1967 Eastern Air Lines Child Memories / Yard Man Saddle Mustang Mower Print Ad

     Today's featured vintage ad is a bit backwards.  When there's a full page ad on one side, and a partial page ad on the other, usually the full page ad is the center of attention.  In this case, the full page ad is for Eastern Air Lines.  The page header reads "Give your children some memories that won't wear out."

    That's fine as far as it goes, but maybe a bit dull.  Not worthless. I'm sure the ad has value. Maybe to the advertiser, maybe someone who went on a trip because of this ad, a historian, or plenty of other possibilities.  But really, how in the world can you compete with the 'other side' of the page? Compare the two thumbnails... one immediately stands out, doesn't it?

    The Yard-Man Mustang, 1967 model. On a bright background shading from dark orange to light orange (an effect known as Ombre) is a yellow Mustang and a mean-looking Hombre.  :^)
    Actually, a fancy-looking dude/cowboy wannabe holding his color-matched saddle and about to 'tack up' his Yard-Man Mustang riding mower.  The headline reads "Saddle a Mustang...and Go!"  Of course it does.  In the world of cheesy titles for a cheesy image, it's the only title that makes sense.

    For sheer chutzpah... for completely self-aware cheekiness... for being able to poke fun at yourself, and your product... I absolutely love this ad.  The instant I first saw it, it made me smile.  It tickles my funny bone.  It's memorable.  Attention-getting.  Intentionally ridiculous.  Yard-man absolutely nails advertising.  They understand how to stand out.  As a completely unbiased viewer, with no preference or interest in either company, the Yard-Man ad sings.  I'll forget the Eastern Air Lines ad, which is ironic since their point is to give your child a memory that won't fade away.  But the Yard-Man ad is like a good joke, well told.  Always worth a chuckle.  If I randomly think about mowing the lawn, or using a riding mower, this ad's going to pop into my head for a long time to come.  

    To the Yard-Man advertising team, I sincerely hope you won some kind of award for that ad.  Knocked it out of the park!

Yard-Man 1967 Mustang for the win!!

Taking a Vacation to test eBay full time

    I haven't been posting a lot here.  My goal is to pick one Vintage Ad listing from each day and feature it here, but the reality is... more likely going to be twice a week.  It's not that eBay isn't going well.  Actually, it's been doing great recently.  I'm still working part time at the paper, but getting ready to transition to full time on eBay.  For some time now, it's been mornings at the paper, and afternoons on eBay.  Recently, normal life has been taking more of my time, and eBay is suffering a bit for it.  

    Most of those things should be slowing down over the next month or so.  Bit by bit we're catching up on out-of-the-house tasks.  I've taken a week of unpaid vacation for a trial run of "life after work."  Aside from a couple of hiccups, it's going great.  My best afternoon ever, I listed 10 Vintage ads.  Usually it's closer to 6 or 7.  On Monday, my first full day, I got 13 +1 for the day.  The +1 is a result of lots of discussion and planning.  I love listing vintage ads, but they sell really slow.  Monique usually lists the 'normal' stuff, or the extreme items that are bigger ticket than our usual run.  

    So our compromise plan is for me to list one item per day, of ordinary things.  Traditional items, like toys, gadgets, things from garage sales.  Since we're also trying to minimize, I've been using my +1 to list things I love, but don't need need to keep any more.  Collectibles that are great, but that have been stored in boxes, kept in the shed, not where they can be appreciated.  My first +1 this week was a 30-year-old Trigun action figure.  It's difficult to let go... but he's been in storage so long I forgot I had him.  Same with the Snake Plissken Escape from LA action figure, and the Classic Batman.  Not thrilled about selling them, but it's time to be harsh.  If they're not on display and being appreciated, it's time to move on.

    In the meantime, the rest of the day is for vintage ads.  Monday I listed 13, which is 3 better than my best until then.  Yesterday was the 4th of July.  Listed my +1, got a few non-eBay things done, talked with friends.  This was not according to plan, but we knew up front there would be days that wandered adrift. Today, did the +1, and 16 ads!  Again, a new personal best.  

    Even better, Monique's eBay store and mine are both doing very well.  eBay's been slow for a while, so it's great to see Monique's listings do well.  Her store is our mainstay.  The ads I post are slow sales, and I've been focused on building quantity, and reputation.  I try to be very up front with condition, and go for overkill with the careful packaging.  

