Classic Era Novelty Ads

More magazine ads from 1926, this time featuring a variety of novelty products from the Johnson Smith company. Click through for the high resolution version. I've been uploading these because they make good filler material for prop newspaper and magazine clippings, but this particular set of ads has some interesting history attached to it. Take a close look at that little gadget at the top.



Johnson Smith is still in the novelty business, and their website makes note of the fact that 1926 was the first year they shipped merchandise from their new location in Racine, Wisconsin. That handy little compass/mirror/telescope/binocular/firestarter pocket tool is based on originals that were manufactured in the 1800's out of brass. By the 1920's those metal models were used to produce molds for the mass production of PVC and Bakelite copies, and you can still find plastic versions based on that exact same pattern today.