Libby's Annual Report - March 1, 1952

One of these turned up on eBay this week, and a friend asked for some scans of mine, so seemed like a good time for a post!

This is the annual report for stockholders in Libby, McNeill & Libby (know to most of us as Libby's Libby's Libby's on the label label label) for the fiscal year ending March 1, 1952.

It has your typical stockholder financial information, how the company did in the past year and so forth. The Alice connection is the advertising endorsement Libby's had with Disney for Alice in Wonderland.

Way back in the first month of my blog I posted a bunch of images of the in-store display material for the Wonderland of Values promotion Libby's had in conjunction with the original release of Alice in Wonderland. This annual report mentions that in several places. But, best of all, it reprints the double-page ad that ran in Life magazine as the centerfold of the report. A lot smaller, and a lot better quality paper! Much easier to fit on a scanner. We say Frabjous!

Aside from the Alice stuff, there is some interesting info about food supplies, panic buying and the Korean war, things I never thought about. Oh, and apparently Libby's was big into pineapple research.

DFC Disneyana Expo Preview - Day 6

It says Libby's Libby's Libby's on the label, label, label...I've got 9 posters from the Libby's in-store promotion kit, including a full set of the 8 different character product posters.  You may never see another full set again.  And tonight is the only night I'll be able to have my room open for room hopping, come visit us in room #520 at the Wyndham Anaheim-Garden Grove.  We'll have our room open from 7-11p, so get a jump on Sunday's sale.

Libby's Wonderland of Values

One of the largest promotions in conjunction with the original release in 1951 was the one with Libby's Foods. Most people have seen the two-page ad with a myriad of Alice characters commenting on various Libby's products (It's Frabjous!). In addition to this full page ad, there were newspaper ads, and in-store promotional posters. The in-store kit consisted of 8 large posters (about movie poster size) each advertising a specific food product, 4 'price cards' which were about legal size used to advertise a specific price special, one very large window poster advertising the promotion in general (Libby's Wonderland of Values), another generic poster somewhere between the very large poster and the 8 large posters, and 6 'tuck-ins' (about index card size); all in an illustrated envelope. Today's post is one of the 'tuck-ins', featuring the Cheshire Cat.

My kit has 3 Cheshire Cat cards and 3 Alice cards, but I have also seen a March Hare card. One can only presume that they made cards for each of the 8 characters featured on the large posters (the art is the same), but I have not seen the remaining 5 characters. If there is interest, I'll post images of the entire kit. Enjoy.

Libby's In-Store Broadside

Research continues for the book. Recently I acquired something I did not know existed, although I should have know since it is a common enough practice.

Most of you are probably aware of the HUGE tie-in campaign in 1951 by Libby, McNeill & Libby, commonly known as Libby's. They had a double page spread in Life magazine that I'm sure many of you have seen, and a big in-store display kit. But they also produced newspaper ads that I have seen in lots of local papers, there was probably an advertising kit too because I have found lots of local newspapers with unique ads, some even with full and double pages, featuring the characters.

But this was new. It is a double-page broadsheet, likely circular or newspaper ad, but only printed on one side, and used by the grocery store as an in-store ad, usually taped to the inside of a window for shoppers to see as they entered the store.

Could Libby's not decide which spelling to use, so they blended them into "CATCHUP"? Sound like a very tardy condiment indeed.

Libby's Wonderland of Values Newspaper Ads - October 1951

In addition to the in-store display items previously posted here, and the Life magazine double-page ad referenced here, Libby's ran a series of newspaper ads in the month of October 1951 . Each ad features one character promoting either peas or corn. To date I've found ads for peas and corn with Alice


Mad Hatter


and White Rabbit


but only an ad for corn with the Walrus; I can only assume that there is a corresponding ad for peas that I've not seen yet.


If the remaining ad follows the above pattern, the peas ad will have a black banner across the bottom saying "Try Libby's Peas...'Sweet in Summer'".

UPDATE:  The Walrus Peas ad has been located, and it does conform to the pattern.

Libby's Wonderland of Values - Corned Beef Hash

UPDATE: There is a full set of 8 of these posters in Hake's auction 196 - catalog listing here - closing on Dec 4, 2008.

This has got to be nasty stuff...Tweedledee and Tweedledum advertising Libby's Corned Beef Hash (who knew they even made that stuff). Ick.

Libby's Wonderland of Values - All-Purpose Poster

This piece of the kit is identified as the 'All-Purpose' poster. It is about 22x64. I really dig Alice's striped stockings.

Libby's Wonderland of Values - Sliced Pineapple

UPDATE: There is a full set of 8 of these posters in Hake's auction 196 - catalog listing here - closing on Dec 4, 2008.

The March Hare and sliced pineapple.

Libby's Wonderland of Values - Peas

UPDATE: There is a full set of 8 of these posters in Hake's auction 196 - catalog listing here - closing on Dec 4, 2008.

The Dormouse and peas.

Libby's Wonderland of Values - Tuck-ins

Two more of the 'tuck-ins', Alice and the March Hare

Libby's Wonderland of Values - Generic Blank Poster

UPDATE: There is a full set of 8 of these posters in Hake's auction 196 - catalog listing here - closing on Dec 4, 2008.


Alice on a generic blank poster.

Libby's Wonderland of Values - Price Cards

UPDATE: There is a set of these in Hake's Auction 196, catalog listing here - closing on Dec 4, 2008.

Set of 4 "price cards" featuring Alice, Mad Hatter, Walrus, and Tweedledee & Tweedledum.

Libby's Wonderland of Values - Pineapple Juice

UPDATE: There is a full set of 8 of these posters in Hake's auction 196 - catalog listing here - closing on Dec 4, 2008.

The White Rabbit advertising pineapple juice.

Libby's Wonderland of Values - Bonus picture of the dorky little hat

Ok, so it was the 1950s, and everyone wore hats, even stock boys at the grocery store. Although not listed on the kit, I have come across several of these stock boy hats.

They are very cheap paper hats, but follow the style of the rest of the kit nicely. Also, the line art on these is not seen anywhere else in the kit. A bonus post for the holiday weekend as I will be away until Wednesday.

Libby's Wonderland of Values - Fruit Cocktail

UPDATE: There is a full set of 8 of these posters in Hake's auction 196 - catalog listing here - closing on Dec 4, 2008.


The Mad Hatter and fruit cocktail

Libby's Wonderland of Values - Kit Envelope

I'm amazed this survived. It is just a plain brown bag - albeit a very large one - with some cool printed suggestions for use on the back, and kit contents on the front. Interesting how the art for the posters as printed on the bag doesn't really match the art on the posters themselves...

Libby's Wonderland of Values - Tomato Juice

UPDATE: There is a full set of 8 of these posters in Hake's auction 196 - catalog listing here - closing on Dec 4, 2008.

Continuing the set of 8, this one with the Walrus advertising tomato juice

Libby's Wonderland of Values - Giant Poster

UPDATE: There is one of these in Hake's auction 196, catalog listing here - closing on Dec 4, 2008.

They're not kidding. This one is twice as big as the previous, a whopping 44x64.

Libby's Wonderland of Values - Peaches!

UPDATE: There is a full set of 8 of these posters in Hake's auction 196 - catalog listing here - closing on Dec 4, 2008.

We're getting near the end (finally!), only 9 more items to go...this is one of the eight 'Product' posters. This one features the Cheshire Cat advertising peaches. I just love the old can graphics.