why are post office directories useful?

Richard Rodger, Professor of Economic and Social History at the University of Edinburgh, and Chris Fleet, the Map Librarian for the National Library of Scotland talk about the historical Post Office Directories of Scotland and how [the website] AddressingHistory is combining the Directories with maps [i.e. georeferencing].


Slightly underwhelming video but bang it out then check the website... Very cool to see how groups of people (cobblers, bakers... whoever) congregate in sections of the city then move over time.

the enormous handkerchief co.

21" square maybe doesnt qualify as enormous (standard bandana size no?) but good name. The Enormous Handerchief Company polka-dot goods can be found at A. Hume.

erskine grain store

Watercolor painting R B Erskine Grain Store by Debra Webster Irons
Pops' has been a customer of the Erskine grain store in Chester, Vermont for 20 years. They do a "thank you" event each year before Christmas -meatball lunch. Sis has been helping out a ton w/ the chickens and horses over the last year and went along to socialise and took some pics. Her notes;

I realised I was becoming a regular the day that our account papers were sitting out on the desk waiting for me as I walked through the door. They still use a very simple system of paper chits and it works for them... none of that new fangled computer stuff. Keep it simple! Anyway, back to the meatballs... nestled in among the rows of shovels, mason jars, potting soil and barbed wire are a number of crockpots gently care-taking an array of meat based dishes.

Read her full report on the scene at Erskine's store here.


Crockpots simmering left, and fiddler John Specker tuning up behind the counter.

channeling darren stevens

Vintage Farah.

fridays are tie days -hickoree's

Photo above via [you have broken the internet]
Hickoree's Hard Goods have a bunch of selvage chambray, chino/camo/printed and generally bonkers ties. These are from their production arm The Hill-Side. Same guys. If you are a workwear nerd you will dig the "blanket lining" ties. Big fan of that material myself (further reading). Taking the blanket lining from it's hidden status and using it in an outward celebratory way... genius. They created a scarf of the material too... sold out.

circle of tools -lost miller high life ad

Early Christmas. Found this and the below and another High Life ad from the famous Errol Morris series... they are not mentioned on his site. The above is good.