Archive for the ‘Vintage Ads’ Category
For Sale On Capitol Hill
February 26th, 2010 by Cliffe | Sorted Vintage Ads |
11 Comments »
We first posted about Moore Investment Company in March of 2008. As you know, in 1900 J.A. Moore paid $225,000 for 160 acres of what would become Capitol Hill. I managed to dig up this 1902 ad showing what was for sale at the time. Ahh, craftsmanship — you are missed. Click for the high res and drop by the comments to tell us which houses you’ve found that are still standing.
The Commodious Westberg & Childs
October 28th, 2009 by Cliffe | Sorted Vintage Ads |
1 Comment »
This ad comes straight from the 1902 Seattle Mail And Herald — a fascinating interior view of the “commodious” Westberg & Childs store on Sec ond Ave. The store had everything for ladies, almost everything for the home, and exemplified Seattle’s “progress idea.” So what happened to Westberg & Childs? Click for higher res.
| An interior view of Westberg & Childs’ commodious store on Second Avenue, Seattle. The Seattle Mail And Herald, 1902. |
Bell System Pavilion 1962
July 24th, 2009 by Cliffe | Sorted Vintage Ads |
13 Comments »
What’s old is new again. Specifically, 50′s and 60′s style architecture are back and in fashion once again. I could very well see my architect friend Chris designing a building much like this one. This is an ad from the Seattle World’ s Fair Official Souvenir Program showing the Bell System Pavilion. And the rendering was true to life. Any Vintage Seattle readers who stepped foot inside the actual pavilion that want to tell us what is was like — come join us in the comments. Click for higher res.
| Communications… key to universal understanding. Bell Telephone System. Official Souvenir Program, Seattle World’ s Fair 1962. |
Firebird III, Yesterday Today
May 27th, 2009 by Cliffe | Sorted Vintage Ads |
No Comments »
From the archives, a time when General Motors was looking to the future rather than just trying to survive… Below find the venerable Firebird III concept car. It was shown in the Coliseum Century 21 exhibit during Seattle’s world fair. Features included anti-lock brakes, cruise control, air conditioning, air drag brakes, a joystick control, the list goes on. There’s much more on this bad boy right here. Click for higher res.
Old Olds Ad, Impressionistic Consumerism
February 25th, 2009 by Cliffe | Sorted Vintage Ads |
4 Comments »
Vintage ad today is from the ’62 World’s Fair. Check out the Oldsmobile parked in front of Coliseum 21 with flags flying. This ad’s “projected view of the world of the future” did not take into account the fact that Oldsmobile would be slowly phased out in the early 2000′s after 100+ years of production. I believe this art style is called “Impressionistic Consumerism.” Click for higher-res.
Country Club Living @ The Camlin
February 6th, 2009 by Cliffe | Sorted Vintage Ads |
9 Comments »
After yesterday’s sobering news, we could use an escape. Fitting the bill: Seattle’s historic Camlin Hotel, built 1926. Fifty-two cabana units were added in 1960 in preparation for the World’s Fair. The hotel is now on the National Register of Historic Places. Click to escape and see this full resolution vintage ad from 1962. Some nice period 60′s furniture shown here.
Snappy, Up-To-Date: Irving & Cannon 1904
December 11th, 2008 by Cliffe | Sorted Vintage Ads |
9 Comments »
Vintage Seattle vintage ad time. This time around it’s Irving & Cannon, merchant tailors located at 211 Columbia Street. Though the Boston block (built 1887) was saved from the flames of the great fire, it has not survived. One fact that does remain is that their patterns were snappy and up-to-date. Click!
Golden Nugget Jet Service 1961
October 29th, 2008 by Cliffe | Sorted Vintage Ads |
22 Comments »
You can’t seem to escape Alaska these days. Senator Stevens found guilty. Palin’s “wardrobe malfunction.” So why not go back to 1961 when people wanted to escape to Alaska. This is an ad for Alaska Airlines’ “Gold Nugget Jet Service.” Also check out their website’s cool high-res gallery of photos (including this shot of their first stewardesses in 1945). Clickity-click.
Excuse Me, Do You Have The Times?
