Thursday, February 13, 2025

Muir's Valentine Ad – Feb. 7, 1945

Valentines Day is tomorrow. Are you still stuck for ideas when it comes to deciding on a special gift for your sweetheart?

Not to worry. The Brady Blog is here with some great ideas, courtesy of Muir's Discount Stores. Our friend the Thrifty Scot (shown above with his Valentine lassie) will make sure the gift suggestions are affordable in these economically challenging times.

Below is the full page ad for Muir's with a Valentine theme that ran in the Lorain Journal on Feb. 7, 1945.

There's quite a selection of personal items, although I've never heard of most of the brands. There are several Barbara Gould products, including face powder and pine bath oil. (To learn the history of the Barbara Gould brand, click here.)

Other gifts for women include Sun Valley Bubble Bath, Fantasia Toilet Water (sounds like a good gift for a dog), and Chen You Nail Polish.
Chen Yu Ad circa 1945

For men, there's the obligatory shaving kit (consisting of a mug and lotion) by Champrel. What, no Dopp kit?

Ah yes, there is one – identified here as a zipper kit.

But perhaps you'd like something a little more practical for your sweetie than perfume. A few alternative items in the ad are on eBay right now, so even though the ad is 80 years old, you can still indulge in a 1945 Muir's shopping fantasy.

There's the syrup pitcher with a metal lid. It's not too rusty.

Atlas shoe polish is always appreciated as a gift (although it might seem strange to buy shoe polish without a tall, flightless bird on the can).
And here's a gift for the woman who is tired of sharing her domicile with miserable meeces: a vintage Victor wooden mouse trap.
And if you happen to get outbid, you can always buy a brand new one from Victor with authentic fake cheese. It's lots of fun and really works!

4 comments:

Wendy said...

What a fun conglomeration of drugstore Valentine ideas - no wonder I so fondly recall my trips to Woolworths with my grandma! I never knew what treasure we’d come home with. Very educational - I didn’t know my underarms needed to be “appetizing” so I’d better load up on some LeDandy toilette water. But, more importantly, where can I get some of that Vacagen oral vaccine…

Don Hilton said...

I remember being just old enough to read and being appalled at ads for "toilet water." They remain sorta disturbing to me.

Buster said...

This ad looks like a giant conglomeration of the type of ads that would appear in the back pages of pulp magazines. Muir's must have been quite a place.

Anonymous said...

Now I wanna go out and get some "tooth powder".It's supposed to be better than regular toothpaste with natural and organic ingredients.Plus it doesn't contain any chlorine,so it is RFK Jr. approved.But I read it can leave a residue on your teeth so that would be a little weird.