San Marto Coffee - Royal Garden Tea - Promotional Advertising mask (1920s-30s)

San Marto Coffee - Royal Garden Tea - Promotional Advertising mask. Circa late 1920s–early 1930s
The Blodgett-Beckley Co., Toledo & Kansas City
Two-sided lithographed paper advertising mask

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A rare and early coffee-and-tea promotional mask created for the San Marto Coffee and Royal Garden Tea brands—distributed by the Blodgett-Beckley Company, a Midwestern grocery wholesaler active from the 1910s through the 1930s.

This striking piece of advertising ephemera served a double purpose: on one side, a brightly printed grotesque clown-style face with “San Marto Coffee” emblazoned across the brow; on the reverse, bold typographic promotion reading “The cheapest of good coffees, the best of medium priced coffees — Royal Garden Teas are delicious.”

Masks like this were used at store openings, holiday parades, and regional promotions to entertain children while parents shopped—an early example of marketing through participatory novelty. Each mask was die-cut with simple eye and nose holes and strung with twine or elastic through the side perforations.

Rarity: Very rare — regional advertising masks from grocers and beverage companies survive far less frequently than national brands. Few known examples exist outside private collections.

Condition: Light surface wear and minor creasing; vibrant print and intact perforations. Excellent structural integrity for its age.

Design Notes:
The face style, color palette, and typography point to small-run lithography typical of Midwestern print houses circa 1928–1932, just before the explosion of national promotions by firms like Einson-Freeman. The humorously exaggerated red nose and hollow eyes echo carnival and Halloween imagery of the era.

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A charming survivor from the dawn of consumer fun — when even your morning coffee came with a face.