Kyanize Paints Varnishes Enamels Drug Store Co. Store Mask (1930's) - Poughkeepsie, NY

This oversized advertising mask was produced in the 1930s to promote Kyanize Paints, Varnishes, and Enamels, a brand manufactured by the Brockway-Smith Corporation of Boston. The mask was distributed locally through Doty & Humphrey Drug Co. of Poughkeepsie, New York, and functioned as both a novelty giveaway and a promotional coupon. Children were encouraged to “wear me into their store,” where the mask could be redeemed for a quarter-pint can of Kyanize Floor Finish—free with the purchase of a 15-cent brush.

This marketing gimmick was part of a larger Depression-era trend in which household brands relied on playful paper masks to drive in-store traffic and keep their products top-of-mind for families. With bold lithographed colors, oversized spectacles, and the Kyanize brand name prominently emblazoned across the cap, the mask is a striking example of early 20th-century advertising ephemera.

Because these masks were hyper-localized promotions tied to specific drugstores, survival rates are very low. Most were discarded after use, making intact examples—especially with clear store markings—exceptionally scarce today.

Measures large at 13 inches by 13 inches.