Decorating with Retro Vintage Ads

Do you ever remember the “Good Old Days”? Everyone can get a little nostalgic but how about expressing that nostalgia through some of the most creative art ever created? With the recent growth of vintage nostalgia and collectibles, a new trend in decorating includes the collecting and display of vintage magazine ads.

For example, if you have a home bar, you may be interested in framing some old Ballantine ale, Schenley, Smirnoff and other beer, wine or liquor ads. If your first car was a 1969 Chevelle, you may want to frame a vintage Chevrolet ad. I have seen a number of car dealers that like to put these up in their showrooms. It really makes a statement to potential car buyers

Many banks have created some truly classic ads and it is interesting now much life insurance and credit was promoted years ago.

Colorful full page ads seem to spark the most interest although there are some really classic black and white ads. These ads from days gone by contain some truly classic looks that you just don’t see today. There are many obscure artists that have created these ads...some not so obscure such as Norman Rockwell. Before the advent of computer graphics, most of these ads required an artist rendering, the likes of which are rarely used today. The attention to detail in the artwork of many of these ads is simply amazing.

More than the classic looks, they provide a glimpse into a different time as well as how society viewed the world. For example, many of the cigarette ads from the 1940’s – 1950’s feature prominent actors, actresses and sports figures. Ronald Reagan, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby to name a few. This is something you would never see in today’s “PC” (Politically Correct) world.

At the other end of the spectrum, many of these past ads portray American life at home.

An ad for Campbell’s soup features a brother and sister coming in out of the cold to find Mom with two steaming hot bowls of soup. Families eating meals together, traveling together and well….just plain being together are more examples of how times have changed. In these days of fast food, it surely is a rarity to see this sort of home environment.

This trend lead me to start collecting and eventually selling these classic ads. I have heard some really great ideas. Many of these ads adorn home bars, garages and playrooms. The best story to date is a customer that was going to wallpaper their bathroom with vintage soap and perfume ads. Truly creative!

About the author

The author collects and sells vintage tools and vintage magazine ads. The antique tool collecting has come down through the family and their ties to different industries and occupations that involved a wide range of different tools.

The vintage magazine ads evolved by stumbling upon some examples at a flea market while hunting for tools. Since collecting some tool related ads, the collection began to grow and soon enough, the ads went up for sale.

After some time dabbling with Ebay, a dedicated website was created and continues to grown.

Current items can be found at the following URL http://www.Vintage-Ads.com

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Decorating with Retro Vintage Ads