Valentine's Day Ads – 1956

Valentine's Day is tomorrow. How about some gift ideas for your sweetie from the pages of the Lorain Journal around Valentine's Day 1956?

Lorain Telephone Company just dialed it in with this not-very-romantic suggestion of a new phone on Feb. 8, 1956 . Boy was that a wrong number!

Rusine's suggested a good book in this ad from Feb. 9, 1956. How about the book Kitty that's highlighted in the ad?

It's not exactly the Good Book. Kitty is described as, "The wildcat of the streets who set her cap of curls for the bluest blood in England. There never was another like Kitty – with her satin skin, melting flesh and tremulous mouth. Kitty with the lithe body of a wildcat... tongue of a teamster... the greed of a girl of the streets. Kitty – the saucy strumpet of the streets, who became most talked about Duchess in England."

The book was made into a 1945 movie starring Paulette Goddard as the 'saucy strumpet.'

Not too surprisingly, these ads from Feb. 11th, 1956 stressed wholesome Valentine gifts: candy and flowers. Advertisers include Brownell Pharmacy, Faroh's Candy Shops, and Rusine's (again).

Feb. 12th was a Sunday – so no Journal. But the Feb. 13th edition continued with the gift ideas. How about an exquisite gift from Ted Jacobs?

But if something from Ted Jacobs was too rich, our old pal the Thrifty Scot from Muir's had some ideas.

But in the end, ya can't go wrong with candy, as this Kutza's ad suggests.