Historical story

Remedy for dandruff, condoms and 8,066 kg of lemons. What can be found in advertisements from the interwar press?

Today, if you want to rent a room in a convenient location, get rid of dandruff or find the address of a discreet doctor - you are looking for it on the Internet. There was no internet in the interwar period, but press advertisements were popular.

While the front pages of newspapers reported on the situation in Germany, Polish economic successes or the case of Rita Gorgonowa, the last pages resembled a bulletin board on OLX. Someone lost something, someone was looking for someone, someone had a coat to give away or wanted to buy a canary? Back then, the last pages of the diaries were of help.

25 on a weekday, 32 on Sunday and public holidays

Each press title had its own advertisement price list, and the price itself was dependent on several factors. The most popular were the "classified ad", which was printed on the last pages - it was there that the cook could declare that he was looking for a job or a lady - that he was looking for a servant . In 1930, in Ilustrowany Kuryer Codzienny, the prices of such advertisements were calculated on the basis of the sum of words. The fee for one word on a weekday was 25 groszy, and on Sundays and public holidays - 32 groszy. For jobseekers, the rates were lower - 10 and 12 groszy, respectively. The higher prices had to be taken into account by those who were looking for the other half in the press:for a word in matrimonial advertisements you had to pay 30 groszy on a weekday, and 40 groszy on Sundays and holidays . Additional fees included, inter alia, indication of the place where the advertisement was to appear, tabular layout or red print. Some newspapers also charged for the bold headline or for the frame that decorated (and distinguishes) the advertisement.
Was it expensive? A small static yearbook from that period states that one liter of milk in Warsaw cost 45 groszy, a kilogram of (wheat) flour - 86 groszy, and one egg - 18 groszy. So, a matrimonial advertisement with the following content: INTELLIGENT 30 years old from a good family in my position, an unfortunate black-haired girl will marry a gentleman aged 30-45 in a cultural position. Written applications to Adm. Courier under the "Right Heart" it cost as much as 20 liters of milk.

Wanted:non-binding peace

The standard advertisements were those related to real estate. If you thought about buying a tenement house or renting a room without any problems, in every journal you found ads where you could choose from. You could find both "elegant, double room, non-binding" as well as "bachelor rooms" or "room for a young lady working outside the home". Right next to the information about rooms for rent, there were notes from people who were looking for a place to live. With this type of announcement, one's profession was often mentioned. "Doctor" or "Clerk" or "solvent medical student" - it sounded credible and was supposed to be a guarantee of fair use of the premises
There were also announcements about the service "A maid for everything with cooking" was on the agenda - it sounded like a refrain in the newspapers of the twentieth century. Sometimes the requirements were clearly defined:"A housekeeper-chef needed from April 1 to the court, who knows exquisite cuisine, poultry farming and ironing" - searched for in "Kurier Poznański" from March 1928. It is worth noting, however, that job offers were directed not only to domestic servants - the press also searched for, inter alia, people who know bookkeeping, salesmen, seamstresses and sales assistants.

Announcement

What if you didn't have any trade in your hand and wanted to learn something? Twenty-year press announcements were also eager to report on courses and various types of training. "It's time to decide on your choice of profession!" thundered an announcement in the "Kurier Poznański" in May 1939, informing at the same time about the first "natural medicine courses" in Poland. Trainings in shorthand, accounting, as well as patterns and sewing were popular. They tried to present their services as professionally as possible - and so, for example, Dr. J. Świtalska announced four-month courses "courses of rational cosmetics and therapeutic massage" emphasizing that they are approved by the health department.
The standard notices were those announcing deaths. Just like today, documents, jewelry, handbags and animals were lost. In the "Kurjer Warszawski" of August 25, 1934, Karol Borowski asked for the wolf dog named Fool "for the prize" to be taken away. In the same issue there was also an advertisement concerning the loss of a suitcase with documents on a train on the Żyrardów-Warsaw route on August 16, 1934.

I will sell:a luxury kayak

Of course, there are also offers to buy and sell. What could not be bought back then! In one of the issues of Kurier Poznański from 1936, among various offers, you can find for sale:piano ("Ecke, black, cross (...) for sale occasionally"), fashionable spring-summer men's materials ("non-burning, non-glowing, in the best quality" ), a pram ("American white in good condition") or ... a kayak ("two-person luxury"). The column with sales announcements often contained advertisements about the sale of drugs for all diseases - dandruff, liver spots, neurosis, freckles, hemorrhoids, sclerosis ... While there was no information to 'check with a doctor or pharmacist before use', this role could have been played by medical practice announcements. A large group of information were information about surgeries that were to treat venereal diseases with discretion. People who must have used these recent adverts may have missed an announcement: "No! Buy condoms or any other protective articles before you receive the latest price list with 5 different designs for PLN 2.50 p. . Other things that could be ordered by mail, such as guides, were also popular. The book "How to behave in company?" For only 1.50 zlotys. in postage stamps were sent by M. Wahl's Bookshop from Przemyśl. A lot of offers also concerned help for "male impotence": "Gentlemen! Handbook "Weakening the Husband", the latest treatments . He sends everyone Dr. Parczewski (…) ”.

