Newspaper ads I find interesting. 1940-1941

I tore down this old house in Phoenix a few years ago. It had been used as a mechanic's shop for a long time. I always would look through any house before tearing it down, for obvious reasons, but this time I found some neat stuff. There were newspapers under the flooring (something like linoleum), on top of the wood. I pulled the flooring up and tried to save all of the papers that weren't completely disintegrated. I've had them laying around for about 3 years now, and I was just looking through them and thought there might be someone besides me that would like to look at this stuff.

I'll try to start with the car ads.


That's right 29 MPG!

Some things haven't changed...


Some car-related stuff.

Getting your name published for running a stop sign?




10 days in jail for fake plates

And, Japan is hiring housemaids.^^^^

I'll bet this guy had all the candy he ever asked for, for the rest of his life. Even considering -- getting punched in the head is pretty unavoidable if you take someone's candy.

A different world then. $10 fine for driving with stolen license plates. A '30
Chevy sedan on the lot for $45. Fun to read.

Cool stuff, Id like to do a follow up on the kid that beat his friend to see if he wound up in prison later down the road. [ddd

Car prices didn't change much. You just get less of the car now

i tried the phone number for the '34 ford for $150.00....number was disconected.[S

gas mileage didn't change -- oh wait, it got worse
If that 1940 Studebaker was getting 29.19 MPG on average...
Of course I've known that for a while, but still

...and judging by those gas and pants prices, a pair of pants today should cost about $15.50. The problem is that our pants pretty much all come from Asia, and they cost at least $30. [S

Did you catch the want ads houses for rent

2 bedroom house with garage $35.00 a month

Speaking of changing times -















I'm sorry officer, you lost your what? ^^^

things were definitely different back then...but not all of it was "good"


anyone notice the add for a "white house keeper?!?"

cool stuff on the whole thread, anyone know what the aveage income was when pants wer 72 cnts and used cars were 100-300 bucks?

just to put things into persective...

let me explain my thoughts n the"perspective" thing..

if you made $5 a day, those $.72 pants were 14.4% of your days income...

if you only made $2.00 a day, those $.72 cent pants would be 36% of daily income...

so... at the 14.4% it would compare to today you made $100 a day, the pants should cost $14.40 ...
and at 36% a $100/day average wage the pants would be $36

i have no idea if you could have even made $5 a day in those days...
just throwing sme numbers at ya...

Some of this stuff makes you think. Today 15 would get you 20 and not a good story in the paper.

hotrod preacher said:

let me explain my thoughts n the"perspective" thing..

if you made $5 a day, those $.72 pants were 14.4% of your days income...

if you only made $2.00 a day, those $.72 cent pants would be 36% of daily income...

so... at the 14.4% it would compare to today you made $100 a day, the pants should cost $14.40 ...
and at 36% a $100/day average wage the pants would be $36

i have no idea if you could have even made $5 a day in those days...
just throwing sme numbers at ya...

Click to expand...

http://kclibrary.lonestar.edu/decade40.html

According to that website, and everything else I can find, the average wage was $5.42 a day ($1,300/year). So I'd say your "right on the money."

That would make that pair of pants actually 13.3% of the daily wage. According to the Census Bureau, the average income in 2010 was 49,000. That comes out to $204 a day. So a pair of pants should cost $27.15.

The only pants that I know of that are currently made in the US are Diamond Gusset Jeans, and their lowest price is $56.

http://www.gussetclothing.com/

...and don't forget, that ad was for a white female housekeeper!

I think it's crazy how they talk about piston rings and connecting rod bearings, hypoid rear drives, etc in the old plymouth ads. That's pretty technical stuff for a layperson. Was the average car buyer more mechanically minded back then?

Nowadays all they talk about is 4-6-8 clyinders and horspower.

Mexico wanted their citizens back? Somewhere between then and now they realized the money being sent back to Mexico from the U.S. was a major part of their economy.

8literbeater said:

According to that website, and everything else I can find, the average wage was $5.42 a day ($1,300/year). So I'd say your "right on the money."

That would make that pair of pants actually 13.3% of the daily wage. According to the Census Bureau, the average income in 2010 was 49,000. That comes out to $204 a day. So a pair of pants should cost $27.15.

Click to expand...

glad you followed up on that.... i was just "speculating" a little...

a far as incomes go, there are more people around my state that make far less than the "average" of 2010, (1 Baptist preacher falls nto that catagory)and i would say it was the same back then as well...

but the math proves a point based on those averages none-the-less...

jst noticed one add that stated "good income if you are willing to work hard"

wouldn't get too many takers these days...

old ads

I think I need some of the foot operated hydraulic brakes.