Realist ads

[P3D Michael Kaplan <mkaplan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Following is a listing of "personalities," mostly from the film industry, 
that
David White Co. used in their Realist ads between 1949 and 1951. Most of 
these
were run in National Geographic. Some were run in photography magazines, like
Popular Photography and U.S. Camera. 

A glance through Popular Photography shows that single column 
"personality" ads
were used in 1949 and appeared at the rear of the magazine. By 1950, 
these ads
had moved to the front of the magazine. In 1951 (when the series 
continued in
National Geographic) David White Co. had replaced them with full-page ads
proclaiming the quality and features of the Realist cameras. One in 
particular
praises the quality of the Cooke-type triplet lenses. By 1952, the 
"personality"
ads had disappeared entirely, and were replaced with a series of full-page
"lifestyle" ads with drawings of events such as weddings, birthday 
parties and
beach gatherings. The Realist was, in effect, being promoted as the ideal
"snapshot" camera for recording such events.

Realist "personalities"

Fred Astaire
Edgar Bergen (with Charlie McCarthy)
Frank Capra
Joan Crawford
Cecil B. deMille
Bob Hope
Walter Huston
Harold Lloyd
Virginia Mayo
Nancy Olson
Gregory Peck
Dick Powell
Ruth Roman
Ann Sothern
John Wayne
Jane Wyman

Nowhere did I find Frank Lloyd Wright among these ads. Does anyone ever 
recall seeing him? 


===================================
Michael Kaplan
Associate Professor of Architecture
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
mkaplan@xxxxxxx


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