Elgin Watches Uses China to sell Pocket Watches in 1922

Here’s a 1922 advert from the Saturday Evening Post in America for Elgin Watches that uses a Chinese scene. The hook is apparently that Confucius said “give it time” to an impatient disciple. Elgin (so called as it was based in the town of Elgin, Illinois) itself dates back to 1864 as an American watchmaker, not quite as far as Confucius, but good going for that side of the pond. However, their use of China might be considered a bit odd as they sold watches under the brand names Lord Elgin and Lady Elgin – of course James Bruce, the Eighth Earl of Elgin, was the man who infamously torched the Summer Palace in 1860, perhaps not such a jolly image of China as this ad might suggest! Elgin, the town, got its name from a Scottish psalm apparently….