October 20th, 2008 by Cliffe | Sorted Vintage Ads |
1 Comment »
Today’s vintage ad comes from the 1918 Argus. The Seattle Times used the Times Building from 1915 until 1931 (when they moved into their current home in South Lake Union featured here). Architecture firm Bebb and Gould designed the terra-cotta beauty as Times circulation rocketed to around 70,000. The newspaper was bought in 1896 by Col. A.J. Blethen (see his house here) and his descendants still own a majority of the paper today.
| Times Printing Company of Seattle. Times Building, times Square. Joseph Blethen, President. C.B. Blethen, Editor-in-Chief. The Argus, 1918. |
Protection From The Deadly Wheel
September 22nd, 2008 by Cliffe | Sorted Vintage Ads |
1 Comment »
With our financial institutions crumbling around us, I thought we might look back 80 years to this vintage ad for Northern Life Insurance Company. The year was 1928 and the Northern Life Tower had just been completed — called out as “visible evidence of the company’s progress and achievement.” The ad is selling the “New Souvenir Tower Policy,” protection against the hazard of the “Deadly Wheel” (loss of thumb, forefinger, hand, foot, sight, etc). Back here in modern day I suppose I’ll choose losing my savings over losing my foot. Click on the ad for full resolution.
| Northern Life Insurance Company. The New Souvenir Tower Policy. The Argus, 1928. |
Greetings From Hydroland, USA
September 18th, 2008 by Cliffe | Sorted Vintage Ads |
4 Comments »
One of the issues getting a lot of press (sometimes in the form of outright lies) this election cycle is energy independence. It’s not a new idea, as shown by this Pavilion Of Electric Power handout from Seattle’s ’62 World’s Fair. These days, Hydroelectric still rules in Washington State — it is the leading producer in the nation with The Grand Coulee Dam on the Columbia River as the highest capacity plant in the country. Click on the thumbnails for higher-resolution images.
Rainier Beach, The Place To Live
September 17th, 2008 by Cliffe | Sorted Vintage Ads |
2 Comments »
From the same copy of the 1902 Seattle Mail And Herald that brought us this West Seattle property ad comes a similar ad for Rainier Beach. It’s called “the place to live” — complete with electric car line service, sidewalks, street lights, schools, churches, stores. All the good stuff, as well as some steals on property values. Check it out by clicking for more resolution.
Vance Hotel: For Groups Of Limited Size
September 3rd, 2008 by Cliffe | Sorted Vintage Ads |
No Comments »
To complement the Vance Motor Hotel postcard I posted in June, this is a circa ’62 Vance ad. The Vance is now a much hipper place, renamed Hotel Max. From the ad: “The Vance Motor Hotel affords every modern comfort at moderate rates. Its rooms and meals are moderately priced with special facilities and rates for families.” Let’s hope Max Hotel higher-ups have also upgraded their marketing efforts over time. Click on the images for full res.
Click Clacking Away
August 19th, 2008 by Cliffe | Sorted Vintage Ads |
1 Comment »
I’m typing this update on my brand new (well, old tech) buckling spring Unicomp Spacesaver keyboard. It’s basically brand new remake of the old clicky-clacky IBM Model-M, but with USB on the end. Typing is a dream on this sucker — you know just when you’ve struck a key (the metallic clang lets you know). Is it loud as hell ? Yes it is. Is it heavy enough to squash a cat ? Yes it is. Am I getting paid by Unicomp to say this ? No I’m not. Either way, goodbye forever, mushy modern piece of junk keyboard! I highly recommend the Spacesaver, don’t let the $70 price tag keep you away. With that, let’s take a look at an old advertisement for IBM’s “new paths to knowledge” exhibit from the ’62 World’s Fair. Click (clack) it!
Golden Eyes And Uncle Sam 1918
August 8th, 2008 by Cliffe | Sorted Vintage Ads |
2 Comments »
I came across this fantastic illustration from a 1918 edition of The Seattle Sunday Times magazine. It shows a woman named “Golden Eyes” with her dog “Uncle Sam,” who is holding a liberty bond. Advertisements for bonds were common during World War I — with 17 billion dollars being raised. Ninety years on and with another war happening, bonds remain a safe bet in an unsteady market. Click on the thumbnail for the higher-res illustration.
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| Golden Eyes with Uncle Sam. The Seattle Sunday Times Magazine. April 21, 1918. Image courtesy Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. |
