Broom! Broom!

In establishing a “Call of Cthulhu” setting, you and your players will inevitably fall back upon the elements of history and society in order to re-create the world in which your story takes place. Of these, history is probably the easiest to form a consensus over and to take as read. Social aspects of a past milieu are sometimes trickier to ascertain; however, the world of advertising can provide valuable insights.

There are two main accoutrements which players will acquire for their Investigators in order to provide both capability and period flavour – these are cars and guns. Weaponry of pretty much any kind is fairly useless against anything that most “CoC” narratives will throw at a character, but cars lend something which is of an actual benefit – getaway power. A car has the twin advantages of grounding a character within the time of the story and also of ensuring that they can get their buns out of the fire when it all comes down.

The other day at the shop where I work, a punter came in to try and sell me some books. There was one on early Twentieth Century cars which looked promising; however, when I took a closer look at it, I discovered that a bunch of pages had become detached and that these had then been torn in half (for some inexplicable reason). Obviously, we could do nothing with the book in that condition, and so we refused to buy it. The punter got angry and yelled a bit and then stormed off, taking his books with him – except for the damaged, detached pages. By the time we noticed, he was long gone. We kept the pages around for awhile but the fellow never came back to claim them. Inevitably, they went out with the trash.

Before binning them, however, I decided to take a closer look. The pages contained a number of black-and-white adverts, culled from magazines dating from the 1910s to the 1930s. Each focuses upon a different make and the many models of associated cars and trucks, with accompanying details about prices, ordering and performance. I felt there was enough simple information of value to a “CoC” gaming crowd that I thought I would delay the recycling and present it here. And so, here are a bunch of ads for period cars: use them in creating documents for your games, or winnow the details from them, if your Investigators are looking for a new set of wheels.

*****

The Studebaker “40”

Apparently this car was made by a different company called Garford, for whom Studebaker were organising the marketing and promotion. This unannounced re-naming of the vehicle heralded the soon-following takeover of Garford by its marketing arm in 1911.

The Nyberg Six

This refers to Nyberg’s range of six-cylinder engine cars. These ranged from two-passenger roadsters to seven-passenger saloons, depending on preference. Nybergs were very popular vehicles in 1912 – from which year this range derives – mainly due to their low-pricing policy.

Cadillac, 1913

These were the days when advertising copy could make any outrageous claim and not have to provide proof. In this way, Cadillac could blatantly claim its cars to be “the Standard of the World” as much as they could claim 100% sales on all its stock before the mid-point of the (northern) fiscal year. The prices would speak somewhat against this optimism, however.

Maxwell, 1915

In stark counterpoint to the lavish ideals of the Caddie world, Maxwell dials it down a notch and focuses upon what it perceives the main goal of the would-be-driver to be – economy. Not only is the car cheaper than the Caddie models, but – according to the copy - the upkeep is cheaper as well.

REO Dealers, 1917

Did anyone else out there wonder where 80s supergroup REO Speedwagon got their name from? I guess now we know.

This advert takes us right into the marketing and distribution heart of the REO Dealers: retailer sold-out where you live? They can ship from a nearby dealership. REOs are known across the country: there are no “bare spots” of demand in any of the ‘States. REO won’t let you down; they will keep on lovin’ you…

The Hudson Runabout Landau

This 1918 model is a six-cylinder engine pushing a trim two-seater chassis – that’s almost too much getaway power! Further, the copy claims that no adverse changes in technology will affect the buyer – the car is well-nigh perfect and will remain so from hence forth, even in the face of World War One shortages! And in a range of colours to suit your individuality!

The Dodge Six

Dodge Brothers created a “smooth, vigorous” vehicle with a “squeakproof, rattleproof” Mono-Piece Steel body for less than $900. Unfortunately, they did so in 1930, at the height of the Great Depression, which must have knocked the shine off it a little. Rest assured, however, a Dodge can get you and your family in close-range of cult communities across the country, if this ad is anything to go by!