Apart from job, sale or purchase offers, advertisements had a special place, which caused a certain thrill. Those who wanted to know the future, thanks to advertisements, could reach "Adarella, a well-known fortune-teller" or "The famous clairvoyant Gordoni", who gave their addresses to the "Courier Poznań". "The famous Clairvoyant Gordoni sends everyone a horoscope until the thirty-ninth year - detailed only 5 zlotys without any subsidies. Warsaw, Szczygla 11-21 ”. Eugenia Palej, a "fairy-tale-loving", had a lower rate. She charged "ONLY 1 PLN!" (as the headline of the advertisement said), and for this amount "it defines the past to the future amazingly." Of course, more mundane services were also advertised - for example, many of the ads were posted by midwives.

Matrimonial:You will meet you ...

A separate group was made up of matrimonial offers - placing an advertisement in the daily press could be a chance to find love. It included not only your own characteristics ("poor", "hardworking", "handsome", "a bachelor from a good family in a serious position"), but also specific requirements for a potential wife or husband.

"(...) he wants to meet an older bachelor or widower in a lower state position"

"(...) looking for a companion, financially and materially independent from the age of 27 to 45, she may be unsightly or separated (...)"

"I am going to marry a nice lady who will help me materially in my professional studies, a handsome 28-year-old (...)".

So the marriage announcements looked like a wish catalog. And if you were too shy to post an advertisement yourself, you could do it with a friend:
“2 friends - brunette 25 blonde 23 years old who have an apartment and furniture, are looking for men for marriage. Applications possible with a photo (…)

When the advertisement turned out to be a success and the couple got together, they could also use the last pages of the newspapers when planning the wedding. There, they could find out where to sew a tailcoat, a dress and order wedding invitations (for example in Poznań - "Wedding invitations at the price of Ekspres Druk, December 5")

It is worth remembering that not only private individuals used newspaper advertisements - they also contain information from enterprises and state institutions. And so, for example, in the Illustrated Daily Kuryer you can find "Auction announcement" posted by ... the Customs Office, which informed that on March 18, 1930 at 11 a.m. in Poznań, 202 crates of lemons, gross weight 8066 kg and 198 crates of oranges, would be sold "by auction" weighing 7657 kilograms.
The classifieds section was also used for corrections. For example - a person signed as Domańska-Nowiska invalidated an advertisement in one of the issues of Illustrated Daily Kuryer from 1930, writing:"I am not looking for a job and I have not given authorization to look for a job for me". Apparently someone overzealous decided to send her to work…

Wanted, Wanted…

The outbreak of the war put an end to the activity of popular titles of the twentieth years. Even in September 1939, publishing houses tried to work at the old level - almost until the last days of September, they worked, among others, "Morning Courier" or "Kurjer Warszawski". In the last issues of dailies from this period, a change in the nature of advertisements can also be noticed. The press searched for the missing and asked for any information about family members and friends .

KAZIMIERZ Dudek - come home or try to send a message through the returnees. Whoever knows anything about him is asked to inform the family, Kraków-Podgórze, ul. Parkowa 1 m. 11

The times of the occupation, however, created a completely different press culture ...

Bibliography:

  1. Łojek Jerzy, Myśliński Jerzy, Wladyka Wiesław, History of the Polish press, ed. Interpress, Warsaw 1988
  2. Paczkowski Andrzej, The Polish Press in 1918-1939, publ. PWN, Warsaw 1980,

Sources:
"Ilustrowany Express Wieczorny" R. 2, no. 297 (23 April 1931)
"Ilustrowany Express Wieczorny", R. 21, no. 55 (1 March 1930)
"Illustrated Daily Kuryer" R. 21, No. 72 (March 18, 1930)
"Illustrated Daily Kuryer" No. 21, No. 177 (July 5, 1930)
"Illustrated Daily Kuryer" No. 30, No. 243 (September 3, 1939) )
"Ilustrowany Kuryer Codzienny" R. 30, No. 250 (September 19, 1939)
"Kurier Poznański", R. 23, No. 26 (January 17, 1928)
"Kurier Poznański", R. 23, No. 124 (March 15, 1928)
"Kurier Poznański" R. 31 No. 175 (April 15, 1936)
"Kurjer Warszawski:evening edition" No. 310 (November 9, 1932) )
"Kurjer Warszawski:evening edition", R. 114 No. 233 (August 25, 1934)
"Kurjer Warszawski:evening edition". R. 115, no. 347 (December 18, 1935)
"Kurjer Warszawski:evening edition. R. 116, no. 58 (February 28, 1936)
"Kurjer Warszawski:evening edition", R.117, no. 143 (May 27, 1937)
"Kurjer Warszawski:morning edition" R. 119, no. 260 (September 20, 1939)
"Przemyski Weekly:a magazine devoted to the good of the city and the district" R. 4, No. 24 (June 14, 1930)


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