Having your laundry done in 1942


When I stumbled on this image at the Duke University website ROAD (Resource of Outdoor Advertising Descriptions), I have to admit that it puzzled me, and it still does. Let's take a look, and I'll tell you what I see, as an old advertising guy, graphic designer, and cartoonist.

First of all, this is an ad for a place that does your laundry and dry cleaning. This particular image is in Trenton, New Jersey, which is in the United States, and this is during World War II. And what really catches my eye about this is the obvious attempt to show a display of wealth. This kind of thing would go away for many years as Americans tightened their belts, and did what they could to help the war effort, including Victory Gardens, and buying War Bonds, and extravagance (what most people my age would call "conspicuous consumption) really did go out of style until the 1950s, when the war was over, and tailfins grew on cars, along with a lot of chrome.


Let's take a closer look at the little girls. There are three of them standing there looking, and two on the billboard. It's 1942, and the real little girls seemed to be dressed in a normal way for the time, dresses, and one of them is wearing a sweater. She's carrying a book, so she must be on her way to school. As for the cartoon girls, here's where it gets a little weird.

Clearly, the girl on the left is displaying wealth. She's wearing fur, and although I'm no expert on women's fashion, it looks like her pointy hat and spat-like leggings would be more appropriate for the 1920s. As a cartoonist, I understand how this happens, because most cartoonists (myself included) learn to draw at an early age and never really bother to update their style. So it's a rich girl talking to a, if not poor at least not rich girl. The rich girl exudes confidence and the other girl is shy (as evidenced by the way she's standing).


I've been around advertising enough to know that often grammar is simply thrown away for effect. Of course it should be "Mommy and I..." but that's advertising. Where exactly they go isn't made clear, but the fact that having their laundry done frees up time is.

This must have been a difficult time for advertisers. Obvious displays of wealth were seen as "putting on airs", and it certainly would not have been very patriotic to be seen wasting money that could help the boys overseas. I'm old enough to have known people who lived through these times, and while some of them came bursting out spending money like water in the 1950s, many kept the attitude of "waste not, want not" and would never even dream of having their laundry done by a company so that they could have more free time.

Image from the Duke University Libraries Digital Collections.
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