Here's Cheers

Nick and Nora envy James Lileks a great deal.

Not only does he own a fantastic collection of pop culture ephemera, but he also has ready access fabulous throw-away history thanks to the archives of his employer - the Minnesota Star Tribune newspaper.

The Charles' occasionally look back wistfully at the newspaper that brought them together - a title that goes back to the late 19th century - and think of the delightful history contained in the archives.


Sadly, at the time Nick and Nora bid adieu to the Daily Bugle, the Internet was a new fangled thing and PhotoShop not as widely available, so much of the artifacts taken home were things which had a personal relevance - autographed photographs of a passing celebrity, press clippings of notable by-lined stories.

But occasionally other items are liberated, the importance of which aren't realised until much later.

About 10 years ago Nora noticed a set of four A3 brown sheets onto which someone had pasted jam, soft drink, beer and spirit labels dated between the 1930s to the 1950s.

They had been set aside in some corner of the newsroom and forgotten.

No one could remember who they belonged to - perhaps someone had left them to be photographed for a story.

No one ever came to claim them.

Nora took them home where they sat in a corner of the study, forgotten until now.

Over the next few weeks Nifty Knick Knacks will take a look at these labels - 35 in all.

A preliminary look on the Net reveals that there is a lot of work to do to track down the origins of canners and brewers of 'aerated waters'.

If you know anything about these companies, don't forget to click to look at larger images and please let us know in comments.

If not, then simply sit back and enjoy the lovely art of the commerce.