The Looks You Love

And an example of the pad in use...

Something that happened exactly once—all pages other than this being blank. Pretty reflective of the fate of countless once-intended projects that can only end up banished to thrift shop purgatory.

For as little as 5¢ a day

Undated leaflet. No zip code, so we at least know it's pre-1963.

Proof positive of efficacy—

While it's unknown how this stacks up against Vegemeatavitamin, the product does measure itself against your classic American foodstuffs.

No effort has been spared in providing a rating system, context-free numbers and all.

Don't neglect your security!

Act now!

What I find searching the Ritamine name are several FDA Notices of Judgment from the 1940s. In those cases, products and sales leaflets originating from American Dietaids in Yonkers were seized from health food stores in different cities. This one is from the Southern District of California in November 1944. The February 1945 disposition:

... the case having been removed to Eastern District of New York pursuant to agreement, judgment of condemnation was entered and it was ordered that the booklets be destroyed and that the remaining merchandise be released under bond for relabeling under the supervision of the Food and Drug Administration.

The FDA records reproduce the claims made by each manufacturer charged with violations, so those are an interesting look at hucksterism of the period. In the Ritamine case, more than a page worth of leaflet text is offered. Although text was typical of its kind, an additional contemporary pitch was used. After all, consumers needed all possible help for meeting the stress of wartime living—

Ritamine cases I saw from other years also were charged as labeling violations, and dispositions may have amounted mainly to wrist slaps. It may have been that the product was later produced under a change of company name, in a state other than New York. Or perhaps it was just a matter of these kinds of promises following patterns, so that other marketers recycled the product name at a later time.

Nufashond

I have to admit it took a while to catch on to how this is meant to be pronounced. It sure seemed it would sound like Yiddish, as would easily befit a garment-related product. What also threw me: the item was for finishing fashion no longer nu—

Impressive quality, from back whenever this was produced.

I don't know what this was called, or whether it's in the list of pleasing products ("edgetrim"?)

In any case, the trim is a crocheted effect done in cotton thread.

Be sure to send in your 10¢—

It would be interesting to find a copy. I'm guessing 1920s for the bag style.

I do see a full page Nufashond ad in a 1921 volume of a trade journal, Dry Goods Economist. The ad cites the "Knot Work" and other instruction books, along with touting such products as corset lacer ("the tip will not come off, neither will it rust nor tear the dainty undervest, for it's the Nufashond self-color fabric tip)"; "Shoulder Strapping... simple in design and attractive when seen through the transparent blouse"; "shoe lacers... in that self-color fabric tip which you can tuck into your shoe top without endangering your fine hose." An effective convenience? It's hard to see how women had time for things other than lacing up shoes.

It's a shame not to have examples of the knot work. Rick rack projects seem to have been big, with instructions available for the same price. Evidently, there was an ongoing series, and scans of two volumes are generously provided here (from 1916) and here (1933).

Interesting, odd stuff, considering that I never would have imagined using rick rack as a basis for lace projects. True, I can't imagine ever wanting to do any kind of lace project, myself, but they may well appeal to others. And as is the case with any fashion: wait long enough and what's old could again be Nu.

(Communal) House Cleaning

The community craft room was just given a drastic weed-out of orphaned items. No exertion from me; I only answered the call to take anything of interest before the rest was carted away.

And so, got a nice haul of vintage mother-of-pearl—

I took a few other sewing notions of use; otherwise, just brought away pictures of the more notable stuff.

Unfortunately damaged beyond taking: a German-made needle packet from the era of this kind of travel—

Have never heard of these, and I would guess this pack was kept for sewing—

Product was US-made, too. The packaging might be as recent as the 1980s—

Surely a useful item for the lady voter—

That's William Hanes Ayres, who held office 1951-71.

Ayres was elected as a Republican to the Eighty-second and to the nine succeeding Congresses. Ayres was well regarded by House members of both parties. He usually did not list his party affiliation on his campaign literature instead listing himself as "Your Congressman."

Did he simply choose to be a non-partisan public servant? If so, it's startling to realize that option once would have been possible.

"14 years" makes this 1965, and these matchbook kits still were made as advertising giveaways. (A post about kits and their history here.)

Other giveaways included quite a few mystery gadgets. Kind of a sad display representing an unknown number of years' worth of projects abandoned (or never quite started).

This was the most noteworthy of numerous odd gadgets—

Styles reflecting the 1938 origin, to be sure—

This is only half of the directions—

"READ... CAREFULLY!" indeed, when what's required involves so much getting thread through holes and woven around other thread.

Understandably, the would-be lacemaker didn't get far. But this is enough to give an idea of the pattern that was intended—

The set is for what I've learned is Tenerife lace, made by creating and joining wheel motifs. I'm not completely anti-lace, though I'd never be ambitious enough to try making it. But there's something about these particular designs that's oddly unsettling. Perhaps it's due to childhood memories of cartoons where this often was about to happen—

Though it seems like what's in my subconscious is some older, scarier (Max Fleischeresque?) version.

Depth psychology aside, here's a link to a better scan of Polka Spider instructions.

Thrift Shop Day

A couple of items promising to take care of a range of needs. One barrel good for 50 huddled in your shelter—

At the other end of the size spectrum (and these images are around 40% larger than the tin)—

Also: assorted unsettling tourist destinations.

"Berlin - Karl-Marx-Allee 15 Jahre Haupstadt der DDR"

"Berlin - Hauptstadt der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik" (Soviet War Memorial, Treptow)

Schwarzwaldmuseum Triberg

"Los Caracoles   Restaurante Tipico"

Viva

Jesus and Sicily: instant identifiers of which neighbor cleaned house and put these in the giveaway spot.

Sacrifice: Totally Worth It!

These are the size of business cards. Larger here, though—just to give the full, fruity flavor—

Being on the side of the paleface racism and bloodthirstiness, there's nothing Jesus loves more than Big Chief imagery...

... or a heap big War Party.

CJ's mercy applies even to these immoral monsters.

To conclude today's sermon...