How to identify 1950s model from print ad?
March 27, 2022 10:15 AM Subscribe
I want to find the name of a guy who appeared in advertisements in the '50s, smoking a pipe. Who should I contact to research this? Are there some experts on vintage ads who might recognize his face? He may have been an actor or appeared in TV or movies, or he might have been strictly a print ad model.
Can anyone help find this guy? He appeared in advertisements in the '50s. I'd like to find out his name, something about him, whether he was on TV also, etc. All I know is that his photo was used as "clip-art" for Yellow Pages ads, for example this 1956 newspaper ad for a drugstore in VA. (I've already tried contacting the newspaper and the drugstore, both no longer exist.)
http://imgur.com/gallery/689BEqn
He must have been known as an actor or model during that time, in the advertising world. (Some people have compared him to the Ward Cleaver actor, but it's not the same person.) His face has kind of a cult following, so a lot of people would love to know who he was. (Many of you surely know him as J.R. "Bob" Dobbs, a fictional name assigned to his face by the Church of the Subgenius. I have contacted a couple of the Church founders and they also don't know his real identity.)
The only way I can imagine to find his identity is to show the photos to very old folks who were involved in advertising, modeling agencies, etc. during that time period. All other suggestions are welcome. I would love to crowdsource this effort, if others are interested to help.
Can anyone help find this guy? He appeared in advertisements in the '50s. I'd like to find out his name, something about him, whether he was on TV also, etc. All I know is that his photo was used as "clip-art" for Yellow Pages ads, for example this 1956 newspaper ad for a drugstore in VA. (I've already tried contacting the newspaper and the drugstore, both no longer exist.)
http://imgur.com/gallery/689BEqn
He must have been known as an actor or model during that time, in the advertising world. (Some people have compared him to the Ward Cleaver actor, but it's not the same person.) His face has kind of a cult following, so a lot of people would love to know who he was. (Many of you surely know him as J.R. "Bob" Dobbs, a fictional name assigned to his face by the Church of the Subgenius. I have contacted a couple of the Church founders and they also don't know his real identity.)
The only way I can imagine to find his identity is to show the photos to very old folks who were involved in advertising, modeling agencies, etc. during that time period. All other suggestions are welcome. I would love to crowdsource this effort, if others are interested to help.
Response by poster: Thanks cosmicbandito. I mentioned the Subgenius connection in my post, and I'm aware of all the history around the photo. I even messaged the Subgenius founders and discussed it with them.
But just because nobody has managed to find his identity, it doesn't mean that it's impossible. There are probably multiple people alive in the U.S. who would recognize his face and who know his identity. Like I was saying in my post, perhaps there are experts or historians who specialize in vintage ads, modeling agencies, etc. Just looking for some advice on where I might inquire. I've actually done a lot of legwork already on this search, in the past few years, but fresh ideas would be welcome.
posted by TreeHugger at 10:47 AM on March 27, 2022
But just because nobody has managed to find his identity, it doesn't mean that it's impossible. There are probably multiple people alive in the U.S. who would recognize his face and who know his identity. Like I was saying in my post, perhaps there are experts or historians who specialize in vintage ads, modeling agencies, etc. Just looking for some advice on where I might inquire. I've actually done a lot of legwork already on this search, in the past few years, but fresh ideas would be welcome.
posted by TreeHugger at 10:47 AM on March 27, 2022
It may be a painting rather than a photo, so be prepared for it not be any specific person at all.
posted by migurski at 11:58 AM on March 27, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by migurski at 11:58 AM on March 27, 2022 [4 favorites]
Response by poster: Thanks migurski, I considered that, but even though the image is grainy, it appears to be derived from an actual photograph. But I'm no expert on such things.
posted by TreeHugger at 12:23 PM on March 27, 2022
posted by TreeHugger at 12:23 PM on March 27, 2022
Best answer: Have you looked into stock photo agencies active in the 50s? They used to publish catalogs of all their photos for use in advertising. That ad was probably pub set by the newspaper and they would pay a fee to use a stock picture.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 1:36 PM on March 27, 2022
posted by TWinbrook8 at 1:36 PM on March 27, 2022
Response by poster: Good idea TWinbrook8 ... I'll have to Google to try and find such agencies... Wikipedia is saying the "Hulton Archive" started in the '40s, so that might be a lead. It seems doubtful that Getty existed during that time, for example.
posted by TreeHugger at 2:08 PM on March 27, 2022
posted by TreeHugger at 2:08 PM on March 27, 2022
What did the subgenius people say when you asked them about modeling agencies etc.? I realize this comment is going to be annoying, but I think the right answer is to build on the existing research, if you already know a lot of people have already pursued so many avenues…
posted by michaelh at 3:15 PM on March 27, 2022
posted by michaelh at 3:15 PM on March 27, 2022
Response by poster: michaelh They didn't provide details of their efforts to find him, and I don't think anyone has contacted modeling agencies or done much research into this. The founders of the Subgenius didn't seem to have much interest in finding out his human name, when I wrote them.
posted by TreeHugger at 3:27 PM on March 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by TreeHugger at 3:27 PM on March 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
The Hulton Archive wasn’t “ stock” images then. It repped some of the greatest photojournalists of the era. Getty bought up lots of older archives and collections, like Michael Ochs. I think this guy was probably a model, who may have sat for a photo or the drawing, which was then licensed for use in all these various newspaper ads.
Power level—I work in archival research for film.
posted by Ideefixe at 3:34 PM on March 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
Power level—I work in archival research for film.
posted by Ideefixe at 3:34 PM on March 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Precursor_to_official_J.R._%22Bob%22_Dobbs_image.jpg
A wayback machine archived article describes how this photo was discovered and its connections to the church.
https://web.archive.org/web/20190408070804/http://www.virginiamemory.com/blogs/fit-to-print/2012/06/13/subgenius-discovery/
I suspect you'll never find out this guys name, because people have been looking for years.
posted by cosmicbandito at 10:35 AM on March 27, 2022 [1 favorite]