Advertisements from the August 1963 issue of Farm Journal

Featured today are some advertisements from the August 1963 issue of Farm Journal (cover price, 25 cents). According to Farm Journal Media's history page:¹ "Farm Journal was first published in March 1877 for farmers in the bountiful agricultural regions within a day’s ride of the publication’s office in Philadelphia. Founder Wilmer Atkinson was a Quaker, farmer and journalist who insisted that his publication disseminate commonsense information to farmers and their wives."

This is the "Eastern Edition" of the August 1963 issue and was originally mailed to Willard Faught of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. On the contents page, editor Carroll P. Streeter notes that recent changes to the magazine include the typography, "streamlined" writing and appearance, and a new section to give farmers tips on "borrowing money to make money, investing money to best advantage, how to save on taxes, tips on insurance, keeping yourself out of court" and more.

Articles in this issue include:

• Fruit Storage for Half the Cost
• Slats Buildings for All Types of Stock
• Ways to Grow with a Bungalow
• Why We Take a Dozen Vacations a Year²
• Rigs That Speed Up Silage-Making

Now, on to some of the advertisements...

Western Auto Wizard freezer

This Western Auto advertisement touts the Wizard Upright, which stores 525 pounds of frozen food for $229.95³, and the Wizard Deluxe "15" Chest Freezer, which stores 511 pounds of frozen food and costs $199.95.

Both appliances came with the free Wizard $200 Food Protection Plan, which guaranteed against losses from mechanical or electrical failure.

Salem Filter Cigarettes

Don't you just love the language they got away with in old cigarette advertisements? From this Salem ad, we have:

• Springtime softness in every puff
• Take a puff...it's springtime
• You'll smoke with fresh enthusiasm when you discover the cool "air-softened" taste of Salem

Meanwhile, I wonder if that cigarette was added to the photograph afterward by an illustrator. It looks a little too big and a little too straight.

Also, that man looks like he could be her father. (OK, I'm done now.)

Klutch, for false teeth

Here's an advertisement for Klutch, a product designed to help hold your false teeth in place. According to the text, "KLUTCH forms a comfort cushion; holds dental plates so much firmer and snugger that you can eat and talk with greater comfort and security."

Klutch is still around. The product's box is pictured at right. I found a couple of amusing customer reviews on Amazon's product page:

• "My Grandma who is 93 swears this product is it. It is the only thing she has ever used for her false teeth."
• "I bought this thinking, 'How the heck does denture adhesive POWDER work??' Very well! I bought these for my vampire fangs, since I can never get the damn solution that comes with the fangs to hold them in place. With previous pairs of fangs, I used Fixodent but since it's pink, it stained the fangs pink :( But this dries clear and is easy to clean out! All I had to do was pour some into the fangs, shove it over my tooth, and wait for the saliva in my mouth to mix with the powder and they stayed put for quite a long time (a few hours, then I had to take them out to eat)."

Sounds like Klutch should get together with the vampire-fangs industry for its next advertising campaign!

A*C*M Fruit Saver

Finally, here's an advertisement for A*C*M Fruit Saver, a product offered by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer.

The advertising copy states: "When preserving fruit, add wonder-working A*C*M Fruit Saver. It keeps fruit from browning and enhances natural flavor. A single can protects up to 75 lbs. of fruit. Use on fresh fruit, too! Prepare fruit salads and desserts hours ahead of time. A*C*M Fruit Saver saves the fresh look, saves the fresh taste of your fruit."

The is no information about what ingredients are used in A*C*M Fruit Saver to create this preservation miracle. According to the product's old trademark page, it was a mixture of ascorbic acid and citric acid for treating fresh and preserved fruits and vegetables. The product, which came in the form of a dry powder, also contained lactose.

Footnotes
1. Here's another fun tidbit from the Farm Journal Media history page: "In 1982, when computer technology had become even more sophisticated, Farm Journal, in cooperation with printers R.R. Donnelley & Sons, became the first magazine in history to bind its issues electronically, thus customizing magazines based on readers’ crops, livestock, size and region. The May 1984 issue, for example, had 8,896 different versions."

2. In "Why We Take a Dozen Vacations a Year," Minnesota farm woman Ethelyn Pearson writes: "One-day vacations - instead of one long one - suit us best. ... Our one-day vacations give us five or six hours of carefree enjoyment when we need them most, not when the calendar says we can get away. We've never returned from such a day without feeling refreshed. No frantic rush getting ready; no pressure to catch up afterwards."

Ethelyn Pearson, by the way has an interesting claim to fame: hairless cats. According to this Shammicats Sphynx history page: "The first noted naturally occurring Sphynx came from Wadena, Minnesota on the farm of Milt and Ethelyn Pearson, who identified hairless kittens occurring in several litters of their barn cats in the mid 1970's." Furthermore, according to Wikipedia, these hairless female barn cats, Epidermis and Dermis, became an important part of the Sphynx breeding program.

And, yes, I'm absolutely giddy about how far off-topic I am at this point.

3. That was very pricey. It would be the equivalent of a $1,619 freezer today, according to The Inflation Calculator.