Category Archives: Ephemera

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Category Archives: Ephemera

1939 Parachute Jump postcard

PARACHUTE JUMP FUN FACTS BUILT: In 1939 for the New York World’s Fair HEIGHT: 262 feet high SPONSOR: The Life Saver’s Company COST of RIDE: 40 cents for an adult; 25 cents for children TIME of RIDE: Trip up took about a minute; drop down 10 or 20 seconds WORST MOMENT: Entangled cables held a couple aloft for five hours BEST MOMENT: [...]
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Electric Belts Booklet

Can electric currents cure disease and relieve pain? That’s a question some scientists have been asking since Ben Franklin’s kite experiment in 1752. In the late 1800s a medical fad began — the selling of electric belts. Each belt sold promised to cure a specific ailment. There were belts to cure rheumatism, sexual dysfunction, liver, stomach, nervous diseases, [...]
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Washington’s Day Postcard

This undated postcard was printed by the Whitney Company (1869-1942) in Worcester, Massachusetts. Whitney started as a stationary store. By 1888 they were printing holiday cards and began printing postcards several years later. Holiday postcards included: Valentines Day, Halloween, Easter, Christmas, and yes even Washington’s Birthday.
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1951 Map of Havana

Havana is the economic, political, and cultural center of Cuba. It’s been that way since the late 16th century when the city became Cuba’s capital. Rum, sugar, and cigars have left Havana’s harbor, arriving in ports all over the world, except those in the United States. That’s because of US trade embargo against Cuba. The embargo began [...]
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1960 Chevrolet Custom Features Brochure

The 2010 North American International Auto Show is under way in Detroit. All the new bells and whistles and energy saving vehicles are being introduced. But let us go back and look at some custom features available for a brand new 1960 Chevrolet! For some reason I thought these next three features weren’t available until the early 1970s. [...]
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DC-7 American Airlines postcard

The weekend’s snow storm is over in the Northeast and it’s the beginning of a week of heavy travel for a lot of people. One mode of transporation for folks back in the mid-1950s was the new Douglas DC-7. Here’s a postcard of it from 1954. American Airlines introduced the DC-7 in November 1953 during a [...]
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Christmas Toy Catalogs

‘Tis the season for shopping! Here are two toy catalogs from the mid-1960s. This was back in the day when mom and pop hardware stores sold toys and handed out catalogs. Perhaps the most sophisticated toy in 1965 was the Easy Bake Oven! Here’s a 1966 Toy Catalog from a hardware store in southern New [...]
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Milky Way candy bars

Saturday night one of the most popular candy bars in the entire universe will be handed out to trick or treaters. It’s the Milky Way! Now when I was a kid I always traded my Milky Ways (or gave them to my mom!). I didn’t like them. Well, a couple weeks ago I was craving chocolate [...]
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Stork Club matchbook cover

The Stork Club on East 53rd Street in New York City existed at a time when cigarettes were held in lighters and alcohol was nicknamed “gasoline” (courtesy Frank Sinatra). The 1940s and 50s were the club’s heyday. A golden chain barred the unglamorous from the entering this famed nightclub. But if you were somebody, ie: [...]
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Erie Railroad business card

First, let me begin by asking if you know who J.E. Warner was? And do you know the approximate date of this business card? If you know please post a comment! Anyway, the Erie Railroad was completed in 1851. At this time the Erie ran 123 locomotives, 68 passenger cars, and 1,373 freight and baggage cars. The [...]
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