“The Secret of Wholesome Frying”

This one is copyright 1933 by Church & Dwight Co., Inc., New York. Baking soda can cure everything from acne to “catarrh of the upper air passages and chronic discharges from the nose” to gall stones to rheumatism to “vomiting of pregnancy.” The opening of this pamphlet is my favorite part: “Health is the birthright of man. If you are sick, you have, in some way, violated a law of nature.” Heavy, right? They go on to quote “Ovid, who lived centuries ago” as advising you to “Meet the Disease at its approach.” With baking soda in hand.

Check her out! This might be my favorite cover ever. It actually hangs on my kitchen wall, suspended cheerfully from a binder clip. If this isn’t the most comically phallic image you’ve seen today then I do not want to know what you’re looking at.

Not only are bananas endorsed by everyone from children to “old folks” you can rest easy knowing that “nature seals bananas in a germ-proof package.” That’s good design.

Then Miss Fluffy struts in and you forget all about that charming Chiquita. Check out her hairdo. No date on this but it is published by the Rice Council for Market Development, Houston, Texas.

I assume most of you are largely ignoring rice as a go-to breakfast food so here are some recipes from Miss Fluffy to sway you.

“Make mine with Marshmallows!” Please, do. This one is copyright 1939 by Angelus-Campfire Company, Chicago, Illinois and features almost psychedelic deco design.

“Doctors recommend Karo for infant feeding—food experts selected Karo as one of the seven vital foods necessary to restore thousands of starving Near East orphans to health and strength.” What could the other six vital foods be? By the way, the views expressed in this Karo pamphlet have not been officially endorsed by this website in any way. Man, that pie looks good, though.

I don't know the date on this awesomely proportioned Grandma in this Wesson Oil pamphlet, but based on the time frame of the other pieces I got from the same estate sale it was likely produced in the 1930s. Wesson must’ve received a major cash infusion because they went all out with the graphics and die cut pamphlets. This one celebrates the emerging “salad plants”: “The salad is rightly gaining importance in the everyday menu, not only because it is an appetizer and adds a refreshing note to meals, but because it introduces in the salad plants, the valuable minerals and vitamins [sic] so necessary to healthy growth.” In case you’re not convinced, “Home made dressings are also much more economical.”

Another example of Wesson’s powerhouse graphic design team. This pamphlet folds in thirds. The basket of fried chicken slots into the pot on the stove and you slide it out to reveal the Wesson centerfold.

Cat’s out of the bag, folks. The “secret of wholesome frying” is Wesson Oil. Why? Because “You need a fat as good as Wesson Oil to make fried food as delicious and wholesome as fried food ought to be.” As wholesome as it oughta be. You heard it here first.