ABOUT THE NUMBERS, 1 TO 50
When we thought about marking the 50th issue with 50 ephemeral items we asked members for some help. Those who helped out so long ago include: Irene Stone, Mick Stone, Brian Watson, Andrew Hillier and David Harris. We hope that the items are of interest as they show the range of material that comes under the broad heading of ephemera.
1
Business card for ‘Italy 1’ restaurant. Small card, 5 x 6 cm, collected from the restaurant in 2005.
2 x 2
“Firm-Fast No. 1” gummed labels.
“Two Buck Rabbit”, fake money advertising Rabbit Express.
3
Business card for ‘No. 3 Station Pier’ restaurant. Small card, 9 x 4.5 cm, collected from the restaurant in 2005.
4 x 2
XXXX Beer stubby top.
Dog scooper, 21 x 10 cm, labelled ‘4legs fresh dog food’. Picked up from a collection point in a Fitzroy park in 2005.
5 x 4
5c “Flyingman Safety Matches”, Malaya.
Marlboro 5’s cigarette pack.
Aspro 5 tablet pack.
Readings $5 gift voucher, 10 x 15 cm, given as a prize for joining the State Library of Victoria in 2013.
6
Sticker produced for a campaign against increasing hotel opening hours: “Stick to 6 vote NO against 10 p.m. Closing of Liquor Bars”. Duplicate discarded from State Library in about 1990.
7
Questionnaire, 14 x 10 cm, for readers of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Came with the book which was purchased (and never read) in 2004.
8
Top Taste Yummy Tummy Koalas – “8 White Choc Mud Cakes”. Koalas with a yummy jam filled tummy and a white choc dipped bottom. Bought in 2014.
9 x 2
Admit One 9d ticket.
Luggage label, 6 x 12.5 cm, for area 9 on Rottnest Island, Western Australia. Cardboard label with small hole for string provided to guests to the island in 2003.
10 x 2
Screw cap: Contains 10% Fruit Juice.
Reward card, 5.5 x 10 cm, for purchases at the Pines Forest general store, Frankston North. Card shows 10th item yet to be purchased. Found in Elizabeth St., Melbourne in 2005.
11
The Medallion Club Aisle 11 video seat ticket.
12 x 2
McWilliams Wines XII Commonwealth Games Brisbane 1982 coaster.
12 Inch Sundays disco pass.
13
“Bakers Dozen 13” paper bag, 19 x 14 cm. Collected in Colac from a pie shop in 2005.
14
“14 Semillon Sauvignon Blanc” by Catching Thieves’, Margaret River, wine label bought 2014.
15
2 x Packaging, 7 x 3 x 3 cm, for a “15 volt Osram Pygmy light bulb”. Found in the street in Richmond in 2006.
16
$16 Smart Lead for small dogs.
Advertising card, 5.5 x 5.5 cm, for “Jolly Talker Birthday”, an interactive greeting card app. Collected in 2005.
17
Painted Tram number 17 First Day Ticket, 1992.
18
Packet, 21 x 15 cm, of pegs for the clothesline containing 18 super hold pegs – ideal for windy days. Bought in 2007.
19
Real estate advertising card Park & Raphael 19 Luxury Townhouses advertising card.
20
Bookmark, 5.5 x 25.5 cm, “Celebrating 20 years of Australian Writing”. Produced to promote the Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards in 2004. Picked up at a local public library in 2004.
21
Invitation, 12 cm, to party to mark 21 years of service for WIRE (Women’s Information and Referral Exchange). Cardboard invitation mailed out to WIRE supporters in 2004.
Brown-Gauge 21 Services promotional game.
22
Advertising flyer, 11 x 10 cm, for dating service: “Trevor has been successfully introducing for over 22 years”. Paper flyer found in letterbox in 2005.
23
Luggage label, 11.5 x 8 cm, for Virgin Airlines luggage; weight of 23 kilos. Card label found at Tullamarine Airport in 2007.
