Top Vintage Ads from July 1954

1950’s era Workbasket Magazines had the subtitle “Home and Needlecraft for Pleasure and Profit”.  The July issue focuses on the profit part with ads, the "Women Who Make Cents" section and a special article titled “Putting Profit in Your Handwork” by Kathleen Warren.  

I counted eighteen ads for info on how to sell cards to make money.  July must be the time to gear up for Christmas.   

​Here’s a list of the ads:

• Page 2 - Christmas Card Agents by Evergreen Studios
• Page 3 - Cheerful Card Co
• Page 5 - Chilton Greetings
• Page 7 - Hedenkamp and Co
• Page 9 - Harry Doehla Co.  Harry has an interesting story and I found several articles on how he became a greeting card millionaire.   Here’s one of them from the Nashua Telegraph.   http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/life/health-lifestyle/2015/12/19/from-teen-to-greeting-card-millionaire/
• Page 13 - New England Art Publishers
• Page 15 - General Card Co
• Page 17 - Elliott Greeting  Card Co
• Page 23 - Cardinal Craftsmen
• Page 24-25 Centerfold ad for Artistic Card Co
• Page 29 - Wallace Brown
• Page 30 - Southern Greetings
• Page 31 - New Jewel Christmas Cards
• Page 32 - Pen-‘N-Brush Studios
• Page 41 - Midwest Card Company
• Page 42 - Joy Greetings 
• back cover - Creative Card Co
  
• And my favorite from Minneapolis – Style Line (photo) on page 46

And if selling cards wasn't your thing, you could sell children's clothes or fabric

​Need something a little more interesting to sell?  How about raising parakeets for money or selling religious mottos:

There were also ads for making and selling costume jewelry, pocket sized water heaters and hosiery.

​Home based businesses have been around for a long time!   Would you sell any of these things from home?