JB's Warehouse & Curio Emporium

 Harper's, July 1954. If you believe this fun 1950s ad, the story of the wiener fits the classic tale of the immigrant who made good in America. From the arrival of the first two wieners at Ellis Island, this story demonstrates how combining the right cuts of meat and spices into a pleasing taste combination hooked generations of Americans. It is a lesson that is sadly lost on many people today.  Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, the wiener industry stressed the easy digestibility of its products, as it does in section 6 of this ad. One of the funniest examples of this I've encountered is an ad for Kahn's Wieners ("The Wiener the World Awaited") presented on Cruisin' 1964 , one in a series of albums recreating the golden age of AM rock radio. Here's a link to the Kahn's ad whose tagline is...well...a tagline (you'll want to start at the 14:07 mark).  Founded in 1906 as the meat industry's lobby group as the American Meat Packers Association, the...

  Esquire, June 1966. Given the current climate where knock-down culture runs rampant, it was interesting to  stumble upon  this 1966 Esquire cover featuring famous people who few publicly hated on.  As for the "unknockables" on this cover, clockwise from the top are Kate Smith (singer whose rendition of "God Bless America" spurred on the Philadelphia Flyers during the 1970s), John Cameron Swayze (early 1950s NBC nightly news anchor and Timex watch spokesperson), Helen Hayes (legendary actress), Norman Thomas (Socialist presidential candidate), Marianne Moore (see below), Jimmy Durante ("good night Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are..."), and Eddie Bracken (comedic actor, best known to my generation as Roy Walley in National Lampoon's Vacation ), with Joe Louis (legendary boxer) in the middle. Let's explore who else was considered universally beloved... The portraits were illustrated by Jack Davis , who career was in high gear during the 1960s as he ...

  Look, January 8, 1957 . Since 1942, the Ad Council has presented Americans with public service announcements ranging from Smokey the Bear's suggestion that only you can prevent forest fires to McGruff the Crime Dog's vow to take a bite out of crime .  This two-page spread highlights some of the Ad Council's late 1950s campaigns, which reflect a mixture of optimism, community building, and Cold War initiatives. It is refreshing to note that the Ad Council's website does apologize for some of its too-jingoistic campaigns during the Second World War directed against certain "foreigners."  Perhaps a new campaign resurrecting the hand gesture depicted in question #3 could be modernized and used extensively for the upcoming U.S. midterms. 

  Windsor Record, October 5, 1899. Yes, it is ok to have happy thoughts. Especially when you have a functioning late 19th century beast of a stove that might not be the best on the market but will do you what you need it to do.  The model that was just ok may have been manufactured by Brantford-based William Buck Stove Company, who appear to have published several pamphlets about their "Happy Thought" line. This note to housewives appeared in an 1899 guide that is currently available on the Internet Archive .  This pamphlet provided some historical context, with its writer (credited as "the 'Happy Thought' Range Man") declared that "no better stove man ever lived" than William Buck, whose experience "taught him that there was a class of people in this country - a class by the way largely increased since his day - that wanted something better than the ordinary cooking apparatus, no matter how well made, that was at that time in vogue." In ...

 Port Huron Times Herald. December 31, 1925. It's been a long time, hasn't it?  In its last incarnation, this site was primarily used for bonus features related to articles I've written, or as a workaround for Facebook's continuing ban on Canadian news websites. Since the last time I wrote on here, I haven't been in the mood to round up the extra stuff and I've abandoned FB for 12 million reasons.  This site has evolved over its two decades, from an online diary to testing writing ideas to placating tech overlords. Having been dormant for over a year, I feel it's time to properly resurrect it with yet another new direction. That new direction? Going back to the "curio emporium" aspect of the title by digging into the thousands of files on my computer and posting material I've collected for reasons ranging from cool artwork to potential use for future professional assignments.  As social media decays into forms I'm not in love with, maybe it...

  Ottawa Citizen, June 6, 1944. To mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day, my latest piece for TVO looks at how Ontarians reacted to the invasion my latest piece for TVO looks at how Ontarians reacted to the invasion , including plenty of noise, plenty of prayer, and plenty of contemplation.