Posted 5 years ago
truthordare
(369 items)
Again we have a variety of smoker's accessories, some quite decorative, with descriptive text. These date late 1920s-30s. From USA wholesalers for five and dime retail outlets, such as Woolworth's.
Early 20th Tobacciana - Accessories, Styles, Names & Functions | ||
| Tobacciana728 of 4217 |  |  |
#3303, monk with receptacles for various objects would be a delight to have on my desk or dresser!
Love those prices and postage fees!
This is "five & dime" stuff. Multiply that by the 10+ to figure in the devaluation of the U.S. $, and that's really expensive for the period. Now, "sponge holders"? What were the sponges for ? Rolling papers ? Cigars ?
That's right bobby725, the FIGURAL humidor meant to keep loose tobacco, or cigarettes and cigars, a small sponge would fit in the lid and leave it moist with water to keep the tobacco from drying.
It is also strange that they would have open containers for the same stuff, probably meant to be smoked right away for a crowd, as it would dry up fast, like when we kept our new carton of cigarettes in the fridge.
BB, five and dime does not mean everything was dirt cheap, I'm sure you had both in the store, decorative humidors like these were more expensive. Xmas time was the novelty and more fun items to buy as gift, and the store stock catered to that.
We see this in the Butler Brothers catalog series, and their own chains of five & dime stores in the USA called BEN FRANKLIN STORES:
http://nebula.wsimg.com/6b09c53a433abe852d0dd7b9c54d1ee0?AccessKeyId=3A908495ACD7ABD44DFC&disposition=0&alloworigin=1
Never heard of that store chain.
BB before your time.
Must be a r-e-a-l long time ago then !
Those first two ads are hard to believe. The average wage in the 20' & 30's was less than $18 a week. Prices in the second two photo's are more believable.
BB2 Ben Franklin didn't go bankrupt and close until the late 1990's after 60+ years in business. They weren't in every state but most of them. They were dumpy stores as well as poor quality discounters.
had a woolswoth store in my town used to eat burgers and shakes while mom shop their ...all gone
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F._W._Woolworth_Company
Ben Frankin stores are still here in NH today mostly arts and crafts ...nice stores..
https://www.google.com/search?q=ben+franklin+stores+in+nh&rlz=1C1HLDY_enUS829US829&oq=ben+franlin+sores+in+nh&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0l2.16918j0j8&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
Roycroftbooksfromme1 All the old Ben Franklin stores were converted to arts and crafts type stores after their bankruptcy. Some of them are now Michael's stores also. I used to go to both the Woolworth and Ben Franklin in Nashua, New Hampshire when I was working over there. Keene, NH had a Woolworth but I don't remember Ben being there.
would know abot kneen, mybe my wife might know she grew up around ther and hilsboro..?/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Franklin_(company)
oops posted the wrong frankin ...lol
need new batterys in ket boad keep losing font here ...lol
https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1HLDY_enUS829US829&q=all+ben+franklin+store+that+were+in+Nh&tbm=isch&source=univ&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiIuMjWk4jkAhUMT98KHcMgAfYQsAR6BAgEEAE&biw=1540&bih=791&dpr=1.25
here's a bunch of stores that went by the by in my life ..missing A & P. Zarey's and a few others you might of seen go by in your likfe time smiling
https://www.metv.com/lists/9-five-and-dime-stores-we-wish-were-still-around
TOD ...smiling you might like this ,,,later
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/50/3b/d2/503bd2e4dc6f3f56d72e921f53146c1d.jpg
fhrjr - would per doz? Make a difference as far as value, per dozen, divide by 12 for one as per price quoted, top right of description.
BB - each store was a franchise run by different people, your area might not have had one for very long after 1931, was my point, if they did have one.
"In 1931, they initiated the first American retail franchise business with two ‘five and dime’ store chains: Ben Franklin (2,600 stores in 1936) and Federated (1,400 stores)"
"The Chicago Tribune newspaper wrote an article about BB’s affairs in 1960, after six years of being purchased and re-purchased to finally become part of the City Products Corporation. BB executives explained the difficulties in dealing with so many facets of merchandising within one enterprise as it grew in complexity. The article also confirmed that BB was always the merchandiser for all of it’s retail establishments."
McClurg as a wholesaler, seems to have been a better quality type of goods, based on the many ads I have from them.
Roy,
We had a Woolworth store in a prime location on the corner of a busy intersection downtown Toronto. They had a lunch counter, and a huge space for all the doo dads on tables with sections they were selling. I used to work across the street during early 1990s.
I have a photo of an older store and it's interesting to see the back shelves on the wall, with more elaborate type decorative items, I think.
http://nebula.wsimg.com/47b501ed9c296b6303881560d7234866?AccessKeyId=3A908495ACD7ABD44DFC&disposition=0&alloworigin=1
Thanks everybody for your input. This type of post sure jogs your memory and nostalgia.
TOD ..nice pic ... love the story that go's with it ....our store was pretty big .. you could enter it from either parrel streets the building was on ....but bigger isnt always better.. smiling
fhrjr2 my wifes uncle said there was a ben franklins 5 & 10 in Newport.. he own the shop and shave at one end of town and a other store under his name In Hilsboro wear they all lived ... all the kids worked at the store, as well as my wife..later
Ah, per doz.. Missed that. Remember Woolworths & the soda counter.