“Life-like” rubber masks? Even the “Handsome Man” looks like someone I wouldn’t want showing up at my window! 😂
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This page is identified as coming from the 1950 Johnson Smith novelty catalog—76 years ago! Most of these faces cost $2.95, while Santa Claus would set you back $3.95. Imagine looking through this selection and deciding that Santa was the reassuring one.
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The masks were made from thin latex rubber, and the ad promised they would change expression as you talked, smiled, drank, or ate. “Covers Entire Head!” was another selling point. Apparently, just having a creepy face wasn’t enough!
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Johnson Smith sold the kind of mail-order goodies that made comic-book ads hard to resist: magic tricks, practical jokes, fake blood, and all sorts of things you never knew you needed. This page also includes racist caricatures—a troubling reminder of what was once casually sold as entertainment.
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Do you remember those rubber masks—and that smell when you put one on? Did you ever order anything from a Johnson Smith catalog?
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#TheRetroSite #VintageHalloween #HalloweenNostalgia #JohnsonSmith #VintageAds #RetroHalloween #1950s #RubberMasks #MailOrderMemories #Nostalgia
“Life-like” rubber masks
