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Circa 1902. "Richmond & Backus Co. office, Detroit." Our sixth glimpse behind the scenes at this printing, binding and office supply business. View full size.
Does that calendar on the window say 1903? No one spotted that? You guys are slipping...lol
[A common full-year calendar format of the time also printed the first six months of the following year; that's what's below the 1903...roflmao. -tterrace]
I bet they didn't have casual Fridays. There is so much to look at in this photo. Mind-boggling how offices have changed.
Boss: "Miss Jones, Please read that back to me."
Miss Jones: "How can I read it back? It's in shorthand."
(The above was an old shorthand teacher's joke in 1955 as it is easier to write in shorthand than it is to read it back. I learned the Gregg method, not the Pitman).
"Take a letter, Maria. Address it to my wife ... "
This is a potpourri of office nostalgia.
My eyes spotted that pair of banker's shears hanging on a hook under the window sill. They were originally used by tellers to cut local currency from large sheets for customers. I used them in the news business to cut columns out of newspapers with just one, maybe two, snips.
They're not found today in big box office supply stores.
"Miss Jones. Take a letter. And after that, freshen up my spittoon."
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