print ads from pakistan of the 1950s

8/14/2019 Print Ads From Pakistan of the 1950s

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Print Ads from Pakistan of 1949

Posted on May 8, 2009Filed Under>Owais Mughal,Culture & Heritage, History, Photo of the Day

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17 CommentsTotal Views: 16764

Owais Mughal

In the past weve had posts of Pakistani

print advertisements from 1960s and

1950s. Today well go another decadebackwards in our continued travel of

Nostalgistan in Pakistan.

Few days ago a good friend of mineforwarded me an email which turned out

to be a very nostalgic collection of

Pakistani print ads of1949. I am sharing

the ads here. Since then Ive spent morethan 2 hours looking at the details of

these ads. For example look the ad to

above right; I believe this BP factory alsoexists today. Karachi phone number

given in the advertisement comprises of

4 digits only.

Print Ads From Pakistan of the 1950s
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Posted on September 11, 2008

Filed Under>Owais Mughal,History,Society,Urdu

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44 Comments

Total Views: 45829

Owais Mughal

I own a copy of Pakistan Railways time table published in November of 1959. Besidestrain timings, it has a section of advertisements which is a great glimpse into our national

past. Ive selected following eight advertisements from this publication. Some of the

brands advertised here are still in the market.

For good or bad a lot has obviously changed in the past 48 years. Not just in how theadverts were drawn and presented, but also in what was drawn and presented within

them. It is a nice drive down memory lane.
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(1) Starting from the top, the first ad is a public noticeadvertisement asking public to

buy railway tickets for children above three years of age. Note the male dress shown in

this ad. It has definitely gone out of fashion. Imagine how difficult it mustve been to donon-air-conditioned rail travel in a sherwani. Note the dresses of parents are very

Eastern style whereas the young boy is clad in all western. Also note the gesture of

surprise shown by the lady. Such body language is also out of fashion now.

The last words in the advertisement show whom the ad is from. The words read NWRPublicity, which stands for North Western Railway (as Pakistan Railway was called until

1964) Publicity department.

(2) The second advert is forRustam and Sohrab bicycles. Most of you may be familiar

that these bicycle brands are named after the epic Persian characters ofRustam andSohrab fromShahnama-e-Firdausi. While both Rustam and Sohrab are not in this world

anymore, Sohrab bicycle is still in production in Shahdara, Lahore. I am not very sure of

Rustam brand though. May be our readers can enlighten us on Rustam brands currentproduction level. I do remember seeing Rustam brand in my childhood.

An interesting thing to note in the advertisement above are the spellings of the word de-lux. Also note the words National Labour showing the pride of manufacturers in

utilizing local labor. The last line reads made with 90% indiginous parts. I wonderwhat were the 10% imported parts for a bicycle in 1959. May be the ball-bearings that

connect to the pedal. Also note the offer of5 Years Warranty for Sohrab and Rustam

brands.
http://pakistaniat.com/2006/09/23/sohrab-cycle/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rostam_and_Sohrabhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rostam_and_Sohrabhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rostam_and_Sohrabhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shahnamehhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shahnamehhttp://pakistaniat.com/2006/09/23/sohrab-cycle/http://s105.photobucket.com/albums/m237/owaism1971/1960_small/?action=view&current=100_0010.jpghttp://s105.photobucket.com/albums/m237/owaism1971/1960_small/?action=view&current=100_0005.jpghttp://pakistaniat.com/2006/09/23/sohrab-cycle/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rostam_and_Sohrabhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rostam_and_Sohrabhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shahnamehhttp://pakistaniat.com/2006/09/23/sohrab-cycle/


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(3) Tibet Toilet Soap and Tibet Tooth Paste. Although not so popular now, Tibet brand

products are still available. Note the word Dacca written as one of the cities where Tibet

cosmetics were produced in pre-1971 Pakistan. I wonder what do the words Twice as

Lovely mean? How can we quantify loveliness. Probably it means that after using Tibet

products, one will become twice as lovely as compared to their current degree of

loveliness. By extrapolating this statement, a mathematical mind may also deduce thatTibet beauty products can thus make an ugly person turn into half ugly (= twice lovely).

Ok Ive gone too far. Lets go back to the 50s!

(4) This is an advertisement forBombay Cloth House in Anarkali bazar, Lahore. Note

the 4 digit telephone number for Lahore City in this ad. I guess these days extensions ina single building run in 4 digits

(5) In the set below the ad on the left says Dont rob the nation! This advertisement is

self explanatory. I just want to mention one thing here. What is the symbolism of hand

approaching the train? Does it symbolize thelong arm of the law. It seems to be going

to the wrong place though i.e. the locomotive. An engine driver is exempt from buying arail ticket, remember!

(6) Trains dont wait. This interesting ad is from West End Watch company located atM.A. Jinnah Road, Karachi. Can somebody confirm if they are still in business? The adgives the message that West End watches offer a guaranteed timely arrival for you to

catch a train. What is interesting is the man in the advertisement seems to be wearing a

West End Watch (note the red wrist strap) and the train is seen departed.

(7) In this advertisement forRoznama Tameer,Rawalpindi, note the dress this guy iswearing while reading the Daily Tameer (To Build). Also note the items in circles which
http://pakistaniat.com/2007/03/13/pakistan-wasi-zafar-voice-america-interview-news-ansar-abassi-law-minister-supreme-court/http://pakistaniat.com/2007/03/13/pakistan-wasi-zafar-voice-america-interview-news-ansar-abassi-law-minister-supreme-court/http://s105.photobucket.com/albums/m237/owaism1971/1960_small/?action=view&current=100_0009.jpghttp://s105.photobucket.com/albums/m237/owaism1971/1960_small/?action=view&current=100_0014.jpghttp://pakistaniat.com/2007/03/13/pakistan-wasi-zafar-voice-america-interview-news-ansar-abassi-law-minister-supreme-court/


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show the highlights of what the daily Tameerstands for. Despite all the noble mottos, I

believe this newspaper is not in circulation anymore.

(8) The final ad here is for Sartaj Sewing Machine and Sartaj Bicycle. Sartaj industries

had a very diversified product line in 1959: sewing machines and bicycles. In this ad they

are offering their sewing machine for monthly installments ofRupees 10 only. Also notehow 4-digit telephone numbers are used as decoration all over the ad.
http://s105.photobucket.com/albums/m237/owaism1971/1960_small/?action=view&current=100_0015.jpghttp://s105.photobucket.com/albums/m237/owaism1971/1960_small/?action=view&current=100_0012.jpg

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