Medicine and Madison Avenue - Advertising

Duke University Library has a huge print advertising collection, and these medical adverts are just a small part. They span the first half of the 20th century, documenting our relationship with medicine and other health related products and the increasing sophistication of the marketers of these brands.

Princeton University Library Circus Posters Archive

If you're freaked out by clowns, then maybe this gallery isn't for you. Princeton University Library has an extensive collection of circus posters spanning the years from 1850 to the 1960's, from the major names like Ringling Bros. to lesser known big-tops. The no-nonsense format links the image to information about date, circus of origin, place of performance, how acquired, and size. The images linked are huge and of excellent quality.

Vintage Postcards

Postcards were the text messages of the late 19th and early 20th century. Their delivery was so reliable that people often made appointments for the next day with others in the same city via postcard. They were always interesting to look at , as this Flickr collection shows, diverse in design, and cheap to buy and to mail, all of which made them highly attractive forms of communication. Many families had attic or scrapbook collections of cards like this one at some time. Of course, the subject matter pictured on postcards runs all over the map, from cute postcards celebrating holidays, tourist cards from a city or state, to the **just plain scary and disturbing. (**Please note this last link has pictures that are not suitable for work, for children, or for the weak of stomach.)

Vargas' Pinup Girls (NSFW)

Alberto Vargas is best known for his series of pinup art in Playboy from the 1950's to the late 1970's. Prior to that, however, his works graced the pages of Esquire magazine in the 1940's and served the members of "The Greatest Generation" as inspiration through World War II. An entire genre of wartime painting, nose art, drew much of it's impetus from the Vargas girls and other artists whose whimsical lasses from the pages of men's magazines were devoured by the soldiers and airmen overseas. They interpreted these flirty fillies in their own styles and painted them onto the noses of Flying Fortresses and P-38's and other wartime aircraft across both the European and Asian theaters, often naming them after "the girl they left behind".

Virginia Tech Image Archive

Virginia Tech's Imagebase
has a collection of over 10,000 images taken by photographers working for the Norfolk & Western Railway, over 2000 Civil War images (documents and photos), 700+ maps, 800+ theater and music images (including playbills and sheet music), not to mention a number of other photo collections that are eminently worth exploring.

Roadside Architecture

This website celebrates the remaining examples of roadside architecture dedicated to the reaping of the almighty dollar from the growing motorist culture of the mid 20th century. Everything is here, from the ubiquitous vintage drive-in fast food joints, restored and repurposed Mobilgas, Pure Oil, and Texaco gas stations, to the more bizarre items, such as the world's largest highboy in High Point, NC; the Beer Can House in Houston, TX, made of 39,000 beer cans and countless other pieces of recycleables; and the Dinosaur Land in White Post, VA, with 40 different figures (not all dinosaurs).

European Travel Ephemera

Travel ephemera is always fascinating, due to

the different typographic styles, artwork, and

the destinations described and advertised. This

site has all kinds of interesting brochures, posters,

time-tables, labels, etc., from 1920's and 1930's
Europe. It is sorted by country of origin as well as
type of transportation for easy searching.

Flickr Vintage Advertising Group

The vintage ads from the middle of the last century ran the gamut from incredibly artistic to basic and uninspiring, but all of them give us a glimpse into the aspirations and consumer culture of the time. The Golden Age of Advertising group on Flickr compiles images of ads from the 50's to the 70's, for everything imaginable, from feminine hygeine products to cars to appliances to household goods, and a lot in between. By way of disclosure, the linked image is one that I have added to the group.

Plan 59 retro ads and art

If you love the vintage art from ads in magazines like Life and Look from the 1950's and 1960's, especially car ads, then Plan 59 is a place where you will spend hours. There are hundreds of high res images and they can even be ordered from the site as high quality art prints.