Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Vintage Finds: What Is It?






Hubby rescued these advertising pieces from an old hardware store...


I have saved them for years, and especially love the one with the 1940's model stove, shown below.





I know they have something to do with printing, either with a mimeograph perhaps kept at the store, or to give to the newspaper for using them on the presses.


I have no idea what they are called, and I would love to know, and how they were used!





They are from the 1940's and the graphics and the lettering just awesome, made of very, very thick cardboard, so thick, they are not flexible, and are similar material to what the matting in a picture frame would be.




I love anything at all to do with old hardware stores.  

If we are traveling and see an old family-owned hardware store, if we can stop, we do.  It's always a nice visit, always.  I have to say I love the ones still in the old downtowns in the deep south.

That was my first real job, and I just loved it, I can still smell that old hardware store, mostly it was the grass seed and fertilizer, but the aisle with the pipe fittings had its own smell (oily) and the aisle with the cleaning supplies had its own smell (Lysol!), the paint aisle smelled faintly of turpentine, I could go on and on.  

It's amazing how smells have so much to do with our memories of places, isn't it?  

If you can help me with a name for these pieces, I sure would love to know!  Thanks, and I hope you have a nice spring day!  (Spring has run away and not decided to return to Michigan yet, she's still freezing and we still have snow and ice everywhere!)  

9 comments:

Sabrina @Falling Leaf Woodworkers and Primitives said...

I don't know what they are called but they are some great pieces... glad your hubby rescued them.
Sabrina

Nancy said...

You've got me stumped. But I do know they'd look great in a frame of some kind. Neat finds!

patricia said...

These are so unusual! I love antinques. I just wondered, if they were used for printing then why aren't they backwards? Let us know if you find out what they were used for!

Old Centennial Farmhouse said...

Hi! Patricia, I wanted to let you know, they're backward when you flip them over, I am just showing the side that photographed the best! :0)
xoxo
Joni

Meadowbrook Cabin Primitives said...

Joni,

I haven't a clue as to what they are called !

But you reminded me of an old hardware store in Menlo , Georgia ( northwest Ga. not far from the Alabama line ) that actually had a checker board with some ol guys playing the game and I believe an old wood stove .. and that was in the 1980's.. I had peeked in the windows when walking by..

Hugs,
Linda

Cher' Shots said...

I wonder if they are the templates for the actual metal signs. Whatever they are - they are a great finds! LOVE them.
'hugs from afar'

Julie Hinds said...

I like old stores and hardware stores too, especially ones who don't get rid of their old stock, Onaway MI has a hardware store that still has dusty wares from the 60's! Roger's City has an old one too, another cool one is in the Eastern Market in Detroit, that one even has an old elevator with the gate that comes down and a gentleman whose job is to run the elevator!

Kimberly said...

This looks like lithography. As a former Inuit art gallery manager I had the priviledge of selling many Cape Dorset, Pang, and Holman prints. The artist hand carve the stones, paint is applied to the stone, paper is applied atop the raised, painted areas and a roller over the paper transfer the paint to the print. There are other processes, I'm sure. This is just the one I am familiar with.
What a find! You might try this just for fun.

Wendy said...

I work in a hardware store and each aisle does have its own smell--my favorite is the cleaning aisle and Lawn and Garden! Well I don't enjoy the smell of L&G but I love the items in it!

Those prints are so awesome.