Brach's Easter Candy

Getting ready to fill Easter baskets?
Bugs Bunny and Brach's!

March 16, 1959 Life Magazine


April 4, 1960 Life Magazine

March 17, 1961 Life Magazine
 
April 6, 1962 Life Magazine

March 29, 1963 Life Magazine
Brach's history can be found here.
Chocolate and jelly beans - yum! Have a sweet Easter holiday.

"A and P"

Easter is approaching so Lent is coming to a close. A & P Food Store advertised Jane Parker Hot Cross buns for Lent and I believe they are commonly served for Easter breakfast as well.


April 8, 1946 Life Magazine

March 17, 1947 Life Magazine
And spring desserts with A & P's Ann Page preserves

April 25, 1955 Life Magazine

April 13, 1959 Life Magazine
A cup of their coffee would go pretty perfectly with those treats - (and I love the china service they used in their ads)

April 18, 1955 Life Magazine

March 25, 1957 Life Magazine

January 27, 1958 Life Magazine

March 17, 1958 Life Magazine

April 27, 1959 Life Magazine

A&P Food Stores is also known as The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company

A&P's History
More than 150 years ago, The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, Inc. (A&P) began operations as The Great American Tea Company. Its first store - on Vesey Street in New York City - sold tea, coffee and spices at value prices. Soon stores sprung up all around the New York metropolitan area, and salesmen took their wares to the road in horse-drawn carriages bound for New England, the mid-west and the south. In 1869, the Company was renamed the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, commemorating the first transcontinental railroad and its intention to expand across the continent. In 1936, A&P became the first national supermarket chain in the United States, one of many company-led innovative concepts that have radically improved and changed the way consumers shopped. Its vast advertising and promotional activities reached so many consumers that A&P became an American icon.

More history on Wikipedia.
Unsourced information indicates there were 16,000 stores in 1930 and in 2011 there were 338.  There don't appear to be any stores in my area but I'm pleased they've been able to survive in some form for over 150 years.

Easter Shoes

Easter is less than two weeks away.  During my own teenage daughter's lifetime, even though church had been less formally dressed than when I was growing up, as a child she used to still get dressed up in a nice new spring dress and new dress shoes to wear on Easter Sunday so a shopping trip was in order during the weeks prior to the holiday.

Here are some cute children's dress shoes (yes, probably the kind that hurt your feet) from the 50s .
I think Buster Brown may have shoed the majority of dressed up children's feet.  Price range 1958 $5.99-$7.99

March 3, 1958 Life Magazine

Sundial Shoes for Children Price Range $3.95-$7.95 in 1955

March 28, 1955 Life Magazine
Buster Brown's price range $5.99-$7.99 in 1958

January 6, 1958 Life Magazine

I'm not getting the history link at the Brown Shoe Company to work for 1943- 1987 to find out more about Robin Hood shoes - price ranges $4.99-$6.99.  According to this link

The Brown Shoe Company, manufacturers of shoes, also published comics during the 40’s and 50’s, these were not sold along with other comics but could only be found in shops that sold Buster Brown and Robin Hood brand shoes.

March 17, 1958 Life Magazine
Buster Brown's price range $5.99-$7.99

March 24, 1958 Life Magazine


March 9, 1959 Life Magazine
Robin Hood's price range $4.99-$7.99

March 9, 1959 Life Magazine

And cute new Easter outfits from Sears price range $6.00-$6.98.

March 16, 1962 Life Magazine

Even though I know dressing up formally is the bane of existence for many children, these fresh outfits and shoes make me smile.

Baby Products

First day of spring and my youngest nephew's first birthday this week have me thinking about babies.  Enjoy these vintage baby product ads:

"Keep your baby 'Socially Acceptable' in Playtex Baby Pants"

February 1955 Life Magazine

Carnation Evaporated Milk (as a doctor recommended baby formula?)

June 20, 1955 Life Magazine

February 1962 Life Magazine

New Johnson's Baby Shampoo

March 7, 1955 Life Magazine

June 20, 1955 Life Magazine
Johnson's Baby Oil, Baby Powder and Baby Lotion

June 27, 1955 Life Magazine

Johnson's Baby Powder

February 13, 1956 Life Magazine


February 27, 1956 Life Magazine

Kleinert's Softex Baby Pants

May 2, 1955 Life Magazine

Kleinert's KD's Disposable Diapers

June 27, 1955 Life Magazine 
I didn't realize disposables had been around at least since 1955.

• Softer than any other disposable diaper you can buy.
• Pin Them on just as you do any regular fabric diaper.
• Won't stick; can't disintegrate on baby's sensitive skin.
• No wetproof pants are needed with waterproof KD's.
• When you're away . . . just throw soiled ones away!
• Package of 24 for only $1.98

Helanca Creepers and Garments

June 6, 1955 Life Magazine

And not just-for-baby product: Q-Tips

March 18, 1957 Life Magazine

March 10, 1958 Life Magazine

Remember when Q-Tips' were considered babies' private property?

Buster Brown baby shoes

February 2, 1959 Life Magazine

Care for your baby . . . free with Top Value Stamps

March 21, 1960 Life Magazine

Wizard Nursery Spray

February 23, 1962 Life Magazine

Swift's Premium meat for baby

March 9, 1962 Life Magazine

Happy Spring and happy babies!

Jolly Green Giant

I suppose the Jolly Green Giant is just the opposite of a pixie sized Irish leprechaun. But he's wearing green so I'm featuring him for St. Patrick's Day.  He was created in 1925 and first seen in advertising in 1928. 


October 30, 1939 Life Magazine

February 20, 1940 Life Magazine
Here is a pixie sized "giant"

December 16, 1940 Life Magazine

July 15, 1946 Life Magazine

"How the Green Giant was born:
In the early days of our company when we were pioneering new quality ideas in peas and corn, we knew we needed a distinctive mark so people would recognize them.
Our "Good Earth" was in the North Country where giant Paul Bunyan did his might deeds. The giants of Grimm's Fairy Tales added an adventurous storybook note which we thought was interesting.
Then we borrowed from the Indian Spirit of Hiawatha-land.
We put them all together and the jolly Green Giant was born - a beg fellow from then Northland, with Indian blood in his veins. That's his family tree.
Now, food lovers know he stands for corn and peas "picked at the fleeting moment of perfect flavor." Since those early days, the Green Giant has been printed millions of times on our labels and in advertisements like this one.
To us he says, "Keep up and improve the standards I represent." . . . To people who love good food he says, "Come on and eat.""

February 27, 1950 Life Magazine

October 13, 1952 Life Magazine

January 20, 1958 Life Magazine

March 17, 1958 Life Magazine

February 15, 1960 Life Magazine

February 3, 1961 Life Magazine

February 17, 1961 Life Magazine

January 26, 1962 Life Magazine

March 16, 1962 Life Magazine

October 19, 1962 Life Magazine
Remember this jingle?

This Irish Blessing seems suitable for the Jolly Green Giant's Green Valley

May your blessings outnumber
The Shamrocks that grow
And may trouble avoid you
Wherever you go.