[Ads-l] Archetypal Advertisement: Eat at Joe's

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

In February 1933 there was a pertinent Fritzi Ritz comic strip titled
"No Escape" by Ernie Bushmiller that emphasized the ubiquity of the
advertisement. The first panel depicted a woman in a bathing suit
noticing three different sign's saying "EAT AT JOE'S". In the second
and third panels she noticed additional signs with "EAT AT JOE'S"
while she prepared to dive into the ocean. In the fourth and final
panel she found the same message on a sign that had been placed on the
sea bottom.

[ref] 1933 February 27, Berkeley Daily Gazette, (Comic strip Fritzi
Ritz titled "No Escape" by Ernie Bushmiller), Quote Page 17 (Page 2 of
Comic Strip Section), Column 1, Berkeley, California
(NewspaperArchive)[/ref]

Garson


On Wed, Feb 1, 2017 at 4:58 PM, Joel Berson <berson at att.net> wrote:
> So archetypal that within two blocks of each other on Main Street in Waltham, Mass., are two restaurants, "Joe Sent Me" and "Josephs [sic] Two".
>
> Joel
>
>       From: ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
>  To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>  Sent: Wednesday, February 1, 2017 3:15 PM
>  Subject: [ADS-L] Archetypal Advertisement: Eat at Joe's
>
> Barry Popik asked off list about the statement "Eat at Joe's" which
> appears on signage. Here are the results of a quick search. Below is a
> 1932 citation in which "Eat at Joe's Place" was employed as a
> prototypical message on a
> highway sign:
>
> [ref] 1932 November 25, Illinois State Journal, Regulating The Side
> Lines, Quote Page 6, Column 1, Springfield, Illinois.
> (GenealogyBank)[/ref]
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> Another important regulation bans the use of flashing red lights or
> "stop" signs erected on the highways to call attention to commercial
> establishments. No more will Indiana allow a highway sign reading
> "Stop" in large letters and then, in smaller letters, "Eat at Joe's
> Place."
> [End excerpt]
>
> Google Books has an interesting match that apparently occurs in a
> 1931, but it should be verified with hardcopy. This usage is moving
> towards the archetype, I think.
>
> Year: 1931 (Worldcat agrees with date; visible in snippet)
> Title: Wide Open Town
> Author: Myron Brinig
> Publisher: Farrar & Rinehart, Incorporated, 1931
> Database: Google Books snippet; data may be inaccurate and should be
> verified with hardcopy; text partially visible in snippet
>
> [Begin extracted text]
> Zola was whipped by the abrupt pathos of the signs the one in front
> bearing the words, Whether It Snows or Whether the Sun Shines, Eat at
> Joe's Place, 356 North Main Street. Delicious Food at the Lowest
> Prices. Roddy did not see her until ..
> [End extracted text]
>
> Below is a classified journal advertisement in 1923 with "EAT AT JOE'S
> Restaurant". This seems to be a concrete non-generalized instance.
>
> Date: 1923 April
> Periodical: The Nassau Literary Magazine
> Volume: 78 (LXXVIII)
> Page: Unnumbered Page in advertising section after page 291
> Database: Google Books
>
> https://books.google.com/books?id=YN0mAQAAIAAJ&q=%22Eat+at%22#v=snippet&
>
> {Begin excerpt]
> EAT AT JOE'S Restaurant
> Opposite head of University Place
> [End excerpt]
>
> Below is a classified ad from 1915 with "eat at Joe's Lunch Room".
> This seems to be a concrete non-generalized instance.
>
> [ref] 1915 December 08, Evening World Herald (Omaha World Herald),
> Help Wanted—Male: Miscellaneous (Classified Advertisement), Quote Page
> 16, Column 6, Omaha, Nebraska. (GenealogyBank)[/ref]
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> Wanted—Men to eat at Joe's Lunch Room at S.E. cor., 14th and Harney,
> Open day and night.
> [End excerpt]
>
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