Trayton Studios, NY. "Magicians prefer/You can be sure of Shell.” 6 x 9 1/2 inch toned gelatin silver print, ferrotyped, ca. 1940. This is a photograph of a billboard, a notable example of modern design. It is actually a political poster. In 1937 ties between the British Shell Oil Company and the Nazis came to light. "You can rely on Shell” was released as a slogan to restore faith in the company. During the 1950's it was a successful radio ad sung by Bing Crosby. The image depicts a shell game, a confidence game also practiced as "three card monte." Originally it involved an object hidden under one of 3 walnut shells. After placing the object conspicuously the operator would move the objects around and ask for a bet from the crowd if someone could point to the one containing the object. This was done in New York with cards arranged face down. A shill in the crowd would put up five dollars. He would then point to the correct card and be handed twenty dollars. Of course when an innocent member of the crowd would do the same, the card that seemed obvious turned out not to be the right one. The poster depicts two hands and three circles, one of them black. The message is that Shell's ad campaign is a confidence trick.

Here is a link to a PDF that makes it easy to browse the offerings.

4