Looking Back
From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History
accessible at www.djnfoundation.org
assover begins this Friday. Have you finished your shopping
for the holiday?
I thought I might help and explore Passover shopping in
the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History for
a few suggestions. I found plenty of Passover ideas.
One of the early ads for Passover was in the March 13, 1931,
issue of the Jewish Chronicle. Robinson Furniture
suggested that you “Refurnish Your Home in Time
for Passover.
” Moreover, the store was offering a $245
“Suite in Antique Velvet and imported Linen Frieze”
for a mere $98 (about $1,800 today). However, I’m
not sure I can afford new furniture every Passover!
Of course, the highpoint of the holiday is the
seder, the gala family meal and the reading of
the Haggadah. In this regard, especially from the
1930s-1990s, the Archive holds many interest-
ing advertisements for brands of Passover foods. Many of these
also appear in ads for local markets such as the Dexter-Davison,
Chatham, Farmer Jack, Food Fair, Great Scot and Kroger or, more
recently, Busch’s, the Grove and Nino Salvaggio.
Many advertisements are for coffee for Passover. Once it was
determined that coffee beans were not legumes, then the ads flowed.
Joseph Jacobs, a former advertising manager of the Forverts, or the
Yiddish Forward, formed an ad agency in 1919 and was the driving
force in 1923 behind making coffee OK for Passover. His inspiration?
He wanted Maxwell House Coffee to place ads in Forverts. Once the
bean vs. legume issue was settled by a group of rabbis, Maxwell House
not only advertised in Forverts but published in 1932 a Haggadah and
included it with coffee purchased for Passover. The Maxwell House
Haggadah is one of most popular in American history.
The JN supported this revelation and published hundreds of ads
for coffee. Along with Maxwell House, there are ads for Borden’s,
Sanka, Maxim and Yuban coffees, to name a few.
Matzah is another primary Passover food with lots of ads in
the Archive. Manischewitz is one of the oldest food advertisers in
the Archive, especially for matzah. Goodman’s “Matzos” — with
“improved square, tea and egg varieties” — was the chief adver-
tising rival to Manischewitz. That “matzah battle” ended when
Manischewitz acquired Goodman’s. I also found ads for Horowitz-
Margareten “Passover Matzohs.
” All the ads promoted “Passover
Goodness” (I suppose one would not want “mediocreness” for
Passover).
By the way, in the 1970s, Arnold Margolis of Margolis Household
Furniture would give you five pounds of matzah if he could not beat
your best deal (Aug. 19, 1977, JN).
If you or your bubbie did not make homemade gefilte fish, no
worries. The Chronicle and JN have lots of ads for prepared Rokeach,
Manischewitz (“The Lightest of Them All”) and Mother’s (“Ready
to Serve Old Fashioned”) Gefilte Fish.
Of course, I do not have room to fully discuss other Passover
food topics. In the Archive, you can also find ads for hundreds of
restaurants and delis featuring Passover menus such as Star Deli,
Steve’s Deli, Stage Deli and Pickles & Rye. Or to make it easy, cater-
ers such as Quality Kosher and Bloom’s.
The JN also attempted to help its readers navigate Passover food.
For one example, in the March 22, 1974, issue, a convenient check-
list of kosher foods was published.
Have a happy — and tasty — Passover. Chag Pesach Sameach!
Want to learn more? Go to the DJN Foundation archives, available for free at
www.djnfoundation.org.
Mike Smith
Alene and
Graham Landau
Archivist Chair
94 | APRIL 14 • 2022