Mary and Peggy here are not advertising nylon stockings, lipstick, deodorant, powder, menthol cigarettes, hair curlers, "foundation garments," mouthwash, toothpaste, "skin food" (aka cold cream aka moisturizer), shoes, or lunchmeat. Mary and Peggy are advertising CARBON PAPER.
When I first found this ad in one of my Popular Mechanics, it almost made me weep. I mean: Carbon paper?! "Plenty," I said to myself I said, "THERE'S a dinosaur product if ever there was one. It's GOT to be extinct!" Suddenly, for the first time in a very long time, I wanted carbon paper. I wanted carbon paper deeply and acutely. Maybe I wanted it even more because I was pretty sure I wouldn't be able to buy any? Well, I was wrong. Carbon paper is still being manufactured--albeit in a small way--and on store shelves. Here is more than you want and need to know:
1) One lil' company in Canada still manufactures carbon paper.
3) A couple of small companies in the U.S. make carbon paper, but "Swintec" is the only one I can find info about (they sell it to prisons in 44 states).
4) Kevin Laurence can tell you all about the history of carbon paper!
5) This is how carbon paper is made!
Who ELSE uses carbon paper? Yep: Me. I'm a-gonna go out to Staples and buy me a fat old ream of it tomorrow. Then I'm going to smell it (yeah--I don't know why I want to smell it, either, but I do--it must have some smell that I've forgotten...I imagine I'll end up with a black nose). Then I'll find some use for it. There might be some carbon paper experimentation on the horizon. If you need a piece, just let me know. I'll be glad to sell you a piece for a buck (overhead...cost of living...finder's fee...).
