Beauty Without Airbrushing

Sometimes I come across some really amazing artwork for vintage ads like the one above from 1910 for Kelloggs Cornflakes.  The artist is B. Tichtman and unfortunately his information was not available online but he apparently was an artist in the style of Gibson and his famous Gibson Girls that were so popular in the early 1900's.  Tichtman was prolific in his work producing not just ads but calendars and postcards as well.

What strikes me most about this artwork is the beauty without the use of airbrush makeup that is so prevalent today... or am I dating myself there?  I think photoshop is used more often these days to make impossible beauty out of the models used.  Such things upset me because it changes societal perceptions of beauty into something that has women spending untold amounts of money in the pursuit of flawless beauty.

Kelloggs  seems to have used this ad style for only a short time and I have not seen it used by any other advertisers.  As for Mr. Tichtman, it is unfortunate that he is relegated to obscurity since his art still fetches a decent price when it comes up for auction.

Share this post