Ads like this were dreamed up by men who worked in offices on Madison Avenue in New York and on North Michigan Avenue in Chicago. They wore grey flannel suits, thin ties, Stetson or Dobbs dress hats, white shirts. They smoked a lot, drank during lunch, and dreamed up ads like this.
The stripes are of high-contrast colors associated with warning signs and danger. Seems like a desperate, and probably successful bid for attention. The designer may have also been seeking to avoid having this card look like those from actual advertisers. This later consideration might explain the dog's breakfast of type faces. All in all, it is not a very distinguished representative of the graphic arts.
I will add that the striped bars may be to suggest construction barricades, and the black void that forms the background could represent that this is a blank (or vacant) site waiting for the arrival of your important commercial message.
There is very often a great deal of intention lurking behind seemingly arbitrary design choices.
IF you like what you see, you can help by sending a tax-deductible donation to the Illinois Railway Museum. See the "fundraising" box at the top of this column. Thanks! And if you're a member, we can always use more hands-on help, too!
The "Hicks Locomotive and Car Works" banner at the top is taken from original artwork of the company, which was in business from 1897 to 1911. The picture behind it shows the four restored CA&E wood cars at the Museum, starting with #309, which was built by the Hicks Locomotive and Car Works in 1907.
This is not an official website for the Illinois Railway Museum. It represents only the personal views of the authors.
It has been developed and tested using Chrome, Firefox, and IE7 with the screen set at 768x1024. If any other browser gives you a problem, please let me know.
Any reproduction or other use of the material posted here for personal or commercial profit or financial gain would be a miracle. So don't try it.
Our Current Projects
CA&E 36, 308, 309, and 319
For 2024, the 309 and 319 should be available for revenue service. The 308 has a bad motor and the 36 has a broken leaf spring, but work to make them operational again is underway.
CA&E 451, 453, and 460
We are working on reupholstering the seats in these cars.
Shaker Heights 18
The 18 is operational; repairs and repainting are now underway.
3 comments:
Ads like this were dreamed up by men who worked in offices on Madison Avenue in New York and on North Michigan Avenue in Chicago. They wore grey flannel suits, thin ties, Stetson or Dobbs dress hats, white shirts. They smoked a lot, drank during lunch, and dreamed up ads like this.
The stripes are of high-contrast colors associated with warning signs and danger. Seems like a desperate, and probably successful bid for attention. The designer may have also been seeking to avoid having this card look like those from actual advertisers. This later consideration might explain the dog's breakfast of type faces. All in all, it is not a very distinguished representative of the graphic arts.
I will add that the striped bars may be to suggest construction barricades, and the black void that forms the background could represent that this is a blank (or vacant) site waiting for the arrival of your important commercial message.
There is very often a great deal of intention lurking behind seemingly arbitrary design choices.
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