Smithsonian Press--Legacies--3Palace of Progress--Roadside billboard mock-up produced by the Cunningham and Walsh advertising company for Texaco, mid-1950s

Legacies: Collecting America's History at the Smithsonian, by Steven Lubar and Kathleen M. Kendrick

You are here: Palace of Progress > Technology in American History: Collecting since 1980

Roadside billboard mock-up produced by the Cunningham and Walsh advertising company for Texaco, mid-1950s

Cunningham and Walsh, now a subsidiary of N. W. Ayer, was one of the first American advertising agencies. The Smithsonian began collecting material from N. W. Ayer and related firms in 1975 and continues to receive donations, such as this mock-up, acquired in 1996. An inside glimpse into the world of advertising since 1849, the N. W. Ayer Advertising Agency Collection shows how the mass media has marketed technology as a consumer product.