The Campbell's Soup Price Index

and what it really reveals about America

In 1900, Campbell’s condensed soup was three years old. It sold for 12 cents a can. They even printed the price in their ads. Many brands did this, even though print ads appeared in magazines and newspapers that would lie around your house for months. So, what if someone picked up a six-month-old issue of The Saturday Evening Post, got horribly misled a…