As one of the largest advertising history collections in the world, the Hartman Center has built a reputation for its resources documenting advertising, sales and marketing. The Center maintains the records of several advertising agencies and trade organizations, the professional papers of a number of marketing executives, collections of advertising ephemera created by private collectors, and a growing library of related books and periodicals. Information about advertising during World War II is contained throughout many of our collections and identified in the following guide. For more information, many of the Hartman Center finding aids are searchable on the web.

Background Information

In November 1941, the Association of National Advertisers and the American Association of Advertising Agencies met to discuss the backlash against advertising in the United States (McDonough 14, 778). James Webb Young of J. Walter Thompson Company (JWT) suggested advertising for governmental and social organizations as a way to offset the negative feelings toward the industry. As a result, the Advertising Council was formed. In December 1941, the United States entered World War II and in February of 1942 the Advertising Council was renamed the War Advertising Council. The Council began supporting nonmilitary war efforts, working with the Office of War Information to provide public information and advertising related to World War II (McDonough 14, 399). More than 90 advertising campaigns were dedicated to the war effort and contributed various services ranging from war bonds, victory gardens, Women's Army Corps, mail service for troops known as V-mail or Victory Mail, to anti-inflation measures and other forms of conservation (McDonough 53) As World War II began, advertising shifted its focus from "an emphasis on brand selection and advertising practices to wartime conservation measures" (Fox 169). During this time rationing began and automobile manufacturing was suspended (McDonough 776). Despite the shifts in manufacturing and purchasing options, from 1941 to 1945 advertising expenditures grew from $2.2 billion to $2.9 billion (Fox 170). While companies were not directly advertising their products, they hoped to remind people of brands while supporting war efforts (McDonough 777, 1623). McDonough states that "[a]ds emphasized two constant themes: what the advertiser was doing to help the war effort now, and how today's sacrifices would pay off in a dazzling array of new products consumers would enjoy after the war" (McDonough 776). [A list of resources may be found at the end of this pathfinder.]

• Advertising Agency Records
• Career Papers
• Non-Advertising Agency Collections
• Trade Organizations
• Print Advertising Collections
• Digital Collections
• Print Material

Advertising Agency Records

J. Walter Thompson (JWT) Advertising Company Archives
The J. Walter Thompson Company Archives documents the history, operations, policies, and accomplishments of one of the world's oldest, largest and most innovative advertising firms.

J. Walter Thompson Company. Sidney Ralph Bernstein Company History Files, 1873-1964
The Company History Files were created by Sidney Ralph Bernstein and Marianne Keating, his research assistant, for a commemorative, unpublished history of JWT at the time of its centennial anniversary in 1964. In the Chapter File Series, Chapter 7, "War and its Aftermath," provides statistics on the number of JWT employees serving in World War II and Chapter 9, "The Foreign Story" provides information about the company and its work in World War II.

J. Walter Thompson Company. Carroll Carroll Papers, 1934-1979
Carroll Carroll was involved in developing radio shows for JWT clients. Carroll became a consultant to the Office of War Information on Oct. 28, 1942; was on the Writers' War Board; and in 1946 became a member of its successor organization, the Writers' Board. His work promoting various war efforts within the radio show Kraft Music Hall was recognized. Box 1 contains information relating to his work with Office of War Information related to radio shows.

J. Walter Thompson Company. Domestic Advertisements Collection, 1875-2001
The Domestic Advertisements Collection consists of print advertisements created by the U.S. offices of JWT for Kraft, Ford, Lever Brothers, Chesebrough Ponds, and others. Advertisements created during the war years are easily located, as the advertisements are arranged alphabetically by client and include dates.

J. Walter Thompson Company. Howard Henderson Papers, 1867-1978
Advertising executive Howard Henderson worked for the company from 1921 to 1961. The Clients Series, boxes 3 and 4, contain the Chesebrough-Ponds files, which include material on life in London during the Blitz and the influence of World War II on the workings of the advertising business during that time.

J. Walter Thompson Company. International Advertisements Collection, 1900-2004
Although this collection contains almost no international advertisements from roughly 1933 to the middle of the 1950s, a few World War II posters and an introductory essay, both by S.D. Khadlikar, an artist with JWT Bombay during the war years, are located in box AP4.

