Born on this day in 1894, artist George Petty created pinup art for Esquire magazine (among others) beginning in the 1930s and continuing into the 1950s. Reproductions of his work, known as “Petty Girls,” were reinterpreted and used by military artists as nose art decorating warplanes during WW2, including the most well-known example, the Memphis Belle.
His artwork also appeared in art deco inspired advertisements, including this delightfully dated Old Gold cigarette ad (scanned here from a 1938 issue of The New Yorker magazine) which includes a line describing the “benevolent mildness” of this brand:
What charm! What freshness! And just twenty! Twenty Old Golds… No more, no less than you get in any other regular-size pack of cigarettes. But O.G.! What a difference you’ll find in O.G.s! What a difference in the rich full flavor and fragrance of their prize crop tobacco! What a difference in their benevolent mildness that comes from long extra aging and mellowing in oaken casks! What a difference in Old Gold’s Guaranteed Freshness, the result of a stale-proof package wrapped in double cellophane double-sealed! Do you wonder that every day more wise smokers marry Old Golds?
A couple things become immediately clear from this Bonwit Teller ad (pulled from a 1929 issue of Vogue Magazine). First of all, there is no downside to the drama of a long, gorgeous cap veil. Even with (maybe especially with) the sleek lines of a 20s style wedding dress. Secondly, can we bring back “gowned” …
Easy to forget, a century later, how influential the art around Fritz Lang’s 1927 film Metropolis was (and is). So much incredible, inspirational art deco/modernist art sprang up around it. The fonts! The design! The posters! To be fair, that futurist look might be a little dark for some weddings (unless they are dystopian or …
One of the saddest thing about our move from records to tapes to CDs to digital is that so many great singers, songs and songwriters have gotten lost in the shuffle. Sure, you can find most things now with a quick Googling, an online swipe of the credit card, and voila! But as a music …
The soft luster of white satin is exquisitely set off by pearl trimming in this Lucile-Paris wedding gown. Lucile suggests a striking innovation in bridal hosiery- Fanchon, faintest, most delicate flesh-pink, rather than white. Perhaps the most unusual of the new hosiery shades sent from Paris by Lucile is Fleur de Lis, the creamy ivory …
George Petty | Vintage 1930s Advertisements
Born on this day in 1894, artist George Petty created pinup art for Esquire magazine (among others) beginning in the 1930s and continuing into the 1950s. Reproductions of his work, known as “Petty Girls,” were reinterpreted and used by military artists as nose art decorating warplanes during WW2, including the most well-known example, the Memphis Belle.
His artwork also appeared in art deco inspired advertisements, including this delightfully dated Old Gold cigarette ad (scanned here from a 1938 issue of The New Yorker magazine) which includes a line describing the “benevolent mildness” of this brand:
What charm! What freshness! And just twenty! Twenty Old Golds… No more, no less than you get in any other regular-size pack of cigarettes. But O.G.! What a difference you’ll find in O.G.s! What a difference in the rich full flavor and fragrance of their prize crop tobacco! What a difference in their benevolent mildness that comes from long extra aging and mellowing in oaken casks! What a difference in Old Gold’s Guaranteed Freshness, the result of a stale-proof package wrapped in double cellophane double-sealed! Do you wonder that every day more wise smokers marry Old Golds?
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