Reply #138: Blotters, ink, socks and nylon stockings (with seams) sold by foot size

[kskiska]

I learned cursive writing using a scratch pen, dipping it in the inkwell and blotting afterward. Blue-black ink was the most popular for fountain pens.

Nylons were sold three pair to a box in various shades. I remember my mother wrapping the folded foot portion of the sock around my closed fist to check the fit before purchasing.

Crinolines, often horsehair.

Girdles. Just about all women wore girdles in the 40s and 50s, whether they needed them or not. My mother had a rubber girdle that once burst as she got out of a car. She thought an old operation scar had opened up.

Men's garters to hold their unelasticized socks up.

Those old wooden frames with a handle in grocery stores to slide the purchases up to the cash register to be rung up by a cashier who mentally calculated your change. Replaced by conveyer belts. Grocers in small stores totaled up your order in grease pencil on the brown paper bag.

Phone booths with a seat, a fan, and a closeable door.

S&H green stamps, blue stamps, and others given by supermarkets to be licked and stuck into books that could be traded in for items in a catalog.