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.