More Ephemera

Front and reverse of a card that came with a set of silver plate that belonged to my grandmother. I wonder what it's worth today? Wouldn't it be nice if we could buy sets of silverplated ware for $39.75!

There have been many times I wished I had one of these summonses to place on the windshield of a car that was parked in a sloppy fashion. Too bad that pad has been stuffed in a file cabinet. (for at least 25 years!) From now on, it will be in my car so I can get one when I need it!!


And another thing......

I was reminded today how much it bothers me when people decide to make a left turn but they don't get all the way into the turn lane, so the back end of their car is sticking out into my lane and I can't move until they do. There oughta be a law!$%^&*@#$!!

And would you remind me not to eat like a fat pig next time I go out with my neighbors? I've been paying for it all day!

I wish I'd remembered this during the election.....

I found some interesting old stuff when I was cleaning out the file cabinet in the garage. I wish I'd been able to post this during the election. I'm sure it would have been perfect for both sides!!

Click to enlarge!

I bought a package of these bags many years ago, and I still have six of them. You want one?

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At the dump this week, I ran into one of my neighbors whom I don't see often. She's always dressed as if she's going to the White House for lunch, and today was no exception. Seems her mother passed away recently, and she's been cleaning out her home. I remember going through that when my parents died, and it's no picnic, but since my mom was such a pack rat the process did have benefits (as well as disadvantages). I did most of that work alone, but I still could be heard to say...."Where on earth did she get that?" and Why on earth did she keep it?" When I did some more cleaning and sorting in my garage on Tuesday, I found a bunch of keys that came from my parent's house - just more stuff in the long list of things with which I cannot seem to part. You'll see those soon.

Ephemera: Old Magazine Ads

What a load of crap these ads are!


What I've noticed is that those who "stick with Johnnie Walker" may not even be able to stride in the morning, let alone do it briskly!


Click to enlarge. "Toasting removes harsh irritants"??? Tell that to all the people who got mouth or throat cancer.


Camels promote "a peaceful feeling" and digestion? Who knew?

No one; because that is a load of crap for certain!

These came from the issue of Life Magazine dated November 23, 1936. It sold for 10 cents.

Centennial Stories

Edited below.

In 1961 or 62, when West Virginia was planning its Centennial Celebrations, I was a college student. Someone (who supposedly had something to do with the planning process) asked me to design and submit a seal that could be the official state centennial seal, and used on state materials pertaining to the centennial. This was not to be the official state seal - that was adopted in 1863. The above was my submission, and it was supposed to contain items which would symbolize West Virginia's strengths. I included our state flower, the state bird, coal, the steel and chemical industries, forestry, fishing, bears, etc. I was told I'd get paid for it if my seal was selected. I never got any money or heard any more about it - but years later I saw a design they used in 1963 and it was very similar to this one.

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Pride, like laudanum and other poisonous medicines, is beneficial in small, though injurious in large, quantities. No man who is not pleased with himself, even in a personal sense, can please others.

Frederick Saunders, librarian and essayist (1807-1902)

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I'm off to the doctor's this morning. Catch you later!

The doc made it official - I have a sinus infection, just as I thought. I've had too many of them over the years not to know, but I was stupid to wait this long to see the doc. Now I'm on two scripts and one behind-the-counter thing that had to be signed for. I hate taking antibiotics, but hopefully they will do the trick and my headaches will go away. Thanks to all who left comments; it's so nice to know that people care.

Ephemera: From Long Ago, Part 2 +

Click to embiggen.

There will be one more set of posters. I'm wondering why posters are not so much in evidence with the current war? Or the last 2 or 3, for that matter.

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There is a newish development here in Raleigh, on the site of an old horse farm. It is called The Cypress of Raleigh, and it is a planned elder/continuing care community. We have a few friends who have moved in there and today we were invited to lunch and a tour of the facility. There's much to like about it, that I can see. It is beautifully planned and built, and the appointments in the clubhouse are first-rate. It resembles a resort and I am sure that living there would occasion moments of glamour and the feeling of being on vacation, especially in the beginning.

But there is a problem for me, which is......I don't think I'd want to live in a place where there are so few people younger than I. It can be depressing to be in the company of only older people, especially some of them. You know the ones I mean? People who see only the negatives in life, who are mad at the world because they are getting older (whether they are infirm or not) and those who are infirm in some way and mad at the rest of the world because of it. The only young people we came into contact with there today were the servers at lunch, and while they were charming and very good at their jobs, it isn't enough. I need to be around young people who have promise and hope for the future; it shows in their faces and you hear it in their voices. When you live in one of those places you have children and grandchildren visiting on occasion, but they might be the only younger people you interact with on a quasi-regular basis.

A community of bloggers (of any age), I think, would make for great living companions. Bloggers as a whole (in my experience) are more positive and show an attitude of making lemonade out of their lemons more than the general population. I wouldn't mind living in an area full of elder bloggers because it wouldn't be a negative place. Does that make any sense at all?

Ephemera: From Long Ago......

My good on-line friend Nancy Leitz, who many of us bloggers "know" through her humorous, thoughtful and intelligent comments, even though she doesn't write a blog, sent an email containing these wonderful posters from long ago. I like them as much for their artistic value as their historical importance. I hope you will enjoy them too!

These posters are just as pertinent today as they were in the old days.
There were 22 of them in the series. I will show you the rest in later posts.

Ephemera: Old Magazine Ads

This is from a commemorative of Life Magazine's premier issue - November 23, 1936. I love the old car ads. This one is very art deco and the diagonal lines created in the ad create the illusion of speed, while all the grill work says luxury and style galore!

I wonder what the executives of that time at GMC would think of what's going on in the industry at this moment? I suspect they never dreamed that 72 years in the future, General Motors was going to ask for a bailout!

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MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!!

Ephemera: Correct English

Here's another of the gems found in my mom's bookshelves. My mom was the only one of her five siblings who didn't go to college, and she was very sorry about it. She was always trying to better herself and this magazine was one example of her quest.

Some of the articles in it are:
"The Glamour of Great Names", which focuses on well-known classical musicians.

"The Fallacy of Describing the Unfamiliar", about writers who attempt to write about places they've never been.

"Enriching Your Vocabulary", definitions of preternatural, proclivities and prognostic, among others.

and the last: "Boners in High Places". I didn't know that was a fit subject for English class. Did you? Maybe that's a story about Bill Clinton.......The subtitle is "Did you make any of these mistakes?" Yep....could be about Clinton!

This is the back cover; an ad for a correspondence course that purportedly would teach you how to communicate effectively. Mom had the idea that I should be a speech therapist, since studying that might also help rid me of my WV hillbilly twang. Alas, I didn't agree with her so I still speak with that twang, which gets worse when I am around home and family. I have always had the ability (or maybe curse is the right word) to be able to pick up quickly on accents and speech patterns. If I am with someone who has an accent, I tend to (unconsciously) speak like they do after only a few minutes. Put me with a native New Yorker, and I am slinging it with the best of them (albeit with a twang to the slang)......LOL. I am not sure that speech therapy would have ever rid me of that!

Somehow this doesn't fit my idea of the perfect gift. Although, if I have another experience like Tuesday at the airport.....

Ephemera: West Virginia Review ~ 1941

Another of my mother's keepsakes that I couldn't bring myself to toss out. It isn't an antique yet - but it is well on the way (as am I.) It has an article about all the governors of WV, starting with Arthur Boreman, who became the Governor of WV in 1863, on June 20th. The man on the cover, Matthew M. Neely, was the 21st Governor of WV.

Click to embiggen! This is a page inside the review; showing the WV State Capitol Building and the Governor's Mansion. The state capitol stands today as one of the most beautiful in the United States, with its gold dome and stately appearance.

This ad is on the inside back cover, and extols the pleasures of a hot shower (provided by electricity.)

Ephemera: Invitations

This is an invitation to a Raleigh Debutante party from the 1980's. The band "White Animals" was playing for the party, hence the artwork and theme for the invitation. I did the flowers for it; the color scheme was black, white and yellow - but that's all I remember. I haven't heard of that band since then. Maybe that party was their swan song?

