Show us your Vintage Office Supplies.

I was never eager or excited to bother getting one of these for my vintage office collection but the more I looked at 1940s office photographs and seeing them on a desk I finally caved and got one. Not sure of the vintage but its a Dixon 888 in unused condition. hardened eraser of course but it displays well with my 1941 Underwood typewriter.

 

another item I often see in vintage photos of 1930s and 1940s office desks is an indoor room thermometer. I decided on this tiny one. I love its size and that the wood base is wrapped in a very thin layer of leather . very manly yes?
there are no maker marks or a date but its appears to be very 1930s to me. basic and functional. not sure just how accurate it is but it seems to be in the ballpark.

 

another version of the notepad holder I added to my collection is the looseleaf Autopoint notepad holder. I was particularly interested in obtaining this one as it still had some of the original note paper in it, aging and yellowing gracefully. I have seen a number of versions of this item in my vintage office photograph collection and found this particular model in the image posted below.
(As for the business logo on the notepad holder, F. E. Booth was a canning company started by Frank E. Booth in 1895. The company had fish, fruit, and vegetable canneries in California and was based in San Francisco by 1920. The company initially canned sardines in Monterey. In 1920, F. E. Booth was president and general manager. The company lasted into the 1930's as a tomato canner. Brands: Comet, Crescent.)

 

added another unused 1930s The Spiral Composition Book to my collection.
this one blue and No. 88. Marginal Ruled. rather fragile this one....

 

added a plastic address/phone list finder to the collection. no manufacturer on this one. its unused with nothing written inside which I like. it still has the original protective felt on the bottom. There is a business promo imprint at the top for Hirshfield's Fine Wallpaper - O'Brien Paints which I found is still operating multiple stores in Minnesota. a fourth generation, family-owned company Since 1894.

 

In Australia we called it a Teledex, used for 'phone numbers. It never occured to me it could be used for other things.

 

here in the US Teledex is a trademark company still in business today that installs hotel telephones. Rolodex made one called the Rolodex Autodex. many companies had names for their version due to trademarks . so List Finder I think was trademarked by Bates Co. Phone directory is the generic term. address book sometimes.

 

Two calculators passed down from grandpa->pa->me, so purchased about late 30s.
One desktop and one pocket version, each with an addition and subtraction side.
Been produced between 1920s -1960s as far as i could find out.



Desktop





Pocket





Cheers

Turnip

 

WOW! now those are super cool! have to admit I Have never seen anything like these! thanks for showing us!

 

I thought I was done with collecting WWII era pencils but these caught my attention. Two Salvation Army 1944 pencils with white plastic ferrule and "Our Fighting General Douglas MacArthur" patriotic pencil with black paper ferrule.

 

Just found a full bottle of Quink from Parker. Thought I might try it out just to see how it writes.
Mike

 

A curious item I have here for my WWII desktop. I have only ever seen one other listed and it was in highly used condition. This one is minty and matches the used one precisely. it would be easy to make repros of these but if someone went to the trouble to do so and match the print stamp with the exact fonts and size I would think these would come up on eBay or Etsy often but none have ever been listed before or after my purchase. I'm not entirely convinced its WWII vintage but it could be. Not sure what to think of it...
I purchased it from an antique dealer in the UK and it appears to be a Homefront stationary shop item. I could see a soldier on leave purchasing this on his trip into town for stationary supplies. The Venus Pencil Co Ltd. had offices in Ontario and a few US cities and even set up an office in London. my research has revealed nothing of the "War Eraser" even though Venus Pencil Co. did in fact make a variety of rubber erasers with a similar one in size to this one with a different label stamping. Looks the part on my vintage desktop anyway....

 

Added a Bakelite desk calendar complete with an unused 1942 calendar. The top few sheets have lost some edges due to age brittleness but otherwise in great condition. Hard to imagine a wartime 1942 calendar surviving 79 years and it not having been tossed away. A great addition to my 1940s office!