About this Item
A most unusual specimen catalogue -- decorative wrapping for cellophane, of all things. To be used by retailers and perhaps other retailers as a wrapping paper. 29 by 24 cm. Glossy cover, with a bright illustration of mistletoe on the front cover, along with Art Deco typography. Within, something of a title page on wax paper, giving the location of 21 offices where one could order another catalogue for the company's Beautywraps, which would presumably be decorative cellophane rolls that aren't holiday specific. Then the twelve samples, each sandwiched between wax paper leaves. These protective leaves -- they serve as tissue guards -- importantly indicate the stock number but are mostly blank otherwise. On a separate folded sheet is a price list. That sheet establishes also that our copy of the catalogue is complete, which otherwise would be unknowable since the stock numbers are not consecutive. The designs are varied but loosely speaking, their artwork is just like that found on many Xmas cards of the era, or even now. Designs with mistletoe, candles, bells, a rustic cabin in the snow, etc. The Shellmar Corporation went into business originally in Chicago and sometime during the 1930s moved its headquarters to Mount Vernon, Ohio, where apparently it was a savior for the local economy hard hit by the Great Depression, according to an official county history (Knox County). By the 1940s it was a publicly traded company. In the early 1950s it changed its name to General Packaging Corporation. We do not know its fate since then. We believe it has nothing to do with a company with the latter name based outside of Texas, and we suspect that it went out of business not long after its name change. As to the 21 locations listed on the first page, five of them are abroad, so clearly the company had some reach, but one should not make too much of the total number, as we would conjecture most of these offices were small, and some or all might have been shared with other businesses in need of distribution support beyond their base. The catalogue is scarce -- we could find no other copies. On OCLC First Search one will find records of the company's copious litigation, but no promotional material. One can find some other company promotion on the internet, but on the date of this listing, nothing like this catalogue. The front cover has some lifting of its transparent, probably cellophane, surface. Its edges are curling up, and there are small areas of rawness in which one sees the white of the underlying paper. The rear cover, in addition to the same issues, has a jagged closed tear about two inches, or seven cm, long. The paper within has age toning but no real issues. The cellophane swatches have crinkling, which is the nature of the product, and one sample has doubled over. Again, we do not find this to be a serious issue, if an issue at all. The wax paper leaves were once stapled to the cover. While loose now, we think it best to leave them the way they are now. Because the samples are all present and without loss, and that is what matters, we consider the catalogue to be in Very Good condition. Wraps (Glossy mid-weight card). Stapled.
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