Advertising and Throwbacks to 1927 and 1940

It's Throwback Thursday, and I'm having fun with a couple of throwbacks, starting with one that takes us back to line art versus photography, and a few additional fun elements. 

First, the actual watch in the top left was my grandfather's. He died of ALS a couple of years before my parents were married, but I'm named after him and cherish his watch. Almost fifty years later, to the day, Don Blair's wife Donna died of ALS as well. And, I'm not sure there's been very much progress in beating this disease today.

Second, you can find anything on the Internet. A few years back I went hunting on eBay until I found somebody who had the Gruen ad for the watch from 1927. I think I spent ten dollars for the page.

I know it's hard to read, but take a look at the copy and think about how a watch is advertised today, along with the pricing. I love the way the ad kicks off: "Wisely, for the graduation gift you will select a good watch. This has always been the favored gift for graduation." Then, there's the push about what's hot and what's not: "For young men, the trend is decidedly away from the round watch."

I have the watch and ad framed in a shadow box on the wall in my office.  Unlike most of today's watches that will more than likely not be running 90+ years from now, the watch still keeps perfect time!
 
"The Gruen Watch Company was formerly one of the largest watch manufacturers in the United States. It was in business from about 1894 to 1958 and was based in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was founded in 1908 by German-born watchmaker Dietrich Grün, who changed the spelling of his name to "Gruen" because the letter ü does not exist in English."  From Wikipedia

Since the ad was a graduation theme, I went looking through an old album and found my Dad's high school senior shot. Hand-colored thanks to Olan Mills in Springfield, Ohio! It would have been around 1940. I wonder if he got a watch for graduation?

Between the ad and my Dad's portrait, it's a fun look back, and a testimonial to the fact that most of the time you can find anything you want on the Internet!

​Happy Throwback Thursday!

---