Friday, July 1, 2011

Another groovy batch of reader comments

It's time for some more comments and updates from readers regarding previous Papergreat posts. Thanks to all of you for the responses and additional information that you send my way!

Delving into Henry K. Wampole & Company: I've gotten two more comments on this post. It's clear that somebody should write a book on this intriguing pharmaceutical company from a bygone era.
  • Anonymous writes: "I'm in London, Ontario, and recently bought a sewing machine and sewing box from a thrift store. Inside I found a Wampole's C-2 Cetyloid-Compound box and went looking for more info (the box says for pain relief). I haven't been able to find anything like it online, but came across your blog looking for Wampole's. ... (I also found two tintype photos inside the Wampole's box that, from what I can find and the clothes they are wearing, date back to 1850s era!)"
  • Another Anonymous writes: "I am looking for information about Wampole's methods of procuring herbs for their products. A woman who lived in my area (about 20 miles north of Victoria, British Columbia) from the 1920s to the 1960s and perhaps longer, collected herbs locally for Wampoles, are told."
Coupons from the E.H. Koester Bakery Co.: I've also received a pair of neat comments from readers, both of whom say their grandfather used to do work for this Baltimore-area company.
  • Darcee writes: "I was just looking for information on the Koester bread company and ran across your sight. My grandfather, Bernard W. Rial of Baltimore, was a painter, and the Koester twins was one of the things he painted. NOT the original I'm sure, but he painted sides of milk trucks and bread trucks, that kind of thing.
  • Rich Kleylein writes: "Chris, my grandfather, Peter Kleylein, worked for Koester and I have a photo of him driving a horse-drawn Koester wagon. It's on the bottom of this blog post from March 20, 2009."
Reader submission: "I pray you never get scaly leg": JT Anthony of A Pretty Book was pleased with Papergreat's response to his challenge and wrote: "Upon closer inspection, I think you're right, the lady has really unusual hands if the one holding the chicken neck is hers. Very interesting though. Photoshopping, or it's old school equivalent, is the last thing I expected from a deep dive into this pamphlet! Thanks for taking on the challenge and excelling at it. ... P.S. Beverly Hills was lovely, by the way."

World War II clippings from Grit, Part 2: A reader has let us know that Marine Sgt. Al Schmid, who is pictured in one of the clippings in this post, had his story told by Hollywood. The 1945 movie "Pride of the Marines" is about Schmid's life, and he is portrayed by John Garfield.

A friend is someone who writes in your book: Mel, who authors the fantastic Ephemeraology blog, added this comment: "I have a copy of 'A Friend is Someone who Likes You', which my Grammie gave to my mom shortly after I was born in 1968. Mine has an inscription too, but of course I can't find my copy right now. These inscriptions are wonderful! So playful and flirty and romantic."

Postcards to send home from summer camp: My mom had this great addendum: "Back in the 1950s-60s when I was a camper, then a counselor, we were required to send a letter or post card home every week. (I'm sure all sleep-away camps did this because parents would call and inquire as to whether their child was still alive...etc). This was called a 'supper letter' and you had to have at least one to drop in a mail bag held by a counselor at the entrance to the dining hall, or you were sent back to your cabin to produce one before you could have dinner. (I don't remember anyone having been sent back to her cabin, so I guess we were all good girls, or 'hungry girls'....)"

Mystery photos inside "Helen of the Old House": Gejus van Diggele added this short comment: "The cow looks Dutch but the barn is typically American." At first, I thought Gejus was just being silly, talking about "Dutch cows." But then I did some research on Holstein cattle and found that the breed was originally bred and developed in the Netherlands. Dutch cows! Who knew?

I also had a very intriguing comment added to another old post. But I'll save that one for later, because I'm still doing some follow-up research on the tips that were provided. (Of course, you can always search through the vast Papergreat archives and read all of the comments on all of the posts -- then you'll surely find the tantalizing nugget I'm referring to.)

1 comment:

  1. Up until now, I never really looked closely at the image of the lady with the hand that doesn't seem to go with her body. I have a different theory of how it came to be. I feel there may be a man crouching behind her, and out of the camera's view, who is holding the chicken for her. Just my thoughts, but a possibility.

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