Ephemera: Old Magazine Ads

Click to enlarge!!
Found in a 1980's Life Magazine. Love the artwork! Don't know about the booze. :) I've never had that kind. See here for info about it.

Odds and Ends

A bit late......I should have posted this on Veteran's Day. Another group of doughboys from WW1; found in mr. kenju's family photos.


My sweet sonny boy, age 3.

There are three people reading this blog who will be surprised to see this! One of those men is the husband of a blogger and the father of a blogger. I won't say which one it is.....unless he gives me permission. This is yet another piece of ephemera I've kept over the years. This one dates from 1971 or 72.

This is how I feel now about ANYONE in politics!! I'm SO tired of it!

This is an arrangement I did a while back for a new baby boy. Among the flowers are a bottle, a rattle, a rubber ducky and a pacifier. It's easy to incorporate things that last into flower arrangements, which don't.

A Jungle, A Dirty Plate and Cat Soup!

I like that slogan, but I wish it said Queen! This was part of an invitation to a party that I did flowers for a long time ago. I always liked the artwork and so I kept it. I'm beginning to be glad I kept so much stuff, because it's great blog fodder! Now I can get rid of it, since it is immortalized here.....LOL.

Maybe this guy didn't want anyone to know what his license plate said. The dirt was there in such a way that even from 5 feet away, it was hard to decipher the letters and numbers.

Storm has taken to sleeping in this urn, so I put a towel in it for her. I think Eclipse is jealous and wants a new bed of her own! I placed the urn on that cabinet to keep her from using it as a jumping-off point to get onto my desk. She decided to use it to her advantage anyway.....a resourceful cat!

When we first moved here, there were cabinets over the bar separating the working part of the kitchen from the table area. If I was standing in the cooking section, I couldn't see anyone at the table, and that was unacceptable. We had the cabinets removed and brought them upstairs to my office. I intended to have them mounted on the wall, but that never happened, so I turned them upside down and use them to store office supplies. They also stand as a room divider here, so they do double duty. Reuse and recycle; that's my motto!

Ephemera ~ Tobacciana

Click to embiggen - and see all the details. I love all these old ads. There is a signature on this one (unlike most), but I can't read it. The number 38 follows it. Can we assume that it means 1938? Or was it #38 of the prints? This kitten calls to mind the one I posted climbing on me!


So that's where the firefly's light comes from! LOL. CLick to enlarge and see the bug's faces.


There are nice colors in this one. If she's a really good tennis player, I doubt she smokes. Right?



I am working this week, through Sunday. Don't expect to see me commenting......I'll be back Monday.

From the 1939 World's Fair....

What a treasure this is! Click to embiggen, and view a "conn-clave of champions" as it says, of boxers, taken at the 1939 World's Fair in New York. Mr. kenju's father was a security guard at that fair. This copy of the original, sent to us by a relative, was among a group of family photos dating back to the early years of the last century. I will be posting them from time to time.

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.

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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!

Ephemera ~ Old Tobacco Ads

Click to enlarge.

It doesn't strike me as being politically or medically correct, but this dad of twins certainly looked happy to be blowing smoke rings, even if the twins were bawling their heads off! Could it be they didn't like the smell of his tobacco? Mr. kenju has smoked some in the past that I compared to dirty, sweaty athletic socks.....EW! But he has some that smells of cherry and bourbon and other good stuff - and that I don't mind so much.

Maybe Midnight Flake refers to the personality of the dad, not the name of the tobacco.

Ephemera ~ Pipe Dreams

The interior of a tobacconist's shop, as seen in a Wills showcard of 1900. Note the showcards on display, the tobacco packets and the scales used for weighing out loose tobacco. Does anyone take a basket out shopping anymore? Seems like a good idea to me. I laughed at the name of the tobacco being advertised: Will's Superfine Shagg. I thought Shag(g) had an entirely different meaning in England! LOL Am I right?

This is the cover of the book the ads came from. It was published in London in 1982, by Pavillion Books Limited.

Sixty-eight Years Ago Today...

E. Marshall was my aunt. I found this small New Testament in her home after she died. You can enlarge it if you want to read the fine print.