1939 World's Fair: The Story of Lucky Strike

I discovered this little gem in a stack of old books I picked up off the floor of our guest room where they have been hiding for quite some time.  It is becoming clear to me that Madeline was really impressed by this World's Fair and the promises of the future that it showed her.  What is sad is that I honestly don't remember her ever mentioning that she went to the 39 World's Fair and if she did it didn't make an impression on me.  I wish we could share a Diet Coke and a slice of chocolate cake right now and she could tell me the story.  Since that's not possible, let's enjoy what she left behind for us.

This 94 page hardcover book, by Roy C. Flannagan, details the history of tobacco and the making of Lucky Strike cigarettes.  Here is a pic of the Lucky Strike exhibit at the fair:

Here are some of the photos from the book:

As an added bonus, the inside front cover has a very colorful label with Madeline's name and address.

The book closes with this paragraph:  "With the smoke of a Lucky Strike curling upward, a man can dream of Pocahontas in her garden at Varina, of settlers farming with holstered pistols on the handles of their ploughs, of early craftsmen at work upon the first rude blends, of  Nicot teaching the courtiers of Catherine de Medici the pleasures of the Indian plant--and then of countless men whose art and labor improved the leaf until it became the greatest solace of a troubled world."

Creating a Family Time Capsule

The Library of Congress has a good information article on making your own family time capsule.  It outlines many things you need to take into consideration when undertaking such a project.  It's actually got me thinking it may be fun to put some of Madeline's Memories into a capsule to be discovered by some lucky person in the future. 

1939 World's Fair: Three Travel Booklets

Madeline always had an urge to travel so it is no surprise to me that she seems to have collected every single travel booklet available at the 39 World's Fair.  I selected three to highlight today:  "Adirondack Region"; "Palisades Catskills Region"; and "Relax in New England".  Enjoy!

This is a beautiful, thick, black and white booklet with many photos of the Adirondack Region.  The center fold pages are a large map of the 7 counties that make up the region.  There is much written information about the region as well. 

This is also a thick, black and white booklet detailing information about the counties of the Palisades Catskills region.  It details the history of the region and shows off its natural beauty.

This is a color and black and white brochure from the New England exhibit at the New York World's Fair.  They were trying to entice visitors to travel to New England after their time at the Fair.  It is really a guide to Northern New England:  Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont.  It has maps, photos, guide to transportation, and hotel listings. 

Kenmore Hotel Drink List and Matchbook Collection

I am starting to get an organization system going for all of Madeline's little paper collectibles.  I set up a hanging file system to get me started on sorting it all.  I pulled a few items out of the "Memories" folder for today's posting.

I thought this little book was fun to look at with the types of drinks people ordered back in the late 30's and especially the prices!  Here is a pic of the Hotel Kenmore in it's heyday:

Hotel Kenmore has been described as: "One of Boston's newest and finest hotels; 400 large luxurious rooms all with bath, circulating ice water, radio & emergency sound system for guests' safety; 10 air-conditioned public rooms". Located on Commonwealth Avenue at Kenmore Square, the hotel is home to the famous "Mural Lounge" and "Sportsman's Bar & Grill"; rendezvous of celebrities from the radio and sports world. (William T. Bigler, General Manager - Boston, Massachusetts, 1940's.)

These are some of the many matchbooks Madeline collected.  Did you know that phillumeny is the hobby of collecting matchbook covers?  Collectors are called phillumenists.  Have to say I did not know that fact!  One thing I learned in my research about collecting matchbooks in the 30's and 40's is that many of the most collectible ones are sports related.  The Diamond Match Company of New York put out several series of sports related matchbooks over the years. A black and white photo of the player was on front with a short write-up and stats on back. The player's name and team was also printed on the 'saddle'.  You will notice that one of the matchbooks above lists the Boston Bruins schedule on the inside, with an ad for the Union Oyster House restaurant on the cover.  It states "compliments of" the Union Oyster House so we can assume Madeline picked it up at the restaurant. 

I'm Not the Only One Who Loves Old Things

One of the blogs I like to visit on the subject of old things is "Vintage Rescue Squad".  This gal is always scoring great old items when she is out and about.  She also has a booth where she sells these items.  Today she has a post about explaining her love and appreciation of old items to a five year old.  I loved the way she expressed her feelings and wanted to share with my readers.  Please check out How Come Everything You Have Is Old?

New York Stock Exchange/ Its Functions and Operations

This is a booklet published in 1936 by the Press of A. Colish, Inc. which describes for the layman the function and operation of the New York Stock Exchange.

Although many procedures have changed since 1936, it does give the average investor of today a good perspective on the exchange.

This booklet was part of a campaign to resell Wall Street to the public.  Advertisements were taken out in newspapers that informed the public that this booklet was free for the asking.  It was also passed out to visitors to the Stock Exchange and that is how I believe Madeline received her copy.  It is interesting to note that this booklet is available today at the National Library of Australia.

New York City "A Book of Modern Views"

This is a 16 page soft cover book published in 1935 by I. S. Seidman & Co.  It was published exclusively for Rockefeller Center, Inc.  The book is a compilation of black and white snapshots of different neighborhoods in New York City. 

The foreward tells us that the book was inspired by the development of Rockefeller Center.  Here are a few pages: