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September 1942. "Civilian defense. Fire prevention. The careless smoker causes more fires each year than any other person in the country. He is to blame for 87,000 separate 1941 fires, which resulted in the loss of many lives and the destruction of 14 million dollars of property. Whether he falls asleep with a lighted smoke or is careless in the disposal of burning cigars, cigarettes, or matches, he is always a menace." Office of War Information. View full size.
and watches were very much a trend back then. Have a look at Hamilton or Gruen watch ads back in this era: Hamilton had Thinomatic, Gruen had Veri-Thin, and the physical size across the bezel was quite small by today's standards. Light and thin were "in". I personally hate the nearly alarm clock sized watches that are the thing today. Oh, and get off my lawn.
[For instance (click to enlarge). -tterrace]
What? Comments on the watch, but no comments on the pinky ring on his right hand?
I suspect what we're seeing is the once-popular ID bracelet that was popular into the early 50's. It was a flat bar (much thicker than a Medic-Alert bracelet and would have your name or initials engraved on it.
[It's a watch. -tterrace]
He needs to wake up, put that cigarette out, put on a man's watch, and go to bed!
Not only is this guy a careless smoker but he has also stolen some old lady's watch!
Such a delicate men's wrist watch! Was this style common among men in the 1940s?
The pendulum has swung to the other extreme, with very large watches now popular.
Happiness, it seems to me, lies in the middle.
The three comic strips I can make out are (top to bottom):
All of them were gone well over a decade before I was born.
She is looking everywhere for her watch.
he has a newspaper under that cigarette.
Looks pretty tight around his wrist.
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