    Also, and I can't find anybody else selling ephemera who does this, I scan both sides of the magazine page (or pages), and include the images.  Even if there are no ads on the back side, it makes sense that people would be curious about both sides.  In some cases, there are very cool ads on BOTH sides.  Depending on just how cool, I'll either feature a main one, but still describe the other side, or split the title between both ads.  This includes creating a custom thumbnail for the lead image.  If it's a two-page ad, that means I'm actually scanning and describing four pages.  More, in some cases... Garcia fishing/hunting equipment had a 6-page ad rambling through an Outdoor Life magazine!

    I do worry that maybe this extra effort is a waste of time, but if I was my own customer, this is what I'd like to see.  Full disclosure, no questions, and the comfort of knowing exactly what I'll get when I buy.  Plus, who knows which ad's going to sell?  If I only featured one side, I might be choosing the wrong one to list.

    Back to the job transition - I've been with the paper for 15 years.  About a year ago, it got to be too much and I dropped to part time.  Over this last year, working with Monique in the afternoons has been really great.  We laugh, joke, ask each other's opinions on the things we're listing.  We're spending more time together, and I've seen a shift from high-stress to being happier.  Our income is minimal, but as long as we keep pushing on eBay, things look pretty good. At this stage, leaving the paper to work full time with Monique feels like a natural progression.  A positive direction for us to move in.

    The only downside is the friends I'm leaving behind.  After all these years, many of my co-workers are good friends (more like family), and I'll miss them.  Monique suggested once or twice a month that we can bake cookies for me to take to the office, giving me an excuse to hang out and keep in touch.  All my co-workers like the idea.  If you've ever tasted Monique's cookies (including the holy grail... homemade Macarons), you'd understand why everybody thinks it's a great idea. :^)

    Even with that, I struggle at the thought of not getting to see everybody as often.  It's going to be difficult to leave that part of my life behind.  But more so, exciting and fun to be working at home, spending most of my days with Monique (and our puppies).  We keep talking, making plans, trying to balance work versus 'retired'.  My main goal is to work hard, but happy.  Not to be rigid with our planning, but responsible.  To know that some days we'll be working more, and some days we'll have unplanned time off.  I want to leave the work stress behind, and enjoy life as much as possible.  It's a work in progress, but we'll figure it out.  It's honestly an exciting time, and I'm looking forward to it.

1967 Mercury Cougar XR-7 The Mans Car / MayTag Washer Dryer Dependable Print Ad

     We have a fun juxtaposition this time. Over and over, I’m astonished by the attitudes and stereotypes in these older ads. What makes these two so fun, is that they’re literally each the flip side of the same page. On one side, you have Mercury, the “Man’s Car.” On the other side of the page, there’s a Maytag washer/dryer ad targeted at entire generations of housewives.

    Starting with Maytag, they’re featuring poor Mrs. Dubler, who’s managing a family of 10 children (plus her and husband). At 6 years old, she figures her Maytag washer and dryer are just getting broken in, with lots of life left in them. At 4 loads each day, every single day...and in six years, they’ve only broken down once. :^)

    She has reason for her positive outlook, because her mother’s Maytags are 39 years old and still working. (I guess, so is her mother.) They don’t really spell out what kind of workload her Mom has, though. No telling if it was an equally large family, or if her mom only had the one child. But hey, let’s just keep things rolling. It looks like about a half dozen of the current children are girls, so Maytag’s got an inbuilt and expanding customer base for the years ahead.

    The ironic part? The ad mentions newer Maytag models with features that Mrs. Dubler’s washers and dryers lack. Like giant new washing capacity. You’d think, for the advertising street credits, Maytag would make a point of donating some of the newer machinery to this robust family. Maybe Mrs. Dubler might be pleased with only having to wash twice every day?? Guess they figured her husband can afford all those kids, let HIM buy new ones.

    Now lets talk about that Mercury. You know, the “Man’s Car.” All kind of luxury features. Elegance galore, soft glove leather, walnut-grained vinyl panels. Dials, overhead console, hidden headlights, powerful V-8 engine. All standard. Cause you know, he works hard to buy his wife those Maytag washers and dryers. He deserves his “Man’s Car.”

