Hart's Jewelry Ad – March 8, 1956

Easter was a little less than a month away back in 1956 when the full page ad for Hart's Jewelry below appeared in the Lorain Journal on March 8, 1956 – 70 years ago this week.

While the theme of the ad was the 31st Birthday Sale, Hart's was apparently hoping that the 27 inch Easter Bunny (free with any purchase of $5.95 or more) would cause shoppers to hop in.

Twenty dollars seems to have been the set amount that Hart's was offering for old watches (which is roughly $239 in today's inflated greenbacks).

Looking at the ad, I wondered if people today still wore a lot of expensive jewelry – and if so, where do they wear it? I used to always wear a watch but when I started working at my present job, I discovered that jewelry of any kind is forbidden because of safety reasons. (It's a manufacturing plant.) So I've gotten out of the habit. 

Anyway – as longtime readers of this blog know – I always try to find out if some featured item in an ad managed to escape the garbage dump and survive, decades later. (Remember ol' Lanky Long?) 

In this case, it was the stiff-legged 27 inch rabbit that I was looking for. Sure enough, there was one on eBay!

In the eBay listing (where his price is $67.50), he's described as "1950's Vintage Plush Easter Bunny Rabbit With Celluloid Plastic Face 24." 

Twenty-four inches? I guess he shrunk a bit due to old age – like me.

Hart’s Jewelry Ad – June 25, 1951

So how did kids keep cool in the summer back in the days when air conditioning wasn’t as prevalent as it is now?

Well, if they were growing up in Lorain, then perhaps a swim down at Lakeview Park or one of the city pools might have been an option. But what if they were too young to go swimming by themselves, and were more or less restricted to the yard where Mom could keep an eye on them?

Then this 50 inch inflatable pool offered by Hart’s (the jeweler whose ads seemed to promote everything but jewelry) would have been just the ticket. The ad ran in the Lorain Journal back on June 25, 1951.

The pool's a good one too, made of genuine Boltaflex, "the plastic with the shine.” 

There’s even a portable metal shower that hooks up to a garden hose, which seems like a pretty good idea. As the ad notes, “Many parents shun public bathing places because of diseases! Put the beach in your backyard!”

All for the price of $11.95 – or $123.73 in today’s dollars, according to one of those online inflation calculators. 

No wonder there was an optional 50 cents down weekly payment option.

Hart’s Jewelry Easter Ad – March 8, 1956

Regular readers of this blog know that I like to post vintage Hart’s Jewelry advertisements. That’s because there’s almost always something offbeat going on in the ads that's in sharp contrast to the rather staid presentation of jewelry for sale.

There was the Scottish Lassie (1947); the 5 Voice Doll (1950); the mystery blonde (1954); the Wyatt Earp Frontier Marshal Set (1957); and the Giant Panda Doll (1957).

In this Easter-themed Hart’s ad, there’s the promotional incentive of a 27 inch Easter Bunny doll, free with any purchase of $5.95 or more.

It’s an odd looking Easter Bunny. I’m assuming his impressive 27" height includes his ears. But his stiff, rectangular legs (with no feet) appear to have been flattened by a steamroller. And I don’t see any straps making him a possible dance partner a la Lanky Long.

Anyway, I searched online to locate one of these rascals, and this is the closest thing I could find. (Hey, I think I saw someone in Dollar General recently wearing pajama bottoms similar to that.)

But leave it to shopping mega-giant Amazon to sell a pretty similar “Large Easter Rabbit Celluloid Plastic Doll Face Mask” so you can make your own.

Or if you prefer an Easter Monkey, you could make that instead.

Christmas Ads – 1950

Well, it’s Christmas week. Let’s start the celebration by taking a look at some ads from the pages of the Lorain Journal in December 1950, and get a taste of the city of seventy years ago. 

Speaking of taste, wine was – and still is – a great gift for many people. This ad for Stone’s Grills (I’m not sure why it's plural) is fun to look at, with many old-time brands listed, including E & K Wines, Virginia Dare, Golden West Wines and Duff-Gordon Imported Wines. (By the way, Francis Ford Coppola literally brought the Virginia Dare Wine brand back to life in 2014, which you can read about here and here.)

I wrote about Stone’s Grill a few times, including this post about the Helfrich Building, and this January 1950 ad.

The other ad with a wine theme is for Zim’s, advertised as “Lorain’s Leading Beer & Wine Stores.” 

‘Zim’ was Willard B. Zimmerman. I like how the ‘Z’ makes up the body of the little mascot. The ad lists two store locations, 1247 Broadway and 1762 E. 28th Street. (I suspect that the ad has a typo or two, because the 1950 city directory had the two locations as 747 Broadway and 1246 Broadway in both the alphabetical, as well as the street-by-street listings).

