I don’t know if it’s possible to find out whether advertisements of this sort were at all effective. Then again, if you couldn’t trust the endorsement of a nameless, uncredentialed “psychologist” about which pencils to buy, then who could you trust?
ca. 1921
This is eerie! The eyes of the psychologist, the detached hand, the odd grip – as if the pencil would start to levitate at any moment.
Maybe “Van Dyke – obtainable without a prescription” would be an appropriate addition 😉
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I agree on all points! And for all we know this is a portrait of Joe the plumber, who comes by every other Thursday to check the shower drains (though a pince nez isn’t standard plumbing kit, I think).
Or maybe it’s Sam the butcher, from the shop around the corner. 🙂
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