Fun stuff from a magazine ad about the opening of the Beverly Hotel in 1955.

I realize these juices probably tasted mostly of the cans they were sold in, but those pretty fruit back there improve the flavor.

This standout Kellogg's ad is from 1947; the 40s're my favorite decade for food advertising.

This one's just slightly less gorgeous:

Again, sorry about the bad crops and cut-offs; my scanner's only legal-sized and Life magazine was mega-format.

I find the art especially high-quality in this rather fascinating 1951 ad.

Presented without comment; just glorious is all.

And let's not forget vintage fruit & veg can labels.  I could rage against today's ugly product packaging for several redundant minutes, if I had the energy.

How about a non-food moment - this wee Victorian card (roughly business-card sized).  That's a honey of an illustration for such a small piece of ephemera.

I consume no more oranges nor much more of their juice than the average American, but my interest in illustration and archival photos of citrus are reaching obsessive levels with me.  The1940 cover shown below makes me nuts just nuts I tell you.

And for some reason, depictions of oranges' juice in glasses is the most encrazing.  I like tall, narrow glasses as a general rule but as shown here, I can accept variety of shapes.

Couple more killers, then I swear, my next post'll be differently-themed.  But the loving and very fine treatment given these illustration special spaz-me powers.  That pie!

Talk about not even needing text (not that anyone was).  Paintings which're lusciouser [sic] than a photo deserve our appreciation.

This canned-salmon recipe booklet has a cover that's not particularly promising and in fact a bit ugly aside from the font.  But check out what awaits just inside it!

Some of my very favorite ephemera feature images which had no earthly need to be as beautiful as beautifully as they were.  Just a paper bag of pancake mix, but my god!  I love this bag, as in I stroke it and tell it how beautiful it is.

Old encyclopedia illustrations are often knockouts as well, like this peach, not featuring peaches.

Here's another example that impresses in part because it was essentially just advertising - yet such quality in the art!  Here's the cover of a Wesson salad oil booklet from 1920.  So gorgeous.

The above's probably been my favorite image for the last couple of years.  From a Sunkist ad booklet from the 30s.  What so draws me to it (other than my larger love of vintage food illustration) I don't know, but I've never found anything so luscious.  Luckily it's part of my collection, which I intend to share here.  Here's the front and back of the same booklet, which would have been given away free in supermarkets, which's part of what amazes me.