    Last point – not sure when the term came into use, and this was probably before then, but this Man’s Car is the Cougar XR-7. So, while his wife is busy raising ten rambunctious youngsters, the “Man” is relaxing with his “Cougar.”

    Since I started selling vintage advertising on eBay, there’s been an awful lot of very blatant sexism and stereotypes. Some even more extreme than this. But the pure irony and accidental serendipity (I know, that’s redundant) of having these two ads back to back on the same exact page… that’s priceless.

    I usually include the main text from the featured listing, but it's pretty much all been covered already.  Don't think it's needed this time.

1967 North Carolina Pirate Stash Booty Blackbeard Calico Jack Print Ad Vintage

     I like when travel advertisements think outside the box.  Most of them just play up the natural features and benefits, which is completely fair.  A few get creative with their descriptions, maybe some humor.  Then there's North Carolina.  This is brilliant - they invite you to come dig for buried pirate treasure!

    Right off the bat, they use humor (and a bit of greed) to pull you in.  So, maybe nobody's found any pirate treasure yet... that might just mean the odds of somebody finding something are getting better and better.  After all, the North Carolina Coast was home stomping grounds for the likes of "Blackbeard, Calico Jack and Gentleman Harry."  There ought to be some treasure somewhere.

    If that's not enough to catch your interest, the modern photo of an old-school pirate is totally awesome.  Certainly made me stop and look.  As a matter of fact, it made me think we might keep this one here at home.  Monique and I enjoy building models.  Mostly, she does monsters and villains, and I do super-heroes.  Her current (and long-running) project is a pirate. He's a work in progress.  Before I even decided to post this ad on eBay, this image struck me as a perfect backdrop for her pirate.  Showed it to her, and while she liked it, it wasn't close enough to the pose her pirate is standing in.  She's going to look online for better match for her pirate, which leaves me free to list this one on eBay.

    So, this pirate nearly found a permanent home before he ever went on eBay.  Hopefully someone will find him as fascinating as I did, and give him a place in their collection.  :^)

Original Advertisement Page Placement: Interior
A single page, with both sides scanned and described.
Suitable for Framing
Ad Description/Company Name:
Side 1: Full Page, Color
North Carolina
(A pirate-themed travel ad)
They say pirates stashed enough booty along our coast to ransom a score of kings.
So far, no one has found any, but you are welcome to join the search.

Side 2: ½ Page, Black and White
Better Homes for All America
Better Homes Project Plan 3302-1
Don’t be satisfied with the makeshift – here’s the real utility!

Publication Date: March 1967
Publication Name: Better Homes and Gardens
Magazine Size: Approx 9.5” x 12.5” (May be slightly smaller after pages are trimmed from magazine)
Condition: Used.
These are very old magazines; foxing, fading, and discoloration may be present with older paper items. Minor corner damage and slight ripples may be present.
These are original pages taken from their original magazines.
Images are scanned on a Black background.
The images you see are the Exact same page being sold. I take detailed scans of each one, please examine and make your own judgment. I’ll also include notes of anything out of the ordinary.
Your satisfaction guaranteed!
Specific Condition Notes: This entire particular issue – March, 1967, was bent diagonally on the upper inside corner before it was ever disassembled. It’s very hard to see in the scans, but is present on nearly every page, including this page. Additionally, this page is somewhat rippled.
The price is reduced to reflect the condition.

1967 Sealtest Prestige French Ice Cream Husband / Canada Centennial Print Ad VTG

     Let's get the ugly truth out of the way first.  This page is not in excellent condition.  As a matter of fact, I was of two minds whether to list it or not.  It's heavily rippled, you can see it clearly even in the reduced image here.  Not so visible on the image but still present, someone bent the whole magazine on the upper corner near the binder.  I listed it for several reasons.  

    First, we bought this collection of magazines, and it was an investment I don't want to waste.  Maybe, if I'm honest about the condition (I spell page conditions out clearly, in two separate locations within each listing), and if I provide a discount, there might be someone willing to overlook the damage for a specific ad.

    Second, I've only been listing these for a few short months, and every listing I make is more practice to do a better and faster job.  In less than two months, I'll be fully retired from my job of the past 15 years, and working on these full-time.  By that time, I hope to hit the ground running.

