Playbill magazine has been a staple for New York City theatergoers since it began as the Strauss Magazine Theater Program at a single theater in 1884. By 1924, the Strauss Magazine was handed out at all the Broadway theaters. It became The Playbill in 1934 and Playbill in 1957. Over all those years, it has been owned by only two families.
Advertisements in Playbill fall into two categories: luxury/aspirational and local restaurants/nightspots. The restaurant and hotspot ads in the Guys and Dolls Playbill for April, 1952 that fell into my outstretched hands are quite something, ranging from spicy nightclubs to places to grab a bite before or after the show. But the luxury/aspirational ads are what caught my eye. They’re a capsule view into what you might own if you were financially well set.
In the 1950s, going to the theater was a high society level event and people dressed for it. Women embraced the “new look,” premiered by Christian Dior in 1947, busting free of the WWII garments that were utilitarian and almost like uniforms. The “new look” dresses had fitted tops, wasp waists and full full full skirts. The sheath dress was another popular choice. Over those dresses, women might wear opera swing coats, furs or stoles.
Men turned out in tailored business suits or sport jackets with crisply pressed trousers. Over it all was an overcoat and a fedora, both of which were checked at the theater cloakroom.
Tickets for the show in question, Guys and Dolls, ranged from $2.20 for a balcony seat to $4.80 for a weeknight night orchestra seat and $6.60 for a weekend orchestra seat. In today money, that premium ticket would cost $78. Raise your hand if you would like to pay $78 for a premium ticket to a Broadway show. (Standard orchestra tix go for $120-$200 and first 20 row tix go for $250-$500+ currently.) To give the 1952 price some context, the average yearly income was $3500.
After opening in 1950, by 1952 Guys and Dolls had marked it’s territory as one of the all time most successful shows in Broadway history. It ran for 1200 performances and won 5 Tony Awards in 1951. Having an ad in the Guys and Dolls Playbill was a prestigious gateway to the high income, well educated audience it drew.
An advertiser would pay $200-$250 a month for a full page ad in the Guys and Dolls Playbill. That’s $3000 in today money. And they would have payed a 15-25% premium to have that ad on the back cover, inside front cover or opposite the cast list. Smaller ads would be less expensive.
Now that the stage has been set, here’s a selection of ads that appeared in that Guys and Dolls Playbill for April 14, 1952.
Fine people needed fine cars. The Buick Roadmaster ad scooped up the inside front cover position. And the Pontiac ad emphasized golf, the game synonymous with post-war prosperity.
The drinking of fine liquor was also a mark of refinement.
To go with your cocktail, you wanted a cigarette, preferably one endorsed by doctors or a celebrity.
Since proper attire to see and be seen in was important, there were ads for menswear. Don’t forget to notice that Sak’s Fifth Avenue had three locations: New York City at Rockefeller Center, Beverly Hills and Detroit (followed by Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and San Francisco by the end of 1952).
But there were nowhere near as many ads for gentleman was there were for the ladies, most of which were for little luxuries.
Of course there were ads for jewelry, but not from Tiffany. The ads were for fine costume jewelry. Very fine costume jewelry. That $10 Trifari pin would cost $123 in 2026 money.
And of course there were perfume ads, one of the ultimate luxuries. The Lanvin Arpege purse size perfume was $3 ($37 now), the large toilet water was $6 ($74 now) and the bottles of Aprege extract (a more concentrated solution than perfume) was $12.50-$500 ($155-$6165.)
This concludes out tour of ads in a 1952 Playbill. The next time you go to the theater, after you check out the cast and Who’s Who, look over the ads. Are they still selling the same kind of luxury items now that they did in 1952? And more importantly, look around to see if anyone is wearing a sheath or a fit and flare cocktail dress.
