Thrifty Acres: Early 20th C Ads Part 3

Hello! Here is my final installment of ads over 100 years old - from the one and only W. H. M. S. (women's home mission society) cookbook of Gibsonburg, Ohio. 

First up:

I liked how W. J. Simpson began his ad by stating he's leased rooms over the Iams & Mazey's Importing barn, so he's now ready, willing and able to make your old carriage look good again. "We guarantee first class work at living prices." - as opposed to dying prices?

S. Lack certainly didn't lack in goods to sell! Not only did he design and make single and double harnesses, he also carried "a full line of Whips, Robes Brushes and Oils". 

But wait! Before you set out for the road with your new harness, whip or robe, don't forget to have S. Lack show you "a line of fine Trunks, Valises and Dressing Cases."

Oh dear, I can't go on my trip yet - I don't know what a dressing case is! But then I looked it up on the Internet - it was a small piece of luggage, meant to hold toiletries. The online examples I saw were way bigger than the toiletry bag I toss into my suitcase nowadays. Oh well. 

Got a kick out of the matter-of-fact way F. R. Klotz makes the case for shopping at his grocery store: "You Should Eat The Best of Everything. We sell that Quality of goods."

And what exactly are the "Best of Everything" at this establishment? Well, here's a partial list:

After extolling the virtues of his coffee (with "nerve soothing goodness", no less), tea, canned goods ("fresh from the garden and orchard"), flour ("our brands are many and good"), spices, eggs, butter and lard, F. R. Klotz sums things up with confidence: "Give us your order for anything in the grocery department and trust to our ability to satisfy you." 

How many people trust their grocers to that extent today? 

The last item I'm showing off from this cookbook isn't actually an ad, but I still found it interesting:

At the back of the cookbook is a week's worth of menus. Oatmeal is still popular for breakfast, though not typically served with cream as shown above. Wasn't sure what "stewed potatoes" were, but looked through the cookbook to see if I could find a recipe. I did - turns out it's sliced potatoes, boiled until nearly done, then cooked in a sort of white sauce. 

If that's not enough breakfast for you, don't forget the boiled shad, biscuits, fruit and coffee. 

When it's lunchtime, partake of shad roe with sauce hollandise, Saratoga Chips (now known as potato chips), preserves, gingerbread and cocoa. Kind of an odd lunch - starts out rather fancy-sounding, but then morphs to simpler foods. 

To top it all off, there's a dinner of fish soup, boiled rock with lobster sauce, potatoes, tomatoes, asparagus, wafers, cheese, a cherry dessert and coffee. 

Whew! Imagine the labor involved in fixing those courses, without the benefit of the labor-saving devices we have today. Merchants like F. R. Klotz may have had the "Best of Everything" when it came to groceries - but he didn't help prepare all that food!