Sunday, June 8

Ephemera from 1937 and Afterthoughts


My mother kept everything. I told you that before, of course. Now why can't I manage to get rid of it either? This was a booklet distributed by the morning newspaper in Charleston, WV, before I was born. (Click to embiggen).

The illustration, the largest one in the booklet, shows current fashion in "polite society." I'm rather glad we don't still dress like that.

Below, a representative page in the booklet. Click to enlarge and read it. I doubt that this booklet is worth much, but it is in great condition, considering its age.


*******

We had the best company for dinner last night; Tiff from No Accent Yet, her significant other and her two children (Things 1 and 2 - who are remarkably well-behaved in a strange home without toys and video games!) Sparkling conversation (initiated by them, of course) and good food - evidenced by the lack of leftovers - made for a wonderful evening. Plus, Mr. Kenju stayed up way past his usual bedtime, which is great. Maybe now he will be able to sleep until after 2 a.m., his usual wake-up time. I know I'll sleep well. Red wine always does the trick!

26 comments:

Evil Twin's Wife said...

It's funny, I was born in 1968 and "grew up" mostly in the 70s, but my mom insisted I attend "Charm School" where we learned things like: "Don't cross your legs at the knee or you'll get spider veins." and how to walk with a book on your head.

Jamie Dawn said...

I'm glad you had such a good time with your guests.
Even Mr. Kenju had fun??!! Hooray!!!

I love the advice given for guys and girls on that one page. How funny it sounds.
I wouldn't ever throw that booklet away or any other old time things you have like this.

Moon said...

I seriously don't know how u keep track of everything Judy lol..or have a place to put it all! But I am glad we all get to benefit from seeing so many interesting things in your blog!

Anil P said...

Ephemera such as these remind of how some things were not taken for granted, and of how an effort was made to be a particular way, a particular 'good' way that is.

It must be fun to sift through the whole lot, reminding and getting reminded along the way.

What more treasures lie? :)

bobbie said...

I was 5 years old when that booklet was published. I miss some of those old fashioned ways.
When I worked for the Township, all sorts of men came to the office: attorney, banker, engineer, business man, construction worker, farmer. the farmer was the one who always removed his hat, or at least touched it before talking with a woman. I liked that.

Anonymous said...

Hi Judy...just stopping by to say howdie. ;o)

Rue said...

Hi Judy :)

I'm an old fashioned girl, so I kinda wish things were still like that. I sure would've gotten in less trouble if those were the rules when I was young LOL

Glad you had a good time :)

rue

Anonymous said...

wow, I want one of those.

Katya said...

i'd look horrible if i had to dress like that. dresses are a no-no for me anyhow. soooo.

michele sent me!

OldLady Of The Hills said...

What a wonderful booklet, Judy...I bet if you went to sell it on Ebay you might be surprised...! It has a great value, I think, because of the age and the content. I'm glad we don't dress like that, too, but I must say, there was something about getting a bit done up to go to The Theatre, or some special occassions of an evening....Now, anything goes!

Thumper said...

Reading that page, I can't help but think it wouldn't be so bad if that were still the norm...

Joy Des Jardins said...

What a treasure that book is. You never know what that would be worth to someone Judy. It's kind of a relic. Glad you had such a nice night with your guests...red wine and all.

JeanMac said...

Sound like a great evening - nice when you can have kids around like that:)

Anonymous said...

The Internet is allowing the exploration of forgotten pieces like this one to be seen again by a larger audience than its creator ever imagined or hoped for or perhaps wanted. That's the mission of my blog which is dedicated solely to exploring the world of old paper. Thanks for featuring this item.

brendalove@gmail.com said...

I'm glad we don't have to dress like that too. Shorts and T-shirts, all the way.

Bobkat said...

Sounds like you had a lovely evening :)

The book may be old fashioned but etiquette is something we could do with more of - particularly P's and Q's, if not exactly the advice on that page!

Carletta said...

We've all tried walking with a book on our head haven't we!

Charleston, WV huh - just an hour down the road from me!

The graphics in the booklet are priceless.

Rick Rockhill said...

Although I must say that I think we as a society have gotten too relaxed at times. I wish we had a happy medium.

carmilevy said...

I often wonder if the world's problems are caused by a general breakdown in the basic rules of etiquette. I know some of the so-called old ways seem somewhat, well, OLD. But there was a sense of order, of right and wrong back then that just seems to be lacking now.

How cool that your mother kept everything, and how cool that we have the technology today to share it in this way. Even more important, how cool that you decided to use the technology to accomplish just that.

How lucky you are to meet a fellow blogger. I'm working up to it...believe it or not, I'm still a little too shy to even pick up the phone. I guess that's the eternal plight of the writer; to be comfortable behind the relative anonymity of the pen. Weird that I'm comfortable with the media thing, then.

Someday...

carmilevy said...

Oh, almost forgot: I wanted to thank you for yet again suggesting such a great caption for Caption This. I picked you as an honorable menschen for the scaffolding pic.

You are, of course, always a menschen - a good soul - in my book.

rosemary said...

What a cool book....I have one filled with poems to soldiers during WWII that was my moms.

denverdoc said...

Embiggen. Great word.

tiff said...

'females under the age of 18 should be chaperoned.' I coudldn't agree more, even in this day and age.

Our 'night out at kenju's' was much much fun. I coudln't believe we stayed so late though! Our turn next!

Weary Hag said...

I shall steal 'embiggen' and I shall give credit where credit's due. :)

Wonderful word, my word friend.

Loved the post. Oh, but the good ol' days.

Pat said...

I think we could do with a few of those niceties again.

Unknown said...

Sorry I do not have time to read the comments.

The booklet is priceless! These kinds of things sometimes fetch money, don't they? But you perhaps will never sell them. Still, you could one day go on Antiques Roadshow!