If you preferred to enjoy your spirits in a comfortable bar setting, then this ad for the well-known Lincoln Park Nite Club would have been of interest.

Of course, Lincoln Park Nite Club and the various bars at that location have been the subject of many posts here on the blog.

Switching over to non-booze-related ads, here’s one for Lee Furniture. It has a particularly nice sentiment.

The company was owned by Joseph and Carl Lepon, and was located at 453 Broadway.

Here’s one for Bazely Cash Market, the subject of this 2017 post. (I guess they didn’t barter or take IOUs)

And I’ve written about Central Bank (whose one forlorn, lonely pillar still stands on Broadway) many times.

Here’s one for a business that I’ve never mentioned before on the blog. It’s a full-page ad for Agnes Kay Ladies Specialty Shop at 433 Broadway. The business was established by Agnes Kay Webber on Sept. 4, 1947 and featured a bridal salon for outfitting all members of the bridal party.

The business moved to 436 Broadway in the early 1960s; it closed around 1966 and its location on Broadway became the Downtown Lorain home of Faroh’s Candies.

The next ad is an interesting one. It’s for a WTAM radio broadcast of “A Christmas Carol” starring Lionel Barrymore as Scrooge. The local sponsor for the show as indicated in the ad was James Renker & Son Plumbing & Heating.

Lionel Barrymore, as we all remember, played the evil Mr. Potter in It’s a Wonderful Life. But did you know that an imitation of his voice was used for the diabolical mad scientist Simon Bar Sinister on the cartoon series Underdog?

The last ad is for Hart’s, a jewelry company that has provided me wth some offbeat, but memorable, posts over the years. Remember the ad with the Marilyn Monroe lookalike? The Wyatt Earp Frontier Marshall Set? The creepy ‘panda doll' that looked like a genetic mistake? The leggy Scottish lassie? All were found in ads for Hart’s.

This time out, the highlight of the ad is the 24” high “Magic Skin” 5 Voice Doll, an exclusive PARO creation.

As the ad notes, “Just squeeze her little right arm and SHE CRIES. Touch her cute, dimpled right leg and SHE SIGHS. Pinch her chubby left arm and SHE CRIES AGAIN. Squeeze her adorable left leg and SHE WAILS. Turn her over on your knee and SHE CRIES LIKE A BABEE.”

Sick, man, sick. This is worse than Ol’ Lanky Long! (Throw him! Drop him! Toss him!)

According to the ad, she has 5 different voices, moving eyes, rubber arms and legs, rose rubber panties, a full size petticoat (what’s that?), Ninon dress & bonnet, lace trimmed shoes and socks.

As usual, I tried to find a photo online of an existing doll – although after all the pinching and squeezing committed in the name of fun, I was doubtful that any doll would still be around with its limbs intact to cry and wail today.

I could be wrong, but this doll currently on Ebay (listed as 22” tall) kind of looks like one.

If you look closely at the doll in the Hart's ad, you can see the raised ridges of the hair on its left temple, similar to the Ebay doll.

I feel like buying the doll just to see if I can get it to make some kind of noise!

At least any abuse or torture dished out to my G. I. Joe "doll” (or action figure, if you prefer) when I was a kid was all in the name of war.

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UPDATE (December 26, 2020)

Longtime contributor and all around good guy Bob Kovach solved my little mystery as to why the ad for Stone’s Grill at the top of this post had the name of the business as plural (as in Stone’s Grills).

Bob wrote, "Yesterday I was looking around eBay and I came across an old Stone's Grill match book. I figured I purchase it for a very good friend of mine, whose father owned the Stone's Grill on Broadway. 

Anyways, when I looked at the pictures I noticed that there were many Stones Grills!” 

Inside of matchbook

Bob continued. " I'm going to ask my buddy about it because he always talks about the place, and I even did some work on the building for him some years ago when he still owned it. So it was really neat this morning when I started to read your article about Christmas ads, and saw that you wondered why it was plural.”

"So I thought to myself, 'I can answer that for Dan!’”

And I’m glad he did. Thanks, Bob!

Father's Day Ad Mystery – Solved at Last!

Remember that 1954 Hart's Father's Day newspaper ad (above) I posted way back in 2013 (here)?

At the time, I was unable to identify the blond starlet holding a Shavex shaver in the ad. Then, in 2018 (here), I was positive that it was actress Jan Sterling after watching the movie Ace in the Hole.

Well, I goofed. It's not Jan Sterling. Sorry about that, Chief.

How do I know? Let me explain.

