New Orleans book trade labels

I recently posted here a 1900 billhead for F.F. Hansell & Bro. of New Orleans and received a comment the other day from a gentleman who had found a Hansell label in the back of a book in his library. I was envious, wished I had one, and wondered what it looked like.

Well, the book gods smiled on me that day or pure dumb luck kicked in because the same day I received the comment I found a book while out scouting used books that also contained a Hansell label. What are the odds?

Granted, my label was on a printed page among other labels from New Orleans book shops, but I don't get too nitpicky with serendipity. The book was a gift out of the blue: The Booklover's Guide to New Orleans, by Susan Larson, with additional research by Kevin McCaffrey; Louisiana State University Press, Baton Rouge, 1999.

The images aren't coming out too great, but hopefully the enlarged sections below will present the individual labels better. Color would have been nice, but it's still interesting to see so many representations of these hard-to-find labels on one page.



Comments

  1. Benjamin L ClarkMarch 23, 2009 at 6:38 AM

    I will absolutely need to get a copy of this! I've never seen a similar example, but now wonder if other city/regional/etc. bookstore field guides have images of labels.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Chuck WhitingMarch 24, 2009 at 8:44 AM

    Good question. I can't believe it's the only example, but I suspect it's a pretty rare example. I'm traipsing along the Gulf Coast to Florida for a few Spring Training games and hunting for books along the way (LA, MS, AL, FL). I will certainly keep my eyes open for more examples and also for another copy of the NOLA book.

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