Arrow Collar Man paperweight / change dish

Would you believe this guy was a male "pin-up" and the subject of affection for probably millions of women in the early 20th century?

So this seemingly common looking piece of glass has a pretty interesting story behind it. I was not familiar with the Arrow Collar Man before today but he carries some clout.

The early 20th century collar designer Arrow out of Troy, N.Y. hired J.C Leyendecker to design an ad for the company. Leyendecker used his companion Charles Beach as a model for the campaign. Between 1905 and 1931 this general archetype man became the model man. I wonder if he was the first openly gay man that the world of western women swooned over? Had tabloids existed then in the capacity that they do today it would have been a different story I suppose.

The Arrow Collar Man became a pop icon; Cole Porter even expressed interest in being an Arrow Collar Man in his song "Football King aka If I Were Only A Football Man."

Remember the company was out of Troy, N.Y.? Well apparently this fictionally available bachelor of the year inspired the Broadway musical Helen Of Troy.

How exactly the Arrow Collar Man inspired George Kaufman and Marc Connelly to write a book and two act play is unclear but the attribution is well documented. 

Very influential misunderstood man here.

On a purely surface level, this is a very handy paperweight, instead of the common bar of soap style this has a concave top which makes it functional as both a weight and a sort of change dish. 

Probably from the 1910's or 20's. 

R. Mars The Contract Co. ash tray

From an old contractor company, based on what seems like a single digit zip code (if anyone can clear that up please elaborate) it seems probably from the 30's or 40's.
It seems they had offices in D.C. New York, and Baltimore.
The text on the tray is painted on the bottom and reads: "Everything for home hotel institution."

I'm not sure why that wide net of advertising intention seems odd today. I mean it isn't odd for all those groups to be buying the same sort of item, what seems strange I guess is that you never see one single piece of advertising aimed at the home, hotel, AND institution.

Richmond Camera Shop ruler

Small 6 inch Richmond Camera Shop Inc. promotional ruler. 

Great patina on the wood and the text is still very visible. 

According to the current president and grandson of the founder these were ordered in the 1940's for the original Richmond Camera location on grace.

Piedmont Cigarettes scenic and art cards

I came across a large set of original Piedmont Cigarette cards.
When I saw them I almost flipped, I used to collect baseball cards and to this day the holy grail of baseball cards is a Honus Wagner card from Piedmont.

These are all scenic tourist style images of famous buildings and places around the world and a number of art prints of people posing in different cute scenes.

I don't know much about them, can't find much info on the originals, anybody know anything?

Golden Skateworld in Richmond keychain

I never made the rounds at the Golden Skateworld but I can only assume somebody out there had this keychain once upon a time. "Skating is fun!"

Nolde's Bread bookcovers

From what I hear Nolde's and Wonder bread were what people ate around Richmond for a long time, I've heard stories of the smell of bread across the city.

This is only a piece of a bookcover I picked up from an old Dictionary with some Nolde's ads on it. The clear side was on the inside of the book, the entire outer cover was covered with interesting words kids through the years had looked up and spelled correctly on the cover.

Candy Breaker hammer

Big candy, little hammer. I haven't had much luck using it, can't get enough momentum it seems to get through my Milky Way. 

I guess when candy came in big chunks, rock candy and apparently caramels to, you used little promotional candy tools like this one to work your candy. Maybe it would make a good ice breaker or something. 

1940's Joseph Bliley Funeral Home bingo card

I got a chance to talk to the grandson of Joseph Bliley a bit about these cards, he said his father had them made in the 40's to give out to churches for bingo night.

It seems like an odd bit of advertising but I guess it makes sense, everybody needs a funeral home.  I wonder if people who play bingo regularly think about death more than most?

Bingo cards are cool in general but I really like the plastic slides, numbered and even including directions to the multiple locations, it has it all.

1940's Agee's Wolf of Richmond headbadge

Once upon a time it was common for small-town companies to re-badge and sell fairly generic bicycles.

Here in Richmond, VA our own Agee's re-branded Colombias with this impressive looking badge. The bike this came off of had the old skip-tooth chain and crank dating it in the early to mid 40's.

Walton brand RR crate shipped to Manchester, VA

Wooden railroad trunk converted to domestic trunk with casters and handles (once had wallpaper and fabric inside and out.)

Reads:

"It Will Wear- Walton - The Shoe For Boys" 

and

"It Will Wear- Walton - The Shoe For Girls"

on the opposite side.

Great trunk, sorta has a different sound to it post "Silence of the Lambs."