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gentle persuasion
Irish ads of yore that we don't mind at all
There are no ads on RTÉ today… but if there were, we wouldn’t be charmed if they were like these ones from the turn of the 19th century.
TODAY IS TRADITIONALLY an advertising-free one on our State broadcaster, in honour of the special day in it.
We’re not sure we would mind a few ads if they were along the lines of these gently persuasive ones from the turn of the 19th century. All are reproduced with kind permission from CCALIreland.com (Consumer Culture, Advertising and Literature in Ireland 1848-1921).
Click on any of the links above each image to see the ad in full-screen size.
For umbrellas (1898)…
For ties which “are always acceptable as Gifts”. So now, Dad. (1904)
For fancy blouses… (1898)
For “the Easiest Running Cycle ever Ridden” (1902)…
For toys (1921)… Ask ‘Mammy’ to bring you here.
For McDowell’s Rings (surely, the Happy Ring House of O’Connell Street fame, 1898)…
For gents’ toiletries (1892)…
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