The Strange and Fantastical World of Sci-Fi Pulp Advertisements, Part 3

We’re back with a final look at the captivating advertisements printed in the Howard and Jane Frank Collection of Science Fiction Pulp Magazines in UMD Special Collections. We previously took a look at patriotic, employment, and novelty advertisements in Part 1 and beauty and wellness products in Part 2. Now we take a look at mid-century consumerism, fashion, and technology!

Advertisements in the 1950s highlight the cultural shift after World War II, emphasizing consumerism and the American Dream of a nuclear family with a beautiful home full of the latest appliances. The “Kalamazoo Direct to You” advertisement, offers readers “rock bottom factory prices” and the convenience of catalog shopping, as seen in the ad below from the October 1940 issue of Astonishing Stories.

The mail order advertisement layout that typically featured dozens of small novelties like magic sets (as seen in The Strange and Fantastical World of Sci-Fi Pulp Advertisements, Part 1), can be found again in an advertisement in the April 1952 issue of Famous Fantastic Mysteries. Instead of penny toys, must-haves for the automobile owner are showcased including seat covers, sun visors, and the “new miracle automatic auto washer”. The familiar “send no money – mail this coupon” line is given top billing, with a small print reminding the reader that payment for the item plus postage is due to the mailman upon delivery.

Portable garages, car radios, “readi-cut homes”, and “haircuts at home” are just a few of the products advertised to the American family. What family could resist an inexpensive way to keep everyone “barber -fresh” with “a complete haircut at home.” At only $0.98, the Sta-neet “magic knob” trims, shaves legs/underarms, thins, cuts and “pays for itself after first time used.”

In the 1950s, the Cold War led to a real fear among Americans that nuclear war with Russia could happen at any time. One of the most unusual advertisements we can across was a plain advertisement printed in the August 1951 issue of Super Science Stories for “Flash-Ready” mask and mittens that protect its wearer from nuclear fallout. 

The Strange and Fantastical World of Sci-Fi Pulp Advertisements, Part 2

A sensational offer! Tremendous price slash! Send no money, your satisfaction guaranteed! 10 day free trial for our readers! We’re back exploring the strange world of science fiction pulp magazine advertisements found in UMD Special Collections! In case you missed it, be sure to check out The Strange and Fantastical World of Sci-Fi Pulp Advertisements, Part 1, where we put the spotlight on patriotic ads, mail away novelties, and much more!

For part 2, we take a look at the wellness marketing in science fiction pulp magazines. Advertisements marketing health and beauty were extremely popular. Readers were often bombarded with quick-fix gimmicky offers and products targeting a physical flaw perceived by a self-conscious reader, like the promise to build muscle fast or remove unsightly blemishes. For male audiences, opportunities to “make you a new man” and “develop muscles of a super-man” were common, as seen in the advertisements below. One advertisement from a February 1930 issue of Air Wonder Stories sells exercise equipment that is guaranteed to help you “get strong and amaze friends” and “easily master feats which which now seem difficult.” For the low price of $5, readers can send the coupon to Crusader Apparatus Co. in New Jersey. No money is required upfront, but rather readers pay the postman upon delivery. Satisfaction is guaranteed or your money back!

Is baldness necessary? The Vitex Hair Institute tells readers an emphatic “NO”. Just 10 minutes a day using their hair treatment products will help you maintain a healthy scalp and “help keep baldness away.” If you live in the New York area, this advertisement encourages you to stop by their Fifth Avenue salon and “see convincing proof of the results achieved.”

The Strange and Fantastical World of Sci-Fi Pulp Advertisements, Part 1

Looking for a patriotic glow-in-the-dark necktie? How about a convenient portable garage? Can we interest you in a futuristic Sony micro TV? These are just a few of the interesting product advertisements that can be found throughout our Science Fiction Pulp Magazine collection in the Literature and Rare Books collection.

The Howard and Jane Frank Collection of Science Fiction Pulp Magazines contains 365 volumes of Sci-Fi pulps, with the majority being published between 1903 and 1961. Pulp magazines were inexpensive popular fiction works published from the late 1800s through the mid-1900s, characteristically printed on cheap wood pulp paper. Science fiction pulp magazines typically featured colorful cover art, along with short stories that embraced futuristic and fantasy themes. Within the pages of these magazines are also a multitude of advertisements that provide a glimpse into consumerism, novelty, and American life through the decades.

A common theme in pulp magazine advertisement is asking readers to send away for products in the mail. One example below is the handy “10 tools in one” multi-tool featured in a 1930 issue of Air Wonder Stories. Simply cut out the coupon and send in $1 to receive your own “small but handy article which serves every possible need of the all around mechanic.”

Pistol sling-shots for $1, humless radio tubes, a Dick Tracey radio watch sure to catch the attention of comic book fans, and prize money for the eagle eyed reader who can spot the identical cartoons can all be found within the pages of Air Wonder Stories and Fantastic Adventures in the 1930s and 1940s.

Magic tricks and small novelties such as the “ooh-la- la ring”, a lumnous skeleton, a “wizarddeck” of cards, invisible ink, and the curious “nose blower” could be sent away for as little as 10 cents. The full page advertisement below from the February 1930 issue of Air Wonder Stories, features more than two dozen of these small prizes, likely targeting young readers awed by fantastical sci-fi stories and inventions, looking to spend some pocket change.

