1940s Windolene Window Cleaner Ad – Wartime Housekeeping Vintage Ephemera

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Item ID: 297240928625
eBay Seller ID: britishfareasttraders
eBay Store Link: View this item
Category: Collectables:Advertising Collectables:Other Advertising Collectables
Condition: In decent condition. Please check our images.

1940s Windolene Window Cleaner Ad – Wartime Housekeeping Vintage Ephemera

A brilliant example of wartime domestic marketing, this Windolene advertisement offers a nostalgic window into the era’s homefront efficiency and ingenuity — ideal for collectors of vintage cleaning memorabilia and WWII home ephemera.

Measurements: approx. 1 7/8 x 5 1/4 inches
Dates: n/a
Condition: In decent condition, please see images. 
Internal notes: QC passed

Imagine the rhythmic clink of ration books and the echo of wartime announcements as busy British housewives planned every moment of their day. This original Windolene advertisement captures that reality with charm and cheer — promoting a window cleaner that promised â€œno time lost” and â€œglass that sparkles.” With lively cartoon-style illustrations, it reveals a world where efficiency wasn’t just a preference, it was survival. The bold promise of “no hard rubbing” offered relief amidst the demands of both housework and war work.

This piece is a superb slice of domestic propaganda, showing how even cleaning products were marketed with patriotic urgency during WWII. Windolene, hailed for its ability to clean grease and fly marks “in a jiffy,” was part of a wider wartime campaign to make every home task smarter and swifter. The advert also tells us much about gender roles of the time, as women were balancing both employment and homemaking — making this a powerful piece of social and advertising history.

For collectors of wartime homefront ephemera, vintage advertising, or those curating a narrative of British domestic resilience, this original advert is both meaningful and visually distinctive. Preserving pieces like this ensures that we continue to honour the everyday lives and unsung ingenuity that helped keep Britain running during its most testing times.