Beth's Ruler Collection

Lewiston Strong

We all know what happened in Lewiston, Maine, on October 25th of this year. It's horrible enough for those of us who only read about it, or saw the news on TV, but for the people who live there, it was much worse. 

The Maine Museum of Innovation, Learning and Labor has started a project to collect ephemera and other objects created in reaction to the shootings, to preserve the history of the community’s response to the shootings. Part of the project is an exhibit that will remain on display until the end of the year. Read about the collecting project here:

https://www.pressherald.com/2023/11/06/maine-mill-to-preserve-lewiston-strong-memorial-items/

My friend Tanja Hollander started collecting this material herself but is now collaborating with the Museum to make the collection fuller and stronger. I decided to make some of my own ephemera--in this case, of course, ruler/bookmarks--to show some support. I mailed them to Maine on Saturday.

Colors

I love the colors and the layout on this 1952 wallet card. According to his Wikipedia article, "Curt Otto Teich (March 1877 – 1974) was an American publisher of German descent who produced popular color postcards, primarily of scenes from American life. He was a pioneer of the offset printing process. Under his management, the Curt Teich & Company became the world's largest printer of view and advertising postcards."

This card has a 3" ruler and a 1952 calendar on the back, and curiously, a stamp that reads "NOV 9 1950." Not sure where that came from.

Gift -- Peter Luke, New Baltimore, New York, at the Books in Boston book/ephemera fair -- 28 October 2023

Find a cure!

Today is World Diabetes Day, and while much of the media coverage is about Type 2, I am of course most concerned with Type 1, a condition I've lived with for 53 years. I'm very grateful for my family, my colleagues, my friends, my neighbors, researchers all over the world but especially here in the Boston area, my medical care, and my health insurance, all of which have helped keep me alive and well for all these years. Thank you to all.

Below please see a collage of the ruler bookmarks I made this year to "celebrate." (And have a look: https://worlddiabetesday.org/ )

"World Diabetes Day (WDD) was created in 1991 by IDF and the World Health Organization in response to growing concerns about the escalating health threat posed by diabetes. World Diabetes Day became an official United Nations Day in 2006 with the passage of United Nation Resolution 61/225. It is marked every year on 14 November, the birthday of Sir Frederick Banting, who co-discovered insulin along with Charles Best in 1922."

A very worthy cause

This undated paper ruler was a gift in early 2022 from my friend Diane, who knows a great piece of ephemera when she sees it! The messages on this one are especially relevant for me, since there is no way I could have graduated from Smith College without significant financial aid. 

There are still plenty of students who need help! I give when I can.

https://www.smith.edu/admission-aid/aid-current-students/financial-aid  /  https://www.questbridge.org/news-and-media/press-release-1-19-2023

Gift -- Diane DeBlois, aGatherin', West Sand Lake, NY - January 2022

Boo!

A selection of home-made ruler/bookmarks for Halloween 2023. This year I printed them on orange cardstock!

Many thanks to all the etsy sellers who have bat and spider png files for sale, and especially to Jessica of JLaurieStudio, who made all the ruler templates I use to design the bookmarks.

Measure Up the Rent You Pay for Office Furniture

Based on a very small notice on the back of this clipped advertisement ("Please mention the Review of Reviews when writing to advertisers."), I believe it appeared in an issue of The Review of Reviews, most likely in the American version of a British noted family of monthly journals founded in 1890–1893 by British reform journalist William Thomas Stead (1849–1912). The American edition was published in New York between 1890 and 1937, which fits the style of this ad. The ebay seller dated it as 1904.

I bought it because it's made of paper, and has both a ruler image and a ruler "joke"...

Purchase (ebay) -- "labellas_rare_vintage" = Joanne Bedard, Mogadore, OH -- received 26 October 2023

Sore

According to the National Day Calendar, today is World Arthritis Day: 

"On October 12th of each year, World Arthritis Day spreads awareness about the most prevalent disease in the world. This awareness day highlights the need for early diagnosis and treatment.

More than 50 million adults and 300,000 children in the United States have arthritis. By the year 2040, an estimated 78 million people in the U.S. will have arthritis. About 120 million people in the European Union live with arthritis. A total of 350 million people throughout the world have the disease. Arthritis and related conditions account for more than $156 billion in lost wages and medical expenses each year. The disease also results in one million hospitalizations a year."

As a person well-acquainted with both osteo- and rheumatoid arthritis, I post this paper ruler, in hope that it makes somebody feel better. 

Purchase (ebay) --Mark A. Black, Thomasville, NC -- received 22 August 2013

P.S. - you can still buy this ointment ("DIFFERENT Creamy White CAMPHOR", including on Amazon:

National Metric Day

This is a repeat of a post I wrote in 2011, but, today is National Metric Day, and the collection item is one of my favorites, so I'm posting it again.

Post from May 8, 2011:

"Yesterday in Wilmington, Massachusetts, the Massachusetts and Rhode Island Antiquarian Booksellers held a book and paper exposition at the Shriner's Auditorium. It was a great show, and besides seeing many friends from among the dealers and shoppers, I made some new acquaintances and best of all, purchased three new rulers.

All three came from a business in Tolland, CT, called eclectibles (www.eclectibles.com); they are very good at finding excellent new items for my ruler collection!

Purchase - Sheryl Jaeger, eclectibles - 5/7/2011

This envelope was part of a set of stationery issued by the Metric Bureau in the 1870's to promote the use of the metric system in the United States. The specifics of the item itself will take some more research. So far I know that 1/2 oz letters could be mailed in the U.S. for 3 cents between 1863 and 1883, and that there was a man named William Bird in Fairmont, MN, in the late 19th century. More to come!"

Bonus image: a listing from the 1879 Boston Business Directory.

For lots of good reasons

This organization was founded in 1899, according to their website, "when Anna Harris Smith, a social worker from Dorchester took action when she saw both the cruel mistreatment of Boston’s working horses, and the number of stray and homeless animals living on the streets.

In a vividly worded editorial in the Boston Evening Transcript, Anna advocated for a centrally located shelter for the rescue and care of homeless cats and dogs and remarked, 'While getting dogs and cats off the street is work worth doing, the teaching of thoughtful kindness is the work that changes families, communities, and a nation.'”

Please consider a donation to the animal rescue or protection organization of your choice! It's a good rule to support animals in crisis.

Purchase (ebay) -- "mainebarnandattic" = Joe Coomer, Azle, TX -- received 25 September 2023

How hearty is your smile?

This one took some research, and I'm not entirely sure I've figured out exactly where "Gamble's" is/was and what else they sold besides "school supplies." My best guess today is that this ruler was a promotional piece for Gamble's Western Auto Supply Co., which had stores in Utah and California, looks like mostly in the 1940s and 1950s. They sold much more than auto parts, and my biggest clue was the font on a photograph of storefront sign from San Mateo, CA, in the 1940s. (Thank you, Internet Archive.)

More research needed!

Ruler: Purchase (ebay) -- "maxste" = Steve Bussan, Shullsburg, WI - received 23 September 2023