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Web Exclusives:
Under the Ivy February
26, 2003: A taste of the times through PAW's old advertisements PAW has always been dependent largely on outside advertising to finance its existence, and so to page through old issues is to catch a glimpse of the climate of the day. The year 1933 was a time similar to our own: the economy was still struggling to recover from a precipitous stock market fall, while overseas an enemy once vanquished had rebuilt its arsenal and was stirring up trouble. PAW's ads from that year reflect the state of worry and uncertainty. Insurance companies are a major presence on its pages, particularly Prudential, which most of us will recall once had "the strength of Gibraltar" and the outline of the rock to demonstrate it. New York Life was another frequent advertiser, with a sob story about a widow with four children whom their underwriter was able to help — marketing not only life insurance, but the benefits of a job as an underwriter. Hotels, another common advertiser in PAW's pages, played up their cheap rates. "Rates bow to the times," announced the Hotel St. Regis on Fifth Avenue, offering double rooms for seven and eight dollars. Meanwhile, Princeton University Press was selling its books on the economy ("If you want to know the lines the 'New Deal' will follow, read Wages and Wealth: This Business Roller-Coaster, by Roy Dickinson '09") and on Germany and Italy ("Now that Hitler is Chancellor," The Crisis of German Democracy by Herbert Kraus "will help you understand what all the fuss is about," read one ad, while another touted George McClellan's Modern Italy as a "clear vigorous narrative" telling "the story of the rise of the modern Italian state, from before the unification to the advent of Mussolini and fascismo.") Others advertisers were eager to help PAW's readers escape. Chesterfield and Camel cigarette ads were run in luscious color on full pages. Promotions for travel agencies, particularly cruise lines, abounded. "To see France is every woman's right," said one ad for the French Line, while others suggested getting away to Bermuda, California, the "Spanish Americas" — "Havana, Colombia, Guatemala, El Salvador, Panama, and Mexico" — and even the Soviet Union, "uncertainties notwithstanding," as The Open Road's ad put it. And Manhattan's The Roosevelt urged readers to celebrate "a new gay season-in-town! And who, above all other mortals, is best fitted to help you do this welcoming-in? Who but that gifted maestro, Guy Lombardo! Guy the suave, Guy the inimitable!" — who could be "seen, heard, danced to" at the Roosevelt Grill. Then there are the American icons that still resonate, perhaps more faintly, today. "When better automobiles are built, Buick will build them," the car maker announced, while Brooks Brothers — Men's Furnishings, Hats & Shoes — advertised its Suits for Fall — $50-75. General Electric demonstrated its newest communication technology to the U.S. military, while the American Telephone and Telegraph Company sold its services as a way to keep in touch: "Right now as you are reading, someone, somewhere may be calling you. It may be merely a friendly greeting ... or news of importance to change the course of your life." Time, "the weekly newsmagazine," ran ads describing how historic events would have been reported in its pages. But not everything was completely serious. The Campus Publishing
Company's ad read: "Have you money in the bank, or cash in
the pocket? Probably not — but who cares? You can laugh it
all off if you read A Princeton Almanack, by F.D. Halsey '12 and
A.C. M. Azoy '14. ... This new book belongs in every Princeton home,
where it may puzzle some wives but bring a blush to no cheek."
Interested parties could return the attached coupon, which read,
"Gentlemen: I enclose a rare specimen of a one dollar bill
[or] Here is my, check, which may or may not be good, for one dollar."
Proving that Princetonians have always been able to keep their wit
about them.
Jane Martin ’89 is PAW's former editor-in-chief. You can reach her at paw@princeton.edu
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