Let's take a journey through some newspaper palmistry ads, shall we?
The advertisements below are all the relevant ones I've spotted going through old Gadsden Times saved by my grandmother Rosa Mae Wright. She did not keep entire papers, usually just the four-page spread that included the front page. What she kept dates mostly from the late 1930s until 1945; World War II, in other words. More ads may have appeared on pages I haven't seen.
I found a total of 14 different palmist advertisements. Madam Una outpaced the rest with seven. Madam Ada had three, Madame Lovell two with Professor Smith and Madam Smith one each. With one exception each ad uses the same image of a female figure in front of an open hand; some also feature the moon and a star.
My grandmother also saved some newspapers from the 1950s and 1960s that featured significant events such as John Glenn's earth orbits and the JFK assassination. I found one outlier palmist ad in a 1954 paper; see the final entry below.
As the Wikipedia article linked above notes, palm reading is a practice found in variations all over the world and going back to ancient times. It was certainly available in the Gadsden area in these years. I looked at the 1939 Alabama state laws volume available at the Internet Archive and could find nothing on palm reading, palmistry, fortune telling, etc. Perhaps these activities were unregulated or subject to city or county laws.
Further comments are below the ads.
Gadsden Times 27 Feb 1940
Madam Una sets the pace with various claims to be echoed by the others. She will tell the past, present and future; to whom and when you will marry. "She has helped thousands in all walks of life." Like most of these palmists, she kept long hours, 9 in the morning until 8 in the evening seven days a week. Ada includes her address, which Google Maps shows us does not exist today; the area is a vacant lot.
According to state records, as of 1968 a Ratliff Sheet Metal Works had been in business for 57 years. Two of the incorporators were listed as James F. Ratliff, presumably father and son. The latter, a Gadsden resident, listed his occupation in the 1950 U.S. Census as "sheet metal mechanic." But I digress....
Madam Ada also declares, "Waiting Room for Colored."
Gadsden Times 17 April 1940
Now we come to the pair of ads for Madame Lovell, identical and run in the same month in 1940. She is the only one who claims to be both a palmist AND clairvoyant. She charged 50 cents a sitting, double the cost of a movie ticket at the time. "I advise you on love, courtship, marriage, divorce and transactions of all kinds." She could settle lovers' quarrels and family troubles. She was also open seven days a week, from 9am until 8:30 pm.
Her practice was "permanently located" at 1330 Forrest Avenue in Gadsden, and she offered waiting rooms "for white and colored." That address according to an April 2024 photo on Google Maps, is an empty lot but shows remains of what may have been part of the sidewalk to the house.
She is the only one using an "e" on Madam.
The ads above and below from the Gadsden Times 21 April 1940
Madam Ada ads appeared in April, May and June 1940. "I Am Different From All Others", she declares. She "Gives Facts--Gets Results". "Reads entire life...she can help you" "If you are having bad luck or trouble." Ada was apparently a morning slacker; she doesn't get started until 10 am, but she does go until 9 pm seven days a week. "Everyone welcome."
Her readings also cost 50 cents, and she was located at 214 South 5th Street in Gadsden. A Google Maps photo from August 2024 for that address shows a row of three small buildings with 214 in the middle.
Gadsden Times 26 May 1940
This ad notes she is "Licensed by City, State, County".
Gadsden Times 2 June 1940
Here Madam Ada's text differs significantly from the other two ads.
Gadsden Times 14 Dec 1941
The text here differs from the February 1940 one. "Don't be mislead [SIC]! This is the same Madam Una you all know." Does this imply she has competition in the area? She has extended her hours, changed location to a "tent and trailer" and says nothing about waiting rooms.
Gadsden Times 16 June 1942
This ad is the only one I found for a male palmist. He gives location, but no hours or cost.
Gadsden Times 11 February 1943
Here Madam Una tells us which bus route to take.
Both of these ads appeared in the Gadsden Times 6 February 1945
Two years later Madam Una is still going.
Madam Smith notes "Not to be classed with Gypsies. World's Star American Palmist and Life Reader. After noting her skills, she adds "She is the seventh daughter born with a double veil." Smith also charges 50s, reads seven days a week and operated from Thompson's Trailer Camp. "Look for sign." She had long daily hours and "All welcome. White and colored."
Being a seventh daughter, presumably of a second daughter, is a folklore belief granting that woman--or man--with psychic powers such as seeing the future.
Gadsden Times 24 April 1945
The Una ad above and the two below are all alike and similar to ones used earlier.
Gadsden Times 1 May 1945
Gadsden Times 8 May 1945
Gadsden Times 5 May 1954
Madam Davis' ad was tucked between ones for a bait shop and a drive-in theatre. All of the other ads above were located pretty much by themselves on the page. The ad directs "See sign on Trailer at Glencoe", which is a small town near Gadsden. The illustration for her ad is also different from all the others in the 1940s, and the only one in which the phrase "palm reading" appears.
