Mid Century Home Builders Calendar, 1954

This is the other calendar I found at the same sale as this calendar I blogged way back in April.  This one dates 10 years prior to that one but features some great looking homes.  I'm partial to September with March a close second.  The way the days line up, I could have used this calendar for 2016 if not for that pesky Leap Year we're observing this coming year.

1965 Craftsmen Calendar

Mid Century Home Builders Calendar, 1964

I came across this and another calendar with a similar theme from the same building supply company (Monroe Building Supply Inc. in Columbia, Illinios) at a sale recently (in Columbia, Illinois of course).  Each month of the calendar features a home with building plans on the back along with some interior decorating ideas.  Some beautiful designs and excellent execution by the artist (intials QA or OA).

Happy 1913! er...2013

One of the things I enjoy most finding at garage and estate sales is ephemera. If you aren't familar with the term, it refers to any transitory printed matter which wasn't intended to be kept.  Postcards, tickets, matchbooks etc. fall into this category. They generally aren't worth a lot of money, but I find them very interesting, particularly when they've been written upon by the previous owner.

While doing some inventory and clearance recently, I came across a small notebook/calendar I picked up somewhere, some time ago, to be less than specific. It spans the 1913/1914 year from July to June (I'm not sure why the odd range) and was sponsored by Bromo-Seltzer, an antacid that dates back to 1888.

The first pages were left blank and intended to be used as a notepad. Someone took advantage of that and wrote their Christmas list. The note is old, but I don't think it is comtemporary to the calendar's issuance based on the items requested.

 The best part of the book is the list of measures to take when an accident occurs.  I'm not sure what's worse: actually drowning or it's proposed remedy.

It also lists popular antidotes for poisons.  The cure for Opium overdose sounds a lot like the cure for a hangover.

 Apparently, you could order sheet music from the Bromo-Seltzer Pharmacy as well for the cost of postage.  Aside from "The Star Spangled Banner", "My Old Kentucky Home" and "Nearer My God to Thee", allegedly sung as the Titanic sunk only a year earlier.  "Flee as a Bird" is not to be confused with the John Lennon/Beatles release of the 1990's.

 The back of the cover features the Bromo-Seltzer clock tower in Baltimore, Maryland.

It still stands.

The hours are marked by the letters in Bromo-Seltzer:

Take it easy tonight, and if you do overindulge, remember Bromo-Seltzer.

Happy 2013!

Happy 1967!

I found this calendar at an estate sale this past fall.  It was given away by the Gravois Drug Company located at 4912 Gravois, St. Louis 16, Mo.  Phone, FLanders 2-1234.  Do businesses still hand out free calendars?:

I liked the Santa Claus image on it and the fact that it was 1967 (my birth year and first Christmas).  In fact, here's a picture of me from that December of '67.  I'll let you guess which one is me:

It begins with December of 1966 and coincidentally, the days aligned with December 2011 and will continue to align in 2012 at least until February 29th, as 2012 is a leap year.
The calendar contains information like sunrise and sunset times and even attempts to predict the weather for the entire year.  Important historical events such as "Rotary Organized, 1905" are noted along with suggestions for gentle relief of irregularity (Nujol heavy mineral oil, if you were wondering).

The building is no longer there.  It appears to have been torn down and replaced by a bank.  It was located just across the street from Bevo Mill.

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On the topic of the calendar, two professors at Johns Hopkins University are proposing a new calendar system based on a 364-day year, allowing for the days to fall on the same day of week each year.  For example, Christmas would always be on a Sunday.  The advantage, they say, is the elimination of recreating calendars and schedules each year. I think that would be boring and it would elminate December 31st as New Year's Eve, replacing December with a 30-day month.  Tooting my horn on December 30th would just seem silly.