24
Enamelled badge: 24th Australian Bowls Championships Melbourne 1966-1967.
Account statement, 21 x 15.5 cm, for “Four’n Twenty pies” from the collection of Brian Watson. It was printed in Sydney on what was proudly described as ‘the most modern equipment in the world – specially designed and built in America, to produce Business Forms of the highest standard of quality and accuracy.
25
Business card, 9 x 4.5 cm, for 3MBS manager in the station’s 25th year of operation. Card collected in 2000.
26 x 2
2 x JPS Player’s Gold 26 and Bond Street Red 26 cigarette packs, circa 2014.
27
Packet of “Penne Ziti Rigate 27”. Plastic bag, 24 x 19 cm, for grocery product purchased at Coles’ Supermarket in 2006.
28
Met scratchy public transport ticket, 8.5 x 5.5 cm. Used in early 1990s.
29 x 2
The Kangaroo Needle Packets containing 29 needles.
Advertising card, 11 x 9 cm, marking the launch of Jetstar “100,000 seats at $29”. Handed out at Flagstaff Railway Station in 2004.
30 x 2
Greeting card for a 30th birthday.
Qantas thermal luggage tag for QF30.
31
Page from a desktop calendar for “MONDAY 31 MAY 2004”. From workplace calendar in 2004.
32
Theatre ticket, 4 x 10.5 cm, for a matinee performance at the Tivoli Theatre for 6 May for seat “N32”. The ticket has three parts: one for the office; one for the usher; and one for the patron to retain. From a private collection.
33
33 1/3 RPM Long Playing – Decca LP label.
34
034 Metal membership disc for the Fitzroy Swimming Pool 1989/1990.
35
“I could live on $35 dollars a day” DL political advertising card, 2013.
36
Sewing needle kit, 12 x 6.5 cm, containing “Sewing needles: assorted sizes, 36 pieces”. Purchased in 2006.
37
Brochure, 21 x 10 cm, for “Thirty-Seventh Melbourne Film Festival 16-26 June 1988”. Found as a bookmark, probably put in the book in 1988.
38
Guitar shaped thermometer showing a normal temperature of 38 degrees.
39
Price tag, 5 x 4 cm, for sale item. Cardboard sign taken from a pair of shoes in a bargain bin in Richmond in 2006.
40 x 2
Apache Brazilian wooden matches– contents 40 matches.
Flyer, 21 x 15 cm, for celebrations of “40 years Freedom Day Festival” produced by the Northern Territory Government and collected in Darwin at a shopping mall in 2006.
41
Reminder notice, 10 x 15 cm, to subscribe to The New York Review of Books. From 2007.
42
Envelope, 11 x 22 cm, for Collingwood Football Club “Club 42”. Found in the street in Richmond in 2005.
43
Nescafe instant coffee plastic jar, “43 beans in every cup”. Purchased in 2014.
44
Comic, 17.5 x 26 cm, “Dennis the Menace”, No. 44. Collection of Mick Stone.
45
Christmas stamps issued by Australia Post, circa 2005. Bought at Australia Post shop.
46
Scanlen’s Sweets Footy card, 6.5 x 9 cm, designed to look like a television set, “Collingwood”, numbered 46. No note of source.
47
Redheads match by 3 containing 47 matches.
48
Big ticket, 10 x 21 cm, advertising “48th Annual Festival of Film”. Cardboard flyer posted to members of the Australian Film Institute for event in 2006.
49
Small flyer, 15 x 10.5 cm, seeking participants for a weight loss product: “Wanted 49 people”. Glossy paper flyer found in letterbox in 2005.
50
The Goose 50 safety matches made in Indonesia.
Camp-fire 50 matches made in USSR.
Two versions of Redheads 50 safety matches. The design on the left (a redesign of a 1958 pack implemented by Melbourne designer Brian Sadgrove) was introduced in 1971, and the full red background was introduced in 1975.
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