Pennsylvania Oilproof Vacuum Cup Tires...it took several
minutes for me to figure out the middle line of text was "oilproof".
I guess typography wasn't a big concern in 1914 when this ad aired. I'm sure
that what we see as double (or even triple) entendre went without so much as a
raised eyebrow back in the ragtime era too. I like to imagine that a car
equipped with PA oilproof tires sounded like a motorized octopus going down the
avenue. Cue the suction-cup sound effects!
Speaking of suction cups, notice that the ad executives didn't use that term when describing their tire tread design? Patents for the first modern suction cups were issued by the
US Patent Office in the 1860s. TC Roche was awarded a patent in 1866 for what
he called a "Photographic Developer Dipping Stick". In 1868 Orwell
Needham patented a more refined suction cup, calling it an "Atmospheric
Knob" which he purposed for use as
a handle for drawers. I couldn't find an etymology for "suction cup"
on the web, but I'm sure it's out there somewhere and that it probably didn't come into
use until after 1914.
I couldn't find any definitive information on the fate of the Pennsylvania
Rubber Company, though I did find that a company going by the name of the Pennsylvania
Rubber Works moved from Erie, PA to Jeannette, PA in 1903. It's probably that the name
changed at some time and that the records of that change didn't show up in my
web search. I did find a postcard of the Pennsylvania Rubber Works in
Jeannette, though. These cards always amaze me. I mean, the factory and the
landscape in which it appears are utterly un-amazing and though I appreciate
having it as a document for this blog post, I can't imagine sending it to the
folks back home.
On the back of the card, "Hey mom and dad, just drove by this building and boy did
it stink. Made me miss ma's meatloaf..."
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