Humanizing the Trust Business

Chase Manhattan wasn't the only mid-twentieth-century trust and investment venture seeking to build a less stuffy image through advertising. Picking up on the popularity of contract bridge, Grace National adopted an eager-to-help tone in the 1959 message at left (click on thumbnail for larger view).

What Grace lacked was the graphic punch provided by the iconic Chase nest eggs. In the 1959 example below, the master of the estate is seen checking up on the haying operation. (To Chase he must have looked the very model of a trust prospect; to those of us who actually served time wielding a pitchfork on a hay wagon, he's an example of the idle rich.)