My hands are pretty much always cold. But not today. Right now we're watching Joe Biden and Kamala Harris speaking to union leaders in Pittsburgh, PA, and I'm inspired. When I tested the stress monitor a minute ago it showed bright green. (CALM!)
Happy Labor Day to all.
Purchase (ebay) -- Scott Mrozek, Sandusky, MI -- received 29 June 2011
Not the first time I've shown this custom-made left-handed ruler, but definitely my favorite in this category, so I want to share it again. It was a gift from the former Curator of the Harvard Theatre Collection, Fredric Woodbridge Wilson, when I left my job there after six years (1999-2005). Ric designed and printed this ruler, which he labeled "LEFT-HANDED ARCHIVIST'S RULE / MODEL BC-H", for obvious reasons.
Still one of my favorites.
https://nationaltoday.com/lefthanders-day/
Gift - Fredric Woodbridge Wilson - June 2005
And I don't usually like "cute" stuff. I'll have to let the folks at the Zollstockmuseum in Germany know about this card!
(Description in English: https://www.brandenburg-tourism.com/poi/dahme-seenland/museums/folding-rulers-museum/ )
Purchase (etsy) -- "winterfolly" = Mary M. Byrkit, Dexter, MI -- received 30 July 2024
This may well be the coolest new addition to my ruler collection in a really long time. It's an advertising postcard issued by Livermoore & Knight in 1898, and while at first it looks "ordinary," it's not, at all. This postcard, complete with a mailing address, two stamps and two postmarks, has attached a cardboard sleeve in the shape of a bale of wool, and inside is a printed advertisement from the Wool Department of the American Correspondence School of Textiles in New Bedford, Massachusetts. You pull out the folded advertisement with a small ruler made of thin cardstock; it's glued on to the letter.
The "American Correspondence School of Textiles," an unofficial name for what a century later became UMass-Dartmouth, has a fascinating history, starting with all its names. See this Chronology of University Names page, on the website of the UMass-Dartmouth's Archives & Special Collections: https://lib.umassd.edu/archives/umassd-history/university-names/
The first two images below show the front and back of the postcard; the third and fourth show the advertisement partially pulled out (by the paper ruler!) and then the inserted advertisement itself.
Purchase -- Jose Rodriquez, Cartophilians, Cheshire, CT -- received 3 July 2024
Another blotter with a great variety of fonts, and lots of information crammed into a small space. (I do love the "ombre*-style" background coloring.) "This one is a promotion for Eclipse brand lawn movers, available for sale at Hoornbeck Bros. in Napanoch, New York.
*From Wikipedia: Ombré / ˈɒmbreɪ / (literally "shaded" in French) is the blending of one color hue to another, usually moving tints and shades from light to dark. It has become a popular feature for hair coloring, nail art, and even baking, in addition to its uses in home decorating and graphic design.
Purchase (etsy) -- "TheCharmedVictorian", Richmond, VA -- received 28 June 2024
This blotter checks all three and is just perfect for my collection. (There are actually three rulers pictured on the blotter...)
Purchase (ebay) -- "dmephemera" = Dean f. Canter, Sharpesville, PA -- received 17 May 2024
I love a good ruler joke, especially when paired with a blotter joke, and you can't get a much better one than this description for an ink blotter that has a ruler along one edge! This one is an advertising piece by the Rialto Theatre in Westfield [NJ], for the 1935 film David Copperfield, directed by George Cukor.
Purchase -- "blotterguy" = S. Morton Zweig, Rancho Mirage, CA -- received 26 April 2024
These two rulers were published by The Diversity Store, in South Riding, VA. I think I need to ask them to add the word "ruler" to the descriptions of the relevant bookmarks, because a search for the word "ruler" produces nothing (nothing!), but plenty of the bookmarks they have for sale right now do indeed feature rulers. Beautiful designs that supoort all the causes that I support, so I just ordered one of each of their ruler bookmarks.
The two pictured below came from an ebay seller. A good start to what will soon be a much larger collection!
Purchase (ebay) -- "Mountain Ranger Goods", Wildomar, GA -- received 24 May 2024
This ad is from 1951, clipped from an unknown magazine. The big question is where to file it: in the fish-measure section, or the peter-meter section.
Purchase (ebay) -- "lelandcollectibles" = Eclectic Collection, Sherwood, OR -- received 28 May 2024
Now let's get rid of that creepy little leprechaun icon. I hate that thing.
Retired Special Collections librarian with a wicked cool ruler collection
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