Vintage Calendars From Doctor's Office
February 12, 2016 9:33 PM   Subscribe

When I was a very young kid in the 60's, doctors' offices often had these detailed calendars with tiny elves or hobbity kind of creatures hanging on the wall. I think they were issued by a drug company, but my Google skills are failing to find them. Anyone remember these and can you supply a link to examples? Cheers.
posted by alltomorrowsparties to Grab Bag (7 answers total) 4 users marked this as a favorite
 
I had completely forgotten about these, but your post jogged my memory. My doctor definitely had them! I think they were intended to give kids something to focus on while being given shots. British Columbia, late 1970s/early 1980s. My googling failed too, so I'll be watching this thread with interest.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 12:53 AM on February 13, 2016


I recall these too. My Google is failing me as well, but my recollection is that they had a specific name that was also a mild epithet (Numbskulls or the like). If there is no answer by the morning, I will ask my mother-in-law, a retired nurse. She is a nice elderly lady, but does not take well to being quizzed at 4:00 am about obscure copyrighted characters.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 12:58 AM on February 13, 2016 [2 favorites]


Talked with the MIL: she recalls them but cannot put a name to them. They were put out by a drug company -- she thinks Lilly -- and were a fixture in the 1960s and 1970s. She will check with some other retired nurse friends and see if they can dredge up a name.

Incidentally, armed with a possible name for the supplier, I did a bunch more google searches. Calendar + elf + Lilly gets us a loooooooot of pictures of merchandise with Evangeline Lilly as Tauriel. Dunno what I expected.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:55 AM on February 13, 2016


Best answer: Dingbat calendars?
posted by nightrecordings at 10:20 AM on February 13, 2016 [1 favorite]


I just found the Dingbats myself. Well done!
posted by ricochet biscuit at 12:17 PM on February 13, 2016


More info from http://judypstickletrunk.com/?p=1797 :

They were advertising calendars for Charles E. Frosst featuring “Dingbats” who were busy little creatures performing medical care or other investigations.

William Dudley Burnett Ward (1879 – 1935)

William Dudley Burnett Ward (AKA: Dudley Ward) was an illustrator, cartoonist and poster artist.

He was born in Graveley Bank, Staffordshire, England and died in Montreal, Quebec. He emigrated to Canada about 1910 and lived in Toronto, Ontario as well as Montreal.

His mediums were watercolor and gouache*. His most famous subjects are gnome-like fantasy figures he called “Dingbats”.
posted by intermod at 1:57 PM on February 13, 2016


Yes! These are the ones I remember too! This is a most excellent AskMe.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 3:46 PM on February 13, 2016


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