Started this post to share a few of the more interesting vintage Newspaper ads I've found recently. Some have new information and models listed. Some are just interesting to show marketing used at the time. The dates of publication are confirmed from the top of the publication. They may not warrant a spot in the ad database, but are noteworthy.
Here's one from December 1933, found in the Wilkes-Barre Pennsylvania "Independent". The watch on the top right is listed as "Miss Princeton". Doesn't look like a ladies model to me. Perhaps a typo?
This next one shows a watch currently listed in the database as "unknown". The ad is from December 1949. It's a shame so many of these ads I'm finding don't have model names associated with some of the watches listed.
Next is one of several ads from the very early 1920's which shows watches without model names (or numbers). We know at this time many of the watches had numbers for names. Apparently too boring to list the model numbers, so these ads don't give much, if any, new "information". This one's from December 1923. I don't think I see Bulova on the dial either, but noted the little "whited-out" area on the band w/ the wording "BULOVA" which suggests this was a Bulova-generated watch graphic.
Some of these medium-size regiospecific jewelry stores continued to advertise without any model names/numbers throughout the 1920's (as in this June 1925 ad below). Maybe they just wanted to get customs to their store, and then sell them what they had in stock. Conversely, advertisements in the large publications and magazines (Saturday Evening Post, Cosmopolitan, Look, etc...) were sponsored by Bulova, so it was important to have a way for the customers to id the watch they liked from "Bulova production", not necessarily store stock. Bulova marketing staff were using model names with appeal- something the boring "model number ID's" lacked. We see some of these models previously named by numbers with attractive names in nation-wide ads by end of 1925, but not necessarily in the smaller newspaper ads.
Good stuff Will.
The use of Model numbers not names on the early Bulova Watch Co pieces supports the notion that the 'Lady' Maxim 'Hudson' Maxim and Rubaiyat Watches advertised by J. Bulova Co in 1922 (pre Bulova Watch Co) were Watch brands and not Model names.
The 1933 Morris ad above showing the 'Miss Princeton' is interesting as the Watch depicted does not follow the traits of known Ladies pieces of the era, compared to the 'Miss Liberty' below the image looks like a Gent's piece.
The ad for the 49 three diamond dial is the first one I've seen for that model. Such a tease that there is no model name mentioned. I've been searching for that ad for years now! At least now I know my watch is not an Excellency with a movement swap. Nice find Will.
In reply to The ad for the 49 three by Bob Bruno
In reply to Well Bob it might not be as by plainsmen
Still seeing lots of the smaller newspaper/jewelers ads showing models which may not have been in production at the time the ad was published. Maybe the jeweler just liked how the watch graphics looked, or still had some in stock, even though they were older models? This Aug 1929 ad from "The New Holland Clarion" shows two models which I thought were produced earlier in the 1920's.
In reply to Still seeing lots of the by William Smith
In reply to Case and Movement Dated 1932. by FifthAvenueRes…
After checking ad above to existing ads on site, looks the following may be new model numbers:
6511
6720 - two jewel counts based on attributes.
6714 - two jewel counts based on attributes.
We already have a much nicer 5716-S, but the ad above tells us "2 fine triangular sapphires".
Every little bit of new info for these old Gals helps, but the above resolution is very poor. I have a higher resolution copy I'm trying to clean up and supply to Admin, if it's even worth including in the ad database...
I'm looking for "19K gold filled" and "16 jewel movements".....but it's almost a prayer.
Well.....maybe not "totally". This one newspaper ad ran three out of four Sundays in July 1953.
IMO this only suggests Connell's Jewelry store ran the ad in their local newspaper. It's a regiospicific newspaper. It's not like "Bulova" ran the ad; Connell's ran the ad. Perhaps they had lots of these watches in stock and no one told them they shouldn't/couldn't run the ad. The wording is as interesting as the date of publication. "For the first time ever..." Is this referring to the AA "OO" being available for the first time ever? Or for the first time ever "...at the lowest price ever" If the Academy Awards "OO" was produced and marketed in 1951 or 1952, then one could argue Connell's ran an ad from a previous year.
If we find more examples of like this, or a large scale or national ad done by Bulova (not one of it's distributors), then we can say more about the date of marketing vs the date of ad publication.
In reply to Chester Times, PA 12-12-1951 by plainsmen
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In reply to Wow Plains- your on a roll! by William Smith
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In reply to THE DAILY STAR. QUEENS by plainsmen
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In reply to From left to right Ladies: B, by plainsmen