Amazing Advertising Antique Stationary Index Card Storage Drawer Industrial Home Decor New York City History

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This is a handsome antique metal index card cabinet, dating to around 1915, with bold advertising graphics on the drawer … Read more This is a handsome antique metal index card cabinet, dating to around 1915, with bold advertising graphics on the drawer front for Union Card & Paper Co., New York. The front panel promotes their line of “Bristols & Cardboards”—a wide range of specialty papers once used for everything from wedding invitations and railroad tickets to touch checks and index cards.

The box itself is a heavy-gauge steel cabinet with a single pull-drawer, measuring 12.25 inches deep, 5.5 inches wide, and 4.25 inches high, and weighing a solid 4 pounds. Its utilitarian industrial form contrasts beautifully with the decorative painted lettering, making it as much an advertising piece as a functional storage box. Originally, it would have held index cards or sample bristol boards—durable, multi-ply paper stock known for its smooth finish and rigidity, widely used in printing, illustration, and stationery work. Good antique condition with signs of age-related wear and use. Please review the photos for further condition assessment.

This rare survivor of early 20th-century office and advertising culture would have likely sat on the counter of a stationery shop or printing supply store, both as a functional drawer unit and promotional display piece.

Today, it’s perfect for repurposing as storage for small items like stationery, art supplies, or keepsakes, while lending an authentic industrial look to your home or office décor. See less