Monday, May 28, 2012

Monday, May 21, 2012

McLaughlin's XXXX Coffee, c. 1880s



An early advertising doll with different messages on the back of each piece. My favorite: "If you use McLaughlin's XXX Coffee and it does not drink right, you know it is the fault of the cooking and not the fault of the coffee." Was there another advertiser who blamed the consumer so boldly if the product didn't taste right? Some 19th century Don Draper came up with this gem.

Monday, May 14, 2012

Diamond Dyes, c. 1880s



Does anyone dye clothing anymore? I think RIT dye is still available in the supermarket. I imagine dyeing clothing was once a great way to save money and revive an old style into something new and fresh. Tie-dyeing was hot in the 1960s, of course, but I think dyeing of any clothing is more of a niche/crafty thing these days.

Friday, May 11, 2012

Cinderella, c. 1880s



McLaughlin's Coffee, "Fairy Tale" series. Dress and painting missing. See another in this series here.

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Freedom to Read! by Maurice Sendak, 1991

Artwork drawn by Sendak especially for the 1991 convention of the American Booksellers Association, and reproduced on this postcard. Book titles cited in this dreamscape: everything from Honey Bunch to Lady Chatterley's Lover.


Work and Play, c. 1880s




Clark's O.N.T. Double Dolls, "Work and Play." Unlike a lot of other advertising dolls of this type, this has only a changeable head, not the head, shoulders and arms. This is a lot like the very early paper dolls of the early 1800s, Fanny Gray, etc, where the head was slipped into different costumes and scenes to tell a story.

Monday, May 7, 2012

Another by S.H. & M. Skirt Bindings, c. 1900


Here's another paper doll in a series that featured three dolls, printed by Sackett & Wilhelms Lithography Co. You can see the other one here.

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Traffic, 1923


A view from the Williamsburg Bridge looking west (down Delancey St., I believe). From the NYC Municipal Archive.

Thursday, May 3, 2012