Friday, February 5, 2021

Breakfast Brownie Doughboy


Pillsbury has their doughboy, so I think Breakfast Brownies Cereal can have theirs too!

There is little known about the Breakfast Brownies Company, and not a whole lot more about the Brownie Baking Company, except that they were not one and the same. The Breakfast Brownies Company was incorporated in 1919 in Montana, and although the officers were not all in or from Helena, the cereal was milled in Minneapolis and packaged here in Helena. Just exactly where in Helena I cannot determine, although I do know where their office was located.

I have seen a cardboard case for the cereal, a stock certificate, as well as one sample box and a dozen metal plates for print advertising. One of the plate images is the source for my Brownie Doughboy.

I acquired several pieces of letterhead for the Brownie Baking Company, whose bakery was in Spokane, Washington. I do know that the Brownie Baking Company was once the Tru-Blu Biscuit Company, because I have seen five real photo postcards of the factory, and the message side of the card has the Tru Blu logo printed on it. Research on the web reveals very little about the company, other than the fact the factory bakery building is still in use – not as a bakery, but it's now artist studio space.

I decided to put the Breakfast Brownies Doughboy on this piece of Brownie Baking Company letterhead because they had one thing in common – they both used the images of Brownies to sell their products. Note the Brownie in the lower left corner of their letterhead. I've never done this sort of thing before, but my chances of ever finding a piece of Breakfast Brownies paper are slim and next to none.

Well? Do you think this piece of advertising art would fly up against the Cocoa Puffs of the cereal world?




 

Saturday, February 8, 2020

Harley Board Track Racer, Too


Harley-Davidson board track racer on a piece of Harley-Davidson Motorcycle paper. Mr. Monte Chadbourne finally settled in Livingston, Montana, and the paper came to me from my brother-in-law, who restores Indian Motocycles. He purchased at least one Indian basket case, and apparently a box of paper. It's headed to my framer, and then on the Western Art Week in Great Falls the third week of March. 

Thursday, January 16, 2020

Walkin' the Talk, and Talkin' the Walk.



The Parrot Talks for Itself, and the Poll-Parrot shoes Speak for Themselves, so it's all good!



Double Golden Gleam Nasturtiums



I started with an American Beauty Rose, moved on to Gladiolus, tackled Geraniums, and now I've done some Nasturtiums. Image was from a vintage Sioux City Seed Company packet.


Piggly Wiggly, Part One.



The first page of a two page letter from a son working for Piggly Wiggly in Denver, to his father in Glasgow. Recognizable image from predominantly a Southern market, although I believe there was a Piggly Wiggly in Northeast Montana at one point.

Thursday, December 5, 2019

Bronco Buckingham


Bronco Buckingham

Without the invention of the refrigerated railroad car, we wouldn't have - wait for it - Bacon! A fellow by the name of Gustavus Swift promoted the refrigerated rail car to sell his meat and get it shipped safely. The Buckingham brand I copied from a California fruit label - pears, specifically. And yes, there were refrigerated rail cars in 1894.