Halloween Countdown: Still Deciding on a Costume?

We are still early in October, so there is still time to plan your costume for that Halloween party coming up at the end of the month. I still haven't decided on mine, but as I usually do in most matters of importance, I take my advice from old comic books.

And here, I just happen to have an ad for Halloween masks from issue 11 of Western Fighters, published by Hillman in 1949. Let's see what they recommend:
Oh sweet fancy Moses!

I don't even know what about this ad is the most disturbing.

I love the text in the middle of the page:

The mouth moves with your lips ... you breathe ... smoke ... talk ... even eat thru it.

Holy crap! what kind of toxic stew were people breathing if they smoked through these chemical-laden rubber masks?

Then, there's this cartoon:

So, this poor woman is getting molested by a clown, and everyone else at the party is wondering where he got that mask. That may have been the key technique for rapists in 1949: 1) distract everyone with the high quality of your mask. 2) Act with impunity, even in public. The two guys on the left seem ready to follow the clown's lead, while the woman on the left appears to be an emasculating bitch.

And why is it that this mask is the only one that requires a description?
America circa 1949 must have loved laughing at the mentally handicapped.

And they sure loved their racism!
Sweet sassy molassy, 1949--what the hell was wrong with you?

So, I hope this ad helped in any costuming decisions you still have to make. Remember: