Pith-paper Bookmarks Made in the People's Republic of China

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     Pith Bookmarks first threewRecently, we have been organizing to ensure we are ready for the New Year. As a quick aside, does anyone believe 2015 is over? It seems like it just began a couple of months ago, and I do not even remember having summer. In any event, I went back to the box which houses the Harrison Allen Krips and Esther Elizabeth Larzelerepapers, intent on putting them away.  Most of the box contains twentieth century random magazine clippings, most incomplete or even just fragments. Nevertheless, these fantastic bookmarks and the Krips/Larzelere papers were tucked in between some of the clippings. Did the bookmarks belong to the Krips/Larzelere family? Just in case there is a link, I want to mention they were found in the same box. 

    Pith Bookmarks second batchw  I was able to find the following scant bits of information. A similar set of bookmarks is found on Etsy and yet another can be found on Ebay. Those sets are somewhat the same in the terms of style, but the subject matter is different. Both descriptions of the bookmarks use the term "vintage," but no circa dates are provided--circa 1949? Or are they a later product? 

     Pith Pack FrontA discussion of pith-paper is in the March-April 2009 online edition of the Harvard Magazine. Use of the paper has been extensive and was first mentioned in Tsin Dynasty (265-420 AD). I believe the pith-paper is the material used to make the vignettes, as the bookmark backing is heavier stock.

   I also stumbled across the website Mirage Bookmark, which contains all kinds of awesome information, but not about this particular style of bookmark. Who made them, what was the intended audience, and how were they manufactured? Perhaps a knowledgeable reader will shed light upon the bookmarks but until then, we can all simply enjoy their aesthetic qualities. Enjoy! Pat Earnest Delaware. Copyright © 2015-2016 Passed Time. Pith Pack Backw

 

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