Christmas Acsessoris: October 2009

Saturday, October 31, 2009

A Yuleblog Timely Reminder

Daylight savings time in the United States
is coming to an end this year.
It ends Sunday morning at 2 AM.

Be sure to adjust all of your clocks
before you go to bed tonight -
remember fall back - an extra hour of sleep!

Capt

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Vintage Christmas Ads Pt. 20 - Montgomery Ward & Co., 1924

In addition to collecting Christmas music, I have collected nearly 1000 vintage Christmas ads over the years. Many of these include celebrities, radio, television, cigarettes, liquor, modern appliances, and the like.

I will attempt every Friday from here until I run out, I will feature an ad from my collection.

I invite you to add a fun comment, witticism, clever remark, or observation in the comments section provided. Any comments deemed worthy of repeating will be included into this entry where all the world will see it.

Several months ago, as I was attempting to complete the reorganization and cataloguing of all of my vintage Christmas ads, I visited Antiques on Broadway near downtown Fort Wayne. This shop usually has a gem or two to be unearthed.

In the basement of the store sits a booth that contains three folding tables of vintage ads, all carefully organized and wrapped in plastic for your protection. Many was the time I browsed the table that contained "Christmas ads" and "Celebrity ads".

I would seldom look at the other tables because each ad was usually in the $4 to $10 range. The double paged ads were always on my wait list but at $10 - $15 a pop, I could wait a long time. Once in a blue moon, I would break down and purchase an ad at full price.

On the day of my visit, I approached the table and noticed a yellow piece of paper with crude handwriting attached to one of the tables: "SALE - ALL ADS - $1". My transformation into Fred C. Dobbs was instantaneous and I nearly shrieked with delight.

For the next 45 minutes, I thumbed through every ad at every table, finding nuggets along the way. In addition to the usual LIFE, Look, and Saturday Evening Post ads, this dealer had sliced up vintage magazines dating back as early as the 1910s!

I was delighted but saddened as well. Any issue of any magazine printed before 1935 are becoming more and more rare and expensive. Being a collector of December issues for their Christmas ads, I would have loved to seen the entire issues from which these ads came from.

Which brings us to our ad of the day. It's hard to imagine now but back in 1924, the retail industry was dominated by two stores - Sears, Roebuck & Co. and Montgomery Ward & Co., both headquartered out of Chicago, Illinois. Ward's revolutionized the business by introducing their legendary catalog in 1872, the first mail-order business of any kind in the world:

(Click on image to enlarge)

In essence, this was the first Internet - the catalogs allowed anyone to order anything and have it shipped anywhere in the USA and Canada. Catalog sales accounted for nearly 60% of Montgomery Ward's business at one point and kept their coffers flush into the 1960s.

Ask anyone over the age of 30 about those magic Fall / Winter catalogs, overflowing with toys and games. These were dream books - the perfect way to create a list for Santa. I can recall one year making a list, complete with catalog numbers, and handing it to Santa. I never did understand the incredulous look on Santa's face.

And there's something to be said for pre-1930s advertising. Usually in black & white, great detail work, a not too dominant picture, and lots and lots of text for you to read. No pretention whatsoever. This is an ad you definitely need to see close up.

What do you think?

Capt

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Teaser...

Just a little sneak peek at one of
my favorite Christmas products!
This and much more coming soon!...

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

"Name that Bow!" Winner

Between email, facebook, and blog comments, there were 73 names entered! Wow! It was sure fun to read them and very hard to decide. Thank you for all the entries! What a fun contest with so many great ideas!

Without furthur ado...
the winner is...........

"Kabloom"

Submitted by Mmoncrief:
"My 21 month old said this when looking at a picture of one of those: 'Kabloom!'"

The name has that explosive feeling that many people liked, but it also has the softness of a bloom. The bow can be used for casual or more formal wear, depending on ribbons used, and this name encompasses both. Congratulations!

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

"Name that Bow!" Contest

What should we call this style of bow? If you come up with something better than a "Pom" (which is what I'm calling it right now), you will win two of them!.. Any color, any size! In your brainstorming, don't worry about color. We are only naming the style (example: korker, boutique bow, ponytail streamer...) Enter your idea in a comment on this blog post, on facebook, or in an email to erika@bowsweet.com. Make sure to give me your email, so I can contact you if you are the winner. (You could email that to me if you are not comfortable posting it online.) Maximum of 3 entries per person. Contest ends Oct. 19, Midnight, MST.