Gift Trays She'll Treasure
*From Life Magazine 1942

Question:
(From the Year 1, until now)
"What shall I get her for Christmas?"

Answer:
(1942 Version)
"Hasko Trays, of course"

Slip a set of beautiful HASKO "Flying Duck" Trays under the tree and just watch her eyes sparkle when she unwraps 'em.

Add to your gift list the new HASKO Mystic Tray, a combination tray and game that spells out answers to questions . . . exciting gayety for guests . . . . more thrilling than a fortune teller at your party . . . a gift every woman appreciates.

. . . and no matter who "she" is . . . there's a HASKO Tray that will make her say "Just what I wanted" . . . and mean it!

Small trays for Canapes and Cocktails, large trays for Luncheons, Buffets and Bridge; Tuck - Away Sandwich Trays and Trays for breakfast abed.

HASKO Trays make smart entertaining easy - do away with table - setting, maid - service and plate 'n' cup juggling. All HASKO Trays come in gay Christmas wrappings. See them at department stores and gift shops NOW!

HASKELITE MFG. CORP.,
CHICAGO , ILL.

Haskelite Manufacturing Corporation (1917-1958) perfected a way to mold bonded plywood into virtually any shape using pressure and H. L. Haskell's unique waterproof glue. Advertised in differing forms as Duromold, Plymetl, and Phemaloid, this product was ideal for applications that required a strong yet lightweight construction material. It was widely used in boats, trains, airplane fuselages and automobile door panels, just to name a few. During the Second World War, Haskelite helped the war effort by manufacturing materials for tanks and combat ships.

Haskelite also produced a multitude of colorful serving trays with animal, bird, floral, and Disney cartoon themes. They were the brainchildren of Walter F. Gibian, head of Haskelite's Specialty Division. "My first idea," said Mr. Gibian, "was to take serving trays out of the luxury class and to make a fine molded tray on a mass production basis that could be put within the easy reach of everybody's pocketbook." His second idea, when sales exceeded all expectations, was to shift into the game and toy market with his "fortune telling" Mystic Trays and Mystic Boards. Over four million were sold in 1944 alone. With the success of the popular Hasko Mystic Tray (first introduced in 1942) and the Mystic board series (1944), "Hasko" became one of the most prolific manufacturers of talking boards in the world. These boards included the Mystic Tray, Mystic Board (Egyptian), Hasko Mystic Board (blue zodiac border), Hasko Mystic Board (green zodiac border), and Hasko Mystic Board (black zodiac border). There were large and small versions of each except the Mystic Board (Egyptian). Conveniently, the smaller boards came with smaller message indicators. All are still widely available today and can be found on eBay with a little patience.

In 1941 the Federal Trade Commission brought charges against the company for failing to disclose that some of the products were actually covered with wood grain paper and thus fell under the heading of "simulated wood product" not real wood. This, we presume, is the reason for the label on all Hasko trays that reads: "made of selected wood covered with fine lithographed paper."