Labor Day Weekend "Drive Safely" Pleas – 1953 & 1963

It's Labor Day Weekend – the traditional end of summer. And readers of this blog know it's a holiday tradition to feature vintage, hair-raising ads with the Grim Reaper, encouraging the public to drive safety.

The one above, which appeared in the Lorain Journal back on Sept. 4, 1953, is a doozy.

It's a particularly fearsome depiction of Death and the grisly aftermath of a multi-car accident. I can't quite make out the name of the unsung artist, whose signature appears twice – making me think that the Lorain Journal layout artist combined two separate illustrations into one graphic composition.

Ten years later, the Journal used this fearsome photo (below) to accompany an article with the death tolls of the 1963 Labor Day Weekend. It appeared in the paper on Sept. 2, 1963.

While an illustration can pack a powerful punch, a photo can be even more disturbing. I'm guessing that the scythe-wielding, cloaked one was inserted into the photo via good, old-fashioned retouching – lest he cause stunned drivers to slam on their brakes in shock (and drumming up some real business for the Reaper in the process).

Anyway, here's wishing everyone a safe time on the highways during the rest of the weekend.