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grandmothers-movie-stars-11.jpg

accumulator seriali - part 12

April 9, 2016
collectible film star cards from 1930's - paperiaarre.com
Today things are a bit more glamorous than usual here. This is my grandmother's book of collectible movie star trading cards. My grandmother was born in 1916 and most of these cards have year 1932 printed on them, so she was around 16 when she put this book together.

a book full of collectible film star cards from 1930's - paperiaarre.com

Memories. And kittens.

collectible film star cards from 1930's - paperiaarre.com

Greta Garbo was clearly a favourite of my grandmother's. Garbo is quite prominently featured throughout the book.

collectible film star cards from 1930's - paperiaarre.com

I couldn't find the source for these cards online, but my parents suspected these may have come with chocolate bars. There are 78 cards in the book (most of them glued down, some loose between the pages), so even if one bar of chocolate came with more than one card, a lot of chocolate was eaten.

collectible film star cards from 1930's - paperiaarre.com

collectible film star cards from 1930's - paperiaarre.com

collectible film star cards from 1930's - paperiaarre.com

collectible film star cards from 1930's - paperiaarre.com

I just went and did some more research on movie card history. The closest match I could quickly find to my cards was the Swedish Cloetta film star card, which had a chocolate drink ads on the reverse side. I had assumed all the cards were blank on the reverse side because all the loose ones were. Most of the cards with white frames actually have a cough medicine ad on the back: "Tussin - paras lääke yskään. Valm. Karl Fazer OY, Helsinki - Finland", which definitely confirms the chocolate theory as Fazer is the best chocolate manufacturer in Finland even today. Haven't run into any Fazer cough medicine lately, though, so maybe chocolate was always what they did best.

These cards are Finnish, but none of the star are (just a few Swedish actresses there, but no Finns). The Movie Card Website said these cards were distributed internationally with a few local additions here and there, which explains why I've run into identical cards in many far away places during my search for the origin of these cards. A few months ago this video clip (by the amazingly talented artist Tina Berning) appeared on my Instagram feed, and now I'm glad to be able to give a little video response to it myself.

a note written to my grandmother - paperiaarre.com

a note written to my grandmother - paperiaarre.com

A little note fell out as I was leafing through the book. I don't know who wrote this rhyming note as I doubt my great grandaunt Saima would've called my grandmother Kaarina (she would've called her Kaija and her handwriting was nicer). Maybe my aunt P and my mother can shed more light on this? According to this note this book was gifted to my grandmother so she could use it as a guest book in her new home. My grandmother had other plans.

In accumulator seriali Tags accumulator seriali, collecting, family
← DIY: mixed paper envelopescriss cross coptic →

Welcome to Paperiaarre!

Kaija Rantakari / Paperiaarre in her Helsinki based studio

Hello, my name is Kaija. I'm a master bookbinder / mixed media artist / accumulator extraordinaire / poet from Finland. This website is where I share my creations to fellow paper enthusiasts.

Paperiaarre is Finnish for a paper treasure, and I hope you find many of those here!

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The Paperiaarre shop is open again! I've now returned from the incredibly lush Edinburgh where I had the privilege to stay at a wonderful writing recidency. So many long walks, big hills, old kirkyards, and vinegary treats!

As mentioned, the shop is
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Another great day for this bookbinder! Thank you all for your many orders - they really make my day every time ❤️
This golden floral kimono silk is one of my all time favourites. I love how beautifully light plays with the weave even on a cloudy day like today.

This notebook with semi-flexible covers is one of the five still left of yesterday's shop update. All
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On my to-do list is to add this stack of vintage kimono notebooks to my shop. Some time next week, I hope!

I made these using the sewn boards binding structure that creates lovely semi-flexible covers.
Wrapping a lovely order today 🤍🤍🤍

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Watercolor journals and mini kimono journals for sale through my IG stories for the next 24h. Any remaining books will be available at paperiaarre.com in a few days 🤍🤍🤍
Every now and then I get requests for notebooks suitable for watercolors, and even though I don't do custom orders in the traditional sense, every now and then I hear your requests! This lot of six lovely A6 landscape format watercolor journals will

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