I have always enjoyed seeing pieces of advertising which are coming from the advertising company itself, essentially promoting their own abilities to produce quality advertising point of sale pieces. Shown here is that type of piece from The Gast Lithographic and Stationary Company which was based in St. Louis, MO for many years. Their motto on this diecut cardboard piece was “We harmonize the finest work with the lowest prices”, while also calling it their “victorious motto”. Today collectors of early advertising can find billheads, early calendars, tin signage, and early printers blocks with the various industries etched into the blocks for the banking, whiskey, brewery, furniture makers, and other businesses they excelled in marketing for.
The Gast family later turned to Banking and eventually financial services. The Gast Bank Note Company was another well known Gast family adventure, along with their north city winery where they produced early wines in the late 1800’s before the eventually shut that down and opened up a brewery in the competitive STL marketplace around 1900. Today collectors can still find Gast advertising items readily available if you look long or hard enough given their once dominant role over the nearest competitor, the Buxton, Skinner & Company of the 1900 era.