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October 1939. "Farmer sits near the stove. General store in Lamoille, Iowa." Photo by Arthur Rothstein for the Farm Security Administration. View full size.
This was how this product was discreetly advertised in women's magazines back in the 1950s-early 1960s. It was the caption to a photo of a beautiful woman, dressed in an elegant ballgown, usually standing on a mansion terrace overlooking the French Riviera at night. At age 5, I didn't know what Modess was, but when I grew up, I wanted to be that lady!
Surprisingly, Iowa was the 10th most populous state in the 1900 census. As farms consolidated in size and as cities grew, it slid down the rankings every decade since then. In 1940 (a year after this photo) it was the 20th most populated; today it is about the 30th.
... 12 full ounces, that's a lot! Or you could have Dr Pepper at 10, 2 and 4!
Or most of it. Some of the parts are missing. My wife and I lived at Lincoln and Armitage in Chicago in the 1980s and used to go to the original (pre-franchise) Potbelly restaurant, which is still in business there.
... but quarter-sawn, as well. Wonderful chair he's sitting in!
Don't forget Kix, between the All-Bran and the Heinz product du jour, and of course Ivory Soap, proudly displaying its uncanny ability to float to the top.
From a 1928 Ladies Home Journal:
“In order that Modess may be obtained in a crowded store without embarrassment or discussion, Johnson & Johnson devised the Silent Purchase Coupon presented below. Simply cut it out and hand it to the sales person. You will receive one box of Modess. Could anything be easier?”
More here:
https://www.kilmerhouse.com/2008/02/the-product-that-dared-not-speak-its...
[Or you can stock it next to the Wheaties, and hope for the best. - Dave]
Clabber Girl
Copenhagen
Dr. Pepper
Kellog's All-Bran
Kotex
Pepsi
Modess
Wheaties
The Round Oak stove that dominates the photograph was the product of a company that only had a few more years to live. The Estate of P.D. Beckwith, Inc. produced wood stoves in their hometown of Dowagiac, Michigan from 1871 to 1946 or '47, when they sold the buildings to Kaiser-Frazer automobiles and the Round Oak name to Peerless Furnace. Founder Philo Beckwith died in 1889, and the company name was officially changed from Round Oak Stove Company to The Estate of P.D. Beckwith, Inc. about 1890.
Round Oak stoves were quite efficient for their time and very popular, and at one point employed more than 20% of Dowagiac's population.
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