A Masterpiece of Package Design
This vintage 1940s product is even more magnificent than it appears at first glance.
Sometimes I come across a vintage item with such a spectacular design that I can’t resist purchasing it strictly based on the aesthetics, even if it doesn’t fit into any of the categories of things I usually collect. That’s the case with this spectacular display card for Sy’s Plastic Wall Plug, which was made (in the 1940s, I’d say) by the Hercules Expansion Plug Co., Inc., of New York City. I recently picked it up on eBay for 13 bucks.
How much do I love this item? Let’s start with the little product box:
The product name — “Sy’s Plastic Wall Plug” — is the kind of branding you don’t see anymore. Who, I wonder, was Sy?
I love, love, the little screw head icons on either side of the product name. Perfect for a product sold in hardware stores.
Oh my god, that magnificent HERCULES lettering! That’s worth the price of admission right there.
There’s something endearing about the “A new Creation” script, with the capital “C” clearly scrunched up too close to the “r.” Ah, the days of pre-digital design.
I also love the little “¼” fraction in the product’s weight listing, although I haven’t been able to determine what “AVD” stands for. (Anyone..?) (Update: Several readers have now informed me that it stands for avoirdupois.)
The box by itself would make for a excellent package design. But it’s the display card that really elevates things to rarefied strata. Consider:
I love all the little illustrations running up the left side.
It really should be “for all kinds of materials” (not the singular “kind”), but that script “f” is so resplendent that I don’t even mind.
The designer did a really good job of adding the various hype phrases without making the whole production feel too crowded or busy.
Last but not least: the arrow! It ties everything together and provides an implied exclamation point.
Look how the item is asymmetrical and the product box is off-center, but everything still feels balanced. All in all, it’s a masterpiece of package design.
But wait, it gets better! You can slide the box off of the display card: