This beauty of a ruler started out as a cigar box label, described by the ebay vendor as an "inner" box label. It's in perfect condition, and the gold ink is still shiny. The text on the ruler image says "Title and Design Registered. March 14th 1899."" Not sure yet if that's for the ruler, or the cigar box label. I just love everything about this newest addition to my collection.
Purchase (ebay) - "labelbroker" = Robert Booth, Yucca Valley, CA - received 16 January 2020
My ruler collection already has a lot (a lot!) of these Mentholatum blotters, a few without any specific advertiser but most custom-printed for a specific business. These two blotters were an etsy purchase from "The Ladybug Next Door," of Galesburg, Illinois, and they are in perfect condition. AND they have one of my favorite ruler jokes: a business named after The Golden Rule. The best part: they advertise a business in Goshen, Indiana, a place I once considered moving to.
Purchase (etsy) - "LadybugNextDoor" = Rae Ann DeFrain Hanna, Galesburg, IL - received 2 Jan. 2020
This is a pocket 1943 calendar/ruler/promotional advertising piece for Paramount Liquors in Jamaica Plain that also encourages purchase of U.S. War bonds. The inside shows the base pay for service members of all ranks in several branches of the U.S. military. (No Space Force in 1943!)
Because it's made of paper and because it has a ruler on it, this piece is a perfect fit for my collection. That fact that it includes advertising for a Boston business makes it even better.
Gift - Thomas A. Horrocks; purchase from Peter L. Masi - books, Montague, MA - received 25 December 2019
One of the strong collecting areas within my ruler collection is "campaign rulers," including some with ruler "jokes" such as "Ike Measures Up" and "GOLDWATER A Leader - Not a Ruler." This new acquisition is a blotter dated 1950, most likely a give-away, to promote the candidacy of Earl E. Downing for re-election as Superintendent of Schools in Peoria County, Illinois. There are a lot of interesting things about the message and design elements on this one...
And I'm sorry, Superintendent Downing, but in my mind the word "youth" has been forever corrupted by my cousin, Vinny:
Purchase )ebay) - "jdcan1956" = Dewillie Sargent, Peoria, IL - received 20 December 2019
This is a selection from a box of 30 light-weight card stock 14cm bookmarks that I bought on etsy last month. They were manufactured by Moore Paper Works in Hangzhou, China, a firm that promotes itself as a "pick me lifestyle" company. Each bookmark has a different design.
Purchase (etsy) - "Stickerskingdom" = S. King, Hong Kong - received December 2019
A new signature blotter, this one from 1921-1922, advertising the Rau Appraisal Col of Milwaukee. Here's the ad for the company, from the Milwaukee city directory of 1922. (Thank you, familysearch.org.)
Back, showing blotter sheets used blot the ink from signatures:
Ad from the Milwaukee 1922 city directory:
Purchase (ebay) - "kcdoodlebug" = Holly Gregory, Murrayville, IL - received 6 December 2019
This past weekend was the Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair, where I spent most of the book fair hours at the information table for the Ephemera Society of America. Book fair dealers and visitors seemed to like hearing about ephemera, including those that hadn't heard the word before. To illustrate the concept of ephemera I had on display--on each of the fair days--a small sample of paper rulers in three different topics: foods and beverages, shoes and clothing, and health and medicine.
This is my best acquisition from the weekend: a paper ruler, hand-stitched, and published by the Bible Study Pub. Company of Boston in 1893. The card was originally issued with an instruction leaflet (not present), apparently with directions for the stitching.
Detail:
Gift - Diane DeBlois, aGatherin', West Sand Lake, New York - 15 November 2019
That would be TODAY. I hope none of you ever develop this disease, and for those of us who have it, I wish you good health and the resources to take care of yourself.
This ruler/bookmark was a promotional piece for Ferrari Testarosa in 1990. All sorts of useful conversion charts on the back.
Purchase (ebay) - "benningtonbargains," Newtown, CT - received 12 November 2019
DRUGS Just Say No!! This new bookmark/ruler was a public service announcement by the North Arlington [New Jersey] Community Awareness Program Against Drugs and Alcohol, dated 1988.
Purchase (ebay) - "pattyann" = Robert Gray, Beach Haven, NJ - received 16 October 2019
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