Would you look twice at this book?

The cover reads:
FINE READY MADE SAMPLES
FALL & WINTER
1892-93

I **LOVE** paper. And if you are in this game long enough, you learn certain things - like, old sample books were favorites for scrapbookers back in the turn of the century.

Imagine my suprise when I started to leaf thru this and found (among other things) six chromolithographed prints by the official illustrator for the 1893 Columbian Expo, Charles Graham, pasted onto the pages.

Another page has TWO 5x7" real photos of an Olympia Beer horse drawn wagon & driver ca. 1905 - candid, never before seen. I've already sent scans to the Oly museum, and they were thrilled to get 'em!

And the coupe-de-grace? An 8x10" chromo broadside for the Buffalo Forge Co.!!!! There is a rather ratty one on ebay now - they're asking $700 for it. This one, while demerits for being pasted down onto the page, is in amazing condition (considering that it is on very thin paper). The edges were trimmed 1" all around to fit into the album, but as a result, the colors are as bright and vivid as the day it came off the press. I cut out the page and put it into this frame.

There are other wonderful things, some of which I will also post about in other threads.

One of the best five buck buys I've made recently!