Souvenir

USSR "Beriozka Souvenirs"
— wrapping paper, early 1980s

Actually, the gift (and paper) were brought back from one of the satellites by a friend.

The cheap and tissue-y paper is crumpled, and barely legible in a scan, yet I've always liked the color—and inadvertent meaning.

Even if, for some reason, the initials remind me of going back to the office tomorrow...

Little Helper

That's an enlarged view; back of this—

A box of larger (4 and 5/8 by 2 inch) labels had room enough to include a zip, which suggests the product is from the early '60s.

Some detail, from the larger box—

The "Label House full of ideas"—

These were found recently, when cleaning a place full of... well, all kinds of stuff—after my father's death. These labels were never used, yet they were kept, like so many other things.

The company that made these must be long gone. There's no related business listing for Cheltenham, PA., and one always has to assume the company disappeared through some combination of product obsolescence and de-industrialization of Small Town, USA.

Whatever happened, I wouldn't blame this; business success has never been all that sensative to English skill...