    Third, I've discounted the usual cost, and all these listings have a "make offer" option.  I would rather make the sale at a discount or even small loss.  Again, for the sake of gaining experience in the workflow.  All in all, it's not wasted, it's been a learning process in improving efficiency.

    That said, this ad is a favorite of mine.  It's funny, given the context between 1967 and today, to see how attitudes have changed.  Sealtest is targeting WIVES as the shoppers in the family, but telling them this is a fantastic ice cream for their "manly man" husbands.  Hearty.  60% Creamier.  A "special ice cream for your special man."

    It's also a good-looking ad.  I love ice cream, which doesn't hurt.  But even the hands tell a story.  Her hand is exquisitely manicured, with soft pink nail polish... which also matches the flavor of the ice cream.  His hand is strong, powerful, with a manly ring (with a big stone), and gripping that spoon like it's a weapon.  I bet he even prefers roast to rarebit.  The overall colors are warm (so to speak) and appealing.

Not subtle, Sealtest.  But credit where it's due, I bet this was an effective ad in its day.

The opposite side was a good ad in it's own right, but this one just swept me away.  

Ad Description/Company Name:
Side 1: ¾ Page, Color
Sealtest Prestige French Ice Cream
If your man prefers roast to rarebit,
serve him the ice cream that’s 60% creamier.
An ice cream for husbands

Side 2: Full Page, Color
Canada’s Centennial is a great, wide, wonderful world.
Publication Date: March 1967
Publication Name: Better Homes and Gardens
Magazine Size: Approx 9.5” x 12.5” (May be slightly smaller after pages are trimmed from magazine)

Condition: Used.
These are very old magazines; foxing, fading, and discoloration may be present with older paper items. Minor corner damage and slight ripples may be present.
These are original pages taken from their original magazines.
Images are scanned on a Black background.
The images you see are the Exact same page being sold. I take detailed scans of each one, please examine and make your own judgment. I’ll also include notes of anything out of the ordinary.
Your satisfaction guaranteed!
Specific Condition Notes: This entire particular issue – March, 1967, was bent diagonally on the upper inside corner before it was ever disassembled. It’s very hard to see in the scans, but is present on nearly every page, including this page. Additionally, this page is heavily rippled.
The price is reduced to reflect the condition.

1967 Heftier Chase Sanborn Hot Coffee Perk Blended Cup Cheer Print Ad Vintage

    Today I listed a vintage print ad for Chase & Sanborn coffee. I hadn't heard of them before, but they had a clever ad showing a young couple in the aftermath of a children's birthday party. Her kneeling on the floor with dustpan and whisk broom, smelling the heavenly scent of coffee after a harrowing day. Him pouring the just-made coffee, two cups on the table ready to revitalize the worn-out couple.

    It was a cute ad, but what really got my attention was the format. I don't see a lot of multi-page ads that are NOT full-page. This one was on two page, but only took 1/2 of each page. No idea if two half-pages are cheaper than one whole page, but the format really worked with the 'drifting coffee' scent carrying the Chase and Sanborn name.

    C&S is an American company dating back to 1864. Caleb Chase and James Sanborn founded the company, and laid claim to being the first to pack and ship roasted coffee in sealed tins. From the late 1800's to the early 1900's, they enjoyed great success, even sponsoring their own radio show (Chase & Sanborn's Coffee Time). The show started in the 1930's, and ran until 1954.

    My first official post here featured Nestle Quik; coincidentally, it was Nestle who bought out C&S in the 1980's. In 1999, it was sold to Sara Lee, and continues to be a successful coffee brand. I'm glad for them. Part of the reason for picking this ad today was because I love coffee. More accurately, I require coffee as the caffeine delivery vehicle of choice to keep me awake at work. Instant coffee works best at work. Near the end of my full-time working career, I was relying on an average of 17 cups of coffee each day. Hard to drink that much on a cup by cup basis, but with instant, you put as many spoonfuls in as needed. 5 cups worth, in a single cup... makes for a strong taste, but that's okay. It wasn't about the taste, just the caffeine.

