Blotters

"The original paper pencil. No muss, no dirt, no fuss. No. 151 Blaisdell, made in U.S.A. No. 153. No. 161. 160 Crimson, 161 Vermillion, 145 Blue Print Red, 162 Carmine, 157 Orange, 154 Chrome Yellow, 155 Brown, 144 Sepia, 151 Blue, 149 Cobalt Blue, 150 Azure Blue, 146 Blue & Red, 153 Green, 148 Olive Green, 167 Purple, 147 Violet, 152 Black, 156 White. Blaisdell Pencil Co., Philadelphia, Pa."

"Semi-Hex Pencils. Semi-Hex, General Pencil Co., U.S.A., 498, no. 2. Smoothest of leads, comfortable to hold (rounded edges - made in 5 degrees). The Golden Rule, Belington, W. Va."

"Erasers for Technical Men. Draftsmen, designers, architects, artists, engineers. Made in U.S.A. A. W. Faber, Newark, N.J." What, no erasers for women!?

"You'll like our prompt cleaning. Phone us for convenient, careful service. Keemer Cleaner, Lincoln Highway East, phone 4-3721."

Given its placement on a pedestal, this patriotically packaged loaf of bread must have been the tip-top pinnacle of perfection. This advertising blotter dates to World War II and includes a calendar for the last four months of 1942. The bread wrapper packaging in the illustration also suggests, "Buy U.S. War Stamps." "Ward's Tip-Top Bread. So good to eat and so good for you. Enriched with vitamins and minerals. Fresh. Enriched. Buy U.S. War Stamps. September, October, November, December 1942."

"Consumers Cigar Box Company, Red Lion, Pa. Manufacturers of fancy and novelty boxes. Capacity 15,000 per day. 'If It's wooden boxes we make them.'"

"Buffalo Wire Works Company, Inc. Established 1869 as Scheeler's Sons. Buffalo, N.Y. Philadelphia, Penna."

"Susquehanna Trail. The right road to a good smoke. Mild, mellow cigar." As Wikipedia explains, "The Susquehanna Trail was an auto trail in the United States linking Washington, D.C., with Niagara Falls, New York. It passed through Baltimore, Maryland; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Williamsport, Pennsylvania; and Buffalo, New York." Although it's no longer an official designation, "Susquehanna Trail" is still widely used in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York as a name for roads, businesses, and places along the old route. Somewhere along the way, a tobacco company thought it would make a good name for a cigar as well.

Eclipse 40th Anniversary. Trophy Line, styled by Eclipse. Eclipse, Zephyr, Pro, Vogue, Advance. Every model a leader in its price class. Beauty at any angle. Magnificently styled with chrome combination and rubber silencing--featuring Goodyear rubber tires and new silent tapered roller bearings. Eclipse Lawn Mower Co., Prophetstown, Illinois. Written franchises are profitable.

Eclipse Natural Grip, New for 1941. All steel handle. The greatest innovation in lawn mower performance. Amazingly different; for the first time normal posture with natural grip. Your 1941 feature item. Eclipse, Prophetstown.

This blotter, depicting a boisterous political character named the "Hon. I. Save-on Gas," was part of a Depression-era advertising campaign for Amoco's "Orange American Gas." With the approach of the 1932 U.S. presidentital election pitting Republican incumbent Herbert Hoover against New York Democratic governor Franklin D. Roosevelt., Amoco encouraged motorists to "Vote the Economy Ticket!" and buy its orange gasoline. The gasoline was actually dyed orange so that motorists could identify it by color through the clear glass cylinders that were part of the gas pumps of the time. I'm not sure how Amoco's Economy Ticket fared, but voters ended up choosing Roosevelt over Hoover as president.

An advertising ink blotter for Lee Tires. This automobile tire manufacturer went out of business in 1980, and the historic Lee Tire and Rubber Company factory buildings, located near Philadelphia, Pa., have been converted into an office complex known as the Spring Mill Corporate Center. For another Lee blotter, see Go Carefree! Lee Tires .

An advertising ink blotter for Lee Tires. A manufacturer of automobile tires, the Lee Tire and Rubber Company factory opened near Philadelphia, Pa., in 1912. See Burn Rubber to the Conshohocken Historical Society for a brief history of the company. For another Lee blotter, see Better Quality Lee Tires .

"Enterprise Nurseries. George E. Stein, proprietor. East Prospect, York County, Pa. All kinds of fruit, shade, and ornamental trees, small fruit, nut trees, etc. Write for price list. Nurseries inspected by state inspector. Also all stock fumigated with hydrocyanic acid gas. York 'phone. Vredenburg & Co., Roch., N.Y."

An advertising calendar and blotter for Pluck Art Printery--also known at different times throughout its history as Pluck Print, Pluck Electric Print, and Landis Art Press--which was a letterpress print shop operated by David Bachman Landis (1862-1940) in Lancaster, Pa. Blotters by the Basket or Barrel Briskly printed whenever you order 'em! Yearly Calendar--1897. Pluck Art Printery is ever on the alert throughout the entire year for new ideas and new customers. Try us and remain a patron. D. B. Landis. Most up-to-date job office in Lancaster. The number--38 East Chestnut Street.

"Lebanon Daily News-Times and I wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year. Your newspaper boy, Harold E. Bressler."

Civic Lunch, Inc., 40 N.W. First St., Phone 23042, Miami, Fla. Where low prices keep company with high quality. "Excellent food, speedy service, and immaculate surroundings are the three essentials to success in the restuarant business, according to Charles Gorgas, proprietor of the Civic Lunch, 40 N.W. First St., who has been feeding Miami officaldom for the past several years" (see " Civic Lunch Head Outlines Growth ," Miami News , Sept. 30, 1934, society section, p. 7).

"Atlantic City Hot Wiener Lunch, 6th & Broad Streets, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Telephone Bell 9221. Save this blotter for your check book. Going to the dogs. Coney Island lunch counter." For a similar blotter/business card, see Swails Restaurant, Best Coffee in the City, Harrisburg, Pa.