Smoke Topsy, the Granulated Tobacco

[franklanguage.livejournal.com]

These ads are apparently both circa 1800.

Comments

[janenx01.livejournal.com]

Probably after 1852, when Uncle Tom's Cabin was released. Did Topsy smoke in the book?

[zhukora1.livejournal.com]

Wow, that's...wow.

[je-reviens.livejournal.com]

holeeee CRAP!!!

[randomneses.livejournal.com]

Pretty sure this is prob after 1800.

But yeah, ew.

[gillianinoz.livejournal.com]

Between 1800 and 1870 according to the vintage ad site.

Neat.

[njbearcub1.livejournal.com]

In the first pic, is Topsy holding a Kindle?

And, does "cotch"="catch"?

[kniferomance.livejournal.com]

Uncle Tom's Cabin memorabilia makes me laugh every time I see it. It's a hilarious reminder of 19th century ignorance.

This (http://utc.iath.virginia.edu/) is a really good site that showcases all the UTC-inspired products, plays, shows, etc. "Browse Mode" is the easiest to use to get around the site. If you click around long enough, you can find racist!Disney pics. No lie.

[franklanguage.livejournal.com]

This is the Topsy ad we have hanging in our bathroom; it's embossed, halftoned metal, about 12" x 16" and is probably a reproduction.

Notice how radically they've toned down the racist overtones, merely calling it "A Success That Succeeds!"

[air-and-angels.livejournal.com]

In New Zealand there's a chocolate-coated ice-cream on a stick called 'Topsy,' and as late as the 1980s (when I was a kid) its ads featured a cute little black girl in a red and white polka-dot dress. Reggae and the Cosby Show were both popular at the time and I think, if I considered it at all as a kid, I just assumed the mascot was part of the same sort of thing (hey, black people are cute and fun!). It wasn't until I was at university and reading Uncle Tom's Cabin that I put two and two together and had my mind blown. (What's especially mind-boggling is that a Topsy ice-cream is vanilla in a chocolate shell. Was the ice-cream company calling Topsy an Oreo?)
I also finally understood why people said that something was 'growing like Topsy.' That's also still an expression here, albeit one used by the older generation.
When I read the passage comparing Topsy and angelic little Eva, I got so irritated. I wanted to take Topsy to one side and tell her she had about eighteen times the spunk of Eva, plus the advantage of not being destined for a morally uplifting Little Nell death, so she should never EVER feel inferior no matter WHAT the narrator said.

[fynoda.livejournal.com]

THIS NEEDS THE "OH LAWD" TAG. Please add it XD.

Interesting post~.

[carriepika.livejournal.com]

I know it's entirely inappropriate in this day and age, but if you take a moment or two to just appreciate the ad for what it is, indignation over racisms from the time aside... there's actually something strangely charming about the first one! I'm not sure if it's the pose she's in, her style of clothing, the style of the art or possibly a combination of the three, but it's actually a very eye-catching little advert, even as simple as it is.