary in every New York City apartment to receive that steady picture and get clear reception.