Cadillac Advertisement Art

[Bryan J Moran]

I have come to the conclusion that I am not owning a collector era Cadillac for at least 5 years. I just turned 61 years old.  I am restoring a 1970 Mercury Marauder X-100 with a friend and sending a 1964 Triumph TR4 to an expensive restoration shop. 

My last "old cars" were Cadillacs, 1976 CdV, 1993 Allante and a 2000 Cadillac Eldorado. But the pandemic sort of raised the prices on the driver class cars I bought. 

So, now I am going to buy Cadillac advertising from the 1960's or any era really, in the 8 1/2 x 11 format, and my plan is to frame them using my professional framing shop that has done some of my wildlife art - reframed from the 1970's to 1980's (out of) style frames to more contemporary framing. 

In the case of the Cadillac art, my goal is too chose the best 3-4 ads from a year, perhaps with different models, side by side, so I would have a longer frame than tall. 

Has anyone done this before, when you realize you can't own them all?  What are your favorites?  Cadillac ads in my opinion - were among the best ads year in and year out. 

I'll try to update here when I can with photos. 

[Clewisiii]

I just did this one. It does not fit the precut 8x10 mat well. I may change that some day.

[Clewisiii]

I have been buying trinkets to use as props. I would like a Cadillac engraved Zippo lighter from the era. But they ho for hundreds. I may just buy a new one and have it engraved.

[Carfreak]

We have quite a few vintage ads.  Rather than keeping them in a box and too many to frame, purchased Art Presentation books with archival clear sleeves. 

https://tinyurl.com/4y2erhzm

The Art books are available in many sizes.  We purchased them for for National Geographic (small), regular magazine size (medium) and extra large for Life magazine. 

We have the ads sorted by Make and type (Oldsmobile, Buick, Cadillac, gas stations, Coca Cola, etc). 

This is a nice way to store and be able to view the advertisements. 

[James Landi]

Bryan is on to something important.  For the price of an oil change, you can avoid the expense, frustration, and inevitable disappointment(s) of old car ownership  by simply framing outstanding period advertisements.  Carl's 1961 ad is from a marketing initiative that ran for many model years, and featured a Cadillac adorned and surrounded by precious jewels. Such an interesting approach, especially since precious jewelry tends to accrue in value, and most cars quickly depreciate. As our great American playwright once said in reaction to the universal appeal of his masterpiece "Death of a Salesman," Americans spend their lives in pursuit of things that rust." 

[Lexi]

Yes, Bryan is on to something. Been contemplating doing the same here. The vintage Cadillac ads are fantastic, though I knew that they could never all be displayed-so I resisted collecting most of them. I stuck to acquiring more obscure items, but as previously noted the display problem is huge. My avatar for the CLC Forum is a vintage one of a kind brass Cadillac crest made for a Cadillac concept car in the early to mid 1950s. It also seems to be the trial design for the 1956 Cadillac hood crest. As it is quite thick, I had to make a shadow box type frame in the shop for it. Got lots of framing jobs here, and while I do have custom framing tools, there is tons of work to do in that regard. I also plan to incorporate Sue's idea as well, which helps to preserve some of these items while maintaining the ability to view them. Beats storing them in a box. Clay/Lexi

[59-in-pieces]

I know this is going to sound like bragging, but for those who know me it's my Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), that has driven me to this.

Fortunately, since I'm only interested in 1959 Cadillacs, my obsession is not so broad as those intended collectors noted above, and therefore a manageable effort (moderated by budget).

I have acquired over the years original black-and-white but mostly "4 Color" advertising from many sources but mostly from magazines with various formats (not 81/2 X 11 - but much bigger).
Most of what I have acquired are single full page examples.
However, in some cases the magazine ads spanned 2 adjacent pages - usually in the center of the publication.
As such, the ad is a single piece a paper, twice the width of a single page, with the staples of the magazine through its vertical center (my favorite).

Each example Has been mounted behind a double cardboard matt (2 colors of blue, with beveled overlapping edges), covered in glass, and framed in a sleek matt black metal frame.
I learned from a museum buddy to stay away from anti-glare glass, as it is made by etching the surface with acid, which gives the glass an anti-glare reflection.
There are minute residues of the acid after the process which remain after cleaning.
And it is the residue that, if the glass touches the surface of the item below the glass, it - over time - bleaches out the color of the covered item.

My interest turned to "When Cadillac went to war" and all the articles printed, along with the advertising (propaganda - in a good way, since we were the goad guys).
This collection is of air planes and tanks and much more war related Cadillac involvements.
Now this collection has not made it into the mounting stage.
Why, because of running out of wall space on which to hang them - a nagging job undone.

Have fun,
Steve B.

[Lexi]

Now this collection has not made it into the mounting stage.
Why, because of running out of wall space on which to hang them - a nagging job undone.

Have fun,
Steve B.

LOL. I am in a similar situation here. Wall space is at a premium. Due to my sore neck, using the ceiling as the last frontier in mounting space is out of the question.   Clay/Lexi

[59-in-pieces]

The attachment below:

Left is a single original example of mounting a 59 Cadillac sales ads (before adopting black frames and 2 color blue matting).

Right is the original article from the rear cover - think it was the rear cover - of a MAD Magazine. ("What me worry - Alfred E Neuman")

This took me years to research and find a copy, as I saw it long long long before I started restoring 59 Eldos. and collecting the literature.

The MAD Magazine ad left a lasting impression on me at a tender - no license - age.

The original ad read - Makes time stand still - and continues - Only the "GM Five" gives you the Bonus of BODY BY FISHER - .

