Deceptive advertising has been a problem for centuries. The “cures” of Victorian times were promoted with posters, trade cards, almanacs, recipe books, calendars and other testimonials.
One of the prominent makers of cures, remedies and hair and skin products was James C. Ayer & Co. From 1838 to 1841, Ayer worked in an apothecary shop in Connecticut. He learned the business and studied the Harvard College suggested curriculum for chemistry.
He also studied medicine with a doctor. He bought the drugstore, sold his own remedies and eventually owned multiple stores, factories and other investments that made him a wealthy man. He died in 1878.
The business stayed in his family eight years, and then was sold to Sterling Products. One of his famous products was Ayer’s Hair Vigor. It was advertised as a “coloring and dressing” for hair that prevents and cures hair loss and “restores gray hair to its natural vitality and color.”
Restoring was really dying, but this was just a tiny exaggeration compared with the claims for other Ayer’s products. One said it restored your health after a malaria attack. Another promised a “youthful appearance.”
The colorful Ayer’s bottles, posters and printed material with unusual graphics are popular with today’s collectors.
Write to Terry Kovel, (The Herald), King Features Syndicate, 300 W. 57th St., New York, NY 10019.
© 2011, Cowles Syndicate Inc.
On the block
Current prices are recorded from antiques shows, flea markets, sales and auctions throughout the United States. Prices vary in different locations because of local economic conditions.
Pinocchio lunch pail, round, tin, removable lid, carrying handle, red, Pinocchio on lid, Geppetto, Jiminy, Figaro all around, Walt Disney Productions, 1940, 6 1/2 x 5 inches, $150.
Marilyn Monroe movie poster, “The Prince and the Show Girl,” with Laurence Olivier, Monroe being hugged by Olivier, 1957, 27 x 41 inches, $335.
Political cartoon necktie, rose-colored, “Vote for Roosevelt, Happy Days Are Here Again,” image of Roosevelt on donkey, 1932, 4 x 43 inches, $475.
Superman doll, wood and composition, jointed, movable head and upper body, original cape, Ideal Novelty & Toy Co., 1940, 13 inches, $1,600.
George III butler’s tray on stand, mahogany, rectangular paneled top with hinged gallery sides, pierced hand grip, scalloped edges, square legs, 1790s, 38 x 32 inches, $2,070.
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