Monday, March 3, 2014

Best Retro Kitchen Finds on Etsy - Atomic Age Decor

Home may be where the heart is but you'll always find them 
... in the kitchen at parties. The 1950s - when America was driven
to make life faster, easier and brighter.


Here's a collection of 10 essential Must-Have Items for an authentically
Atomic Age Kitchen.



Kitchen Basics for the Retro Lover




 Washing Up is a Must






Protect yourself













Drain Issues - No worries.






Keeping things tidy






The Classic Chrome Dinette Set







The Power of Pyrex

We can thank Bessie Littleton for her tenacity in pursuing
a more durable option for cooking and baking. 1915 - Introducing
Pyrex. By 1919 more than 4 1/2 million pieces of Pyrex
Bakeware had been sold in America.






Introducing Tupperware: Waste Not, Want Not

The Age of Plastics - Invented by Earl Tupper who convinced his
employer Dupont to sell him polyethylene slag. Enter
Brownie Weiss who worked for a company called 
Party Plan. She saw the potential to sell the product
in homes. And voila - The Tupperware party was born.






Television meets Salt and Pepper Shaker

Between 1949 and 1969 the number of households in America
with a television set rose from 1 million to 44 million.
Now, that's serious stuff.






Kitchen Magic 







Pyrex Bottle

But the Milk Bottle needed to say Goodbye.






Try to Keep Cool Under Pressure













Friday, February 28, 2014

Atomic Age Advertising - Appliance Department

Mid Century America making life faster and easier at every turn.


Introducing Advertising's Cold War


I recently had to go and purchase a new stove and fridge. 
Not the most exciting way to spend your day. It occurred to me that
this is probably why Advertisers spun the illustrations and rhetoric
for household appliance ads with such flare.

One thing's for sure. They don't advertise like they used to. 


Check out these appliance ads in my collection.








Opening Her Eyes








Sell. Sell. Sell.




Homemaker Horror

















All's Well that Ends Well









Tuesday, January 28, 2014

ATOMIC AGE ADVERTISING - Keeping Laundry Clean in 1950s America

Keeping America Clean


There's no getting around it - Atomic Age Advertising is over-the-top - exaggerated, bombastic and loud. And, that's why we love it. America during its finest period of unadulterated idealism.

Some of the priorities - a gas-guzzling beauty on wheels, all mod cons and a house that's spic and span. And what do the ad pitches for virtually every product share? The colourful boasting of speed, greater efficiency and brighter results.

Some of the greatest bragging rights belong to household cleaners. Witness the ecstasy, the shock and the endless joy that Tide, Oxydol, Spic and Span, Cheer, Duz and SOS deliver to the consumer ...

And we all know who that is ... the iconic 1950's Hausfrau. The very picture of happiness. Window into the '50's mindset here.

Because ... Clean = Good = Decent = Healthy = Respectable = Happiness

So, what to do in 50's America? Heck - make it easier for the woman doing all that dreary housework and while you're at it - convince her that it's actually fun.

Vintage Detergent Ads are becoming some of the most collectible print ads - known for their vibrancy, their hyperbole and their ... good clean fun.

To collect more original vintage ads, drop by ACME Vintage Limited.




Here comes the spin ...




Laundry Days






The war's over and now we've got Seismotite





Serious Stuff - Laundry



Felso - not named to last






The Agony and The Ecstasy

Oxydol - born in 1914. In the 1930s, Oxydol was the sponsor
of the Ma Perkins radio show. Yup, the first Soap Opera.





"You're about to see an accident happen ..."

To watch a great OXYDOL Commercial click here




DUZ - Because it duz.






"My husband, Bob's, shirt looks cleaner but it's
got a deeper kind of dirt. Body dirt - the dirt
that digs inside clothes."

DASH works on body dirt. Watch commercial here.



Soilax





Rinso defies Gravity and Dirt




Dooby



Promises of better days to come ... 





More TIDE - You never had it so clean!









Nothing short of a Miracle












Next week ... Cleaner Surfaces









Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Atomic Age Advertising - Food in the 1950s

One thing you can't argue: They don't advertise like they used to. 

Visually spectacular, shamelessly over-the-top - who doesn't have a soft spot for Mid Century Advertising? The illustration talent was incomparable. Sadly, it was generally nameless and rarely acknowledged. 

Vintage Advertising equals Eye Candy for the design savvy, the culturally curious and those with a sense of humour. Cheerful, vibrant, technicolor. Larger than life.

The 1950's - when everything was sweeter, tastier, easier and, of course, better.

Oh, and in Retro Advertising, exclamations are a must !!!

Over the next months, I'll be designing blogs exclusively devoted to the splendour and smarts of Vintage Advertising brought to you by The Twentieth century. Please stay tuned and visit again soon.

If you dig 1950s design, please check out Beauty and The Bomb



Drop by ACME Vintage Limited to see more. And begin, or add to, your collection now. Long live vintage advertising.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/ACMEVintageLimited





Welcome to 1950's America.



All the food you'll ever want. And more.







Slice and Serve - So easy in the '50s


BABY RUTH Candy Bar Ad - 1953




Cute Creepy Kids



Bird's Eye Orange Juice - Original Advertisement - 1950




The fine line between desire and madness


us vs. th3m




Shock and Awe. And, the requisite "!"


Kraft Mayonnaise Original Vintage Ad - 1950




But is it actually food, Mom?



Treet by Armour - 1958




Pop. Pop. Fizz. Fizz.


7 UP "The Family Drink"



Illustration vs. Photography (It's the technicolor that counts)

Chef Boyardee was founded by Ettore "Hector" Boiardi in 1928,
eventually moving the factory to Milton, Pennsylvania
(where tomato and mushroom growth was ample).
U.S. Military commissioned the company during WWII to
produce army rations and ran 24/7.



Chef Boyardee Ravioli - 1956


The redder ... the better

The word ketchup originates from the Chinese 'ke-tsiap,
a pickled fish sauce. The origin of its variation 'catsup' used
more commonly in the U.S.A. is unknown.

Old Advertising on blogspot


Amazing New Discoveries


Instant coffee: invented in 1890 in New Zealand by Mr. Strang.
Nescafe wasintroduced in 1938. And the high-vacuum freeze-dried variety
hit the world stage after WWII.







Sliced Bread Convenience


Did you know that there was a short-lived ban on sliced bread?
Yup - in 1943 as a war-time measure -
the rationale for this: that a ready-sliced loaf required heavier
wrapping than an unsliced one if it was not to dry out.






What'll they think of next ...?


Original Magazine Print Ad - 1950s


Making life easier and a little Eastersploitation







Use what you've got  Upcycling with Betty Crocker


Frozen Orange Juice Pie - Betty Crocker - 1950







Eternally Spam

Imperial Googie on tumblr



Food can be a powerful thing.


Roger Wilkerson on tumblr


Graphic Content in Vintage Advertising



Borden's Cheese Slices - 1949


What you see is what you get







One of Sausage's Greatest Moments






Ain't Life Grand!




ACME Vintage Limited 





Friskies




Klappersacks on tumblr