LA FRANCE SHOES Advertising Mailer -- Souvenir Views Around Olde Boston, 1911

Description

Measuring about 6-1/2" x 4-1/2", and 16 pages long, this souvenir view folder is titled "Souvenir Post-Letter showing views around Olde Boston." Despite the title, it is primarily an advertising piece for La France shoes, which were manufactured in Lynn, Massachusetts. The format of the inside pages is that the eight right hand pages show pictures of historic sites in Boston and eastern Massachusetts, while the eight left hand pages spotlight various La France shoe models or styles, at a rate of two per page.
The inside front and back covers are in the form of an introductory "Dear Madam" letter inviting the addressee to come in and "inspect the showings of this season's La France models." It is from "Blake & Cummings, Bradford, Vermont", which I assume was either a shoe store or at least a more general store that sold shoes. Although it is not stamped or postmarked, it is addressed to a Mrs. Arthur Mason in Bradford, Vermont. The flap has a blue paper seal with the words "La France" printed in cursive, and the small-print copyright credit on the back reads "Copyright 1911, The Hancock Press, Lynn, Massachusetts."
As I hope you can see in the pictures, it is in somewhat distressed condition, with the staples rusted and an overall wrinkled look, as if from storage in a damp location. It is also worn and chafed around the edges and folds, and the flap is torn and chipped.
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