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MEASUREMENTS: Approximately 17.5 inches wide x 22.5 inches tall, measured with a tape measure (see photos). Hand-marked "9-27-56" on the edge.
CONDITION: Rough vintage/pressroom condition — please review photos carefully. Large torn/missing sections along the left edge and bottom-right corner, several mounting holes (some punched through the mat), edge chips, ink staining, black mounting tape strips and red crayon marks on the back side, and some waviness. The main advertising illustrations and most headlines remain intact and readable. Sold strictly as-is; priced for condition.
DESCRIPTION: Original 1956 newspaper stereotype printing mat used to print a page of The Wichita Beacon, Wichita, Kansas, for Thursday, September 27, 1956. Text and images are reversed, as produced for the printing press.
This page mixes big 1950s retail advertising with election-season news and sports history, including:
- "personality fashion... and our fashion values were never better!" — Sears, Roebuck and Co. all-wool Wollum-insulated coats, $39.90, with large fashion illustration of a woman in a coat plus a car
- Sears wool jerseys, $12.90 — "warm and wonderful fashions designed for busy lives," available on Sears Revolving Charge
- "Sleeping Beauties — Soft as a Woman" — Sears sleepwear, gowns, pajamas and robes, $3.98 ("as snug as a bug on cold winter nights... as soft and lovable as a kitten")
- Sears store listing: 901 Geo. Washington Blvd., Wichita — "Satisfaction guaranteed or your money back"
- "The Voters Speak — Farmers Weighing Prices Against Peace Prospects" — long feature on Midwest farmers deciding between Eisenhower and Stevenson in the 1956 presidential election
- "What has happened to the 'Black Sox' who were banished from baseball during the scandal of the 1919 World Series?" — teaser for a Westbrook Pegler article series starting Sunday, exclusively in the Wichita Beacon
- "Secretary Gets $200,000 From Boss' Estate" (Detroit, Sept. 26)
- "Pastor Here Back From World Tour" — Wichita Methodist pastor's Holy Land trip
- "Wichitan Hurt In Car Crash," "PULL THE PLUG ON STOMACH UPSET" stomach-remedy ad, and a comic strip across the top of the page
Ideal for collectors of vintage Sears advertising, 1950s fashion ephemera, presidential election memorabilia, Black Sox/1919 World Series baseball history, or Kansas print shop collectibles.
