Last week, I wrote about the lithographs on needle packs. They were executed so well that some of them were like works of art.
This week, as I was going through my trove of ephemera auction finds, I came across artwork of a different sort but just as lovely – on the fronts and backs of advertising cookbooks the size of a small pamphlet.
One for Pompeian Olive Oil had silver overlay on its drawing of the company’s oil can. The box of Royal Baking Soda on the back cover of another literally leapt off the page with its brilliant reds and blues.
As I turned each of these booklets over, I found that the back covers – with illustrations of the products themselves – were done as meticulously as the fronts. Each booklet contained information about the product and the company, along with recipes. Most of them were no more than six inches long, 30 or fewer pages. A few have publication dates: 1906, 1913, 1925.
The 10 pamphlets I have were part of a lot I got at auction some months ago. They were so well-preserved that they had to be part of a collection. The covers and inside pages were clean and pristine; the booklets had not been used. Likely, they were stored in a plastic sleeve far away from the kitchen. What I found in my research was that these were highly collectible.
Food companies produced thousands of these booklets, which came by mail either free or for little cost, according to the Duke University Libraries website. The earliest were simple black and white illustrated covers, but that soon gave way to more elaborate colorful ones. The library has created a database on advertising from 1850-1920, and has digitized a lot of the pamphlets, along with other types of advertising.
The cover of one of mine, for C.A. Durr Packing Co., has the beautiful graphic head of a Native American on the cover overlooking the Mohawk Valley. Intrigued, I started reading the foreword for this 1925 pamphlet from the company, then located in upstate Utica, NY.
The text stopped me in my tracks. I’m always amazed at what I find:
“A savage-enchanted land of unbelievable beauty. A fairy land of barbaric forest splendor. A land of mystery, pathos and tragedy. Thus stood the great forest Long House of the savage Iroquois.
Through this labyrinth of leaf clad forest loveliness the placid Mohawk River wandered – twisting, turning, winding leisurely to grow to greater force and serve a wider use after passing the Eastern Door of the Great Long House.
Upon the river’s quiet bosom floated the birch canoe propelled by the flashing paddle in the hand of the savage Mohawk brave – the fiercest, most implacable enemy of the white man in the new world.
But civilization now prevails. And marvelous is now this gentle Mohawk Valley.”
The illustration betrayed the company’s characterization of the Mohawk people. This demonstrates the importance of being able to tell your own history and not allow others to do it for you.
Mohawk Valley was the homeland of the tribe, whose true name is variously spelled Kahnawake. They were known as the keepers of the Eastern Door, according to Wikipedia, protecting the Iroquois Confederation – of which they were a part – against invasion from other tribes in the New England area. They helped form a confederacy and a system of government and laws that accompanied it, according to the Kanawake website.
They also protected their land from encroaching European settlers (including the new ex-pats from Britain), fighting against the new colonists in the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. After being on the losing side in the latter war, life changed for the Mohawks, and they became subject to American rules and culture. Most now live in New York state and southeastern Canada.
Inside the booklet are recipes for pork dishes (all the things I no longer eat), including fried ham and eggs and baked pork chops with tomatoes; photos of their meat products, sausage kitchen and plant, and a history of the company.
One of my favorite booklets is the color of chocolate, so rich that it makes me want to make a cup of Wilbur cocoa. And oh by the way, the first recipe is for hot chocolate – and fudge and cookies and cake and caramels and ice cream.
Enjoy the art. I’m not sure if these are made anymore. Today, you have to put out 30 bucks for a recipe book cooked up by some chef with their own Food Network show.