Guest Lecture on “The Advertising Film Before Commercial Broadcasting “

Novelty News, May 1911

Special Collections in Mass Media & Culture is pleased to announce an upcoming guest lecture presented by Martin Johnson, Assistant Professor of Media Studies at Catholic University on:

• Date: Tuesday, October 21^st
• Time: 4:30pm
• Location: 3^rd floor instruction space in Hornbake Library North

The title of Dr. Johnson’s lecture is, “The Best Advertisement Will Never Be Written”: The Advertising Film Before Commercial Broadcasting.” He will discuss the attempts by producers of industrial films in the 1910s to create moving-image advertisements and, despite early setbacks due to resistance within the motion picture industry, the subsequent success of using non-theatrical spaces as advertising platforms.

Judicious Advertising, December 1912

“By locating these advertising films within a diverse media landscape,” Johnson claims, “it becomes possible to trace the emergence of ‘useful’ mass media in the early 20^th century.”

The lecture is free and open to the public. Students in Communication and Film Studies are especially encouraged to attend. A reception will follow Dr. Johnson’s presentation.

Questions? Contact Mike Henry, Research Specialist, at mlhenry@umd.edu.

Driving and parking directions

A Merry German Christmas in Baltimore

Today’s post is written by Elliott Wrenn, Student Assistant for the Historic Maryland Newspapers Project and MLS candidate in UMD’s College of Information Studies. Thanks to Jill Fosse for providing the translations in this blog post. Enjoy!

Der Deutsche Correspondent, December 24, 1900

With the holidays upon us, we at the Historic Maryland Newspapers Project cannot help but post a few images of what Baltimore residents saw in Der Deutsche Correspondent during the holidays. The images primarily come from paid advertisements posted in the paper.  As ads can play a significant role in shaping and reflecting material and visual culture of the time, the news daily allows us to look at daily life as a turn-of-the-century Baltimorean saw it.

November and December issues are filled with ads for the holidays.  These include advertisements for a Thanksgiving Grokes Austern-Souper (oyster supper); week-long train getaways for Weihnachten-Neujahr [Christmas-New Year]; Christmas stocks of “fresh raisins, currants, citron,” books and games for children; and Christmas showpieces at the Ford’s Grand Opera House in Baltimore.

Santa Claus is prominent throughout December editions in the 1880s and 1890s, appearing in countless Christmas stories, poems, and ads for children’s toys and men’s clothing.

Der Sonntags-Correspondent, December 15, 1894

Der Deutsche Correspondent, December 15, 1896

In one image a store advertises its in-store holiday musical performances, decorative displays, ice palace, and post bureau for Santa Claus; in another Santa Claus himself fits a man for an overcoat.

Der Deutsche Correspondent, December 19, 1896

Der Deutsche Correspondent, December 18, 1897

Der Deutsche Correspondent, December 19, 1896

If the fact that Der Deutsche Correspondent was published in German wasn’t enough to link a portion of Baltimore immigrants to the old country, Der Deutsche Correspondent advertised its forwarding service for Christmas remittances to Germany. The ad reads:

Der Deutsche Correspondent, December 10, 1896

Remittances to Germany.

Remittances to Germany that are intended for Christmas should be sent very soon, so that they arrive in good time. If they get there earlier, they aren’t any less welcome, but if they arrive late, they lose a lot of their value as Christmas presents. The forwarding service of the “Correspondent” is the most punctual and cheapest way of getting payments of small and large sums to Germany. Address your request to: E. Raine, Baltimore, MD.

 
Der Deutsche Correspondent consistently printed a yearly calendar and inserted it into an issue either at the end of the year or very beginning of the year. On one calendar the paper proudly advertises its founding in 1841 and displays the building built by George A. Frederick on the corner of East Baltimore Street and Postoffice Avenue (now Custom House Alley) where the paper was drafted and printed. The building later was burnt down in the 1904 fire that consumed large portions of downtown Baltimore at the time. (Look for a detailed post on the Baltimore fire of 1904 in the months ahead.)

Der Deutsche Correspondent, December 29, 1896

Der Sonntags-Correspondent, December 24, 1897

 
Happy Holidays from the Historic Maryland Newspapers Project! See you in the new year!

The World’s Fair Ephemeral and Graphic Material Collection

The World’s Fair Ephemeral and Graphic Material Collection is now available at the Maryland Room, 1^st floor Hornbake Library. To celebrate, we are featuring four blog posts about World’s Fair history and the collection. Read the previous post here.

Part 3 of 4

Although the fairs are with us for just a short time and many of the fair grounds and their monumental buildings are no longer with us, the fairs have left behind an extensive amount of ephemera, photographs, periodicals, illustrations and pamphlets to make sure that the fairs are never forgotten.

The International Exhibition of 1862. London International Exhibition. Catalogs: color.

The World’s Fair Ephemeral and Graphic Material Collection in Hornbake Library (UMD Libraries, College Park) contains items for close to 40 different fairs and international expositions.  The ephemera portion of the collection includes advertisements, letters, postcards, tickets, trade cards, menus, souvenir ribbons and scarves. The graphic materials portion includes illustrations, maps, newspaper clippings, pamphlets, periodicals, photographs, prints, sheet music, stereographs and a stereograph viewer.

Crystal Schottisch – composed by W. Byerly. New York Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations (1853-1854). [Altered digitally for contrast]

La France a L’Amerique, La Liberte eclairant le Monde. Paris Universal Exposition of 1878. Bartholdi, Frédéric Auguste, 1834-1904. Badges: color.

Oorspronkelijk Nieux Cezelschapsel. Internationale Koloniale en Uitvoerhandel Tentoonstelling (1883 : Amsterdam, Netherlands). Game Cards: color.

Visit the recently expanded finding aid for the World’s Fair Ephemeral and Graphic Material Collection and A Treasury of World’s Fair Art & Architecture digital archive for more information.

Article by A. Moore, Historic Preservation Graduate Assistant.