A black and white photograph of a women appears over a white background with black text.

This was an advertisement for High Admiral Cigarettes. It first appeared in the early 1900s. The image may be a reference to Carmen, an opera that was first performed in 1875.

High Admiral Cigarettes are a brand owned by The National Cigarette and Tobacco Company.  Their flagship brand, Admiral, was first marketed in 1883.  Other brands produced by the company included: Royal Sweets, Opera Lights and Yellow Kid.  Known for their outrageous publicity stunts and forward thinking marketing, National was eventually absorbed into American Tobacco.

Red background with white text. White circle in the center with a blue drawing of a distressed-looking man sticking his tongue out and holding his face, with bubbles in the air around him.

In 1972, an Alka-Seltzer commercial aired in which "Ralph" moans "I can't believe I ate the whole thing" while his wife teases him and then advises him to take some Alka-Seltzer. The 30 second commercial was an immediate hit and received CLIO Hall of Fame recognition. It was remade in 2005 with Frank and Marie Barone (Peter Boyle and Doris Roberts), the lovable couple from "Everyone Loves Raymond." Both ads manage to promote the product in a memorable way, while being highly entertaining. Alka-Seltzer is an effervescent antacid and pain reliever which was first sold in 1931.

Black text on banner image with pink and black checker board background.

Known by their consistent checkerboard logo, this New York City institution has boasted the largest selection of jeans since 1973. Carrying both new and used clothing, the trendy shop caters to an eclectic mix of urban shoppers. Although their popular Broadway location in Manhattan closed in 2002, the Brooklyn location kept its doors open.

Yellow background with diagonal green stripes. Green text outlined in white around the top of an illustration depicting an open green cabbage head behind a baby with blue eyes looking through its legs, showing the closed drop-seat of its blue footed pajamas.

The Cabbage Patch Kids sprung from the imagination of art school student Xavier Roberts in 1978. His signature is, in fact, stamped on each doll's behind. As "Chief of Staff" of Babyland General Hospital, it is also printed on the "official" birth certificate packaged with each doll sold. The dolls had vinyl heads, cloth bodies, and yarn for hair. Children were asked to mail in adoption papers to register.

The dolls are a product of the late 1970s American folk art movement. What started out as handmade dolls at craft fairs, morphed into Little People and hit their popularity peak around 1983. That year's holiday season sent parents into the trenches to wrestle over the small supply of dolls stores had to sell. The following year they launched the Preemie line, recognizable at the time for their lack of yarn hair. 

The original dolls were manufactured by Coleco who filed for bankruptcy in 1988. Over the years the dolls have been in the care of toy makers Hasbro, Mattel, and Toys-R-Us. Play Along Toys currently holds exclusive licensing rights. The popularity of the 1980s has not returned, but the Cabbage Patch Kids continue to be one of the longest-lived doll franchises, reporting over 124 million adoptions.

Young blond girl in a red dress with white collar and black hose has her back to us and is painting the text of the button in black on a light blue and yellow background.

Buster Brown was a popular comic strip character created by noted American cartoonist Richard Outcault that first appeared in the New York Herald in 1902. Having no issue with the modern concept of selling out, the artist, known for his  successful Yellow Kid cartoon, went to the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair to market his strip. He sold licenses to companies to use his Buster Brown characters to advertise a variety of products. The Brown Shoe Company paid $200 for one and launched a successful line of shoes featuring styles for both Buster Brown and his sister, Mary Jane. From 1904-1930 the company recruited actors and dogs to play the parts, touring department stores, theaters and events across the country.

The comic strip featured Buster, another mischievous young boy, but instead of the slums, Buster came from affluent parents. The strip was an instant hit and ran from 1902-1926. Unfortunately, syndication, a new idea, benefited the paper more than the artist and Outcault resigned, moving the comic strip to Hearst in 1906. Repeating the legal battle over "Yellow Kid," Outcault renamed his comic strip, leaving "Buster Brown" at the Herald to be drawn by other artists. This time it was dual Busters!

Cream background. Illustration of Buster Brown character and Tige, her dog, on hind legs with gymnastics equipment including rings and parallel bars in the background. Buster Brown is poised to use hose supporters suspended from above for some undefined gymnastic purpose.

Buster Brown and his pit bull terrier Tige were popular comic strip characters created by noted American cartoonist Richard Outcault that first appeared in the New York Herald in 1902. Having no issue with the modern concept of selling out, the artist, known for his  successful Yellow Kid cartoon, went to the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair to market his strip. He sold licenses to companies to use his Buster Brown characters to advertise a variety of products. The Brown Shoe Company paid $200 for one and launched a successful line of shoes featuring styles for both Buster Brown and his sister, Mary Jane. From 1904-1930 the company recruited actors and dogs to play the parts, touring department stores, theaters and events across the country.

The comic strip featured Buster, another mischievous young boy, but instead of the slums, Buster came from affluent parents. The strip was an instant hit and ran from 1902-1926. Unfortunately, syndication, a new idea, benefited the paper more than the artist and Outcault resigned, moving the comic strip to Hearst in 1906. Repeating the legal battle over Yellow Kid, Outcault renamed his comic strip, leaving "Buster Brown" at the Herald to be drawn by other artists. This time it was dual Busters!

White background with black text and a green bullfrog in black surfer shorts.

Color image of a growling bull dog, teeth exposed, at the center of the button and projecting from manure spreader. Bold black text on white background.

The Bull Dog Manure Spreader and its Bull Dog Cylinder were highly successful farm products of the Litchfield Manufacturing Company of Waterloo, Iowa, est. 1879. The company focused its operations on manufacturing farm machinery specific to the needs of farmers and offered a quality guarantee.

Yellow background with colorful bug with yellow and red striped bod speeding away from something outside of the button face.

Bug-a-Boo Super Insect Spray, with or without D.D.T., was a product marked by the Socony-Vaccuum Co. of Fairfax County, Virginia. In 1955, the company became Socony Mobil Oil Company, later Mobil, and currently ExxonMobil. The insect spray carries the Good Housekeeping Seal and was one several marketed under the Bug-a-Boo brand.

"They thought they dodged it as they flew, But they can't duck this Super Spray. It makes 'em pay and pay and pay!"

White background with black letters and peach and blue colors. Illustration of a chop and mustached man with a small hat and a chin meeting straight up to his neck.

Rube Goldberg, the cartoonist responsible for these "I'm the Guy" buttons is more famously known for his illustrations of inventions that were funny and complicated. His name is in the Webster dictionary is defined as "accomplishing by complex means what seemingly could be done simply". He was a dedicated cartoonist, doing both political and comical cartoons. Goldberg is also a founding member of the National Cartoonist Society whose Reuben Award is named after his proper name, Rueben.

The popularity of the "I'm the guy..." slogans caught the eye of tobacco marketers. So if you wanted one of these buttons back in the 1910's, you'd have to buy some of their cigarettes. 

There was even an "I'm the guy" song !