{"id":1753,"date":"2014-08-23T09:43:21","date_gmt":"2014-08-23T09:43:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kildare.ie\/ehistory\/?p=1753"},"modified":"2014-08-23T09:43:21","modified_gmt":"2014-08-23T09:43:21","slug":"newspapers-brimming-with-christmas-advertisements-a-century-ago","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kildarelibraries.ie\/ehistory\/newspapers-brimming-with-christmas-advertisements-a-century-ago\/","title":{"rendered":"NEWSPAPERS BRIMMING WITH CHRISTMAS ADVERTISEMENTS A CENTURY AGO"},"content":{"rendered":"

Newspapers brimming with Christmas advertisements a century ago<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0Liam Kenny<\/strong><\/p>\n

Traditionally the 8th of December marked the beginning of the Christmas season and was often associated with country people taking their savings from under the mattress and heading in to their nearest market town to stock up on seasonal supplies. The commercial Christmas season now seems to starts almost as soon as the Hallow\u2019een bonfires are quenched. And while many lament the premature commercialisation of the mid-winter festival a consumerist approach was evident too in previous generations albeit less \u201cin your face\u201d.<\/p>\n

Looking back to the Christmas of one hundred years ago we can form a picture of the kinds of products and purchases which formed part of the seasonal shopping list in 1913. It is interesting to ponder that while the workers of Dublin and their families had been reduced to penury by the Lockout dispute which saw many of them laid off from their workplaces, there still seemed to be spending power in the largely agricultural economy of Co Kildare. However the advertisements were mostly for goods of a practical nature and keeping warm was a priority.<\/p>\n

The advertising columns of the Kildare Observer<\/em> newspaper for the second week of December 1913 displayed advertisements from the likes of Michael Fitzsimons of South Main Street, Naas, who proclaimed his trade as \u201cGrocer, Tea, Wine and Spirit Merchant\u201d. He reminded readers that as usual he had a plentiful supply of \u201cSeasonable Goods\u201d and assured prospective purchasers that \u201cThe Quality of his Goods cannot be Questioned \u2026 a trial will convince.\u201d<\/p>\n

Getting well shod for the winter was an essential for those who could treat themselves to a new pair of boots. In Kilcullen James J. Byrne, shoe retailer, advertised \u201cLet the Weather do what it likes \u2013 you will be alright if you wear \u2013 \u201cByrne\u2019s Boots!\u201d<\/p>\n

Back in Naas sturdy apparel was on offer from a range of shop-keepers. John Jennings of North Main Street advertised that he \u201cBegs to announce that he is now showing a Large and Fashionable selection of Winter Suitings and Waterproof\u00a0 Coatings \u2026 Breeches and Leggings a speciality.\u201d He advertised his prices as being from 40 shillings for suits and 10 shillings for trousers. However Jennings had competition from a big Dublin clothing mail-order house whose advertisement hinted at the disruption caused by the Lockout in the last few weeks of 1913. J. H. Webb & Co of Cornmaket in the city claimed that \u201cOwing to transit troubles, the Manufacture of our Winter overcoats has been seriously delayed. In fact the Goods have come three months late and our Stocks are congested.\u201d As a result Webbs were offering discounts to clear their autumn stock to make room for the delayed winter wear. Gents\u2019 overcoats in frieze, fleecy and cheviot styles were on sale from 21 shillings. Webbs invited prospective purchasers to send in details of \u201cheight, chest measurement, and colour preferred \u2026 and we will please you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even the best quality garments are subject to dust and dirt in the progress of everyday life but a solution was on hand again thanks to the advertising columns with the newly opened \u201cNewbridge Sanitary Steam Laundry Co.\u201d advertising a comprehensive laundry service proclaiming that its \u201cModernly Equipped Establishment is now open\u201d.<\/p>\n

While a good coat could help keep out the cold, being warmed up from inside was another way to fend off the winter chills. Thomas McDermott of Naas had the answer to this seasonal dilemma advertising his stock of \u201cJameson\u2019s pure pot still whiskey \u2013 guaranteed 8 years old\u201d which was sold under his own registered label. No doubt McDermott responded to a tender advertisement for the supply of Whiskey to the Naas Poor Law Union (the workhouse). The Poor Law Guardians clearly knew their whiskeys as the tender advertisement set very specific conditions for the quality of the whiskey to be supplied: \u201cOne quarter cask (containing about 30 gallons) of Pure Matured Pot-Still Whiskey not under five years, which must be accompanied by a distillery certificate\u201d. Further \u201cthe makers name and date of distillation on the cask and the strength of the whiskey to be marked on the sample.\u201d\u00a0 Whether the whiskey was intended for medicinal use or some less noble purpose is not recorded.<\/p>\n

Keeping a warm house was another essential in the month of December. And here housekeepers had a choice of suppliers as the coal market was well supplied with merchants with no less than three advertising in the same edition of the paper. The most widespread network of coal outlets was run by Thomas I. Llewellyn who had depots at the Market Square in Newbridge, similarly in the Curragh Camp, and the canal harbour at Naas. However he had competition from \u2013 unusually in the male dominated coal business \u2013 Miss Bridget Kiely who ran the Naas Coke and Coal Depot at the Railway Station off the Friary Road in Naas.<\/p>\n

Keeping the theme of warmth going into the bedroom was \u201cA.M. O\u2019Farrell & Son who advertised \u201cSpecially good value in \u201cHousehold Blankets for Single and Double Beds.\u201d A.M. O’ Farrell had a wide range of seasonal products on offer and took out a column in the paper giving guidance to customers on how to chose the ideal Christmas gifts remarking that \u201cThe choosing of Christmas presents is at all times a difficult and troublesome task \u2013 it seems to entail endless thought and consideration.\u201d Having detailed at length the gifts appealing to the female customers including \u201cDaintily embroidered handkerchiefs of Irish handiwork are worthy of acceptance by the most fastidious\u201d the column goes on to then put the male customer in his box by saying that \u201cThough last \u2013 not least \u2013 the mere man has not been forgotten \u2026!\u201d Perhaps the status of \u201cmere man\u201d is appropriate given the general male myopia in matters fashionable but no doubt the sentiment prompted a chuckle among the newspapers\u2019 readers in the weeks before Christmas 1913. Leinster Leader<\/em> 3 December 2013, Looking Back, Series no: 360.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Newspapers brimming with Christmas advertisements a century ago \u00a0Liam Kenny Traditionally the 8th of December marked the beginning of the Christmas season and was often associated with country people taking their savings from under the mattress and heading in to their nearest market town to stock up on seasonal supplies. The commercial Christmas season now […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1753","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-looking-back"],"blocksy_meta":[],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Kildare Local Studies","author_link":"https:\/\/kildarelibraries.ie\/ehistory\/author\/localstudies\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kildarelibraries.ie\/ehistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1753","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kildarelibraries.ie\/ehistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kildarelibraries.ie\/ehistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kildarelibraries.ie\/ehistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kildarelibraries.ie\/ehistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1753"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kildarelibraries.ie\/ehistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1753\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kildarelibraries.ie\/ehistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kildarelibraries.ie\/ehistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1753"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kildarelibraries.ie\/ehistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}