KEEP Your MAGAZINES
YOU'LL NEED THEM FOR RESEARCH 50 YEARS FROM NOW

You've made it to the last page of this month's PITTSBURGH magazine, but don't kid yourself: There's still a lot of life left in these pages. Maybe you're like me and have trouble throwing away magazines - they're so new and juicy, so full of pictures and text and advertising.

The other day, I stumbled across a few old copies of The Bulletin Index. During its long history - incarnations were published from 1876 to 1949 - The Bulletin Index (or "BI" in those more innocent days) was a local Life magazine of sorts, called "Pittsburgh's Weekly Newsmagazine." Today, an old copy can be a fascinating guide to our city's history. The vintage ads are a simple joy, often with graphic charm and a quirky potency - with historic value and astoundingly low-priced items.

On the cover of the Jan. 15, 1949, issue, there's a cigar-smoking man throwing a bowling ball. A tantalizing headline reads: "TELEVISION IS HERE!" You can read about Pittsburgh's first television station, WDTV, which had just begun broadcasting. Back then, it was "on the air 6 to 10 p.m. daily, except Saturday, with the top shows of NBC, CBS and ABC in addition to DuMont programs."

At that time, there were an estimated 2,000 television sets in Pittsburgh. The full-page ad inside the front cover features RCA Victor television sets with "Breathtaking 'Golden Throat' Reproduction." These sets with whopping 10-inch tubes were on sale for $550 in the "Television Salon" at Boggs & Buhl department store on the North Side. New technology was not cheap.

Look, there's a thirst-rousing "Refreshing! Pure and Delicious!" quarter-page ad for the now defunct Duquesne beer. When you turn the page, there are smaller ads for places that aren't there anymore: Hotel Cadillac, the Nixon Restaurant, Frenchy's "Famous For Sea Foods" at 5700 Penn Ave., and Dimling's, which brags: "Since 1893 - Pittsburgh's Oldest Restaurant."

My favorite is the one that says "Let's Meet and Eat at Kramer's in Pittsburgh, 208 Sixth Avenue, Two Floors." I know nothing else about this long-gone place except it decided to use a silhouette of a chef delivering a steaming plate as part of its simple appeal. The folks at Kramer's wanted to remind people about their existence, and since it's in print, it still works.

It makes me take a second look at the ads in this magazine. Go back. Page through the magazine. Look at even the little boxes. Fifty-seven years from now, what will you find tempting? What will you wish were still here?