“Last week, John Cox and I had the extreme pleasure to be able to share Noel’s story of discovering a rare Australian The Grim Game Premiere Advertising card.
Well, there is more to the story.
Was the card dropped by an aeroplane to filter down onto the streets in Sydney?
We know the card was found in a diary of a road workman, so maybe he found it on the ground.
As we pondered the question, Noel found the following piece of evidence:
Description:
1920 (Sept 27) Melbourne-Longreach-Melbourne #51ba Pals “A Message From The Clouds” advertising leaflet showing the Aeroplane dropped from the Maurice Farman Shorthorn biplane flown by RG Carey on the Herald and Weekly Times promotional flight to the Gulf of Carpentaria, endorsed ‘Dropped from Pals aeroplane Port Melbourne 27/9/20’ on back, Cat $650.
Further research revealed:
Carey’s extensive ‘Message from the Clouds’ promotion records cover War and Peace Loan flyers, Vacuum Oil Company, Wangaratta Woollen Mills, charity and sporting events, various traders’ association shop locally campaigns, Palm and Cubitt brand cars and Velvet Soap. Dodgers (leaflets) were scattered from the plane overhead as a novel marketing device similar to that of towing aerial banners or sky writing objectives today. Mindful of promoting his own aviation and motoring business, Carey periodically included huge captions on his planes such as ‘Carey’s Chickens’, ‘Melbourne Air Service’ or ‘Carey’s Auctions’.
So, A Grim Game “Message From The Clouds” dodger was dropped by a Carey delivery plane, found by a road “workman” and used as a bookmark in a diary…
Incredible!
Thank you again, Noel!!!
Coincidentally, Aerial Delivery, was a boasted feature of “The Daily Call” newspaper in “The Grim Game”. The use of these delivery planes was always part of the script but not the crash that turned out to be a really nice bonus and was incorporated into the script and marketing campaign. It enabled “The Grim Game” to show on the screen and advertise “the only airplane collision in the clouds ever photographed”.
Related:
Fantastic!