Going to Fineburgs' in 1942, Trenton, New Jersey

It's a rainy day as I write this, so I thought that it would be fun to go time-traveling. Let's go to Fineburgs' in 1942, which was in Trenton, New Jersey.

By the way, before we get started, I'd like to say thank you to the nice people at the Duke University, whose website ROAD (Resource of Outdoor Advertising Descriptions) gives me hours of rainy-day enjoyment. Of course, they're interested in advertising, but I'm interested in time-traveling. Let's take a look at this billboard.


I like the drawing. You really don't see much illustration in advertising nowadays, but back then it was common. Looking at this building (which is still there, by the way) makes me think that it wasn't originally built as a place that sold auto parts. If you lived in Trenton in those days maybe you can tell me more about Fineburgs'. Note that it's Fineburgs', not Fineburg's, so the name wasn't Fineburg, it was Fineburgs. At least that how I read it!

The sign at the top says "Kelly Springfield", which is a brand of tires. The Philco caught my eye, because we used to have Philco radios when I was a kid (my dad worked for Ford) in Minneapolis. How it is that something made by Ford was called Philco I have no idea. I'm on the internet, so I suppose I could Google it!


The mystery just seems to increase when I see "Genuine R.M.S. Philco Replacement parts. Sounds like it's another thing that I'll be looking up on the internet today. More rain is in the forecast, so I'll have plenty of time! The only home appliance that I remember made my Philco was our radio, but presumably they made other stuff. Yeah, I know, I could Google it! And I will! Let's see, what else? The phone is 5125, and course you could buy U.S. War Bonds and Stamps there. World War II was going on.

I'm also fascinated by the little hand-drawn sign there that says "No Parking". This is another lost art (the hand lettering, not the illegal parking!).


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