Boxful of ephemera

I've been pondering where to start. During these 90+ degree days the attic is ridiculously hot and I'm definitely not going to go up there! Recently I opened a long-forgotten box of my mom's treasures. It has inspired me to begin my blog with some ephemera: paper items of limited use that are usually thrown away or tossed into the recycling bin including catalogs, newspapers, greeting cards, event fliers, and magazines.This box is full of well preserved examples.

The box itself is from Cherry and Webb, a New England women's clothing store, and dates back to the 1950's.

A peek at the contents:

In elementary school exchanging Valentines with everyone in the class was a yearly tradition. In the 1950's these cards generally came in multi-packs with standard envelopes or punch-out books with envelopes that had to be cut out, folded and glued by hand. Here are examples of both.

Yikes! I don't think this Valentine would be considered appropriate nowadays.

Weekly Reader from 1956. The publication is still being distributed as supplemental classroom material.

Also school related... a notepad with lined paper. I was pleasantly surprised when I found this exceptionally well preserved forgotten treasure at the bottom of the box. Gene Autry notepad, 1959.

Sewing patterns booklets from Fall, 1960. Hats and gloves were still standard accessories.

 

And finally, an example of my early artistic talent.

 

Introduction

I always jokingly referred to my mother as a pack-rat but after my father died I realized that he had kept Mom's "collecting" tendencies at a manageable level. While the attic was full of her treasures- household objects that weren't discarded when they went out of style or stopped working, my childhood dolls and toys, outgrown or outdated clothing, and so much more - the living space in the house itself was uncluttered.

After Dad passed away my mother began accumulating trash and treasures. If something was on sale she bought it: books, nicknacks, clothes, small appliances, costume jewelry, etc. She discovered a local antique shop and purchased whatever looked interesting, including three desks that she didn't need. Eventually I inherited it all, as well as my parents' 1940's home, and initially threw away over 200 trash bags full of worthless junk. What I kept is unique to the 1940's through early 1970's.   

Part of my daily routine is looking through vintage blogs, delighting in seeing new pictures of mid-century treasures. I never thought about blogging before but realized that there are others who might enjoy my eclectic collection. Everything was purchased new for household use. If there is a story or memory associated with an item I'll share it with you.

I've been staring at the Publish button for a couple of weeks. OK, let's do this!