Mystery Lionel Postwar 'Outdoor Advertising' Billboard

you may have a "sales pitch/presentation piece" from a company selling outdoor/billboard advertising...it's possibly a miniature of what the actual full size billboard could look like...that's my take on what it is based on being in advertising for many years...

howard

sawdust43 posted:

you may have a "sales pitch/presentation piece" from a company selling outdoor/billboard advertising...it's possibly a miniature of what the actual full size billboard could look like...that's my take on what it is based on being in advertising for many years...

howard

Interesting. I had heard that Lionel sometimes made exclusive items for certian companies in the postwar era. Maybe this was one of those? Thank you for your reply! I'd be interested to hear some more input from anyone else who has a good guess!

I remember over the years, Magazines like OGR and CTT, and the LCCA Lion Roars publication once in a great while had a 'bonus page' that had color billboards you could cut out and glue to cardboard and use on your layout. This may be an example. I don't think it has any connection to Lionel as it says OUTDOOR ADV. instead of STANDARD like already pointed out.

Chuck Sartor posted:

I remember over the years, Magazines like OGR and CTT, and the LCCA Lion Roars publication once in a great while had a 'bonus page' that had color billboards you could cut out and glue to cardboard and use on your layout. This may be an example. I don't think it has any connection to Lionel as it says OUTDOOR ADV. instead of STANDARD like already pointed out.

Another interesting take. I don't know honestly, I'm getting an original vibe rather than a more current magazine cutout vibe. The artwork on the back looks vintage and it just looks too ordinary for a cutout billboard. Plus, the artwork, style and shape are EXACTLY the same as a Lionel billboard, apart from the different name. I feel if it were an organization's billboard (LCCA or OGR) they would've left a clue to their ownership or publication on the front. However, if it can be verified that it is, I won't mind! Thank you for your insight! Keep the suggestions coming please

A good friend of mine, the late Doug Cotts, covered one of the likely origins of your billboard in the July 2009 issue of The Train Collectors Quarterly (Vol 55 #3.) It looks like you're a TCA member, so you can look this issue up in their online archive.

For everyone else, the short version of the story is what we know as the 310-style billboard was actually developed by the Standard Group of Outdoor Advertising Companies for their own use. They provided Lionel with the artwork to produce the annual "billboard sheet" from 1949 through the mid-1960's, but also used the format for trade ads in periodicals such as Signs of the Times, the National Journal of Advertising Displays.

Doug's article covered several ad pages featuring 310-style billboards from 1948-1950, but doesn't show your Atlantic. Some of these billboards are the same as those found on Lionel's sheets, but others are totally unique. I have since discovered similar ad pages from the 1952-1953 era, and I've shown one below. Both sides of the ad page are shown (unfortunately they're stained), printed the way you would expect a magazine to be. I'm not certain which magazine ran the ads I found, but I'm reasonably certain it wasn't Signs of the Times. Unfortunately, there's no Atlantic page in my batch, either.

I think it's likely your Atlantic 310-style billboard started life as one of these magazine ads... what you're seeing on the reverse is the remnants of whatever was printed on the following page of the magazine. A hobbyist likely did a little cut-and-paste onto some chipboard to add a new billboard to their layout.

I hope this helps.

TRW

PaperTRW posted:

A good friend of mine, the late Doug Cotts, covered one of the likely origins of your billboard in the July 2009 issue of The Train Collectors Quarterly (Vol 55 #3.) It looks like you're a TCA member, so you can look this issue up in their online archive.

For everyone else, the short version of the story is what we know as the 310-style billboard was actually developed by the Standard Group of Outdoor Advertising Companies for their own use. They provided Lionel with the artwork to produce the annual "billboard sheet" from 1949 through the mid-1960's, but also used the format for trade ads in periodicals such as Signs of the Times, the National Journal of Advertising Displays.

Doug's article covered several ad pages featuring 310-style billboards from 1948-1950, but doesn't show your Atlantic. Some of these billboards are the same as those found on Lionel's sheets, but others are totally unique. I have since discovered similar ad pages from the 1952-1953 era, and I've shown one below. Both sides of the ad page are shown (unfortunately they're stained), printed the way you would expect a magazine to be. I'm not certain which magazine ran the ads I found, but I'm reasonably certain it wasn't Signs of the Times. Unfortunately, there's no Atlantic page in my batch, either.

I think it's likely your Atlantic 310-style billboard started life as one of these magazine ads... what you're seeing on the reverse is the remnants of whatever was printed on the following page of the magazine. A hobbyist likely did a little cut-and-paste onto some chipboard to add a new billboard to their layout.

I hope this helps.

TRW

This is EXACTLY what I was looking for! Thank you so much for this information! It makes perfect sense and I really feel this is what my item is upon reading about it! I find it interesting that my previous owner chose to make a billboard froma magazine of a subject that lionel already made! Or maybe he was a predecessor! ;D Either way, this is a fantastic response and I thank you very much for your information, and everyone else's as well! Everyone hit at different aspects of the piece that were true, it was advertising and it was from a publication! This forum really is a great place. Cheers!

I was also a friend of Doug Cotts and have his TCA article that Todd mentioned.  I agree with Todd that somebody cut that sign out of a magazine ad and the artwork on the back was whatever was facing the other way on that same page.

As I recall Doug also found that there were many advertising signs that looked like Lionel #310 billboard signs but had “Outdoor Adv.” instead of “Standard” in the oval in the lower lattice.

Bill