My Scrapbook
Become a Fingerprint Expert!
Back cover ad from gawdknowswhere
I JUST LOVE these corny old ads offering dubious products and services that can be found in old magazines, comics and even now on late night television and those “free” streaming services.
I’m not sure where I stumbled across this one (Did someone send it to me?) — although I’m guessing it might be from the back cover of a lower-tier mystery digest, or a men’s magazine from the fifties.
I also can’t help but wonder whether the “Institute of Applied Science” was anything more than a mailbox drop (“Department 645C”?).
Oh, wait one minute… let me Google here… okay, the Institute was more-or-less legit. It was founded in 1916 by some guy named T. Dickerson Cooke, and the “Institute” was essentially a correspondence school, offering courses in fingerprint identification and forensics.
Still, you’ve gotta love those come-ons, in Trump-like ALL CAPS: NO OBLIGATION! SIMPLE! INEXPENSIVE! NOW! And of course the manly challenges of “How do you measure up?” and “Have you got what it takes?”
I mean, how could you possibly refuse?
FURTHER INVESTIGATION
- You, Too, Can Be a Real-Life Private Eye!
Real Ads for Real Detective Schools - My Scrapbook
A Cornucopia of Other Tear Sheets, Illustrations, Photos, Cartoons, Scribbles & Other Crap That I Think is Sorta Cool.
Respectfully submitted by Kevin Burton Smith.
