Color advertising in 1933

Seventy-five years ago, on Sept. 21, 1933, the New Era published the first two-color ad in local newspaper history.

Below is the short article that ran at the top of Page 1 that day, followed by the splashy red-and-black Texaco ad itself, which was published on Page 12. And below that is an enlarged copy of the ad text, in case you have trouble reading it on the full ad.

Thanks to LNP library staffers Kim Gomoll and Ann Roberts for retrieving the old newspaper from the vault!

One more note: The “NRA” eagle on the left side of the ad is not a reference to the National Rifle Association. It’s indicating Texaco’s cooperation with President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s National Recovery Administration. The NRA was attempting to revive the Depression-era economy through a variety of industry agreements to raise wages and create jobs by limiting the hours of each worker.

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About Tim Buckwalter

Tim Buckwalter, Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era copy editor and "Eras Past" columnist, compiles intriguing articles, photos and thoughts from his frequent forays into the newspaper's archives.
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