Cool Breezes: Handheld Fans
in Fashion, Art and Advertising
PROMOTIONAL FANS
Cool Advertising
![](/museum/exhibits/coolbreezes/images/advertise_1a.jpg)
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.
![](/museum/exhibits/coolbreezes/images/advertise_3a.jpg)
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.
![](/museum/exhibits/coolbreezes/images/advertise_5a.jpg)
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.
![](/museum/exhibits/coolbreezes/images/advertise_7a.jpg)
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.