    Now that I'm working part time, caffeine is nice, but not such a necessity. It's becoming more about the taste, than about the caffeine. Maybe I'll give C&S coffee a try.     Below is the text from the eBay listing. It turns out a direct link to the listing will disappear after an item has sold, so rather than try to track what's linked to what, and when something sells, I'm linking directly to our eBay store, "A Page Out of Time." It might take a couple more clicks, but at least the link will always be valid.

    I like to show both sides of a page, in case ads on the opposite side might be interesting to someone. When it's a multi-page ad, as is this one, it takes a bit more time and effort but I still like to show both sides of every page, and include a short description of each page.

Original Advertisement Page Placement: Interior
Multiple Pages, with both sides of each page scanned and described.
Suitable for Framing
Ad Description/Company Name:
PAGE 1
Side 1: ½ Page Horizontal, Color
Chase & Sanborn Coffee
You deserve more than just a cup of coffee.
You deserve a great cup. A Hefty cup.
Side 2: ½ Page Vertical, Black White and Red
Pro Hardware Stores
Picnic of Values Sale

PAGE 2
Side 1: ½ Page Horizontal, Color
Chase & Sanborn Coffee
The hefty one. Blended hefty to perk you up, warm you up, cheer you up.
Side 2: 2/3 Page, Color
Sealtest Prestige French Ice Cream
Peach Nugget
If your man prefers steak to souffle, serve him the ice cream that’s 60% creamier.
An ice cream for husbands.
Ad Type: Partial Page/Multi Page
Publication Date: July 1967
Publication Name: Better Homes and Gardens
Magazine Size: Approx 9.5” x 12.5” (May be slightly smaller after pages are trimmed from magazine)
Condition: Used.

1967 Nestles Quik Professional Milk Shake Flavors Better Homes Gardens Print Ad

     After a good bit of prep work, and other projects to manage, it's finally time for my first actual post here.  Since "A Page Out of Time" is going to feature ephemera, and primarily from our eBay store, I wanted to start with something really appealing.  This one caught my eye pretty "Quik."  :^)

    I'm a child of the 60's, we always had a can of Nestle's Quik in the kitchen.  I loved chocolate the best, but it clumped a lot.  It was really hard to blend into the milk.  For convenience, even though it wasn't my favorite, I usually opted for Strawberry.  For some reason, strawberry blended better.  No clumping, and the milk absorbed the flavor better.  Now that I'm older, it's got me wondering if we were supposed to make it with a blender?  We always just spooned it into the milk, and stirred it with the spoon.  

    Seeing this old ad now, I'm also wondering why I never heard of the Chocolate Malted flavor?  Chocolate and Strawberry were practically permanently available.  Never tried vanilla, it seemed kind of redundant to add vanilla Quik to milk.  But Chocolate Malted?  That would have been popular.  Now I wish I'd tried it.  I would have been 7 years old when this ad was published.  That time, at that age, was exactly where my memories came from.  Seems odd that I never even knew about it.

    Anyway, this being my first legitimate post, I've included the full listing description here, including things that would become repetitive if I included them every time.  Also, the image has a link to the eBay listing.  Not sure if that's a good idea or not.  The link will only work as long as the eBay listing is live.  Once something's sold, I don't know if it'll become a dead link, or still connect to my store.  Guess we'll find out when it happens.  For now, if you click the image it'll go to this particular listing.  

    This is still a learning process for me.  Over time I hope to refine these posts.  We'll see how it goes.

Original Advertisement Page Placement: Interior

A single page, with both sides scanned and described.
Suitable for Framing

Ad Description/Company Name:
Side 1: Full Page, Color
Nestle’s Quik Shake in 4 new flavors
The Professional Milk Shake kids can make at home
Strawberry
Chocolate Malted
Vanilla
Chocolate

Side 2: No Ads on 2^nd Page

Ad Type: Full Page
Publication Date: July 1967
Publication Name: Better Homes and Gardens
Magazine Size: Approx 9.5” x 12.5” (May be slightly smaller after pages are trimmed from magazine)

Condition: Used.
These are very old magazines, some in better condition than others. Foxing, fading, and discoloration may be present with older paper items. Minor corner damage and slight ripples may be present.
These are original pages taken from their original magazines.
Images are scanned on a Black background.
The images you see are the Exact same page being sold. I take detailed scans of each one, please examine and make your own judgment. Your satisfaction guaranteed!
Specific Condition Notes: None