Collecting Early Advertising
By Mel Lewis

"Advertising is what gives society resonance and colour," according to Mark Wnek, director of the agency behind Wonderbra, Peugeot, Haagen-Dasz, and Ken Livingstone's victorious bid to be London's first mayor. Collectors will lap up Wnek’s words -much as they snap up the iconic artefacts of advertising from the likes of Coca-Cola, Guinness, Cadbury's, Gillette, Typhoo, Kellogg's, Listerine, Jaeger, Colman's and a host of lesser names all fighting for a slice of consumer cash - and keen to colour our lives, of course! The vista is wide indeed: everything from posters to door-to-door flyers, brochures, transfer printed cups and tins, packaging, sponsored shopfittings, shelftop display material, key rings, belt buckles and penknives, Graphic artists, designers and homemakers thrill to vivid Victorian printing, often crisper and brighter than anything achievable today. Possible dynamic centrepiece of a designer collection? A sandwich board. Collectors of Hornby model trains and Dinky toys covet original packaging related to their specialisms. In truth, the value of almost any collectable is enhanced by the juxtaposition of original related advertising or promotional material.

A 1950s Chantal Meteor 200 (record player)is currently rated at over £5,000 ($8,000). Who wouldn't pay another £20 ($32) to own the brochure that originally helped sell it? Everyone's a prospect for this collectable; we are all, as it were, familiars, thanks to the universality of the best advertising images and catch phrases. Interestingly, many of the most potent and durable slogans can be accurately dated, adding an authentic dimension and a talking point to the antiques that give them currency. ‘Guinness Is Good For You’ was launched in 1929, a Double Diamond first ‘Worked Wonders’ in 1952 .... Skegness only became ‘So Bracing’ after 1909. As for ‘Bridge That Gap With Cadbury's Snack’ ... no-one did until 1967. Enamel plates - also known as tinplate advertising - are a star turn in the ad collector's galaxy. Beware any that are too clean, too pristine: plates formerly fastened to shop exteriors will inevitably show signs of weathering in the form of chipping and rust. Tin plate is also among the most expensive: Will's Flag Cigarettes, cl920, 36 x 24in, £150-£180 ($240 -$290); Black Cat Pure Matured Virginia Cigarettes, 1930s, 35 x 24in, £120-150 ($190 -$290); Robin Starch, c1910, 36 x 24in, £400-£450 ($650-$720). A 1950s Dinky Toys display card, by contrast, is rated at £40-£50 ($65- $80), Brooke Bond Tea packets, 1950s-1970s, £10 to £20 ($16-$32) each. Hardly surprisingly, the biggest names make the biggest bucks. Witness a ‘Drink Coca-Cola’ American c1949 10ins high red radio rated by Millers at up to £600 ($950). All prices from Millers Collectables Price Guide 1999-2000. Image shows Uncle Sam in recruiting mode – one of the most powerful advertising images of the 20th century.