I’ll provide some more information on the 1944 Willys Overland Annual Report that I’ve scanned, but I don’t have time tonight. Instead, here’s some fun reading from the report. I’ve combined two of the pages into one image. This comes from an anonymous donor kind enough to share this (and other) documents so I can scan and share them with you.
Advertising & Brochures Research Archives
Business Card for Bean’s Garage in Pennsylvania
David Silberman forwarded this vintage jeep business card. He writes, “Here is a scan of a business card from a Willys dealer in the area. They (brothers Ike and Joe) were an associate dealer and were very good with parts and repair. They also had a Koenig backhoe on a Jeep truck, which they used to dig graves, among other uses.
We bought a 1953 Aero Ace from them in 1955, and in 1958 bought a 1947 CJ2A. The Aero cost $1,000 and we got 200,000 miles out of it. The CJ was $300. We kept it until we traded it for a new CJ5 in 1960. They went out of the Jeep business in the early 60’s. I attended the auction of the place about 8 years ago. Joe was still alive at that time.
Early 1950s Brochure on eBay
This brochure that Marc found shows the CJ-3A employed in a variety of jobs. The use of the triangle in the illustration is interesting.
“This listing is for a vintage advertisement. It is an ad for Willys Overland Motors of Toledo Ohio and their universal Jeeps. The ad folds out like a small poster. There is a dealer address stamp on it. I am not positive but I believe this advertisement is from the 1930’s. It is filled with information and pictures from that time frame. It is roughly 17″ x 11″ when it is unfolded.”
1962 Shelburne Museum Map Jeep Train Brochure on eBay
You might remember that Ann and I visited the Shelburne Museum in June of 2013. According to this brochure, they used to have a jeep-train (which they called the museum barge). I’ll do some searches for more photos.
One here: Shelburne Museum Map on eBay
A second map here: Shelburne Museum Map on eBay
Late 1970s Jeep CJ-Diesel Brochure on eBay
Cheerios Box Goggle Ad with Soldiers in a Jeep on eBay
Here’s an unusual ad that must be pretty rare.
“This ad is from a collection where the collector apparently had the ads in a scrapbook and kept them attached with double sided white sticky tape on the reverse (see photo #2 for the worst case scenario example—this ad might be much better–ASK if it’s important to you! ). In some cases, I was able to trim the blank borders and get rid of some or all of the white tape. In the cases where I was not, I covered the white tape with a piece of clear tape to cover the “stickiness”.
These ads look GREAT from the front.
Some are extremely colorful with great graphics. They also may have one or more of the following– edge tears, a small repair with archival tape on the reverse and/or some degree of uneven cutting when removed from newspaper originally.”
View all the information on eBay
1943 Ford GP in Armour and Company Ad on eBay
It’s not a large graphic, but this ad includes a Ford GP illustration.
“A wonderful original magazine ad from 1943 for Armour and Company No soldier in the world gets better care than a man in the U.S. Army”
1960 FC-170 Owners Manual **SOLD**
UPDATE: The winner is Anonymous at $200. Thanks for the unexpected response everyone and a special thanks to Steve Vogelzang for making it happen!
Steve sent me this original 1960 FC-170 manual in the hopes its sale would raise a little money for eWillys. One of the unique things about this brochure is that it appears to have been in a Chevrolet engineering library. There was one of these available on eBay for $45, but that one is now gone. I’ll start the bidding at $30.
Along with the brochure is an FC-170 brochure. These run between $5 and $10 on eBay.
1952 Fairchild ‘Special Delivery’ Ad on eBay
This ad highlights the Fairchild’s C-119’s ability to provide ‘special delivery’ of fully assembled equipment to remote locations.
View all the information on eBay
Here’s a different version of the ad from 1952 that was for sale back in Dec of 2013.
Rare Early Matchbook Cover from Peru **SOLD**
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was on eBay.
Amazing that this survived.
“VINTAGE WILLYS JEEP ADVERTISING MATCHBOOK COVER — MADE IN JAFFREY NEW HAMPSHIRE SOLD IN PERU WRITTEN IN SPANISH –WORLD WAR TWO ERA — STANDARD SIZE -”
Sales Aides from the Product Merchandising Manual
A seller on eBay broke up a Product Merchandising Manual and sold it in pieces. I bought this section (Sales Aides), and several others. Unfortunately, I don’t have the resources to buy all of them (and some of them are overpriced in my opinion).
These three pages demonstrate items used by the sales team to sell Willys Vehicles. One of these aides I’ve never run across is the “Civil Defense Brochure” shown on Page 2 under Selective Marketing Booklets.
Market Research from the Product Merchandising Manual
This Market Research section of the Product Merchandising Manual is very interesting, particularly since it covers Washington State (where I live). Because some of the information is broken down by county, and because varies quite a bit, especially east and west of the Cascade Mountains, it’s likely possible to draw some national conclusions about vehicle ownership percentages, etc.