A few months ago I had a temporary subscription to an online newspaper archives service. During that limited time period, I tried to research anything and everything I could think of to get my money's worth. And one of those things was that original Shavex ad with the mystery model.

Looking at the 1954 Hart's ad, I reasoned that the ad artwork was something that was provided by an agency and then modified perhaps by the Journal art department to add the Hart's logo and pricing. So my thought was perhaps the original ad (before being modified for use by Hart's) contained her name.

And I was right. Here's the same ad as it appeared in the South Bend Tribune on December 22, 1953.

Right next to the picture of Der Bingle is her name. It reads, "Lovely Mary Ellen Kay, currently starring in "The Long Wait," says "SHAVEX will be the most appreciated gift in his Christmas stocking."

So now we know why her name wasn't in the Hart's Father's Day ad: the text had a Christmas reference.

Here's another version of the ad. This one ran in the Los Angeles Times on December 21, 1953.

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It turns out that Mary Ellen Kay is a fellow Buckeye – born in Boardman, Ohio (near Youngstown). 

Happily, she's still with us. Here's a link to her Wikipedia entry.

She didn’t make a lot of movies, but at least one is a cult favorite: Voodoo Woman. Here are two publicity photos from the movie.

And here’s the trailer.

Hart Christmas Ad – Dec. 19, 1957

I like posting vintage Hart's Jewelry ads. They’re usually offbeat and fun to look at.

There was a 1946 Thanksgiving ad here, and a January 1947 ad with a comely Scottish lassie here. Then there was that 1954 Father’s Day ad with the Mystery Starlet, and a November 1957 Christmas Layaway ad featuring the Wyatt Earp Frontier Marshall Set. (By the way, the Mystery Starlet is a mystery no more – but that’s the subject of a future post.)

And here’s another one, from Christmas 1957. The nearly full-page ran in the Journal on December 19, 1957 – 62 years ago. As you can see, the words HART’S has been crookedly pasted at the top of the ad to give it some branding.

As usual, there’s fun things going on graphically. For starters, Santa Claus looks somewhat diabolical to me – almost scowling. And his bushy eyebrows contribute to his demented look.

But what really caught my eye was the small cut-in ad near the bottom right advertising a GIANT 35-INCH PANDA DOLL. 

I don’t know why, but this pointy-headed ‘panda doll' gives me the creeps. He looks more like a failed experiment from the Island of Dr. Moreau than a panda! Plus he’s about as cuddly as Ol’ Lanky Long (the subject of another offbeat jewelry store Christmas ad).

Anyway, if anyone has any happy memories of playing with this (ugh) doll, be sure to leave a comment! I tried finding one on the internet but I think they’ve all been relegated to that scrap toy bin of history.

Happy Thanksgiving – 1965 Style!

Well, it’s Thanksgiving – so here’s hoping all of you enjoy the day, perhaps enjoying a fine meal with friends and family as you contemplate your blessings.

And in honor of the holiday, here are a couple more Thanksgiving-themed ads from the pages of the Lorain Journal.

First, here’s another one of those full-page sponsored ads that the paper used to run each year. This one is from 1965.

At least this one doesn’t feature the Grim Reaper, as so many of the other ones did – for July 4th, New Year’s Eve, School’s in Session, etc.

Not too many companies from the sponsor list are around today, mainly Columbia Gas and the successors to the various banks. But I’m pretty sure Ed’s Transmission is still chugging along on all cylinders in Elyria, and Dairymens still distributes its fine products in our area.

But Kline’s, Edna’s Hitching Post, George May Ford, A&P, Harry’s Mens Wear, Broadway Bowling Lanes, Bazley Market, Herb’s 333, Jacoby Food Fair, and Casey’s Drive-In are all just nostalgia blog fodder today.

My second Thanksgiving ad is one for Hart’s, billed in its November 21, 1946 ad as “Lorain’s Largest Jewelry Store.”

That’s a good-looking Pilgrim Turkey with an authentic-looking snood.

Anyway, it’s always fun seeing the prices on these vintage ads, such as a safety razor (18 cents), a man’s Elgin or Bulova watch ($67.50) and a women’s six diamond pair 14K yellow gold rings ($175).

In today’s prices, that’s $2.33, $875.37, and $2,269.48.

Father’s Day Ad Mystery – Solved?

Back in 2013, I posted the Father’s Day ad above for Hart’s Jewelry Company. The 1954 ad promoted the Shavex electric shaver, and featured an unidentified model who I referred to as a Marilyn Monroe look-alike.

It bugged me that I couldn’t identify the model, who I assumed was an actress. Since Der Bingle (Bing Crosby) was associated with Shavex, I speculated that perhaps one of his Hollywood pals did the ads as a favor. But I was unable to come up with anybody.

