For reasons I don’t quite get myself, I’m drawn to images of Christmas from earlier decades. And, Christmas being such a commercial enterprise, I guess it makes sense that holiday-themed ads would grab my interest as well as any other image.
Maybe it’s because they capture some twisted idea of celebrating the holiday spirit in my mind, but most of the ads I’ve collected are all about booze and smoking. A couple just seemed lovely examples of mid-century graphic design.
And anything that tugs on heartstrings tuned to the frequency of wartime America gets me every time. I’m sure this will disappoint most of my friends but, despite the horror of warfare and killing (and the greedy interests that are eager to profit from the warfare and killing), there’s something about the second World War and its popular belief in a unity of purpose that still hints at people’s better natures. All that business about the families at home working hard to support the young men and women abroad — a mythology carefully crafted and disseminated through the popular culture of the period — always forms a lump in my throat.
So there you have it. Without anything more interesting to say about them, here is a small collection of holiday advertising images from decades past.
![Belmont Radio (1943) [from Life, December 27, 1943]](http://knappy-head.com/blog/wp-content/gallery/christmas-ads/belmont_1943_full.jpg "Belmont Radio (1943) [from Life, December 27, 1943]")
![7up (1943) [from Life, December 27, 1943]](http://knappy-head.com/blog/wp-content/gallery/christmas-ads/7up_1943_full.jpg "7up (1943) [from Life, December 27, 1943]")
![Ancient Age (1949) [by Paul Rand]](http://knappy-head.com/blog/wp-content/gallery/christmas-ads/ancient_1949_full.jpg "Ancient Age (1949) [by Paul Rand]")
Played the manger scene. What a hoot! Thanks for brightening my off-season.
Glad you enjoyed it. Come back again: each time you play, the game’s a bit different.
Hi,
I left a couple of comments under the name ‘Sandra’ in The Ballad of Jeffrey Dahmer series. I am in nursing school now and I’m writing a paper on the attitude of nurses, and the impact of attitudes on care.
A somewhat new concept in this area is : abjection. Long story short, abjection seems to conjure up the notion of ‘the other’ and ‘otherness’. And this, to me, immediately brings to mind your great piece on the Dahmer case. I would like to provide a link to your website in my paper, but I don’t want my comments at the bottom. I’m sure no one would read my comments, but I don’t know. I’m just not comfortable with having them their if I’m linking your website.
I’m not sure how I will link the website, but I want to find a way, because it so movingly illustrates the devastating impact of the concept of ‘otherness’.
Could you remove the ‘Sandra’ comments?
If you can’t, that is fine. I just thought I would ask.
Thanks,
Kathleen
I’m so sorry that I only just saw your request now. (As you can tell, I haven’t touched this blog in a very long time.)
I’ve removed your comments on the Dahmer piece and hope it’s not too late to be of use to you.