ALL - AMERICAN ADS 1900-1919

A far cry from the aggressive ads we`ve become used to, American printadvertisements from the first two decades of the 20th century were almostshockingly pleasant. Intricately designed and beautifully illustrated,often in the art nouveau style popular at the time, four-color, full-pagemagazine advertisements were welcome respites from the bland, text-filledpages among which they appeared. Sales pitches were earnest and friendly;beer, for example, was billed as "The Evening Glass of Cheer" andtoothpaste was described as "Delicious Ribbon Dental Cream"—perhapsnot the catchiest slogans, but they were on to something. The Americanconsumerist boom of the 20th century was just beginning and advertisingwas getting its sea legs. From motorcars to hair tonics to steamshipcruises to Coca-Cola ("After the theatre drink a glass... it relievesfatigue"), America was peddling its wares in style and setting an exampleof how to advertise in the modern age. This exhaustive compendium of adsfrom the period—many of which haven`t been seen for over eightdecades—is a fascinating reminder of surprisingly simpler times anda rediscovery of a forgotten age in advertising history.