The History of Atlas

Each issue, this two-part column focuses on an aspect of Atlas' past, (Part I), and take a peek into the Atlas Vault, (Part II), where countless treasures of Atlas lore are preserved for posterity.

II. From the Vault - A Blast from Atlas’ Christmas Past

Like most things, advertising has changed drastically in the past 50 years. A peek into the Atlas Vault shows just how much. We recently submitted our holiday ads for 2007, but they look nothing like this! Except for some benign holly, you’d never know they were seasonal. We thought you might enjoy traveling back in time when ads like those pictured here were the accepted norm. If we ran ads like this today, we’d be inundated with calls from the National Organization of Women, the A.C.L.U. and legions of irate model railroaders; many of whom are women! How times have changed.

The smaller ad is dated 1949. The larger ad is undated, but you can ascertain the general time frame from the woman’s clothing…and the prices! We especially laughed at the last line, calling the ad a, “public service.” All the highly professional and accomplished women in our offices would beg to differ, as would our President, Diane Schaffan Haedrich, daughter of the man who created this ad, and this company, so many years ago.

It’s snowing outside here in cold Central New Jersey as we write this in mid-December, and we’re all busy Christmas elves trying to get everyone their fondest model railroading wishes on time. We’re looking forward to our annual Holiday Luncheon, and hope you have some happy seasonal plans as well.

So, in our best politically-correct, non-sexist way, we wish you Happy Holidays, and Peace & Good Health in the New Year!