Fast forward to a few months ago.

I was watching a Kirk Douglas movie (Ace in the Hole) that I’d never seen before, when I noticed that the female lead looked strangely familiar. “THAT’S HER!” I exclaimed as I practically did a spit-take with my morning coffee.

At least to me, the woman in the Shavex ad looks like the woman in the movie: Jan Sterling. They both had those sad eyes and distinctive, narrow nose.

Need more convincing? Here are a few glamour shots of Jan for your enjoyment and/or perusal.

Jan Sterling could really change her looks with a simple tilt of her head or a different hairdo. If you Google her name, you’ll find that she looks like a different person in every photo. That’s why it’s so difficult to know for sure if it’s her in the ad.

Anyway, Jan Sterling was in my one of my favorite John Wayne non-Westerns, The High and the Mighty. You can see her a few times in the movie’s trailer.

Hart’s Jewelry Ad – Jan. 24, 1947

Yesterday’s post about Muir's featured the store’s longtime Scottish mascot.

Well, in today’s post, Hart’s Jewelry muscles in on Muir’s racket with their own leggy Scottish lassie. The ad ran in the Lorain Journal on January 24, 1947 – 71 years ago this month.

Image from a 1956 Harry Volk
Clip Book of Line Art

It’s kind of amusing how “Scottish thrift” was used over and over again as an easy marketing theme through the decades. At right is an image from a Harry Volk Clip Book of Line Art that has been at my desk at work since the mid-1980s. That particular image is from a 1956 collection entitled MONEY.

The association with Scots and saving money seemed to reach its climax with the Sandy’s hamburger chain’s founding in the mid-1950s with its "Thrift 'N Swift" tagline and Scottish lassie mascot.

I guess the whole concept was finally deemed politically incorrect and insulting (or perhaps just lame and unimaginative) because I haven’t seen it in any recent advertisements for a long time.

The last instance I can remember in recent years is the Great Scot grocery store chain in western Ohio, which utilized a tartan pattern in its signage. Until as late as the 1990s there was an outlet in Port Clinton.

The chain is still around, although I think it is now co-branded with Community Markets.

Hart’s Jewelry Christmas Layaway Ad – Nov. 22, 1957

Yesterday I posted an ad for Smith & Gerhart showing a selection of toys that could be purchased using the store’s layaway plan. Well, here’s another ad with a layaway theme, this time for Hart’s Jewelry.

The ad ran in the Lorain Journal on November 22, 1957.

Hart’s Jewelry was located at 575 Broadway. I posted a 1954 Father’s Day ad for the store here.

Hugh O’Brian, star of the
Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp

But getting back to the Christmas ad shown above. Strangely enough, none of the gift ideas involve jewelry.

Electrical gifts are well-represented (Reddy Kilowatt would be proud), with several General Electric products, including a toaster oven, coffee maker and fry pan. There’s also a 9-piece Bell & Howell movie outfit, consisting of a camera, projector, movie screen, carrying case, filter and a year’s supply of color film. That $139.95 price tag would be the equivalent of about 1200 clams today. (Of course, we wouldn’t put it on layaway today; we’d just charge it!)

Most interesting to me of course is the Wyatt Earp 17-piece Frontier Marshall Set, comprising two official repeater cap pistols, jeweled double holster set, spurs, leather matching cuffs, deputy badge, bullets and bandana. The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp had already been on TV since September 1955 and was a Top Ten show.

By the way, I did try to find a two-foot-tall “panda” on Ebay resembling the one in the ad, but I was unsuccessful.

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This summer I went on a real Western biography kick, reading multiple biographies of some of our greatest heroes of the Old West.

I’m happy to highly recommend Casey Tefertiller’s Wyatt Earp: The Life Behind the Legend. It’s most likely the best-researched book about Wyatt Earp ever written, as well as the most enjoyable. Most fascinating is how Wyatt Earp lived until 1929, and that his friend, movie cowboy William S. Hart, was one of his pallbearers.

If you happen to be a Bat Masterson fan, Robert K. DeArment wrote two great biographies of the well-known Western peace officer, Bat Masterson: The Man and the Legend, and Gunfighter in Gotham: Bat Masterson’s New York City Years. Both were well-written, with the later book about Masterson’s later years as a New York City sportswriter especially hard to put down.

I also read Doc Holliday: The Life and Legend by Gary L. Roberts. It was pretty good, but Doc had figured so prominently in the other two books I read that I was already familiar with his story.

(In case you’re wondering, despite the links to Amazon, I don’t get any kickback if someone happens to click through and buy any of the books indicated. In fact, I borrowed them all from the Lorain Public Library, cheapskate that I am.)