1949 Sinclair Oil Ad on eBay
The cover picture of this ebay ad is different than the description and photo within the description.
“This ad is approximately 10 inches wide X 13 inches high.
No Damage, Stains Or Tears.”
1941? Ad for Ethyl Gasoline on eBay
Those are a couple hybrid jeep illustrations. Kind of a Ford GP with an early Bantam BRC side.
1944 Prestone Anti-freeze Ad on eBay
Marc noted that the Prestone Anti-freeze ads come in Red and Black & Red and Blue.
1. Here’s the Red and Blue version. View all the information on ebay
2. This is the Red and Black version of the same ad. View all the information on ebay
3. Here’s a slightly different version of the Red and Black ad (This has a black border). View all the information on ebay
1944 Goodyear Rubber Ad with a Jeep on eBay
The rubber coating on the canvas in the ad was pliable to 50 degrees below zero, water and fire proof.
“This ad is from a large format magazine such as Life, Saturday Evening Post, Colliers etc and measures approximately 10.5″ x 14″”
1950s Willys Brochure 24 pgs on eBay
This 24 page Willys Brochure has lots of great images in it. This version doesn’t appear too often.
“Original non color catalog , 8.5 x 11 , 24 pages , rusty staples , shows a variety of Jeep models , also vehicles in use in various situations , etc.”
VEEP Brochure and Assembly Instructions
Paul was kind enough to share this very rare Hadley Engineering VEEP brochure in the hopes that it helps the VEEP owners out there who struggle to find information about their vehicle. Below are photos of the basic brochure. I also have assembly instructions that I haven’t scanned yet. Great stuff! One unique item I hadn’t notice before was the stamped ‘VEEP’ in the hood. I’ve never seen that in any production VEEPs. If you ever run across a hood with VEEP stamped in it, I’d be interested to get some photos.
TARE: The Wild Rumanian 4WD Vehicle
Glenn pointed out this unusual 4Wd jeep-like vehicle that was offered for import back in 1972. I can’t imagine too many of them made it to the states.
1954 Mexico City Willys Motors Demo Photo on eBay
Here’s an unusual 1954 press photo found by Marc. The driver is Walter Lorch of Willys Motors. The jeep was one of twelve caravan touring through Latin America.
“You are bidding on an original press photo of Willys Jeep Vertical Driving Demonstration Mexico City. Photo has light waving left edge. Photo measures 7 x 9 inches and is dated 3/30/1954.”
1942 Poster with Ford GP **SOLD**
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was on eBay.
Here’s an unusual poster.
“Original poster , 40 x 28 , folded for mailing ( has multiple folds throughout and the folded up size is 7 x 10 , which would have originally been placed in an envelope and mailed by the government to the recipient ) , overall condition is excellent with some wear at several places at the folds , shows an early Jeep with 4 soldiers wearing early style army helmets , this spectacular image was probably originally created by Walter Richards in 1941 and this poster was printed by the Division of Information , Office for Emergency Management , Washington DC in 1942 . This information was obtained from the Internet : “Walter DuBois Richards made at least two posters during World War II. Throughout his nearly century-long life and the seven decades his career expanded, he was affectionately known as Wally. His first published works as an Illustrator can be traced back as early as the mid 1920’s in Rocky River, Ohio, when he wasn’t yet 20 years of age. They were something akin to doodles throughout the pages of his High School Senior Yearbook. As far as I know, his last published work as an artist was in 1987 for a Historic Preservation stamp of Timberline Lodge in Mt. Hood, Oregon.””
The O.E. Szekely and Associates Mobile APU Brochure
I’ve been polishing an article related to the O.E.Szekely and Associates Mobile Auxiliary Power Unit. One of the interesting things that this brochure from a late 1940s Willys Overland Equipment Book notes is that there are two types of Units. The “B” unit is designed for aircraft service and produces only DC power (28 1/2 volts), while the “C” unit produced DC and AC.
1946 Jantzen ad with Willy MB Slat Grille on eBay
Not too many ads with a Slat Grille MB in them.
“This is an original 1946 print ad for Jantzen clothes! It measures approximately 13.25″ x 10.25″ overall, has no tears, with a light stain in the top edge; comes from a dry, high-altitude, smoke-free environment, and is strictly graded ”
View all the information on eBay
1942 Ad Announcing Tenite Steering Wheels on eBay
Based on the ad, the armed forces were using Tenite widely by 1942. In this case, the ad announces the use of the plastic as steering wheels for jeeps.
1962 Malathion Spraying Ad with Flattie **SOLD**
UPDATE: **SOLD** Was on eBay.
Give the year of the ad, the use of a CJ-2A sprayer in the ad seems odd.
“1962 Jeep mounted Spraying for Mosquitos Photo Vintage Malathion Ad”