Advertising Icons

Sometimes it is the little things that add dimension to the history that a Ruthmere tour presents to visitors. With guests experiencing the fine art, the architecture, décor, and the modern convenience built into the house, other things get overlooked – the books in the library’s book case, the dinner-time chime in the dining room and the kitchen products displayed on the stainless steel counter top in the kitchen.

Ruthmere’s 1930’s-style kitchen

These little touches are a slice of time, placed where these artifacts were likely used when Ruthmere welcomed the guests of A.R. and Elizabeth Beardsley and Arthur and Stella Beardsley. The kitchen, remodeled in the 1930s, was truly an important part of Ruthmere. From family dinners to elegant parties, staff and the Beardsley family prepared the meals with skill and efficiency. Displayed on the counter are some of the products that would have been found in many cupboards of the early 1900s and, for many of these products, still used today.

Hershey chocolate, Clabber Girl Baking Powder, and McCormick spices are some examples of products still used to craft tasty meals for family and friends. The packaging of these products does not vary too much from the designs of today, such as Hershey’s iconic brown and white tin, the Clabber Girl advertising icon and logo on the baking powder tin, and the Red and White can used by McCormick spices. Other product packaging on display is some of the not-so-well-known-now brands, Sudan, Ann Page and Frank’s.

Spices featured in Ruthmere’s kitchen

The Morton Salt Girl

In this multimedia age, advertising is complicated and engages the senses. At the turn of the 20th century, however, when radio was just becoming popular and television was unheard of, packaging that included friendly icons and predictable color schemes connected with the consumers and built customer loyalty. The Morton Salt Girl with the umbrella, for example, personified a necessary pantry staple and over the years, the logo has kept up with the times. The Coca-Cola logo or Shell Oil Company are other examples of how some product logos are still recognizable generations after they were created.

Logos are nothing new to humankind. History is filled with examples of logos, such as Coats of Arms, coins and emblems, even the wax seals used by officials to seal important documents are considered logos. A logo is defined as an identifiable mark that symbolizes identity or ownership. In the corporate world, careful consideration is given to a company’s logo to make sure it accurately depicts what the company stands for. That’s a lot of pressure for graphic designers!

Dr. Pepper Chromolithograph

Just like other innovations, changes in printing capabilities meant logs would change over time. In the 1800s, logos, package labels and advertising was produced in black and white, the color combination easily reproduced. In 1837, chromolithography, a color printing method was patented which gradually increased color printing by the end of the 19th century. By the mid-20th century, the ability to reproduce logos in color was the norm, although color printing for advertisements was still a few decades away.

But logos haven’t been the only change in product packaging through the last century. In the 18th and 19th century, glass bottles and jars were the preferred way to hawk products. Dr. Miles’ early selling of Nervine was delivered to the customer in a glass bottle, for example. For most of the 20th century and even to today, glass bottles are still used to package some goods to the consumer, although plastic has replaced glass for many products.

Dr. Miles Nervine bottle (from https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/dr-miles-nervine-pharmaceutical-139194725)

During Victorian Times, fears about the transmission of diseases and the acceptance of germ theories as purported by Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch resulted in the use of tin cans to package products. This curtailed the practice of foods being sold in bulk barrels, an uncleanly practice wherein many hands could contaminate the food contained within.

Foods packaged in tins cans was considered more sanitary and healthier than products gathered from the same barrel as a person’s neighbors. Using tin cans to package food was made more efficient when machines were developed to produce the cans. Industrial advancements allowed tin can manufacturers to trim and stamp sheets of tin and later to use lithography to transfer images to the cans. This freed companies from having to use paper labels adhered to the tin cans.

In Ruthmere’s time, several product mascots were introduced. Mascots were first used in advertising products in the early 19th century. American consumers identified with these mascots and that has not changed. Mascots appearing in the late 19th century and early 20th century included the Quaker Oats Quaker man introduced in 1877, the Sun-Maid Raisin Girl, introduced in 1915, Mr. Peanut in 1918 and the Jolly Green Giant in 1928. Snap, Crackle and Pop and the Gerber Baby came to the consumer market in 1928. Elsie the Cow was introduced in the early 1930s.

Speedy, the mascot for Alka Seltzer

Even the development by Elkhart’s Miles Lab of Alka-Seltzer, patented in 1931, evolved into an advertising icon – Speedy – which many people still react to today, decades after Speedy ceased to be used in advertising campaigns. Most people associate Speedy with television advertisements of the 1950s and 1960s. According to Advertising Age, these 200+ TV ads were among the most popular ads in the United States.

Advertising and product packaging over the decades have created fond connections with people. Advertising logos, product mascots and package labels evoke feelings of nostalgia in consumers. Companies will often mark the anniversary of a product by reviving the product labeling used in the past.

There is something to be said for anything that stands the passage of time and changing tastes of the public. Tin cans in the kitchen of an historic house like Ruthmere are not the big story, but add the spice to the narrative, like the Allspice the McCormick’s can on display in Ruthmere’s kitchen once added to the dishes served.