There’s no date on this Back Hoe Brochure from Go For Digger, but it is likely from the late 1950s. This brochure was accompanied by a letter:
Features Research Archives
1944 Article Says the Big Three Automakers Are Tepid on the Post War Jeep
The April 27, 1944, article in the Star Tribune out of Minneapolis argues that Ford, GM, and Chrysler did not believe the post-war jeep would be as successful as hoped, due to (1) the hard suspension and (2) a lack of appeal to the “woman of the family”. It seems they were right to be wary from a family perspective, but the big three didn’t foresee the wagons, which attempted to address both of these issues.
1946 Jeep Trip From Hawaii to the Midwest
This photo captures three friends traveling from Hawaii to the midwest via Minnesota. Akira Tanaka, sitting in the driver’s seat, helped establish the military intelligence company that was part of Camp Savage in Minnesota.This was published in the September 16, 1946, issue of The Minneapolis Star.
I tried to learn more about these three, but didn’t have much luck. There was an Akira Tanaka that went to work for General Motors and built himself a home that was featured in a 1955 article in the Detroit Press. So, it’s possible that he graduated from College in Michigan, then went to work for GM. If that’s the case, he developed several automotive patents for the company.
June 1962 Jeep Pick-up Truck Brochure
This brochure pushes the wide-ranging capabilities of the Jeep truck. It is Form No. 62-06.
The is the front of the unopened brochure:
When first unfolded, these complementary flaps appear:
When the page flaps are opened, the brochure is fully opened revealing this page:
This is the back of the brochure when fully opened:
1967 Jeep Sportster Ad on eBay
It’s a one page ad from a magazine, but it contains a couple photos of the rare Australian Jeep Sportster (more about them and the Combat here).
View all the information on eBay
“This is an original A4 size advertisement for the 1968 Kaiser Willys Jeep Sportster. Advertisement is in good condition for it’s age. Advert measures 28 x 20cm or 11 x 8in. All advertisements are mailed in clear plastic slip with cardboard backing for protection. Please email me if you have any questions. Will post overseas.”
August 1957 FC-170 French-Canadian Ad
This 1957 French-Canadian ad for the Forward Control Jeep was published in August. The magazine is unknown.
1944 January Drive in a Ford GP
The January 30, 1944, Sunday issue of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune made John Henkels and his son front page news for the purchase of their 1941 Ford GP from Wilensky’s auto parts. What a cold drive back to Fulda, Minnesota, that must have been!
1945-1946 Ads for Army Surplus Jeeps in Minneapolis
This ad appeared within the classified ad section of the October 04, 1946, issue of the Minneapolis Star. It was posted by American Motor Sales, which was located at 1220 West Broadway. Whether the company actually had Ford GPs for sale isn’t clear; most likely, it was just standard MBs or GPWs.
A few days later, the Downtown Chevrolet Company advertised in the October 09, 1946, issue of the Minneapolis Star that they had 100 surplus jeeps available for customers:
Subsequently, an ad was placed by Twin City Motors, which also claimed to have jeeps (either GPWs or FORD GPs or both):
So, how did these companies obtain the jeeps? As we saw yesterday, there were some bidding opportunities that allowed Hyman Berg and others the opportunity to purchase multiple prototype jeeps. So, perhaps these Minneapolis-based companies also scored some prototypes that way?
What we do know is that the government was selling jeeps to veterans (previous stories highlight sale in Hawaii and California). And, those jeeps sold pretty quickly.
For example, in late 1945, the government’s War Asset group put 10,000 jeeps up for purchase by veterans. Those 10,000 jeeps were promptly sold (November 30, 1945, the Star Tribune):
A month later, an article from the Dec 08, 1945, issue of the Minneapolis Star, announced that another batch of 10,000 jeeps had been made available as of December 1945:
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January 1956 Koenig Hardtop & Misc Brochure
This is Koenig bulletin #156, one that I finally purchased and scanned. This brochure marked a change in model numbers from Koenig’s 1955 brochure; the “-5″s were eliminated in favor of individual hardtop numbers (which I imagine was easier for consumers to understand). See a Koenig hardtop brochure history here.
ACE Model Willys-Ma Torrance, CA $15
Unfortunately, the seller won’t ship model, which is very Willys-MA-like. Otherwise, I would have snagged this. Great price.
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/2600242193600795
“No holds No shipping Cash only Xposted”
9 Jeep Safari Belt Buckles Westminster, CO $85
Here’s an unusual collection of belt buckles from past Jeep Safaris.
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/406060797361623
“Selling the lot for $85 or best offer! Shipping is available!”
1944/45(?) Berg’s ‘King of Jeeps’ Brochure
This Berg’s brochure is interesting in that it contains no references to the CJ-2A or a civilian jeep, suggesting that it came out between 1944-1945 (to me it looks a little earlier than this Berg mailer). Within the flier, Berg claims Berg Truck & Parts Co. was begun in December of 1942 to sell JEEPS. He also notes that the company had appeared in news reels, magazines, and Life Magazine.
Here’s the front page of the brochure:
When opened, you’ll find this third small page. Since Berg is offering standard jeep parts for sale, it can be assumed that this flier is at least from 1944. Note the trailer chassis ad, too.
When flipped over, the brochure offers an array of Ford, Willys, and Bantam jeep parts.
When fully opened, there are even more military-related parts, but no word of civilian parts:
This is how the back looks when fully opened.
Interestingly, while Berg’s Truck Parts may have opened in 1942, Berg didn’t receive any jeeps until November of 1943 and it was only 16 jeeps (likely aall were prototypes). Here’s a report of those first jeeps from the November 27,1943, issue of the Chicago Tribune:
A month later, in December of 1943, this press photo showed the ‘King of Jeeps’ himself Hyman Berg loading up one of those jeeps, a Bantam BRC-40:
































