HAVE you heard people say that it is often the advertisements in old papers that say more about the times than the stories?

We thought we’d see if readers agree with this taster from the 1916 April edition of the Bridport News.

We have just taken one brand to show you how fertile were the imaginations of those long-gone advertising copy writers.

It seems as a nation we were very keen on cleanliness, witness the many adverts for soap of all kinds.

This week it is the turn of Puritan Soap — marvel at how many reasons there are to use it!

First of all: Puritan Soap saves the clothes from wash day wear and tear because it contains sweet olive oil which is gentle for the clothes.

Puritan Soap saves its cost in the clothes it saves.

The Little Puritan girl’s story: In the great oak pew the little Puritan girl listens to the somewhat lengthy ministrations of the old divine. The sunshine falls on her fair hair and reveals her a little sleepy - already indeed n a waking dreamland. The reproduction of costume is noteworthy and reminds us that for all its severity the costume of

the Puritan days was farm from unattractive.

This picture illustrates what thousands of women know to be true: that Puritan Soap is pure by name and pure by nature.

Then there is the Moorland Idyll: My painting is an endeavour to express the spirit of all things cleanly and undefiled. The Puritan girl kneels by the rushing moorland stream, happily engaged in imparting show-white purity and cleanliness to her household linen with the help of Puritan Soap. Fleckless blue sky, clear sun-washed upland air and fresh, unsullied brook form a fitting environment for one whose thoughts, like her linen, are sweet and wholesome.

Or the Puritan’s Wooing: Willingly held captive — in chains of wool — the young Puritan is pressed into service.

In this happy rendering of an eternal theme we see the young Puritan dutifully holding the hank of wool fresh from the spinning wheel, Hands meeting in more than formal greeting.

The simple tale of honest love is never too old to tell again.

The Puritan Mother: Happy himself and bringer of happiness, he crows contented in his mother’s arms.

The Puritan mother and her little son present an eternal theme. Mother love and baby innocence are almost alone unchanging in a world of change.

Next week find out about the joys of the footbath!