Cool Breezes: Handheld Fans
in Fashion, Art and Advertising
PROMOTIONAL FANS
Cool Advertising
Reed Brothers Market Fan, 1920-1929
Cardboard. Gift of Jeanne Lee Kiley.
Wisconsin Historical Museum object # 1976.301.15
Reed Brothers Market Fan, 1920-1929
This advertising fan for a Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin market belonged to Margaret Lucille (Chappell) Devereaux (1893-1979) of Madison.
Back of fan - Reed Brothers Market Fan, 1920-1929
W.J. Sullivan's Store Fan, 1865-1870
Paper, wood.
Wisconsin Historical Museum object # 1962.289.6
W.J. Sullivan's Store Fan, 1865-1870
After operating a fancy goods store in New York City, British-born William J. Sullivan (ca. 1823-1872) moved to Madison, Wisconsin about 1865 and ran an embroidery and trimming store on Carroll Street until his death. His wife Mary Ann continued to run the store through 1886.
Fan Detail
Lawrence's Funeral Home Fan, 1890-1910
Cardboard, wood. Gift of Nina Malone.
Wisconsin Historical Museum object # 1979.304.5
Lawrence's Funeral Home Fan, 1890-1910
Lawrence's Funeral Home of Madison, Wisconsin purchased mass-produced cardstock fans with a variety of images and printed them with its name. Like many funeral homes, it probably gave these fans away to churches as a form of advertising. Two fans from Lawrence's survive in the Society's collections.
Back of fan
Dionne Quintuplets/Lakeside Dye Works Fan, 1936
Manufactured in Saint Paul, Minnesota, by Brown & Bigelow. Cardboard, wood. Gift of Margaret Faludi.
Wisconsin Historical Museum object # 1981.174.3
Dionne Quintuplets/Lakeside Dye Works Fan, 1936
In 1934 the first quintuplets to survive infancy were born to the Dionne family in Ontario, Canada. The five girls became instant celebrities and a commercial enterprise in their own right. Their image was used to endorse hundreds of products, including Lakeside Dye Works of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, whose owners bought this mass-produced fan and printed their business name on the back.
Back of fan