The MAD magazine ad read - Nothing stops it - not even power brakes - and continues - Only the "G-M Five" gives you the breakaway BODY BY FISHEY - .

Have fun,
Steve B.

[J. Skelly]

I have 5x7 photos as well as ads and postcards in different sizes.  You can buy a box of 50 or 100 clear archival sheets from Staples or Office Depot and put the ones you don't want to hang into a 3-ring binder.   

[Carfreak]

Not Cadillac but we have a large framed print of GM's 1953 Auto Show display including the Olds Starfire Concept. 

The print is hanging near the original front seat from one of the three Starfires in our Toy Room. It is set up as a loveseat. Also have framed ads for the Starfire & a tag which was inside the seat springs.

[tcom2027]

Along with the sixties and seventies material you may want to look into the ads from the thirties, the Art Moderne era. THe photos, renderings, and text are spectacular, especially the B/W renderings using a lot of shadows.

Just a thought.

THe photo is from a dealership in San Francisco. I found it years ago in a junk shop in Windsor CA. Since we have had it  has survived several earthquakes, the worst in '89, and few temblers of 5 and 6.0 since, along with a move.

[Lexi]

Classic. The '30s ad art stands alone. Clay/Lexi

[59-in-pieces]

I don't understand why my attachment of the Mad Magazine did not stick.

I'll try again and add a pic of a "center Fold" of the larger ad format.

Have fun,
Steve B.

[jdemerson]

So, now I am going to buy Cadillac advertising from the 1960's or any era really, in the 8 1/2 x 11 format, and my plan is to frame them using my professional framing shop that has done some of my wildlife art - reframed from the 1970's to 1980's (out of) style frames to more contemporary framing. 

In the case of the Cadillac art, my goal is too chose the best 3-4 ads from a year, perhaps with different models, side by side, so I would have a longer frame than tall.   

Over the years, I collected Cadillac ads from magazines, beginning with the Model 30 in 1910, through the 1970s. I have many different ads for most of these years, and most of the ads are large size -- typically 10x13 or 11x14. The most common source was the Saturday Evening Post, but there were other good sources: Look, Life, Colliers, etc. The last large ones came from Ebony magazine in 1975, and after that they were smaller. I have them in presentation binders with acid-free clear plastic sleeves.

Some of these Cadillac ads were center spreads with 3 sides; those from the 1930s are especially impressive. Recently I found a 12-page large (11x14) color magazine insert from the Saturday Evening Post (April 20, 1929). It is quite spectacular. It covers: Cadillac, LaSalle, Buick, Viking, Oldsmobile, Oakland, Pontiac, Chevrolet, Chevrolet Truck, Fisher Body, in that order. I believe that Fisher Body Division was the publisher. They also published some very nice Cadillac and LaSalle brochure from the late 1920s.

The Cadillac ads from the 1950s were also impressive, and there were a LOT of different ads for each year.

My Cadillac sales literature collecting is now focused on sales brochures and dealership publications. There's a long list of extras offered for sale in the For Sale--Parts section of this Discussion Forum. I'm happy to assist CLC members who are trying to find Cadillac literature of any kind.

John Emerson
1952 Cadillac Sedan 6219X

[tluke]

I'm sure many have already seen this site but it includes the original ads in pretty good quality (approx. 900x1100 or so). They include ads from 1903  to 2014 where the message is the car is $100s less than other comparable cars, to powerful enough to tow the competitors car up a hill to elegance  etc. There are also WWII ads highlighting tanks and fighter planes with Cadillac engines. Ads that span two pages are shown as a single image. Just right click when viewing on a computer and save, print out with a quality printer and they look pretty good.

Click for Cadillac Ad Site

1904 Cadillac - "100s less"     and       1930 Cadillac 16 Cylinder


Two page (centerfold) ads for 1939 Cadillac Series 62 and 1951 60 Special


WWII Ad with Tank and 1955 Cadillac Fleetwood


PLUS many more brochures and single page ads.

[James Landi]

Not meaning to stray off-topic too much, but the Cadillac sales brochure that came with my used 1988 Allante is remarkably spectacular; it's  visually stunning as a marketing piece.  Certainly intended to seal the deal, expensive to create and publish,  the annual showroom booklets have only a limited time relevancy for only one model year. Never having purchased a new Cadillac (or a new car), these decades old marketing pieces are likely "things of the past" in this era of video and screens. 

[tluke]

but the Cadillac sales brochure that came with my used 1988 Allante is remarkably spectacular; it's  visually stunning as a marketing piece

So is this the brochure you're referencing James? It's also included on the list I mentioned above:

1988 Allante Brochure

Here's a page from it:


I probably shouldn't mention this on a Cadillac forum but the same site has ads/brochures through the years for 30 other car manufacturers including Lincoln, Chrysler/Imperial, Pierce Arrow, Duesenberg, Jeep/Willys, etc. etc.
American Car Brochures

[5390john]

Since I have a '55, I've collected a number of '55 advertisements. FYI, I was an advertising major in college and auto advertising always intrigued me.
Cadillac advertising has traditionally targeted women and that was especially true in the '50's. See attached images of magazine ads for 1955 and you'll notice upscale people and backgrounds featuring women in designer fashions. The male models are always the "Captain of Industry" sort of image. Image is everything, especially for Cadillac!
I have more, see my next post.....
John Adams

[5390john]

Here's a few photos of wall art that I framed, featuring copies of original ad proofs from 1955 Cadillac advertisements. These would be sent out to newspapers to run with the local dealers info at the bottom. One photo is the original photo of the 2024 Cadillac Club Calendar cover.
In case you couldn't tell. I'm sort of into this sort of thing........
John Adams