Beth's Ruler Collection

It's no use if the boy jumps up

This new ruler blotter is remarkable in several ways:

• It has a rose and lilies-of-the-valley sticker attached over part of the design
• underneath the sticker is printed "Mentholatum for Colds and Chapped Skin"
• It has a hand-written note in pencil on another part of the design ("Happy Birthday [illeg.] 3 1935")
• The back, which was ordinarily used as an ink blotter, has a message written in German dated Feb. 22, 1935, written to a sister and concerning a quilt for a Mrs. Bierbaum

Special thanks to my friend Joe for help with transcribing the message.

Still much to discover!

Purchase (ebay) -- "coinsandcollectibles70" = Dalton, Little York, IL -- Received 22 July 2021

This May Sound a Little Corny

That's a direct quote from my newest ruler, a six-inch metal piece shaped like a half-foot (that's part of the joke) used as an advertisement for Anderson Pump Service in Milford, Iowa.

Here's the best part: the foot has actual "corns," raised bumps that I guess are supposed to look and feel like corns. It's a little hard to touch them...

Purchase (ebay) - "iggymom1980" = J.W. Heiberger, Hartford, SD - received 16 July 2021

 

Nursing mothers and teething children

This new blotter is full of words I don't know but can figure out, my favorite being "stomachic." I found an advertisement for this product in a 1901 issue of the Canadian Journal of Medicine and Surgery (see below), so the undated ruler is likely early 20th century.

Purchase (ebay) -- "chirodoc88" = Diana L. Henson, Lanark, IL -- received 10 July 2021

Moving

[I swear I posted this last night, but somehow it disappeared...]

A new blotter advertising A and A Trans-Tex Vans, based in Fort Worth. The blotter is crammed full of information, and I really like the design and graphics. It came from an ebay dealer in South Carolina, not Texas, but maybe he or his family moved there from Texas, maybe even using A and A Trans-Tex Vans? Who doesn't like a mystery?

Purchase (ebay) -- "flipp_mcflipperson" = Evan Stroman, Lexington, SC -- received 30 June 2021

Our flag

Today's hard copy of the Boston Globe had an article by Sarah Maslin Nir, reprinted from the New York Times, titled "A Fourth of July symbol of unity that may no longer unite." It was mostly about the U.S. flag as a symbol, a symbol that some people are less comfortable displaying than they were in the past. I found among my etsy downloads a digital sheet of scrapbook paper that included red-and-white stripes and some white stars on a blue background. Using Photoshop I tilted the image to the left (LEFT on purpose) and reduced the size, then pasted a white ruler png file on top and added today's day. Results below. I can't not do something on the Fourth of July...

Scrapbook paper (edited): Purchase (etsy) -- YourPaperStash, Westfield, IN - 3 July 2018

Ruler template: Purchase (etsy) --  Jessica Laurie, "JLaurieStudio", Henderson, NV

KEEP ME -- You're Welcome!

A lot of advertising crammed onto one six-inch blotter, with the best part being the ruler, of course. This gives only a street address as a location, but all the evidence adds up to Chicago.

Purchase (ebay) -- "trouty17" = Lauren Troutman, Reading, PA -- received 30 June 2021

Good advice

This greeting card, which makes me laugh every time I see it, was an etsy purchase last month from one of the nicest etsy vendors I've ever done business with. Its message is a good reminder, too, and one I take to heart as a quilter and a creator of custom-designed rulers.

Purchse (etsy) - "ChurchMouseNancyPew" = Nancy Pew, Boise, ID - received May 2021

Up-to-Date Fashionable Articles

This blotter arrived from Mumbai, India yesterday, from an ebay dealer named "alphaomegaphilately." It's a combination of ink blotter, ruler, new year's greeting, jewelry advertisement, and, I can't read the rest...

Purchase (ebay) -- "alphaomegaphilately", Mubai, India -- received 26 June 2021

Beauty in a blotter

This beautiful blotter arrived in the mail yesterday. It's in perfect condition, has an accurate image of the product it promotes, and a calendar for 1959 and part of 1960.

Of course, the ruler is the best part.

Purchase (ebay) -- "rac328" = Rob Carothers, Wayne, NJ -- received 25 June 2021

Not my Game

Does anyone understand how these Game of Thrones rulers work? The ebay dealer described them as "2 cardboard rulers from a new pack of GoT A Song of Ice & Fire Starter Set (Stark Versus Lannister)." I never watched the show I still don't get how the game works. (The game in general, or the measuring game...?)

The rulers are beautiful!

Purchase (ebay) -- "1888finds" = David Ma, Alhambra, CA -- received 25 June 2021