J. Walter Thompson Company. Samuel W. (Samuel Williams) Meek Papers, 1917-1980
This collection contains the "Office Questionnaire on Attitudes Toward the British" 1942-1948, a report on misunderstandings between Americans and the British. Many of the questions are related to World War II and post-war relations.

J. Walter Thompson Company. Newsletter Collection, 1910-2005
The Newsletter Collection comprises the agency's internally produced newsletters dating from 1916 through 2005. JWT employees serving in the war wrote articles for these newsletters, located in boxes DO10 and OV2.

J. Walter Thompson Company. Publications Collection, 1887-2005
This collection spans the years 1887 to 2005 and includes printed materials produced by the various domestic offices, partners, subsidiaries, and related firms of JWT. The Domestic Publications Series features publications regarding JWT's involvement in advertising during World War II and its aftermath. Of particular interest are the general publications dated during the war.

J. Walter Thompson Company. Treasurer's Office Records, 1928-1952
In the Antwerp Office Subseries, 1930-1947, employees Rene-P. Jeanneret and L.R. Coleman reported to Sam Meek on conditions in occupied France.

The Bombay Office Subseries, 1929-1949, describes JWT's operations in India during World War II. The Bombay Office was profitable throughout the war, but not without many hardships, including Japanese air raids, the threat of conscription of key personnel, and low morale due to the postponement of home leave. The political instability surrounding India's post-war partitioning also created unfavorable working conditions for JWT's employees in India. Several letters from employee Fielding to New York deal at length with the impact of domestic and international politics upon both advertising interests, and the staff's health and safety.

The Bucharest Office Subseries, 1932-1940 shows the difficulties of international travel during the war in Europe. Also included is information concerning one of the local office manager's employees, Andre B. Kalman, being forced to leave Romania because of growing anti-Jewish sentiment, and that JWT helped to arrange his safe passage (L.R. Coleman's letter to Foote 1-4-38, and the file titled "International Travel," 1940-1941).

J. Walter Thompson Company. World War II Advertising Collection, 1940-1948
In April 1941 Stanley B. Resor, then president of the J. Walter Thompson Company (JWT), outlined the advertising industry's role in the coming conflict. In an article published in New York City Sunday newspapers, he spoke of advertising agencies' goals to keep consumers purchasing goods in order to help offset war expenses and to relate the "truths" behind the government's policies and programs. This collection shows JWT's involvement in war-related advertising from the beginning of World War II. The company contributed to the war effort by creating ads supporting government policies and by granting its employees time off for their own war work.

Bates Worldwide, Inc. Records, 1934-2003
The Bates Worldwide, Inc. Records includes interesting articles about advertising during World War II in the Vertical Files Series in boxes VF17, VF24, VF76 and VF93. During the war, advertising executives were discussing and showcasing war advertising and even creating guides on the topic. Other articles explore the government's attitudes and requirements for wartime advertisements and measures companies took to conserve during that period.

D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles Archives, 1929-1995
The D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles Archives includes trade and consumer magazine advertisements created during the World War II era. Similar to the JWT Domestic Advertisements, the DMB&B Advertisements Series is arranged alphabetically by company/brand name and then chronologically within those groupings. Also included is a small amount of documentation on the company's involvement in the war effort (box B&B26).

Charles W. Hoyt Company Records, 1894-1973
The Winthrop Hoyt World War II Series, 1942-1946 and undated, in particular, documents Hoyt's service during the war as an intelligence officer with the 7th Anti-Submarine Squadron, the 78th Bomb Squadron, the 45th Bomb Group, the 490th Bomb Group, and the 452nd Bomb Group. The collection contains correspondence, photographs, Nazi medals, song lyrics, writings, clippings, and printed material accumulated by Winthrop Hoyt while serving with the United States Army Air Force.

Career Papers

Kensinger Jones Papers, 1934-2001
The Kensinger Jones Papers document his primary career as an executive for several major advertising agencies and his second career as a professor of advertising at Michigan State University. Within the Writing and Speeches Series is a file titled "Miscellaneous World War II writings, 1945-1946, 1982" located in Box 66. This contains information about Jones's military career as a member of Company E-138th Infantry. The folder also includes articles written by Jones about his military career. One publication, American Unity: A Monthly Education Guide, from the Council Against Intolerance in American, features an article by Jones about a Mexican American in the United States army during World War II.

John Paver Papers, 1920 -1979
John Paver was president of the National Outdoor Advertising Bureau (NOAB) and worked on a textbook on the outdoor advertising medium. In addition, he served as a Major-Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Air Force during World War II. In his work, Paver collected writings and speeches from others in the advertising industry. Topics in the immediate post-war period include supporting democracy and capitalism, minimizing unemployment, and dealing with the cancellation of war contracts at companies like General Motors. Many of these are found, by date, in the Writings and Speeches by Others Subseries.

Ben Rosen Papers, 1936- 2006
Ben Rosen is an American graphic designer and visual communications consultant. Rosen worked as a designer for J. Gordon Carr and Associates and the Blaine Thompson Company before founding his own firm, Ben Rosen Associates, in 1952, which specialized in corporate identity programs. The Personal Files Series contains materials documenting Rosen's service during World War II, primarily related to a proposal designed by Rosen and fellow servicemen to convert U.S. military bases in England into housing for British citizens.

Garrett Orr Papers, circa 1873-1994
Garrett Orr was a graphic artist, billboard designer, and director with Outdoor Advertising, Inc. (OAI) for over 30 years (1938-1968). The Artists and Illustrators Series, 1929-1951 has a particularly strong emphasis on World War II-era illustrations. The Product File Series contains clippings, tear sheets and photographs of advertisements and periodical illustrations from the war era as well; however, the majority of items in this series are not dated.

Howard Scott Papers, 1921-1984
Howard Scott worked in outdoor advertising and was one of the foremost graphic artists from the 1930s-1950s. During World War II, Scott served in the United States Navy and produced patriotic billboard and poster designs for a number of wartime efforts. Box 5 and oversize folders 2-3 contain billboard art and poster designs from the era.

Non-Advertising Agency Collections

E. F. Craven Company Records, 1793-1991
During World War II, several of the E.F. Craven Company employees served in the armed forces. Duval Craven corresponded frequently with them, and copies of his letters and their replies can be found among the correspondence from the war years. Correspondence of particular interest is located in boxes 20-22. Department Store Window Photographs, 1942-1944. This collection comprises twenty-six photographs of store window displays in several department stores. The majority combine clothing and shoe merchandise displays with patriotic themes and support of the war bond drives. Lillian Dimmick Scrapbook, 1942-1947. This one item collection is a scrapbook created by Lillian Dimmick and features clippings, recipes, letters, and telegrams documenting her winnings in recipe and music trivia contests. Some war-time recipes feature meat substitutes and other rationed food saving techniques.

R.C. Maxwell Company Co. Records, 1904-1990s
The R.C. Maxwell Company, headquartered in New Jersey, contains photographs of billboards dating from the 1900s through the 1990s. There is a range of photographs taken during World War II, of both general and war-themed billboards. As documented in the guide linked above, there are scrapbooks documenting R.C. Maxwell's work in World War I, and one book documenting World War II.

Nicole Di Bona Peterson Collection of Advertising Cookbooks, ca. 1870s-1990s
This is a collection of thousands of cookbooks produced by various companies to advertise their products. Many of the cookbooks provide social commentary on women's roles and emerging technologies as well as detailed information about company histories and product development. Organized by date, a number of cookbooks from the 1940s reference rationing in their recipes and may have a patriotic appearance. Please contact the reference archivist for more information on accessing this collection.

Strobridge Lithographing Company Advertisements, 1910-1954
In this collection, the Access Files Series can be used to browse the collection and narrow a search for an individual advertisement before moving on to the Image Files Series. The collection contains undated "Axis Ape" cartoons (Box 2 in Public Service) and other World War II advertisements. Other war-era ads may be found under other topics and company names, as noted in the collection guide.

Trade Organizations

American Association of Advertising Agencies Records, 1918-1998
The AAAA records contain interesting articles about the role of advertising during war including "Nothing to Sell, Much to Advertise: Alcoa's View," "Advertising and Its Role in War and Peace," "Comments on the Value of Advertising in Times of Shortages," and "Why Advertise During Wartime Shortages." All of these are located in box VF1 in the Vertical Files Series.

Advertising Council Records, 1935-1999
The Advertising Council, once the War Advertising Council, supported government programs during World War II. Campaigns included economic stabilization, food fights for freedom, paper conservation, scrap paper drive, scrap metal drive, security of war information, United Service Organizations (USO), United States Army V- Mail, United States Savings Bonds, Venereal Disease awareness, Victory Gardens, and War to Peace Transition. These are found, alphabetically, within the Campaign Series. Searching by date is encouraged to note additional related campaigns.

Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA) Archives, 1885-1990s
On October 7, 1941, the Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA) issued a unanimous declaration of membership support of government policies in the event that the U.S. entered World War II. The OAAA worked in conjunction with the War Advertising Council in support of the war effort. Evidence of the OAAA's involvement in promoting the war effort is found especially in the Issues and Activities Series, 1920- 1986, boxes IA13-IA17, IA 20, OV6, and OV13. Also, many of the billboard images are described in the ROAD database (see below).

War Effort Mobilization Campaigns Poster Collection, 1942-1945
This collection contains miniature reproductions of billboards designed by the War Advertising Council and approved by U. S. government agencies charged with promoting a range of patriotic efforts. These include war bonds sales, civilian employment, food rationing, civil defense, women's military service, and fire prevention.

Print Advertising Collections

Gary P. and Sandra G. Baden Collection of Print Advertisements, 1907 - 1980s
This collection consists primarily of automobile ads. Ask for staff assistance with the index, located at the library in paper form.

D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles Archives, 1929-1995
The DMB&B Advertisements Series is arranged alphabetically by company/brand name and then chronologically within those groupings.

Roy Lightner Collection of Antique Advertisements, [1870s]-[2000s]
This collection consists of a wide range of products from US magazines. A second addition to the collection contains primarily automobile advertisements for US brands. This collection is organized alphabetically, and then chronologically.

Outdoor Advertising Association of America Slide Library, 1891-1994
Image descriptions for this vast collection are accessible through the ROAD database (see below). The collection guide, and the database, are searchable by date.

J. Walter Thompson Company. Domestic Advertisements Collection, 1875-2001
This collection contains advertisements created by JWT for their clients. It is arranged alphabetically by company, and then chronologically within company.

J. Walter Thompson Company. World War II Advertising Collection, 1940-1948
Includes JWT and corporate-sponsored ads promoting the war effort.

War Effort Mobilization Campaigns Poster Collection, 1942-1945
This collection contains reproductions of billboards designed by the War Advertising Council and approved by U. S. government agencies charged with promoting a range of patriotic efforts. These include war bonds sales, civilian employment, food rationing, civil defense, women's military service, and fire prevention.

Digital Collections

Medicine and Madison Avenue
A database of over 600 advertisements and historical documents dated between 1911 and 1958, relating to the creation and influence of health-related advertising, some from the World War II era. For example, the "Missing Man" advertisements from Scotts Towels urged Americans to stay healthy to maintain productivity during the war years. Search for other advertisements by year.

Ration Coupons on the Home Front, 1942- 1945
During World War II, the United States government instituted mandatory rationing of many items, including fuel, gasoline, food, tires, cars, stoves, typewriters, sugar, and footwear. These measures, introduced by the United States government's Office of Price Administration, were advertised through the War Advertising Council.

ROAD: Resource of Outdoor Advertising Descriptions
This database provides descriptions only of outdoor advertising images dating from the 1920s to the 1990s, and is searchable by date. Additionally, one may search by product name or simply keyword(s). The shift in advertising in late 1941/early 1942 from specific products to World War II programs and measures is evident in the outdoor advertisements in the collection. War bonds, conservation measures, and home-front productivity are a few topics covered by outdoor advertisements from this time period.

Print Material

There are numerous publications related to World War II and marketing. A few of these are listed below. A catalog search  on terms World War and Advertis* and Hartman Center will provide additional returns.

Fulton, Kerwin H. Outdoor Advertising: A Channel of Communication in the War Effort. Chicago? IL: Outdoor Advertising Association of America, 1943. E Pam #7364

National Industrial Advertising Association. Manual of war winning ideas: compiled for NIAA's victory promotions plan by the editors of Factory Management & Maintenance. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1942. E q#1990

Opie, Robert. The Wartime Scrapbook: From Blitz to Victory 1939-1945. London: New Cavendish, 1995. (located off-site: LSC)

Background Information Resources:

Fox, Frank W. Madison Avenue Goes to War: the strange military career of American advertising, 1941-45. Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press, c1975.

McDonough, John, ed. The Advertising Age of Encyclopedia. New York: Fitzroy, Dearborn. 2003.

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